in the limelight

terry and i started exchanging emails about our prenup photos around september. since i'm used to creative briefs used in advertising, i gave him a comprehensive description of what i wanted. to make things clearer, i sent him comps that i downloaded from different online stock photo sites. when we discussed possible locations based on my comps, his first option was edsa shangri-la plus another condo we could think of. i had not realized that edsa shang was a good choice - was imagining the usual garden and hallway shots normally used during weddings - but i trusted him anyway.

when aldo and i met him for the first time, we immediately felt at ease because he was funny and he seemed to connect with us at different levels. of course, it didn't hurt that he and aldo would sporadically talk about cameras.

so we agreed to meet at the lobby of edsa shang at 7:30 am on a holiday so that there would be less people walking around. the only glitch that day: of all days in the month of november,it had to rain on nov. 29. on our way to edsa shang, all i could do was stare at the sky and say "oh no"... but true to form, aldo remained upbeat and optimistic that it was not that big a deal. we got to shang, met terry at the lobby lounge, and sat down on the couch. apparently, terry wasted no time and started shooting. he would occasionally suggest poses and let aldo know his shutter speed and flash reading (which, of course, did not help me in any way). after a few clicks, we went to the garden and tried traditional photos - which, we found out soon enough, did not work for us because we looked too stiff and uncomfortable. it started drizzling so we had to find another spot - this time at one of the floors. at this point, terry felt that traditional pre-nup poses were not for us so he just let us move freely and do whatever we wanted.

by the time we transferred to rockwell, we were already used to the photographer-paparazzi feel so it was much easier for me (aldo had no problem whatsoever during this whole time) to warm up to the camera. our payong shots were purely accidental - terry just saw us crossing from the foyer to the posts using a payong so he started taking pictures. after a while, terry could already tell if i had a fake or a genuine smile on my face - if i had the fake kind, he'd tell aldo to do something about it so in the process, he was able to observe how aldo and i naturally interact with each other.

our shoot was a fun morning - we were done in 4 hours. it gave us a feel of how it is to work with terry, and we are glad to have found a friend, and not just a supplier, in him. moreso, he was able to make me comfortable in front of a camera, which is a big plus for me since i have always been used to being behind the scenes... of course aldo is a different story altogether - terry called him a ham because he was so game to do kenkoy and ultra-baduy shots, which made things even more fun.

if this is how it is to be in the spotlight come our wedding day, then i have a lot to look forward to. thank God for good suppliers!