I think that to create a good story for my editorial, I shouldn’t just get a single shoot for my peg and just copy the whole shoot. Of course when I was a beginner, that was exactly what I did but in time you would be able to exercise creating stories in your shoots. That’s why I keep saying that it’s important for photographers to have great vision so that your ideas would translate into photographs. You can’t just copy someone else’s style or depend on another person’s editorial for the success of yours.
Are there certain times of day when you get your inspiration? Usually before I sleep since I usu-
ally have a lot of thought running through my mind duuring those times. What time do you sleep? Actually, I don’t! Kidding! That’s why my eye bags are like this. Uy, pa-retouch ah [glances over to the photographers]! Since other than shooting, I also edit the photos.
How long do you edit one picture? It really de-
pends on the whole team’s job. It usually takes me an average of 40 minutes to an hour.
So what is your creative process? Well, that
really depends on the assignment. Usually, in a perfect, ideal world we do pre-production first with the stylist and we talk about what we want to do. As much as possible, we meet up then we create a mood board and then when that’s done, we shoot. When you’re shooting, of course a lot of things can change and differ from your original plans. When that happens, just go with the flow…and let your creative juices flow [laughs]. You just have to make it work. That would depend on how you would make it work. What is important is that you have to make it cohesive so just adjust. Music is also important in shoots but I’m more focused on what’s happening to the shoot itself. After the shoot, we review the pictures and we pick the best. I usually just do that by myself but when I’m working with Patrick, we do it both that’s why I love working with him. We bring out the best in one another. Editing is also very important. It doesn’t need to be super edited.
something to say. On the other hand, sometimes when people criticize, you’ll realize that they make sense and that you should just do better next time. Of course there are days when you really like your work and other people won’t since you really can’t please everyone. It really just depends on you if you’ll follow their opinion or yours. What’s important is what really want since it’s your work. It’s okay to criticize other people’s works, just make it constructive.
Do you still get excited when you receive calls/e-mails/messages regarding job offers/ shoots? Or are you used to it now? Of course there are times when I feel like it’s work but for others, like in Rogue and Preview, I get really happy and excited because I know the shoot with turn out really great.
Do you say yes to all of them? Not really. I
learned to say no to some. There are times when I get really tired so if I shoot in that state, the turn out is really bad. You just have to prioritize which ones you really want to do.
What’s your artist statement? I really like to
imagine and fashion photography allows me to do just that and to create different worlds. Everyday you get to create a different world, especially when you do an editorial.
Are you going to stay in this industry forever? Yes, feel ko ito na yun eh. This is it.
Special thanks to: The Collective } 7274 Malugay St., Makati City Dekahon Off Beat Vinyl On Vinyl
How do you feel/deal with criticism? You should also know where criticism comes from and take everything people say with a grain of salt since there are a lot of people who criticize just so they could have
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