Effing the Lens: STUDENT FEATURE | SoFA Second Semester Fashion Photography

Hi Everyone,

Sharing to you some of the photos of several of my fashion photography students this semester. These are the photos they took of Mark and Amman of Yeoh Models, styled by Eric Poliquit, with hair and make up from Krista Silva, shot on location at ICE Creatives Studio.

As we have used pieces from local designers, I particularly selected designs that were out-of-the-norm and are entirely interesting to capture in a photograph, revealing different silhouettes and structures to push them to develop an eye and appreciation in the world of arts, not just in fashion. For this, I have to thank Leeroy New, Tedd Mabitazan and SoFA's very own Tony Evans(Cranial Couture) for letting us use the pieces for our shoot.

Feel free to click on the names of my students to open a new tab directing to their online portfolios(which is also a part of our activity)

Photos by CLARICE WONG

In this final photo shoot activity, the students were tasked to take part in several challenges I have set up for them as I gauge them on the level of their understanding in the discipline of fashion photography gathered from the duration of our course.

Photos by JHOANA TEANO

Working with 2 male models was a first for our class, making our photo shoot activity, diverse and this made it easier for the students to have their photo shoot workflow faster and gather more images/looks from a single photo shoot instead of just one.

Photos by JOAN MALONZO

One challenge I have given them is on how one can properly determine the focus of their subject in contrast to either the foreground or background I have set for each of them. With understanding their composition, they can easily select which to focus on and on which to consider as a support element in their images.

Photos by JONA BUENAVENTURA

Apart from that, I have set up mobile set that tested their sense of 'teamwork' and sense of camaraderie as they assist each other in making the flow of the photo shoot as manageable as possible in spite of the terrible weather they have to endure shooting semi-outdoor.

Photos by PAT SEVILLENO

Working on found objects as props, like some leaves and even a collapse-able wooden ladder enables them to venture out of their comfort zones, which is highly beneficial in the future projects they will be doing once they finally enter the real world of fashion.

Photos by PIA TOLENTINO

One of the major challenges of the shoot is ... drizzle(or actually rain!) ... to the point that we have to stop our shoot since the downpour makes it hard for us to complete and finish the activity. On the other hand, that challenge made them realize that outdoor location shoots are really hard to produce since you are not working in a controlled environment, but rather in a deeply bipolar-global warming-induced weather.

Photos by SHEELA SAYAT

Our stylist Eric created a 'light' and a 'dark' look for my students, each has its pros and cons in photographing their assigned subject. While our HMUA Krista solidified the looks with producing interesting brush-works on the models' faces. Allocation of the looks were based on the sequence of their arrival in the location of our photo shoot. Also, each student were timed on their photo activity challenges. This teaches them to learn the value of time and on how to make importance of it every time they will be a part of a creative team in a photo shoot.

Photos by TARA SUBALDO

I will miss this batch, they are the third batch I taught at the SoFA Design Institute and hopefully I can get to see them and work with them in the future, maybe as a stylist or as a fellow photographer. The future is bright for them.