Blow-up the Holidays!

The Dychiaos, Christmas 2012 take at Blow-Up Photography Studio

Family photos have become a tradition in our family, because it's just so nice to see every new addition (like Xavi hehe!) and how each one of us has grown each year. When we started sending out personalized Christmas cards in 2008, it was just me and Dada. Years later, and we've got two little ones na! 

Our first Christmas card was taken from our pre-nup photos take by Nelwin Uy. For Christmas 2009 and 2010, they were all taken at home with Dada's home studio equipment. December 2011 - we didn't have a proper one pala, we had just moved back to Manila from Singapore and we were too busy with and tired from settling in that we just didn't have time for a formal Christmas photo. For this year, we went to a studio partly owned by our friends Ning & JA Tadena: Blow-Up in Serendra.

Thank goodness. Less stress sya ha. We just set-up our appointment a week before. On the day of our "shoot",  I piled the kids onto the car, and Dada just met-up with us straight from office. When we got to Blow-Up, they were ready for us. Here's a tip, change into your "shoot" clothes there, so they don't look wrinkled in photos. That's what we did. We brought our clothes to Blow-Up still in hangers, although I had my makeup on already.

It took us less than an hour to change into our clothes and have photos taken at the regular studio shoot and the studio with the Scene Machine.

This is us with the Bokeh backdrop from the Scene Machine, looks like the photo was taken outdoors no?

They work so fast and so efficiently that you could have a professional family photo taken during your lunch break! In fact, Dada had to go straight to a meeting after our shoot, and so it was a good thing we finished so fast. Actually, and thankfully, the kids were cooperative that afternoon. Because it's a different story when your little ones aren't in the mood, right?

A few days after, we got the the low-res files so we could choose which photos we wanted high-res versions of for printing. We sent the file names back to our photographer and the following day, she sent us the high-res files. We just have to decide which ones we want printed in a certain size. Incidentally, Blow-Up doesn't only print your photos, but they can also do gift cards, Christmas cards and calendar versions as well. Check these out: 

Gift card - prices range from Php500-1000 for 20 pieces 

Christmas card

Calendar - it's an 8x12 photo print

Cute no? We enjoyed having our family photos taken at Blow-Up and loved our pictures so much that we are also planning to have the best one printed in a 24x30" size. According to Ning, we can choose if we want it printed on canvas or photo print. Just waiting for the quote on that.

It's not yet too late to have your family photos taken too. Just schedule an appointment with them,  it's so easy, promise. Location, contact details and price list are all here:

For more on Blow-Up, visit their website and Like Blow-Up on Facebook.

googoo&gaga Trunk Show + Holiday 2012 + The Photographer's Series

googoo & gaga's Annual Trunk Show is happening on December 15-16 na! They're launching Holiday 2012 too and it is sooo amazing. Notice the online flyer? Yes, you just saw a camo onesie, and feathers and skulls. These are going to sell like hotcakes, the little kiddos just have to have a piece of this collection. 

And now for the sneak peek:

Love it already? Wait, there's more! googoo&gaga presents the Artist Collab - Photographer's Series. These are onesies and kids shirts featuring the works of Audrey & AJ's favorite photographers -- Ivan Sarenas, Jake Verzosa, and Paco Guerrero. 

According to Audrey & AJ, "In the recent months where the country has experienced one tropical depression after another and seemingly endless debates on the controversial issues of the RH Bill and the Cybercrime Law, we, at googoo&gaga, felt it was fitting to bring people back to seeing the Philippines for its beauty and natural wealth. Thus, our collaboration with three of the country's top photographers who advocate (in their own ways) to preserve the Philippines, its people, and its resources." 

Jake Verzosa (b. 1979) is a photographer based in Manila. He has traveled extensively around Southeast Asia and considers his documentaries and portraits as his personal work. His works have been exhibited in Manila, Tokyo, Singapore, Amsterdam, and Paris. He funds his personal works through advertising and editorials gigs. His personal work focuses on local life, youth stories, social issues and shifting cultures. 

Jake joins googoo&gaga this Fall with his Basketball Court photo. 

Paco Guerrero is a photographer who was born in the Philippines, grew up in South East Asia, Spain and USA, had his first assisting job in Singapore, first studio in Spain, and is now back in the Philippines. Since 2002, he has been working for a number of clients including Conde Nast, New York Times Travel, Marie Claire, Destinasian, GQ, and Endless Vacation among others. Locally he has worked for Town and Country, Marie Claire, Runners World, and Rogue. On request, Images and Wonderful Machine currently represent him in the US. He is a travel junkie that likes to tell stories of the places he visits and the people he meets. He specializes in travel, architecture, interiors, and portrait photography. On What I See, Paco decides to explore the country he left behind through the images he captures along the way. 

Paco joins googoo&gaga this Fall with his Cebu Guitars photo.

Ivan Sarenas is a photographer, journalist, cinematographer who likes to keep a low-key profile. He has traveled the Philippines extensively and exhaustively as photographer of the prestigious Philippines Yearbook, as well as for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Greenpeace, Conservational International, National Geographic Productions, and the BBC. His fine art photographs have been exhibited at Pinto Gallery and the Ayala Museum in Manila, as well as in Tokyo and Paris. He is also currently the editor- in-chief of Dispatch Magazine, a travel and adventure publication of ROX, the biggest outdoor retailer in Southeast Asia. In the new TV documentary he co-hosts The Last Wild Place, he says: “To know ourselves we have to know our grounds. There is so much of the Philippines that is unknown to the Filipino, this show aims to spark the interest of everyone to explore these places that deserve attention.“  

Ivan joins googoo&gaga this Fall with his Indigo-Banded Kingfisher photo.

Stock up on the Holiday 2012, Photographer's Series designs and more at the googoo&gaga Trunk Show. Calendar this.

WHAT: googoo&gaga Annual Trunk Show

WHEN: December 15-16, 2012; 10 AM to 6 PM

WHERE: Unit 15B, Two Lafayette Square, 105 Tordesillas Street, Salcedo Village, Makati City