L’Officiel MNL, 2015.

My first ever assignment for LO MNL, or you can say my “audition” to the magazine. I can admittedly say from my experience that your first shoot with a client or a magazine determines your future with them—never ever assume they know your work (even if they did screen you).

Patrick Galang contacted me to do an editorial with the graduating students of Slim’s Fashion and Arts School, featuring the works of Bea Samson, Nina Gatan, and others.

This particular layout was shot inside one of the unused classrooms, with tables and chairs laying around. I’m particularly inclined towards photos that carry the illusion of a single light source, and for this particular shot, it came from the window. All the artificial lights were turned off, and we had my little Yongnuo speed lite mounted on a light stand with a shoot through umbrella barely standing on the fire escape of the building. Ignacio shared the tiny space with the umbrella to hold the white reflector against the window to add extra diffusion (but more importantly, hide all the details outside). I wanted to replicate an overcast sunset, keeping my temperature warm and light go through several layers of diffusion.

The stunning pieces reminded me of peak period of corsets, which of course also was the glory days of the Renaissance and Baroque era of art. With that inspiration, my peg was naturally the lighting style of those paintings.

Here’s an additional note showing my style of editing back in 2015 (during the time of high dependency on VSCO filters) and how I edit now. It’s important to keep growing with the tools you are provided with. And, thank God for raw.

Photography by Artu Nepomuceno, assisted by Ignacio Gador
Styled by Patrick Galang