Child Photography Before and After: Enhancing your images (mind first)

Shooting kids outdoors is not a joke, toddlers especially lose interest pretty quickly so a child photographer needs to be quick and to think quicker. A siblings shoot is even more difficult. Getting a toddler and a baby to sit in one area for you to take a couple of shots takes nothing short of magic at times. Choosing an area to shoot is also not always ideal, but you gotta make do and have a vision in mind for your output. 

With this photo, the sky was clear and not a cloud was in sight but I knew that wouldn't stop me. I made sure my exposure was correct (no blown highlights).
Then I used some photoshop actions to lighten it up and give it better color and adjusted the skin tones to my liking and added some clouds as well to improve the overall image. I would have wanted to have a bit more light reflection on their faces though to lighten the shadows a bit more on the younger brother's face, but had to move fast 'coz big brother was running around. Anyhow, I'm pretty happy with the result and mommy was thrilled - that's what matters most ;)



                         BEFORE                                           AFTER

Camera settings: ISO 160, F4, 1/320

Canon Mark III, 700-200 2.8 IS

Home Service Family Portraits Manila: Hong Kong Baby Photography

There is nothing I love more than GREAT Home Lighting. Big windows are MAGIC for a photographer and these lovely parents had a dream window in their apartment for me to shoot with. I would rather shoot natural light than strobes any time, so I was delighted to have this chance. It also helped that it was raining outside and the fog in Hong Kong was pretty thick that day - so it gave me a natural and beautiful diffused light. This gorgeous little love bug was all smiles for me and we had so much fun together. Loved this family to pieces :)

Just because Stork has STUDIO in it's name doesn't mean that I only shoot studio setups - in fact more often than not, I'm outside shooting or in clients homes or apartments, on location or whatnot. A PROfessional photographer goes everywhere :) It's just finding the right light mix and willing families who want to try something new. 

 

There were so many great photos in this set, I can't choose what is my fave! Which one is yours?

Manila Newborn Photography: Rollllssss

There is nothing I love more about shooting newborns than their baby rolls! 

Check this little cuties out :) gosh... I loooove cuddling with 'em!!

Valentines Mini Sessions

This Valentines, I did another themed mini-session set with a bunch of wonderful kids!
Loved my setup made by the super talented Kary of She Dreams In Ink. I can't wait for my next shoot this coming Easter :)

my favorite twins!

 sweet Bella

 this is LOVE

 pretty little sweetie pie

 love her eyes :)

 handsome heartbreaker

 pure joy

 a very happy baby!

 one of my favorite little models, her smile is adorable!

 my heart melted with this photo

 pucker up!

 moments come in the blink of a flash!

Child Photographer Manila: Baby Love!

This little girl made my day. Isn't she just adorable? She loved taking photos with her best pal and even gave her a nice hug for us. Look at that wonderful smile that kept coming all afternoon :)

Sisterly Silhouettes

I've always dreamed of taking this photo and waited for the perfect little girls to do it :)

Finally got the opportunity to do so and nailed it. Mom called me up after I sent it to them and told me the eldest daughter cried when she saw it because it was so beautiful - she even sent me a text message of thanks. Needless to say, it's one of my favorites.

How I got this shot - It was actually a nice golden late afternoon when taking this. Took it straight on and then adjusted later in PS to get the true black effect (levels, curves) of the silhouette. Cleaned it up a bit as well. 

Family Photographer Manila: Coming from down under

There are days when I meet Clients that I absolutely fall in love with. It's an instant click and I just feel at ease with them and the session goes beautifully and everyone has a great time and I know that they will become not just Clients, but friends for like. Today was one of those days. They came from down under (live in Oz) and are in Manila for a visit to drop by the studio for a family shoot. I fell in love. This is my favorite from the set so far (so many to choose from) but I have a soft spot for father-daughter photos. Such a beautiful family, it's shoots like these that make my heart sing.

January Joys

2010 is here and I am extremely excited to see what this year (almost our 2nd!) has in store for us. We have a lot planned for the year and in-store for our clients to give them even better value. We have been so blessed and have established a loyal base of client that keep growing. This year we hope to become even more known as the Philippines best baby, newborn, maternity and family photographers! Our Facebook Fanpage is growing by the day as well hope you can sign up if you haven't already. Sharing with you some of our best shots to start the year right.

Emily

Mother and Child bonding

I love Emily's blue eyes.

Mommy Beth is the coolest mom.

I find this so precious.

Here are the boys!

This family came to us a few months ago for some pregnancy photos of mom and her two boys Connor and Tyler - that shoot was a super enjoyable experience as we got to know each other and the boys were adorable. Little Emily was born soon after and they came back with the whole brood (with Dad this time too) and we had a great time taking their first family photos with the new special addition - Emily who has to most beautiful blue eyes. Family photography is important to Stan and me because kids do grow up to fast. We really aim to give families the kind of photos that they can keep for generations. This shoot was a lot of fun as usual, the two boys were wonderful big brothers and the closeness of the family really showed in their photos. Relationships with our clients are important to us and we try to really build good rapport with them. I feel like I'm so lucky to be taking their pictures...its as if they let us into their little cocoon if only for a couple of hours.

That perfect shot

Once in awhile we get shots like these... and we are so moved by them. Truly priceless.