Cosplay




























Cosplay Photography Round Up
With summer fast approaching (if not already here), here’s a quick rundown of the cosplay images we have released this Q1, 2019:
It’s only as of late when we get to pump out cosplay shots on a regular basis, given we all do this for fun and in between jobs. For those who have missed how we pulled off some of these images, check out the video links to my YouTube!
If you also notice, both Rikku and Yuna cosplay images have been updated with Paine added in the background. Was able to find a Paine cosplayer as of late, and good thing Dinny and Foxrots were game enough to go back to the studio and shoot again for material.

SDCC 2018: Preview Night
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

Cosplay Shoot: Supergirl and Superman
This Supergirl shoot took 7 years in the making. When I first saw Enji put on this cosplay as Supergirl… I was begging for her to come to Manila so we can shoot it. Enji has gone to several countries around Asia, but lucked out from passing by Manila. So during the last Comic Con Asia, we thought of inviting her over as one of the featured guests.
Enji was such a dear to work with. This is one cosplayer who is super down to earth, and not in any way a diva. We had fun taking her and Nana (Kuronoma) at the beach prior to the shoot, so the girls had fun there as well. But that’s for another blog entry for you to read…
This piece is inspired from one of Artgerm’s awesome rendition of Supergirl. Artgerm (asides from Jim Lee) is one of my comic book artist heroes. Hahaha. Such is my frustration with illustration; I ended up compensating it with photography.. in that quest to turn photos into art work. I’m not going to bother much in writing how we did the shoot, since we have it all in video. Just watch below.
Enjoy!
What how we did this shoot here:
Production Credits
- Make-up / Hair: Models’ Own
- Costume Production / Styling / Models: Enji Night / Gerard Sison
- Art Direction: Jay Tablante
- Production Design: Carlo Ocampo
- Digital Imaging: Ghani Madueno
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

Cosplay Shoot: Psylocke
Psylocke has always been one of my favorite mutants. She’s a character I don’t mind shooting over and over in various concepts. Maybe I’m just a sucker for sexy Asian assassins with a psychic blade. The latest iteration of Psylocke was cosplayed by my good friend (and an amazing singer at that), Nicole Asensio.
The gallery below shows some of the inspirations for the image we did.
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

Cosplay Shoot: Yuna
The Final Fantasy series have been close to my heart since I’ve been its avid fan for years. Recreating the scenes within the game has been one of my career goals in shooting cosplay. Yuna was certainly no exception. Few things that hindered me from working on a Yuna shoot, was finding the right cosplayer to work with. For me, casting and personification are a few of the crucial factors. Yuna stayed in the back burner (or what I personally call, concept cellar) until I had the chance to work with Nana this year. We were able to bring her in along with Enji Night for Comic Con Asia, so before the con mayhem began we took some R&R and brought them to the beach for the day. We did some beach sets, but it was this cosplay I was aiming to pull off.
Though we did the main shoot in Batangas, getting the perfect afternoon shot was another matter. I had to rely on my bank of sunset shots taken in various beaches in the Philippines and blended them in to get the clouds and afternoon glow look. If you’d notice in the video, the sun was really high and we hardly had any decent clouds to work with. That’s the downside in doing things on-location.. you are subject to the weather. When it’s good, it’s good… when it’s off, well you have to make do with it.
The ripples and water effects we’ve already banked before hand, and the sending spirits were a combination of shooting baby powder shooting out from the nozzle of the bottle, and then manipulating them with PS’s puppet warp feature. The glowing heads of the spirits were bubbles blown out from a bubble maker. The glow effect is rather rudimentary when you place multiple layers on top of it and blurring them.
This was shot around 530PM, at the height of “magic” hour.. which is technically about 15 mins worth of that awesome sun.
If you wanna see how we lit this scene up, here’s my behind-the-scenes clip.
Production Credits
- Make-up / Hair: I-ann Monzon
- Styling / Costume / Model: Nana Kuronoma
- Shoot Production: Carlo Ocampo
- Digital Imaging: Ghani Madueno
- Special Thanks: Phottix Philippines
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

Ahri Cosplay Shoot
I’ve always wanted to shoot Ahri ever since I did this Smart Game X campaign with Alodia and other cosplayers. Too bad she wasn’t one of the selected characters to work with at that time, and I never really bothered making a huge effort in pursuing this concept until as of late.
Lhea (model, now gamer girl) contacted me and wanted to do a cosplay shoot. She wanted to do Ahri, so voila! I found a reason to revive the concept now that somebody was willing to cosplay her character.
Check out the behind-the-scenes video we did on the shoot as well. Enjoy!
Production Credits
- Make-up: Ara Fernando
- Hair: Toni Reveler
- Costume Production: Badj Genato
- Production Design: Carlo Ocampo
- Digital Imaging: Ghani Madueno
- Model: Lhea Bernardino
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

Cosplay Shoot: Starfire
This cosplay shoot with Myrtle took years in the making. Not because it was hard to make, but our schedules never seemed to match up until as of late. It was from our shoot with Ginebra (the 2018 calendar), when we finally decided to lock down on a date for this cosplay shoot. This shoot was a series of three (3) costumes by the way, but I decided to break this own into several posts since each cosplay took a different route in shooting.
You gotta hand it to this girl for jumping in heels. If you are not used to doing this, I do not suggest jumping in heels unless you want to sprain your ankle.
Now to break this image down. Of course there are no perfect jump shots, so this final image is a composition of several takes Myrtle had to do. We comped together the arms, and legs as well as the hair. As for the sun and the stars? Did you know there is a PS plugin for that? Check out flaming pear.
Wanna see how we pulled off the image? You can check out the behind-the-scenes here.
Production Credits
- Make-up: Ara Fernando
- Hair: Toni Santos
- Costume Production: Badj Genato
- Production Design: Carlo Ocampo
- Digital Imaging: Ghani Madueno
- Model: Myrtle Sarrosa
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

Tokyo Game Show
So yeah, the following week I find myself in Japan again. This time it’s for the Tokyo Game Show. It was one of those “research” trips I had to do for my creative consultancy job. And what a research trip this turned to be. Though I’m not a newbie in the cons circuit, this is my first TGS. And boy this event certainly didn’t disappoint.
Now this is something you don’t see in local conventions: and organized way of shooting cosplayers. Somehow the Japanese follow a collective courtesy when it comes to asking cosplayers for a shot. TGS placed a good portion of cosplayers in the adjacent parking lot, but in effect the slots made it easy for them to take up a spot at the end of the parking curb, and use the lines as guide for photographers to line up.
As for the open areas, photographers don’t get to circle around a particular model either. There’s natural line that forms the moment one person asks for a photo.
This Sephiroth cosplay is on point. He just needs the Masamune.
The line to this booth in insane. As much as I wanted grab my hands on one.. it’s physically impossible without wasting a few hours of your time in line — no matter how organized this place is.
VR is such a big thing this year. One hall was dedicated to VR game and experiences.
Because I just had to ask a picture from random group cosplaying Japanese.
If I could only take the floating moogle home.
Mandatory image near the signage. Good thing were lots of nice people to ask pictures from. Cheezu!
After walking 11 halls of this place, my feet were killing me! But I can’t wait to go back next year!
For the rest of the images (and photo dump), you can check this out.
If you guys can stand my ramblings… here’s a hodge-podged clip of my adventure here as well!
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

Cosplay Shoot: Cindy Aurum
I haven’t played FF XV. I know. It’s a tragedy. But I am aware of the game, and watched Kingsglaive. Some good friends have played and finished it. But I will find the time to play this some day. Playing FF for me would just suck me into a void and disappear from society for several days until I get it done. I can’t afford something like that for the mean time. Maybe perhaps during the Christmas season.
At first I had misgivings about FF XV being a sausage party and all that, but that quickly dissipated when Cindy finally got into the picture, albeit an NPC. We just had to do a cosplay shoot with her. So Raffy gracious contact Katie again for a shoot. I’ve worked with her before on a Harley Quinn cosplay shoot, and she is a shoe-in for Cindy. The main challenge was finding the right venue who would lend us the space to shoot in. I remembered a good contact in the car restoration business, Alex. We were both tapped as brand influencers for a clothing brand some time ago. Good thing I kept his contact details since. He usually works on high end and vintage cars, which gave quite the texture.
Check out the video below and see how we came up with the shoot!
I took a different approach to shooting this cosplay, patterned after the last collaboration I did with Chris Cantada. More of an editorial feel, and less of the hyper-realism techniques we have been known for the years.
Image Gallery
Production Credits
- Make-up: Ara Fernando
- Hair: Toni Santos
- Costume Production: Badj Genato
- Model: Katie Kosova
- Special Thanks: Alex Restoration, Roosevelt Ave., Quezon City
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

Cosplay Shoot: Harley Quinn
Katie rose to 9gag fame with her cosplay shoot of Harley Quinn some time ago. So when she started working as a model in Manila (thanks to LVX Talent Management), we just had to do something along the same lines. So cosplay was the theme for my second shoot with Katie.
I got the bikini from the DC booth in SDCC last year knowing it was the same costume used in this comic book cover. That Suicide Squad version has been to used and abused ever since the movie came out, so to deviate a bit we went for the comic book inspired bikini design.
Since Katie was already dolled up as Harley, we pressed with the idea further and thought of putting the Harley look various situations.
This last bit was out of the original plan. There was a plaid shirt lying around the studio, and Rosie the Riveter got in mind. Characters such as Harley (and by extension the Joker), can impersonate other notable characters, spoofing them in a sense. So yeah, we tried experimenting with the Harley look making a parody out of Rosie.
I know I’ve posted this before but better to accompany it with the end-result photos.
Production Credits
- Make-up: Ara Fernando
- Hair: Toni Santos
- Styling: Hannah Kim / Raffy Tesoro
- Production Design: Raffy Tesoro
- Digital Imaging: Ryder Aquino
- Model: Katie Kosova (LVX Management)
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

Cosplay Shoot: Chillin Like a Villian with Lord Drakkon
Scratch one off the bucket list! Finally got the chance to work with Chris Cantada for an editorial style cosplay shoot. It’s been awhile since I’ve shot cosplay again, so this is a welcome respite from the usual work.
I took another route from our known style, and did something a bit more editorial in nature. Minimal post-production work, and no image composition. It also helps that Chris’s costume is on-point, so there wasn’t much tweaking needed as well. If there was any Photoshopping done, I just took out the latches from the helmet and the opening where the helmet splits.
The challenge working in Mandalay is replicating the same feel of the venue into the photograph. It’s dimly lit, yet you want the cosplayer to stand out. I had to dial down my lights to their lowest power, and soften the spotlights. I can’t spread out the lighting as much or else it would appear too bright. I added some ceiling bounces with orange gels to help push the warm feel of the place. Overall, I used about four (4) lights for this image.
We just wanted to imagine how this new evil Tommy White Ranger would chillax after long day’s work being a villain.
I also had the chance to sit down with Chris over drinks (pun intented over this image), and chat with him about his passion for the Power Rangers.
I know you have been asked this numerous times, but for the sake of those who haven’t read up on your history… how did you end up doing costuming for Power Ranger shoots? It’s quite a change in career from music.
Ever since I was with Sponge Cola, I was very open about me being a Geek. I collected toys and wore Star Wars costumes. But what happened with me going from hobby to a more professional capacity was just a happy accident.
A few years ago during the 20th anniversary of Power Rangers, I started to rekindle my passion for the franchise. I was always a fan since I was a kid, but I never wore the costumes because I was overweight. And tight costumes on a chubby boy was not something I wanted my classmates to tease me about! So when the Power Rangers hype was all over my news feed, and I wasn’t overweight anymore, I decided to finally have a costume made.
But having a Power Rangers costume wasn’t enough. To make it legit, I figured I needed to have a “morph” video! So that’s what I did with my phone camera and iMovie. Something very crude and amateur like, but gets the job done. Let’s just say people liked watching those types of videos. I made more videos over the course of that year. This time though, I tried doing cosplay fan films. I slowly realized I stumbled upon this niche group of people who really supported what I did. Fast forward to today, with over 250 million views on my channel, I’m very much happy being a professional Geek.
The costumes are pretty intricate, how long does it take you to produce a new ranger?
I have these suits and helmets made by different and talented costume makers. But the one guy who made most of my stuff is a local maker named Kamen Rider Nimoy. It usually takes 2-3 months to make, since he has other clients.
How many of these helmets do you currently have?
Right now, I have about 10… and counting. Haha!
Do you get mobbed at cons even out of costume?
Haha, “mobbed” sounds like something that can describe Alodia Gosiengfiao’s con life. But for me, it’s just very casual. They usually come up to me just to say they like my videos and cosplays.
What as the craziest thing a fan ever did to you? If there was any somebody crazy.
Nothing crazy! But there was one endearing instance when I was in a restaurant with my wife. There was this little boy who came up to me with his mom and asked for a photo with me. The mom had no idea who I was obviously! My audience is really in that age group of kids, around 8-15 year old boys. Times like those really make me enjoy what I do.
Would you suggest picking up babes in a Power Ranger outfit? If so, how?
HAHA. If you have a nice body wearing the spandex suit, why not? You can even come up to her, ask her for the time and when she replies you say, “No, it’s Morphin time…” HAHAHA!
If you had a chance to invite one of the Power Rangers to guest on your channel, who would it be?
I was actually fortunate to have five Power Ranger actors guest on my channel, three for fan films and two for official interviews. I’ve had the Original Red Mighty Morphin Ranger (Austin St. John), the Red Space Ranger (Chris Lee), the Blue Dino Charge Ranger (Yoshi Sudarso), the Yellow Mighty Morphin Ranger (Karan Ashley), and Zordon himself (David Fielding). It’s a great thing when the people involved in this show actually recognizes your part in promoting the franchise in a positive way. That’s the best feeling.
Just had an absolute blast shooting with Chris this afternoon. For the heck of it, we even did some extra outtakes outside on the street in a nearby Jollyjeep. It’s not everyday when you see a Power Ranger walk around the streets of Metro Manila.
Of course this entry wouldn’t finish without behind the scenes. Watch how Chris and I ended up shooting together.
We would also like to thank the guys from Mandalay for allowing us to film and shoot at their awesome location. If you want to watch more of Chris’s videos, check out his social media details here:
- YouTube: www.ChrisCantadaForce.TV
- Facebook: Chris Cantada Force
- Instagram: @CantadaForce
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

Cosplay Shoot: Sailor Moon
We’ve been posting a series of Sailor Senshi images over the past few months. Given our work schedules (since our team only gets to do this in between jobs), the releases haven’t been that consistent to say the least. Hehehe. Still quite satisfying whenever an image gets out of the image factory. Here’s a third helping of Alodia donning Sailor Moon. Took a page from how other cosplay shoots were done, using a “stunt / body” double as a human block for Alodia to set her knee on. You’d see more of that in the behind the scenes footage. Our production designer Carlo gamely took one for the team and luckily had his airsoft garb with him in the car.
Production Credits
- Make-up: Ara Fernando
- Hair: Toni Revelar Santos
- Styling: Hannah Kim
- Costume Design: Badj Swimwear Couture
- Production Design: Carlo Lukban Ocampo
- Art Direction: Jay Tablante
- Digital Imaging: Ghani Madueno / Paolo De Leon / Dovie Raquel
- Model: Alodia Gosiengfiao
Check out our behind-the-scenes of the shoot here:
Of course, just for the heck of it, I’m also posting the rest of the Sailor Senshi we did in the past.
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

SDCC 2016 Cosplay Shoot
I know this is a super late post, but something I like to share either way. So yeah… Ever since I started going to San Diego Comic Con (as far back as 2013), it has been the tradition for me to do a cosplay shoot before the convention week.
Wonderland Studios is huge. It’s a repurposed warehouse in Orange County, 10 minutes away from Disneyland.
Of course this wouldn’t have happened without the help of friends who took their time off for this Sunday to happen. I got to share the space with Pat, who has been pretty active in shooting cosplay for his upcoming book. It’s equally awesome that A.J. has been helping us out for the past 3 years, and then some. I also got to meet some lovely cosplayers, and I think I should make it a tradition of working with new faces every year.
Production Crew
- Make-up: Xeng Zulueta
- Styling and Costumes: Model’s Own
- Special Thanks: A.J. Grier / Chris Mandeville / Cameron Hatheway
- Models / Cosplayers: Jinri Park / Olivia Chiu / Amanda Levine / Jackie Goehner
Here’s the 360 shot of the studio before all the mayhem started.
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And here are the behind-the-scenes of the things we’ve been doing…
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

Video: Harley Quinn Cosplay Shoot
Production Credits
- Make-up: Ara Fernando
- Styling: Hannah Kim / Raffy Tesoro
- Production Design: Raffy Tesoro
- Model: Katie Kosova
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

The Jinri Experience 3: Ruin Your Childhood (Behind the Scenes)
Since the cat is out of the bag, here are some never-been-published behind-the-scenes that went on in the production of the latest book. We had so much footage and images from the shoots, I had a hard time finalizing what went into the book. If you’re the keen fan, some of the layouts you see here ended up in the cutting room “floor”. But don’t fret, those shots would soon see the light of day in other Jinri stuff we have planned towards this end of the year.. you know like the traditional Jinri Calendar?
Quite amazing how we kept the same team, and even got new members over the course of three (3) books. By this time, our movements were like clockwork and we hardly had to feel for each others timings. Ara already knows when she should wrap up make-up, and feels when I’m about to enter the make-up room just check up on stuff. Jinri of course has become the natural in these, imbibing the gravure camera rapport.
We mainly shot around a beach resort in Batangas, and chose the middle of the week to make sure there were less people around to avoid. Good thing the resort was nice enough to let us go around and shoot as we pleased. Gravure shoots usually take two (2) days of straight shooting, so you could guess how exhausted we must have been after this. It was all fun though despite the work, and this group really felt like a family already.
What are you waiting for? Get The Jinri Experience 3 at your nearest bookstore or place an order online here.
Photo Gallery
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

Ruin Your Childhood
This was originally inspired from a swimsuit illustration of Chun Li I saw in San Diego 2015. I was hawking around the UDON booth trying to find a poster or any other collateral where I could get my hands on that illustration, but it was just a one-off piece they did for the tarps during the convention. What it did though was leave me inspired to shoot another Chun Li cosplay.
Given my past work with Jinri cosplaying the Alpha version, she was an automatic shoe-in for this shoot.
After posting this image, one dude coincidentally commented, “well that ruined my childhood…” That line gave me and Jinri an idea of pushing on with this concept so we started mining particular anime characters in the 80s / 90s. This hits the childhood of a particular demographic mind you, the nerds and geeks of such era.
You can find a similar feature from FHM Philippines here with me basically narrating the same story, but with added behind the scenes.
Prints and canvas frames are available at the online shop. Get yours now just in time for the signing this coming weekend! Jinri can sign those personally.
Photo Gallery
Production Credits
- Make-up: Ara Fernando
- Styling: Hannah Kim
- Costume Production: Badj Genato
- Art Direction: Allan Montayre
- Production Design: LA Marimat
- Model: Jinri Park
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

Asia Pop Comic Con 2016
APCC is probably the closest to a US-based con as you could experience here in Manila. From the guest line-up down to the con floor setup, it has the vibe of a small-scale NYCC. This con quickly became the one for me to look forward to every year, even coming in as an attendee this time around.
It was great to see lots of local artists finally taking the plunge and sharing their craft on the con floor this year. I particularly like Rian Gonzales’s work, and asked her for a commission (still pending as of writing). There were also more local franchises and properties showing off their latest projects (Pedro Penduko, Patintero). Another unique feature in our local pop culture market are advertising professionals (creatives in particular) also dabbling into the comic book scene. It was awesome catching up with some of them outside of the usual industry environment.
The CAGE was entertaining as usual, with notable cosplay personalities back on stage. If there was anything I missed this year, would be sitting behind the judge’s table. I hope in the subsequent years, the organizers can also work on putting more panels and workshops since they did get the entire SMX at their disposal. This year was just sparsely peppered with Whilce’s art and Lindze’s cosplay make-up workshops. Other than that, the entire workshop schedule was bare for the weekend.
Still, APCC is shaping up to be the con to attend every year for me. I’m looking forward to its growth in Manila.
Here are some 360 shots of the con floor over the weekend. Enjoy!
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Photo Gallery
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

Ghost in the Shell
Ghost in the Shell is probably one of my all-time favorite anime. During holidays or whenever I travel on long-haul flights, I always have a copy of the movies or TV series to watch in my tablet. I never get tired of how it surrealistically blends sci-fi, philosophy and action into a mesh that’s both entertaining and enlightening. Some of these thoughts have become background in my discourse on cosplay photography and to some extent, Geekology 2.0. As much as I have lots of things to write and philosophize about it, some get to articulate these ideas well, and ahead of me. One of such is this quick video explaining the opening sequence of the original movie. It points out what we subconsciously take for granted in an opening sequence, not minding how it establishes our frame of mind for the rest movie. Just watch and you’d know what I mean.
Not so fond of the narration, but interesting facts to know about the original movie.
As for the live action Hollywood version, I would keep my opinions to myself until I see the entire cast of Section 9.Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

Cosplay Image Breakdown: Chun Li
Now anybody with a simple digital camera, even a smart phone can call themselves a photographer. While the debate criteria of what makes a legit photographer rages on, the fact is such technology is here to stay enabling us to take pictures with minimal gear. It’s dramatically changing the way we go about our imaging. Digital photography equalized the playing ground between the so-called “professionals” and aspiring amateurs. With the tools of the trade relatively cheaper to procure, how can your work get noticed?
The battleground prior to the digital revolution was equipment and upkeep costs. There was a clear line between the haves and have-nots. Even at the hobbyist level where one already runs on shoestring budgets, the costs of developing film, printing, etc…can take a toll over time. Now that this divide has been blurred so much, the next level of engagement are concepts. Sure, we can all shoot the same things if we just take equipment as the only factor, but it’s with ideas that would separate our work for the rest of the pack. It’s how you approach the subject that defines photography over the kind of camera you shot it with. There’s an interesting article over at Petapixel discussing this with veteran photographer Ken Van Sickle. I somewhat got an idea from that interview in merging them with loose imagineering tools I’ve left scattered in my head.
In hindsight, wish I thought of these things prior to writing Geekology 2.0. But alas at least blogs have allowed me a medium to append the work somehow.
Ideas are inspired from observation as filtered by our senses and processed against past experience. Patterns emerge as you dig deeper into a common denominator among various concepts executed through photography. A premise I would like to put out there: photography concepts are made with geography and time. The nature of the medium captures time and space within the confines of a frame. So by working in reverse, you can come up with ideas to put within the frame by locking into where and when an image can be captured. A simple exercise based on this is by creating a visual mood board based on a city and decade. You can stop here and do this exercise before pushing forward with the rest of the article.
Now the fun part is when you try executing this methodology into cosplay photography. Our point is to reverse engineer the elements of a particular character then recreate a new world derived from a place and time based on their inspiration. But first we have to understand how an effective conceptualized cosplay image works.
Elements of Image Impact
- Connection to the familiar or archetype of the character in question.
- Hidden “Easter Eggs” creating references to related concepts surrounding the character.
- The connections themselves can range from the obvious to the subliminal.
Our brains work by connecting the dots between separate ideas. That’s how we keep memories or understand abstract concepts or even remember things. The same logic follows for imagery. We get to engage our viewer’s imagination with references they can draw out from our initial image. This is dependent on the number of connections we have injected (intentional or otherwise) into the image subjected against the viewers familiarity to the subject. The more our image (and its surrounding concepts) overlaps with the viewer’s experience of pop-culture, the more we can draw out a reinforced response. How well you are exposed to pop culture and other media determines these connections.
Such awareness helps us isolate elements that makes the image effective in the first place and tweak them for maximum impact.
Deconstruction
We break apart a particular character based on their visual design and reverse engineer the inspiration from which they are derived from. This of course is more along the lines of educated guesses and a totally subjective exercise. But the more common ground found between you (the viewer) and the character design, the more validation you can get. This in turn can help in determining the probable source of inspiration for the character.
This is basically a guide into the thought-process on how we came up with a particular cosplay shoot some time ago. Let’s look at our SF Alpha Chun Li image.
We plucked out Chun Li from her video game environs and placed her in a Chinese corridor setting. The location does emphasize the fact that the character is Chinese, but the ending up picking that spot wasn’t a straight forward one.
Side Note: My original idea prior to this process is to look for New York-ish back alley setting and just light it up dramatically. That idea quickly fizzled when you don’t find such locations easily in Manila.
This particular costume design is from the Alpha series, which takes place between Street Fighter I and II. Hence you would see younger versions of some notable characters plus some casually mentioned ones in II. Chun Li’s character design looks like a mash between gymnastic tights and a tracksuit. Add the sneakers, and this passes for a costumey hipster Chinese OOTD if you happen to live in Hong Kong. But why a tracksuit? It could’ve been any other Chinese costume, or perhaps a daintier version of her original one, but this design pays homage of one of Hong Kong’s popular martial arts / actors back in the day: Bruce Lee.
Another Side Note: If you get to play Super Street Fighter, they even have a Bruce Lee doppleganger, Fei Long.
From the onset, you would not make the connection right away, but isolate the costume. Both at some point are wearing tracksuits and trainers. Chinese? Martial artist? Coincidental? Perhaps. Perhaps not. We don’t need validate the intentions of the character designer, but what’s important is the connection made between the two based on this character design. Furthermore, you draw out inspiration from the visual cues, but not necessarily from how the character is developed. This is enough to push the thought process along. If you want to further geek out, you can research on what relates the tracksuit to Chinese martial arts and sports. It would also be curious to note the kind of shoes they are issued for it too.
By breaking up an image into its visual elements, we can then grow the thought by attaching further related concepts onto each of them. I listed down probable related words derived from the character design using terms, ‘tracksuit’ and ‘Bruce Lee’ as my anchors.
- Track Suit
- Bruce Lee
- Hong Kong martial arts movies
- 1970s
- Drunken Master
- Game of Death
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Mental Note: I went as far as trying to cast for tall black dude to fight against Chun Li)
- Hong Kong martial arts movies
- Bruce Lee
- Chinese / Cantonese movie look
- Props and settings
Mental Note: I purposely skipped out on Uma Thurman’s Bride homage to the same tracksuit since it’s already modern day take. This is an exercise in drilling down into the root of the visual design.
Reconstruction
Art on the other hand is determined by method and time. Artists born throughout centuries have introduced various painting styles and techniques. Some have become synonymous with them. Picasso is to cubism, as Salvador Dali is to surrealism. The same can be said with photography concepts, or concepts in general.
Now, let’s go back to the premise where photography concepts are created with a place and time. Working on the Chun Li image, we pinpointed Hong Kong in the 1970s as our target look for the situation. What I did next is gorge on old martial arts movies and binge watched them for one afternoon. I’ve isolated flicks like Drunken Master and Way of the Dragon as working samples. What about those movies made that them unique? What was during this era that made these film makers produces movies with this distinct look? How can I merge this with a modern-day video game character? The more I researched, the more questions arose. Finally distilled some points to consider:
- Use the color grading of these movies, leaning into a yellowish tone. Desaturate on certain hues, but bump up the remaining color.
- Find a location that best matches a fight scene in these movies, with strong Chinese cues. It just so happened that my production designer had this setting in their ‘backyard’. As of date, this location has been demolished.
- Inject commonly used Chinese colors (yellow and red) to juxtapose against the blue costume
Mental Note: You can also use a contemporary movie such as Kung Fu Hustle as design inspiration as well.
Final Result
We ended up deriving a scene from martial arts movies and injecting Chun Li in it. This plays up the fact that Chun Li is also a martial artist, and her SF Alpha costume somehow pays homage to Bruce Lee.Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

Model Portfolio: Jinri
Got one of my favorite muses back in front of the camera. I just love experimenting shots with Jinri since she’s game with almost anything. This session, we wrapped up images we’re doing for the Ruin Your Childhood series, and did some extra stuff on the side. This post is about that extra stuff.
The fashion angle is something we don’t really get to do that often, so we did one for kicks. In hindsight, should actually do more fashion layouts with Jinri in more shoots to come.
I would have admit the Miko Mido isn’t really from a ruined childhood origin, but it was something I know that would strike a chord with a particular set of fans. Those who wer A formal cosplay shoot of Miko Mido is in the works though, so that’s something you guys can watch out for.
Photo Gallery
The last layout we did was the paint splash beauty / head shot. It was something that popped in my head the night before and surprised Ara with if we could do a headshot inspired from Japanese masks. The paint splash thing was something she added in the end, and it gave that somewhat Samurai-ish feel to it alongside the clumped anime bangs.
As for the lighting, this is were we played around a little bit. It’s not your usual beauty shot lighting where lights are placed overhead, with a reflector underneath. This time, we’re reversing the formula, and aiming to get the highlights first then figure out how to get light back on our model’s face. More of that if you get to watch our self-produced slapped together amateur video.
What is crucial though is having both sides of your lighting formation mirror each other. I used two (2) big strip lights, and two (2) 4 x 8 ft. styrofoam boards acting as soft reflectors. They are placed in an X formation, with one reflector bouncing back the light opposite to it. The last light acts as a fill in front, and adjusted to personal taste. That uses a honey comb grid, the smallest one available (10 degrees). As for measurements, I first powered the strip lights enough to get a mid-tone measurement where their fall out is going to be on the model. From there, I adjusted the power 1.5-2 stops stronger. This would over expose the highlights creating that rim, but still retain some details on the skin as it tapers off towards the center. The reflectors are then put into place to bring back mid-tones into the center section of the face.
Production Credits
- Make-up: Ara Fernando
- Hair: Toni Reveler Santos
- Styling: Hannah Kim
- Model: Jinri Park
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

Shooting Cosplay: A Creative Journey
The Creative Frustration
Shooting cosplay came from two polar creative fronts: my frustration of illustrating and love of photography. Back in high school, I was one of those doodling kids who wanted to draw what I read in the comics. The stuff I used to read were several Marvel X-Men titles and Batman. What resulted out of it were crash courses through summer art school and glorified stick figures. I also left several unused easels and drawing boards in the wake of my pursuit. I slowly came to accept that I couldn’t draw, but somewhat had an eye for graphic design. I knew how to put together pieces of a creative puzzle but couldn’t make them on my own. I dabbled as the art director in our school publication but it was in college when the camera was first introduced to me.
My cousin was taking up weekend photography classes in another nearby university and would often bring home sheets of paper to develop alongside the manuals. Started reading them on the side, learning the process of developing film in the darkroom. From there, I stared saving up for a camera through side projects I used to do as graphic / web designer. The shutterbug firmly bit when finally got an apprenticeship with a family friend. I guess the rest is history.
My journey in photography certainly wasn’t a straightforward one. It’s a series of glass ceilings after another – often seeing the next potential yet can’t seem to get there. It was that frustration that led me to start searching for my own handle in taking pictures. I had to ween off making bad attempts copying how other photographers light their images. I had to own my pictures. How became the biggest question.
It wasn’t until I was shooting for several years when I thought of putting together my love for comics and anime with photography. I started to get drawn to images entailing certain levels of production design. The bigger, grander, more complicated… the more I welcomed the challenge. I started referencing inanimate objects (e.g. dolls, mannequins, etc…) into our early work. When we finally got to mount my second exhibit “Pop Nostalgia” with the Crucible Gallery in 2009, I had an inkling pop culture was becoming my anchor for creativity.
Production Credits
- Make-up: Ten Franco
- Hair: Charlie Manapat
- tyling: Hannah Kim
- Costume Production: Badj Genato
- Production Designer: Raffy Tesoro
- Art Direction: Javey Villones
- Digital Imaging: Ghani Madueno
- Model: Rhian Ramos
Just like how I dabbled with graphic design, it had parallels with my photography. I wasn’t really good at generating my own ideas, but learned how to reference more known genres and imagery. I didn’t even know about the term “cosplay photography” until a couple of years after. That was when people started calling our work as such. Personally, I just wanted to give homage to pop culture icons of my youth.
Regular pictures of people in costume was out of the question. We wanted to push the imagery, to bring it back to full circle, blurring the lines between a picture and an illustration. This came about several trial and error experiments for a few years partnering up with advertising creatives. The body of work during these early years produced a variety of results, but never the full satisfaction of accomplishment. There was big room for improvement, and that feeling of “what-if” always lingered after every shoot was done.
Production Credits:
- Make-up / Grooming: Noel Flores / Charlie Manapat / Nadia Bouhou
- Styling: Mico Calma / Badj Genato
- Art Direction: Jay Tablante / Angelo Lico
- Production Design: Raffy Tesoro
- Digital Imaging: Angelo Lico
- Models: Alodia Gosiengfiao / Ashley Gosiengfiao / Natalia Santiago / Faus Ongtengco / Maria Dolonius
In 2010 was perhaps when we stumbled upon a milestone when we produced this mash-up interpretation of Tim Burton’s version of Alice in Wonderland called, “The Tea After Party.” It was only then when we had a resemblance of synergy between photography, make-up, styling, set design and post production. Of course we still regretted a lot of things we wished could’ve been done, but that’s already a lingering frustration from every work we do. It was from this image where a dramatic shift in our current style has stemmed from.
Work Process
Having past experience in publishing and advertising prior to photography proved to be valuable as we started to streamline the thought process of coming up with cosplay shoots. It wasn’t enough to come up with one-hit wonders and then forgetting how the process was done. We wanted something that can be repeatable. Creativity energy is preserved and targeting towards a particular goal.
Every advertising shoot doesn’t push forward without a pre-production organizer. It can come in various formats, but the most common is a PowerPoint presentation. If we are to follow a full-blown version of such a deck, it would contain the following:
- Team Members involved
- Character background
- This puts everybody in the same page when it comes to character design since a lot of characters have various costume designs.
- Make-up pegs
- Illustrations aren’t exactly the best sources for make-up since it’s an approximation of the human form.
- Styling / Costume design
- This shows the details of how the costume is made, from the fabric to the fitting sessions with the model.
- Art Direction
- This tackles the situation and pose the model would be doing. This is commonly mistaken with photography.
- This is accompanied with a composite (a.k.a. “compre” in local advertising parlance) of how the final image is going to appear.
- Lighting Treatment / Photography
- The approach in lighting style and method in achieving the look set by the art direction.
- Production Design
- This tackles the props sourcing and an idea of what the set / location would look like.
- Post Production
- A guide for the selected image/s to be worked on
- The kinds of composition and clean up that need to be done.
- Casting
- Who the model is for the shoot.
This pre-production organizer is the heart and soul of the shoot. This sums up the current progress and the checklist of things to be done before anything gets done.
This is one aspect of commercial shooting we strive to introduce into cosplay photography. This level of organization funnels creativity from a spray into a powerful hose targeted to achieve one image. When everybody is uniformly briefed about the concept, the team is put into one focus.
Taking these factors in, it may seem to be complicated for any newbie to start shooting cosplay, but it all boils down to solving one problem at a time. As each problem is solved, the process becomes clearer. When you finally come up with an image, repeat this method until you get the hang of going through the creative routine.
It took our team several years before we have developed a system of coming up with cosplay shoots, and it is still far from perfect. But the advantage of having one is following a logical flow of solving a creative problem of coming up with an image.
Sharing below some behind the scenes of our past shoots over the years.
Photo Gallery
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

Rikku Re-Issued
When we found out Monika Lee was guesting during this year’s APCC, I just had to request for her to bring Yuna (Final Fantasy X-2) as part of her costume repertoire for that weekend. The idea of reviving the Rikku image was already brewing in my head the moment I found out she was slated to appear in Manila. But first we do a little throwback.
Back in 2009, one of our earliest collaborations in cosplay photography was Rikku, particularly the design from Final Fantasy X-2:
I was still experimenting lighting along with Gelo (our main Art Director) around this time, bouncing ideas left and right. This was the time when we were figuring out the best lighting combination that would yield optimum material for Gelo to use in post production. We were just learning how to make images that had high editing threshold. This was all prior to authoring Geekology. We we all sort of new in shooting cosplay, and haven’t really wrapped our heads around creating a system to streamline shooting, doing creativity exercises, etc… we were really just treating this as serious playtime. Heck, we didn’t even know the term “cosplay photography” had existed at that time. We were just concerned with shooting superheroes and characters we like.
Hard to imagine this image was already six (6) years old, and quite the interesting revisit when we thought of re-editing this image again after all this time. Monika’s Yuna costume triggered all of this to happen. We just had to shoot her as Yuna since she was such a shoe-in for the character.
Hindsight is always 20/20, and looking back at this image brought out the “what-ifs” — that perpetual discontent over our work in the pursuit of perfection. Despite having learned better post-production processes which we tried implementing on the 2015 version, there were still more things I wished we could’ve done during the shoot.
Edit: And I just found the original BTS images of our Rikku shoot!
Thanks to Cha Lico (Gelo’s sister) for taking all these behind the scenes images.
We’d be coming out with a solo image of Monika as Yuna soon. Here are some behind the scenes from the shoot we did with Monika this year:
Production Credits
- Make-up: Kris Bacani (Rikku, 2009) / Ara Fernando (Yuna, 2015)
- Hair: Toni Santos (Yuna, 2015)
- Styling: Raffy Tesoro (2009)
- CG Imaging: Glenn Tungol (Celsius, 2009)
- Art Direction: Gelo Lico (2009) / Raffy Tesoro (2015)
- Costume Production: Badj Genato (Rikku, 2009) / Monika Lee (Yuna, 2015)
- Digital Imaging: Gelo Lico (2009) / Mooo Digital Productions (2015)
- Models: Alodia Gosiengfiao (Rikku) / Monika Lee (Yuna)
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.
Asia POP Comic Con: A Late Post
Finally, Manila gets a feel of what an international con should be. Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

Cosplay Shoot Breakdown: Mikasa Ackerman (Attack on Titan)

- Make-up / Hair: Ara FernandoStyling: Hannah Kim
- Costume Production: Regine Tolentino
- Art Direction: Jay Tablante / Raffy Tesoro
- Production Design: Raffy Tesoro (a.k.a Alodia’s lifter)
- CG Imaging: CuttingEdge Inc.
- Digital Imaging: Mooo Digital Productions / Cutting Edge Inc.
- Model: Alodia Gosiengfiao

We basically stitched two (2) images of Alodia getting the best combinations of her top and bottom parts, then Mooo Digital composed the image together. From that composite, CuttingEdge stepped in and created the CG environment.
So here’s Raffy channeling his past experience as a dancer in a noon time show… I kid, I kid…
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

Cosplay Shoot Breakdown: Gogo Tomago (Big Hero 6)
The original setting was in the evening, but we thought of making it twilight in our version just to add a bit more color into the scene. Dramatic clouds are always… well.. dramatic. LOL.
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Image #21 |
The production team for this shoot. |
- Make-up: Ara Fernando
- Styling: Hannah Kim
- Costume / Props Production: Lyron Aquino
- Art Direction: Raffy Tesoro
- CG Imaging: Riot Inc.
- Digital Imaging: Mooo Digital Production / Riot Inc. / Jay Tablante
- Model: Alodia Gosiengfiao
- Special Thanks to Penthouse Studios
This shoot didn’t take much time since Alodia got the pose down pat. She is such a darling to work with.
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.
Geekology 2.0 Book Signing @ The Philippine Literary Festival
After a successful launch in 2014 featuring Amy Tan and Chang-Rae Lee amongst others, Raffles Makati and National Book Store present the Philippine Literary Festival 2015 headlined by bestselling and award-winning authors Matthew Quick and Meg Wolitzer from August 28 to 30 at the Raffles Makati. Admission is free for all events.
Xandra Ramos-Padilla, National Book Store Managing Director, shares, “We are honored to be working with Raffles Makati in hosting international authors and organizing the Philippine Literary Festival. The support from publishers, authors, panelists, and attendees for the festival last year was overwhelming. This year, the festival will have Matthew Quick, Meg Wolitzer, and the best Filipino writers and artists to share with us their stories. National Book Store is more engagedthan ever in giving readers a different reading experience by bringing their favorite authors closer to them which we have constantly been doing over the years. We hope that through this festival, more Filipinos will be encouraged and inspired to read and become our partners in building a stronger reading culture.”
“Raffles Makati continues the legacy of Raffles Hotels as being a haven for authors by supporting the literary arts. Famous writers like Somerset Maugham, Ernest Hemingway, Joseph Conrad, among other noteworthy authors have stayed at a Raffles hotel. We’ve partnered with National Book Store, the largest bookstore in the country, to come up with the Authors in Residence series where the hotel is the official residence for visiting international bestselling novelists on a monthly basis. The Authors in Residence program culminates with the Philippine Literary Festival. This year, the festival offers a diverse selection of activities that will appeal to all book lovers. We intend to make this event an annual affair to look forward to in the city,” says Monique Toda, Raffles and Fairmont MakatiDirector of Communications.
Matthew Quick is the New York Times bestselling author of ‘The Silver Linings Playbook’, which was adapted into an Oscar-winning film. His other books include ‘The Good Luck of Right Now’ and ‘Love May Fail’, and the young adult novel ‘Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock’ all of which have been optioned for film. His works have been translated into 30 languages and received numerous accolades including a PEN/Hemingway Award Honorable Mention. His upcoming book ‘Every Exquisite Thing’ will hit shelves in 2016 and is being developed into film by The Weinstein Company. The Matthew Quick talk and book signing event will be on August 30 at 2 p.m.
New York Times bestselling author Meg Wolitzer is the woman behind thecritically acclaimed novels ‘The Interestings’, ‘The Wife’, ‘The Position’, ‘The Ten-Year Nap’, ‘The Uncoupling’, ‘Sleepwalking’, ‘Surrender, Dorothy’, ‘This is My Life’, and the young adult novels ‘Belzhar’ and ‘The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman’. The Meg Wolitzer talk and book signing will be on August 29 at 2 p.m.
Readers can attend three days of book signings, discussions and panels about books and literature from top Filipino writers and artists. Join authors MariviSoliven, Ambeth Ocampo, Lualhati Bautista, Dean Alfar, Angelo Lacuesta, Alfred Yuson, Jose Dalisay Jr., Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo, and Danton Remoto among others for talks and book signings.
The events are made possible in partnership with Adarna House Publishing, ABS-CBN Publishing, Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan, Anvil Publishing, Ateneo De Manila University Press, Meganon Comics, Precious Pages, Romancing Venus, Summit Books, Tahanan Books, Team Magazine, The Manila Review, The University of the Philippines Press, University of Santo Tomas Publishing House, Visprint, Inc., Young Blood, Young Star, and Sweep.
All events will be held at the Raffles Makati with registration starting at 9 a.m. everyday. Admission is free. Only books purchased at National Book Store, National Book Store Express, and Powerbooks will be accommodated for the signing. Books by the authors will be available on site during the event. Sign up for updates and view the complete schedule at philippineliteraryfestival.com. Follow National Book Store on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@nbsalert). Tag #PLF2015 to join the discussion.
Raffles Makati, belonging to the iconic hotel brand, is a 32 all-suite hotel that caters to the refined sensibilities of the sophisticated business and leisure traveler. Its impressive interiors were done by renowned interior designer company Bent Severin which is a tasteful combination of old world elegance, modern furnishings and impressive art. In fact, over 1,600 pieces of paintings and sculptures are found within the property, all of which were created by local artists.
Guests of the Raffles Makati enjoy gracious and charming service amidst luxurious suites with high ceilings; views of the city from floor to ceiling windows; colonial era touches such as wooden floors and white louvers together with modern décor; and splendid marble bathrooms. There are three types of suites to choose from namely the Junior Suite, Executive Suite and the brilliant three-bedroom Presidential Suite—all offering the distinctive Raffles luxury experience.
For a feel of Raffles tradition, the Writers Bar offers Afternoon Tea in a parlor-like atmosphere surrounded by leather bound books. With its history of being the favorite haunt of notable authors, the Writers Bar is the venue of book launches and readings as well.
National Book Store, the undisputed category leader with over 170 stores nationwide, takes special pride in the institution’s role as a staunch supporter and promoter of education and reading. Serving as a partner in education and profession to generations of Filipinos, National Book Store continues to provide the best and widest selection of books, school and office supplies and other educational and professional products.
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.
SDCC 2015 Photo Dump
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

Geekology 2.0: Analysis of Archetypes
Author’s Note: Hindsight is always 20/20. There’s always something you’d end up skipping when you write things the first time around. So if you happen to purchase the 2nd book and been patient enough to read the text, you could all this an append to the Archetypes section.
Just a quick refresher from the book, an archetype is defined as the basis from which all character design comes from. They are either created by a single person or group of people, then introduced into the public as fact.
My first example from the book would be The Joker, and how his archetype is broken down to the visual elements you see. Any other clown not wearing the same clothes, or make-up simply isn’t akin to The Joker. Much the same way as how we know what makes Batman, well… Batman — by recalling the visual elements that reminds us of the overall archetype.
Characters are created through a variety of ways as vast as one’s imagination can offer. This oversimplified list is by no means an attempt to classify the only ways to come up with characters to a few methods. I suggest viewing this as something like a skeleton road map to understand how our imagination can come up with all sorts of creations specially to building archetypes. Something where we could get some points to jump off from to get the thought process started.
More often than not, as original as some characters may sound, at the heart of their creation, they would always be inspired by some other outside source.
References and Amalgams
Historical Reference
These are archetypes created from historical context — either from actual people or a mixture of several. One solid example would be Kenshin Himura (Samurai X or Rorouni Kenshin). The events in the anime was based from Japanese history to begin with, but Kenshin’s in particular was from this actual samurai, Kawakami Gensai who was known for his legendary swordsmanship skills during the late Edo period.
Romanticized ReferenceUnlike historical sources, these characters are built upon the foundations of older mythology and literature. Superman was partly inspired from biblical and mythological characters such as Samson and Hercules as Siegel and Shuster later on explained in interviews.
These are the characters whose archetype design is based on more established “templates”. The referencing can be a direct relationship, or an amalgam of other sources. Eventually as other characters are created, the established ones become the references. Bizarro is anchored to Superman and without the latter to establish the archetype, the character in question (Bizarro) doesn’t gain much foothold.
Generic Reference
These are characters born from a generalized set of parameters not akin to any particular person. We derive a persona from nameless traits describing a particular set or subset in society. In a sense, the character created from this method can either be a championed or stereotyped version.The Japanese school girl or the sailor fuku wardrobe in particular has spawned numerous characters based on its generic archetype design. You could see them from 90s arcade games (e.g. Rival Schools), movies (Gogo Yubari), the zombie anime (High School of the Dead) to classics such as Neon Genesis Evangelion.
The amount of referencing varies between character to character, and doesn’t have any strict requirement to follow. Furthermore, the discernment of a character’s source inspirations are at the discretion of the creator. “The Bride” in Kill Bill as portrayed by Uma Thurman is a homage to Bruce Lee, but the iconic tracksuit was just as far as the “The Bride” character references from him.
Character and Aliases
We also have established characters such as Superman and Batman eventually having gained secondary names and references:
- The Caped Crusader
- The Dark Knight
- Man of Steel
It’s like having another layer of fiction encapsulating an already established one. This only happens when certain characters gain a level of popularity and cements their existence in pop culture.
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

Sailor Scout Pin-up: A Concept Analysis
Our Sailor Moon x Pin-up girls series have been on-going for quite awhile now, but I just thought of spending time and writing how the concept was created before I completely forget about them.
I’ve written a good deal about this in Geekology 2.0 (still available in National Book Store, shameless plug), so I’d be referencing some ideas from the book.
We wanted to give a different twist to shooting contemporary cosplay, and thought of using some historical homage to come up with something different. Alot of these characters were inspired by some form of history or past literature, and it’s just a matter of digging more of that connection and incorporating those into the current concept. It’s an attempt for us to introduce established characters in a new, yet still familiar environment.
If you’re savvy enough in social media, you’d come across content floating around on “Disneyfied” versions of other properties / franchises. It follows a similar logic.
A creativity exercise Raffy and I used to do is Mind Mapping. This is when you want to merge two seemingly disconnected concepts into one thought. Take Concepts A and B. For each concept, write down as many words related to it as you can. You can time yourself if you want. The 1st round of words you write are of a 1st degree connection for each concept. Expand the 1st round of words with other related terms about it, and start finding out if there are similarities between words you are able to come up with between the concepts. Words that connect the concepts is your concept bridge. From there, try to produce visual equivalents of that bridge, and see if you incorporate said elements into one final image.
The full length of the Mind-Mapping exercise could be found in another blog entry. I highly suggest brushing up on that before proceeding.
So what does Kurt Kobain got to do with Ghandi? Semantics (religious or musical affiliation) aside, both are connected to the word “Nirvana.” As absurd as a connection made, it is still a connection. You have to unlearn attaching meanings to the words, and just use them for what they are on a literal level. Then make your connections from there.
Photo Gallery
Sailor Fuku
Literally translated to “Sailor Outfit”, such designs started appearing in Japan in the 1920s. One school in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Jo Gakuin claims to be the first to introduce the uniform based on the British Royal Navy. The fashion intent of these uniforms were to invoke military-style roots. Of course, it has come a long way since then in terms of variations and design sensibilities.
More history on the sailor fuku could be found here and here.
The Pin-up
The popularity of the pin-up as a concept actually had its roots more in function rather than form. These were images of popular glamour models of the time informally pinned up against walls as calendars or as advertisements in the days of burlesque. They were wildly popular during both World Wars and served as a “warming” memento of sorts for soldiers on the front lines. Artists such as Alberto Vargas were so associated with genre that people nowadays tend to think the terms “pin-up” and “Vargas Girl” mean the same thing. If one were to dissect the concept of pin-up, it would be the perception of women, sexuality and a public display of that time repackaged into a visual art form.
Gil Elvgren is another popular artist, where I based the “look and feel” of our Sailor Moon cosplay shots from.
Over time, execution became synonymous to the concept.
The Concept Bridge
Is there a connection between the sailor fuku and pin-up girls? If you apply the same word-mapping exercise connecting Kurt Kobain with Ghandi, you can establish a connection with a little bit of history-digging.
An execution of pin-up and sailor fuku designs draw their inspiration from the military. This became our take-off point in merging the two (2) ideas. What about the military aspect of both concepts could we use?
The pin-up girl look was a manner of execution, while the sailor fuku design was content. The obvious route for us was to use sailor fuku-inspired costume designs, but posed and treated like WW2 pin-up girl posters. The most popular contemporary sailor fuku costume design was of course, Sailor Moon.
The take away at the end of the day is not getting stuck within a particular character’s “world.” It’s about drawing upon the history / literature sources, and adding more of them into the mix for a new look.
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.
Geekology 2.0: Techniques in Cosplay Photography
The book is now available in National Book Store.
We’re launching the book this coming March 21, 2015 during DPP9 Anniversary in Bonifacio High Street. I’m giving a technical lighting demo c/o Phottix at 3PM, and book signing happens at 430PM. Click on the link to sign up!
See you guys there!
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.
Inspiration and Connection
Make-up: Jopie Sanchez
Styling: Hannah Kim
Art Direction: Allan Montayre / Jay Tablante
CG Imaging: Riot Inc.
Digital Imaging: Allan Montayre
Make-up: Leo Posadas
Styling: Hannah Kim
Costume Production: Badj Genato
Art Direction: Noah Valdez
CG Imaging (New York City): 429 Studios
Digital Imaging: Mooo Digital Production / 429 Studios (New York City)
Model: Carla Abellana
Make-up: Ara Fernando
Styling: Hannah Kim
Costume Production: Badj Galias-Genato
Art Direction: Gelo Lico
Production Design: Raffy Tesoro
Digital Imaging: Ghani Madueno
Model: Lindsey Joy
Make-up: Ten Franco
Hair: Charlie Manapat
Styling: Hannah Kim
Costume Production: Badj Genato
Production Designer: Raffy Tesoro
Art Direction: Javey Villones
Digital Imaging: Ghani Madueno
Model: Rhian Ramos
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.

Emma Frost: A Concept Revisit
There are some characters that deserve revisits on a regular basis.
Our first Emma Frost shoot was one of my favorites. It was a shot which hardly had any post production on it and relied pretty much on photography. Everything was shot on-location and the props were all provided. But as we amassed more shoots, Emma was a character which we felt needed to be revisited and added into the upcoming book. We had to shoot something new.
Elements from the 1st costume were still applicable in the new shoot, which also shaved down some of the cost in producing it. Props from other shoots were also reused into the scene (e.g. candelabras, curtains, and wooden wall). We also thought of paying homage to another Jim Lee Marvel card piece. Of course, we still wanted to inject some personal touch into the final look and feel of the image.
And so, here’s the latest Emma in a larger size for your convenient perusal.
Production Credits
- Make-up: Ara Fernando
- Styling: Hannah Kim
- Costume Production: Badj Galias-Genato
- Art Direction: Gelo Lico
- Production Design: Raffy Tesoro
- Digital Imaging: Ghani Madueno / Ryder Aquino
- Model: Lindsey Joy
- Special thanks to Lightroom Corp. and Benro (Philippines)
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.
I’m Going Japanese (My somewhat 1st time experience in Tokyo)
Last time I’ve been to Japan was 11 years old. When you do the math, that’s about 2 decades back. I can hardly remember shit (except for those bright lights of Akihabara) and my Rockman (Megaman for you guys in the US). I’m sure lots of things have changed since then.
So early this December 2013, Raech and I took that crazy trip to Tokyo just for the heck of it. We stayed for five (5) days, and it wasn’t enough.
This is by any no means a comprehensive guide on going around in Japan, but this humble attempt it should give you an idea on how easy it is despite the initial daunting impressions.
Photo Gallery by QuickGallery.com
Of course there are several airlines servicing Japan from Manila. A quick rundown of we checked out were:
- Philippine Airlines
Worst schedule if you’re tourist, but best if you’re a returning expat, since this maximizes your stay in the Philippines instead. Leaves in the afternoon and arrives as the last flight into Tokyo. Rates though are fairly constant even as you book later. - Delta
Leaves early morning, and you arrive around after lunch. This is best if you want maximize your trip. Not the cheapest, and rates go up quickly the later you book. A week before the trip would more or less damage you about $700 USD. - ANA (All Nippon Airways)
This is the best bang for buck option. Cheapest, but hardest to book. Make sure you buy your tickets through them months in advance. Leaves mid-morning, and arrives mid-afternoon.
There are several offers for tourists / foreigners traveling in Japan that aren’t made available for locals. This is something you have to take advantage, and more often than not, most arrangements are done prior to your flight or at the airport the moment you land.
If you plan to visit other cities asides from Tokyo, I would highly recommend taking the JR Rail Pass. This is only available for foreign travelers, and should be ordered online prior to your trip. They usually FedEx the claim stub to your house. You could then exchange this for the actual pass at the JR East Travel Centers.
Most Shinkansen trains leave from either the Ueno, Shibuya and Tokyo stations so you just have to double check where that particular train leaves.
Most international flights arrive at Narita Airport, which is Tokyo’s newer airport compared to Haneda Airport, handling mostly domestic flights. Narita is about an hour away or so from the city proper. Which means your transfers to and from the airport have to be secured the moment you arrive. Of course you could do this separately, but it would come out more expensive. Knowing the prices in Japan, any amount of savings in a trip is well worth the effort.
Your options to and from Narita Airport:
- Keisei Skyliner
This is faster than the N’Ex, stops at the Ueno station, but doesn’t have that Suica Card packaged, which is a better deal than their 1-2 day passes just for the Tokyo Metro lines. - Narita Express (and Suica card package)
One of the most economical and convenient options to take. When you finally get out of customs and at the basement area, you could get this combination ticket either at the JR East Travel) Centers or the JR Ticketing offices (if the travel center is already closed).When you get a round trip on the N’Ex, they immediately book you on the next available schedule unless you state otherwise. Then you’re provided with a claim stub to get your return tickets on the day you’re leaving Japan. You can exchange this on any major station (Shibuya or Tokyo) since their ticketing offices open early and close late. The N’Ex card has an expiry of 2 weeks, which is more or less the allowed stay per entry of a regular tourist visa.
These trains leave precisely down to the minute. Hence they got strangely timed departure schedules like, 12:49. And true enough the train does leave at that.
- Airport Limousine (Bus)
If you missed the schedules for the trains, this is the next best option. - Taxi
If all other options fail (which I doubt they would), this is the last, and I mean the very last option to take. On average, a cab ride from the airport would set you back about P 24,000.00. Yes. P 24,000.00. So don’t take this unless you have no choice anymore.
Tokyo Commute
The JR Yamanote line is the heart and soul of their train system. This is a circular line that goes around the major districts. All the rest of the lines stem out from this circle. Though there are several subway operators, most of the platform transfers are done without having to get out of the stations. This is where the Suica card comes in very handy. Instead of spending time buying single-journey tickets and trying to read the confusing map, you just swipe through and ride. Just take note of the balance at the end when you exit so you’d know when to top-up the card.
Accommodations
I highly suggest finding a hotel near any of the stations for maximum convenience. We stayed at the Washington Akihabara Hotel, which is just right in front of the Akihabara station. Average business hotels prices would start from $150 USD / night above. Fancy places such as the Tokyo Daichi or the Tokyo Station Hotel, would fetch up as much as $350 USD / night.
If you want to have a feel of classic Japanese B&Bs, try out the ryokans in the Ueno area. These are relatively cheaper (about $ 90 / night on average). On the bit of a downside, most are found further from the stations and have curfews since they’re run by local families.
Our Trip
Tokyo in five (5) days just isn’t enough. You would need a solid week (and I mean seven days) to get a good grasp of what the city could offer. In our limited stay, we only got around several districts:
- Asakusa
This is the old district where you could still find antique shop-house style establishments. The main major attraction in this area would be Sensoji Temple. This is lined up with tourist trappy stalls ranging from souvenirs, cheap yukatas, caps and mung bean buns.This also leads you to other nearby attractions like the
Tokyo Skytree, which has an observation deck at 350M and 450M. Prior to this, Tokyo Tower was the highest point in Tokyo. - Akihabara
Also known Electric Town, this is the heart of all electronics, video games, and eventually anime. If you’re looking for any gadget, this is the place to be — Yodibashi Akiba. You could also find the Gundam Cafe beside the train station as well. - Shibuya
This is a major shopping district. This is also the place if you want to experience the insane X-crosswalk too. Best vantage point to take shots of all those people walking would be at the 2F Starbucks on one of the corners. This is also where you could find the famous Hachiko dog statue. - Harajuku
Best to check this place out during the weekends where you see cosplayers and girls in lolita outfits hang around the street up until the bridge crossing into the Meiji Jingu Shrine.On the other side is Yoyogi park, which hosts several events over the year. Our trip was lucky enough to have the Earth Garden, which is like a mashed up organics market, food and music festival. Few times I get to encounter hipster-looking Japanese.
Returning it is no problem as well. The package comes with a paid-postage self-addressed envelope. You just have to drop it off at any Japan Post office box conveniently located right beside the escalator going down to the N’Ex platform. It’s so convenient, it’s scarily to too convenient.
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.
Cosplay for a Cause: Typhoon Yolanda
Our awesome cosplayer friends from the US, Yaya and Riki are helping out by releasing a limited edition print of our Black Cat – Cat Woman. All proceeds are donated to the Philippine Red Cross.
To pre-order, you could check out their Store Envy link.
Thanks so much guys!Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.
Cosplay Photography Tutorial: X-Force Psylocke
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The lighting setup as far as I could remember it. Hehehe. |
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This is the final shot we agreed on using, which is actually one of the earlier takes in the series |
- Cigarette smoke
- Dry ice
- Mosquito coil
- A burning cotton ball (just make sure you have the proper protection and fire extinguishing gear prior to shooting)
The sharpness and shape of the blade could always be controlled in Photoshop through the liquify tool.
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Basic composition test on Linda against the background |
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Compositon with recreated lighting effect in Photoshop |
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With sample color grading |
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.
Singapore and ICDS 2013
Orvis has an awesome Mr. Freeze costume! Retro-futuristic feel. |
And finally Elina as Inque. Most of the material shots for her liquid form would be done in Manila. |
Alodia prints for sale! |
The usual banner. This has been around for quite awhile now, since ICDS 2012. |
Team reunion! Gelo Lico came down from KL just to shoot and hang around with us. |
Alodia signing at our table that afternoon. |
Alodia doing the awarding ceremonies for winning cosplayers. |
She loves taking pictures of her food. |
I’m so looking forward to next year’s convention.Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.
Geekology @ The International Cosplay Day Singapore
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.
SDCC Adventures Day 0: Cosplay Shoot!
Of course, one of the main reasons why I went to the San Diego Comic Con is to work with cosplayers for Geekology 2. I had the honor of shooting with Linda Le (a.k.a. Vampy) among others for my first day in the studio. Super thanks to Dave King for providing such a homey studio to work for these 3 days.
I always make it a point to shoot before the convention to minimize the stress both to me and the cosplayers. Besides, I was here to enjoy the convention in the first place.
Yes folks, if you want that shirt, you could get it at the T-Shirt Project. |
So you have Juri helping out Mari put on her chest plate. |
The new Emma Frost costume is now black. |
Linda’s Gatchaman costume was faithful to the original version in the anime. |
The crew for day 1 |
Between five lovely ladies, we were able to chuck out eight different costumes just from this day. Would be sorting these out as soon as I get home.
This is one of the most chill shoots I ever had for cosplay. Seems like everybody was just having fun. I certainly did.Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.
Cosplay Shoot: Sailor Mars
Yes, because we had to plug the latest steamer iron Ara is using. |
Some useless behind the scenes fun. |
The lighting formation is very similar to the look technique we’ve developed, but I had to alter it since the costume was reflecting light from the white portions. The posing was also adjusted to fit something Sailor Mars is known for, though we also did some classic pin-up ones as well.
Would write another entry when the final product is out.
P.S. Writing this a little bit short since I’m on the way to SDCC as of writing. Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.
Printing with Jo Avila
Here’s Sir Jo proofing over my pin-up girls prints. |
We printed some of my pin-up girls series on some fine art museum paper as well. |
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.
Shooting Special Effects
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Here’s Carlo (our Digital Imager) and my boys setting up for the next stunt. |
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.
International Cosplay Day Singapore 2013
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August 25, 2013 @ *SCAPE Mall. Gates open at 10AM. |
Earlier this May, they recently held a VIP ticket sale in Kinokuniya. The Minmay print is on display! Yey! |
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.
Jubilee, the final image
Make-up: Ara Fernando
Styling: Hannah Kim
Costume Production: Badj Galias-Genato
Props Production: Edralin Manila (X emblems) / Kim Imao (visor)
Art Direction / Digital Imaging: Ryder Aquino / 429 Studios
Model: Bea Benedicto
Original Artwork / Character Design: Dustin Weaver
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This is the the cover of XMEN: Nation X #2 (2009) |
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.
Cosplay Photography Tutorial with Jay Tablante
And this is it folks! As debuted in DPP 7, the full tutorial video for Vanille cosplay photography shoot. For more technical details, I posted an earlier entry about this shoot. Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.
Behind the Scenes with Jubilee
Thanks to a nifty Canon 700D and an intern for the summer, we get to have some behind-the-scenes images for this cosplay shoot. Our usual BTS guy Aly was out on a family vacation, so she had some big shoes to fill.
We shot behind Raffy’s compound in San Juan. This was a homecoming of sorts, since we really shot in his garage, room, etc… way before we were doing our shoots in Edifice Studios.
It was quite the hot and humid afternoon (like most days during these summer months), so you could just imagine how hot it must be for our model walking around in a yellow trench coat. We had to wait out the afternoon until it was quite tolerable to hang around. Even then, we were putting 3 fans on Bea just to make sure she look good for the part at all times. There was the occasional retouch, but her make-up held on.
Been doing studio work for the past few cosplay shoots, so this is a welcome return to something familiar that we haven’t done for quite awhile now. I actually love the challenge of lighting up an entire area. I don’t mind doing something like this again for the next cosplay concept.
Jubilee was one character I’ve been wanting to do for the longest time, but haven’t really met the right model for it, until this opportunity came along.
I met Bea by coincidence in a print-ad shoot I did for BPI some time back. I guess I got too caught up with the shoot before I realized she would have been a good candidate for Jubilee. It was only when the ad came out when I connected the dots, and made the decision from there. I was still flip-flopping around the idea if were to seek her out, but I had nothing to lose in asking, right? I went out on a limb to find out who she was, given that my only lead was her first name, and that I worked with her in a print-ad.
In the end, it was a pleasant surprise she actually agreed to this shoot, given we only met once, and it was for work even.
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Her resemblance was quite astonishing. |
That’s my super assistant Hannah going through the wardrobe. |
This is my crew setting up the lights in that stairway which we’re going to look like somewhere in NYC. |
First time I get to use my McGyvered monitor rig with the cam. |
Our lovely model Bea being fitted with the signature pink visors by our make-up artist, Ara |
Ara was all too concerned with her extension bangs. |
Doing some posing tests before we had her put on the coat. I wouldn’t want her melting unnecessarily. |
Overall, the shoot lasted about 4 hours including make-up, wardrobe and putting eight lights in the scene. Then we had hotpot in Raffy’s kitchen for dinner. It was an awesome way to cap this shoot.
Bea by the way is a fashion / beauty / horror-flick blogger, so do check out her page too. Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.
Cosplay Photoshoot Tutorial: Vanille (a Phottix teaser)
Here’s a sneak peek on what you’d see this coming Saturday during the DPP 7 anniversary block party. Get a copy of the full video when you visit the Phottix booth! See you guys there!
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.
Cosplay Shoot Tutorial: Vanille
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Make-up: Ara Fernando / Styling and Costume Production: Jessica Ouano / Art Direction: Jay Tablante / CG Imaging: 429 Studios / Digital Imaging: Ryder Aquino / Model: Jessica Ouano / Special Thanks to Phottix and Borj Meneses |
Of course, being the obsessive-compulsive, I listed down more gear than I would actually use, and just wanted to make sure. From their end, due to the equipment’s popularity, not all were available for the shoot. So the final list of gear we had at our disposal was as such:
- One (1) PPL-400
- Three (3) Mitros Speedlights
- One (1) set of Hydra 8 reflectors
- One (1) soft box / strip box
- Two (2) beauty dish reflectors
Weather is a friend, foe and monkey wrench all rolled into one. Outdoor shoots like these are reliant on good sun and timing. On the day of the shoot, we were blessed with sunlight, and a partially overcast sky towards the afternoon. The hard part about shooting in this situation though is getting cut short every now and then whenever the sun would hide behind patches of clouds. You just can’t get the proper consistency all the time. All you could do is wait and be alert when the opportunity to shoot comes.
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You could also make your own lighting diagram and share it with the rest of the community. |
This lighting setup approximates what we used during the shoot. Given the PSD file I downloaded didn’t have Phottix-looking products, I had to opt to using the traditional icons you would see in a studio setting. The PPL-400 carried the brunt of the lighting chore, while the Mitros speedlights were used for fill and highlights. I chose a beauty dish, since it can produce hard shadow lines on a model’s face, duplicating the same effect of a bright sunny day. Why not use natural light then? Well, this is one light I can control. A bit on its left is a strip box setup armed with a Mitros.
Positioning highlights can be tricky. The “thickness” of the highlight depends on the angle where the light is hitting your model’s sides. To make the highlight “thinner”, you had to move the light more to the model’s back and make it face you. The downside is, there’s an increased chance of flaring, especially if you’re using a wide focal length. You could however place the lights further out, but that would diminish its power significantly. They would hardly make dent against sunlight. If you place the lights more on the side, it may come to a point that it’s no longer a highlight, but interferes with the effect of your key light. I used a Hydra reflector and a second beauty dish to maximize the output from the speedlights.
The first hour proved to be premature in the shoot. Sunlight was just too strong for the strobes to counteract. We had to wait until it was about 4:00PM before we got good registration on the model’s body. Not to mention, the sun was more yellowish by this time giving skin tone a bit more life.
The sun by the the way is behind the model to her left, which was a welcome coincidence. Not only that it helped the case for the highlights, but it also provided that “back flare” look I wanted to achieve for the final finish of the image. This had to be tempered down with an extended hood care of strips of illustration board and my palm.
Of course, this is just 50% of the final image. The Clark location provided the best base backdrop for Vanille, but we needed elements to make it appear it was Gran Pulse. Given our penchant for collaboration, we tapped 429 Studios as the CG partner to provide us the digital assets to add into the background. I sampled various sky shots during the shoot itself and got the best formations of clouds and blue portions.
Ryder then cleaned up and composed the image accordingly.
The awesome guys in 429 studios did the pillars and Cocoon to be added in the background |
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This is the original image |
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Asides from the sky I took as material, I also used samples from my past works to get the right cloud formations |
A full length video of this tutorial would be made available during the DPP 7 Anniversary event in Bonifacio High Street, so do check out the Phottix booth there! I think they’re giving away the DVD with my face on it, unfortunately. Hahahaa.
Check out my youtube channel for your regular glimpse behind the scenes! While you’re at it, drop buy the online store and get goodies from your favorite models!
For those interested in my commercial work, check out pointblankstudios.net and follow us at @pointblankmnl in IG.