my chucks and i

my chucks and i
Originally uploaded by gezelle

i have created a set inspired by my multiply skin. photos were taken at home and is part of the self-portrait series. this is my third "do-it-yourself photoshoot" set and is the most difficult so far. the shoot took the longest but with the least number of good outputs. i needed several makeup retouches for this to remove sweat in the face and several water breaks to relieve the stress that was already building up. it wasnt at all easy to take photos when you're wearing a gown for sure!

the first good photos came out after 90 minutes of testing and figuring out what to do. i wanted to stand up but my head gets cut-off because there wasn't enough room in my house for stepping backwards and i wasnt comfortable in shooting at portrait mode.

the next challenge was posing to make sure i looked good and my flaws were not too evident. it doesnt help that the gown was tight in the tummy area which made bending or slouching impossible because every time i would, a bulk (or two) around my stomach would show up. definitely not a pretty sight.

as before, the setup was pretty basic. there was one light source that was constant and diffused by a white umbrella. in manual mode, my setting was similar to what i had used in my other DIY sets with the
lens almost at 35mm and aperture at f5.6. shutter was at 1/40 and white balance was in bulb setting.

please let me know what you think of the odd pair set. thanks and have a good day!

portrait of a bride

portrait of a bride
Originally uploaded by gezelle

while waiting for my turn to get my hair and makeup done for my friend's wedding, i asked the bride to stand near the window so i can take her photo before the photographer takes her away for their official photo shoot. i had my olympus e500 with me, almost running out of space and battery that day. i was already dressed up in a powder blue gown when i took the shot.

this photo was shot in aperture mode at iso125 and f4.5. i used spot metering in order to meter her face and body correctly and make the curtain appear slightly washed out. comments and criticisms are welcome :)

i was the last bridesmaid to be made-up and prettied-up by the beautician and ended up not being able to walk down the aisle -- the girl before me took too long to get her hair fixed! i should have just skipped the make-up part altogether and combed my own hair or powdered my own face. or better yet, i should have convinced my friend to hire me to become her backup photographer instead, hehehe!

sad eyes

sad eyes
Originally uploaded by gezelle

hers is one of the saddest faces i have ever taken a photo of. i guess she wouldnt smile because she was feeling uncomfortable with all the strangers pointing their cameras at her and shooting away, myself included. she was probably wondering what we saw special in her after all, she was just playing child games that morning like she always does by the shore... she had no idea how beautiful she is and how lovely the setting was!

when most of the photographers had lost interest in her, i stayed on and tried to show her pictures which i have taken of her. i wanted her to see what we saw in her. at that point, she started to smile and showed how much more beautiful and unforgettable she really was.