Total world domination.
That's it, that's my goal. Haha!
I don't know, all plans are falling into place so I'm kinda aiming really, really high right now. Who knows, if things go well, I may yet achieve that particular goal. Sasaya ang Pilipinas pag nagkataon. *giggle*
First thing's first: yes, I am well again. Or as well as I usually am, which basically means perpetual cough and colds but otherwise fine. I'm still not sure what I got as I never got to see my doctor again after the first check up. Yes, I did get a blood test but my doctor wasn't in when I went back the next day with the results. I never did get to go back because as usual, I'm gearing up to be overbooked again.
It was a week's worth of being sick, from Monday last week 'til Sunday. Of course, being the "workaholic" (I'm doing my darndest to be one) that I am, I went to a shoot Friday. That was probably the best day in a very crappy week.
Rundown of all my symptoms: on and off fever; severe sore throat; enlarged tonsils and lymph nodes (so bad I couldn't bend my neck to look up--it hurt too much); cough and colds; joint pains; a face rash that's peeling off--it wasn't a rash per se where there are bumps, I was just really, really RED--also the same rash on my hands, so now the skin on my palms is starting to peel off and I feel like a leper. I also had behind the eye pain and headaches galore. Fun, huh?
One good thing that came out of this is that everyone who's seen me recently have told me I lost weight. Yay. That and the enforced bed rest means I am raring to go and work again. I did go on a shoot Wednesday this week and it went well. It's for my crappy men's mag so as usual, I'm not quite sure if there will be something to put in the portfolio. They pay cash though, so all's well, :D
Good news, I think I got the fashion ed position. I'm not sure if there will be an "editor" on my official designation (I hope so!), the EIC and I haven't discussed that yet. Nor have we discussed renumeration. I do know that I'm supposed to cough up around 30 pages per issue. Good luck to me as it's now re-orienting itself back into the shopping magazine it always was. Madugo ang pullout nito.
Add those thirty pages on top of the hundred pages I have to cough up for my mommy mag and we all better pray I lose more weight from working on this. *giggle* Yes, I'm trying to look at the bright side. Good thing the mommy magazine is a quarterly publication while the fashion mag is bimonthly. The universe is kind. It's doable, right? I get monthly salary from both mags so everything should hopefully be peachy.
The main reasons for me taking on the job are:
1) I get affiliated with an established magazine. I haven't really done that and I KNOW that's what I lack in my portfolio. I'm not well known because I accept so few editorial assignments. This way, I'll have work that comes out regularly in a good enough mag.
2) I get an ID. I know, silly reason. It's just that I don't have an ID. Do you know how hard that is? Alangan naman I bring my passport everywhere with me. I misplaced my old ID from my previous magazine job and that's the last ID I have. My wallet got stolen twice, remember? Ayun, no form of identification. I am a non-entity. Hahaha.
3) I can contribute to the other magazines in said publishing firm. That is, if I can squeeze in the time between my two magazines plus my outside projects. I have to learn to say no, all I know is to accept every booking that comes in, at the expense of health and sanity. Anyway, if I have the time, I really would want to expand my editorial portfolio. I need to stretch pa, and grow as a stylist. Editorials pay squat but they are challenging, and mostly fun.
One thing I'm worried about is that I have to start dressing up. Dangnabbit, what will happen to my "forever comfy" look? Goodbye slippers and tees? I need to dress up, specially for events. I have to carry the name of the magazine so that means if I'm in charge of the fashion pages, then I have to be fashionable. Nooooo! Comfort first. Huhu.
As it is, my feet are on strike right now. Today's the first time in months that I wore heels. Tsinelas forever na ako eh. Good because my shoe collection will finally have some use again, bad because I know my feet, knees and back are gonna start wanting to kill me again.
There is a gym in the bulding though, and I was telling the EIC that's one of the things I'm looking forward to--going to the gym on at least a semi-regular basis. If I'm gonna dominate the world, I better make sure I'm beautiful, natch.
The EIC is cool though, she's getting me contractually, not as an employee. That way, I'm not tied down to the magazine and I only have to show up maybe a day a week. As long as I turn in everything that's needed by the mag, I can get as many outside projects as I can. I know, I better brush up on time management skills too.
Oh, and the EIC of another magazine I style for in the same publishing firm is partly to credit for this. I think she showed the editorial I did and in her words, "everyone loved it!" I was so touched because she emailed me praises! Oh my god, do you guys understand how good that felt? As in nag-email ng papuri. She's getting me again for the next fashion editorial. I'm quite excited because we're doing looks for pregnant women this time. Let's see if I can pull off the look I want for it!
Dear lord, sana po ang model na buntis ay model talaga at marunong gumalaw, kahit buntis sya. Yun lang po. Salamat.
Ok, time for the next installment of pictures:
This is the pasaway model I was telling you guys about. 20+ layouts in one day and she has the nerve to complain about the fotog (and god knows what else) pa. This wasn't a paying job, mind you, we basically did it for fun. It wasn't even really fun (because she's the most anal person I know of) and we didn't even stay overnight. Now, I'm using the photos to practice my photoshop on. Out of the 20-odd layouts we did, I picked out five to add to my portfolio. Not bad, 25% of output. Not good either, 25% lang of output. Problem is, she had specific pegs in mind and she was doing the exact poses in them. Hello? Copyright laws. She didn't even like me adding a lot of accessories, except when the original pegs called for it. Out of the five I picked, several are ones I gave ideas myself, or Jay did (his exhibit shot). Yung hindi kinopya from anywhere. The first picture, the gray one, it's a copy but it isn't exact. That's why I changed the color treatment and I cropped it. That way, unique. Also, I changed the accessories. Since it's a simple shot, hopefully hindi halata na pinakopya niya ito.
I'm not adding this to my folio because the idea is from a print ad. I just went to town with photoshop. It's NOT perfect but I'm too tired to actually make it better. What did I do? The toughest is to take out the ribbon on her bikini bottom. I still don't think the skin is good enough. It's "pwede na" but it isn't perfect. I want perfect but I think I lack the skills patience necessary for that. Oh well.
This is my favorite layout but I still haven't had it printed out for my folio yet. Why? Because the best shot (the largest one in the layout) doesn't show the umbrella. Argh. I still don't know if I'm gonna add it to the top of the picture. It will change the dimensions though. Oh, do you see the ship in the background? Cool, huh?
This went through extensive photoshopping. First off, I took care of the background. A lot of extraneous elements are on the raw file which distracted from the main subject. I blotted out and darkened everything in the background, then I enhanced the light. Also, I changed the leg on the left side. In the original picture, she was standing straight lang. Ngek! At professional model ka (kuno), iha? During the shoot itself, I was already telling her to open her legs but she wasn't listening. Ayun, in the original picture, she looks like a wooden marionette on strings. I took a leg from another picture and added it to this one, then erased the original leg. Ayan, more motion. I added this to my folio because this shot is one of the original ones.
This one, it's really just to practice photoshop on. This image is an almost exact copy so wag na. Also, it's a pretty plain picture, nothing special. I found this the strongest shot in this layout though, that's why I picked it for posting. There were just two major problems. One: the face in the original picture was wooden. As in dull eyes and a slack mouth. Two, her hand was way too high on her torso. You see that part where the sarong folds up? That's where her hand was, right underneath the fold. So first, I took a face from another picture and tweaked it to fit this picture. In the other picture her head was slightly turned so major retoke yan. I also enlarged her eyes. Then I pasted in a new mouth, one where she has a tiny smile.
With her arm, I had to lower the damn thing. It's still not low enough but to make it lower I have to change everything from her shoulders downward. I am NOT a photoshop goddess so I don't think I can do that. Can anyone tell me if that's doable? To change her structure to make the pose correct? I think it is but teach me how.
This shot I love. Again, a cribbed shot but with enough differentiating factors to hopefully make it different from the peg. With this one, I just had to make her pop against the background. Only natural light was used and she sank into the picture. I have some small quibbles with the positioning of her right arm but I can live with it. Basta, I really like this shot.
This isn't the shot I'm adding to my folio. This particular one is the nearest to the original peg kasi. I'm keeping the one I'm adding to the folio to myself for now, I'll post it later. This is a strong shot though, and a square cropping works for it. A boon to whoever guesses where the original shot came from.
I noticed something with the shots I chose: they mostly don't look like the model. I think the one shot I picked where she looks like herself is the yellow one, with the dancing one a close second. In the others, it ranges from Claudine Barreto to maybe Aaliyah Parks?
I love it kasi when in a series of set-ups using only one model, the model looks different in each and every one. For me, that's an effective shoot because it shows the range of looks the model has. Remember the fairy layout I posted earlier? In the rest of her layouts, she looked different too. You kinda know it's her but she looks different in each one.
Oh, and yes, I'm anal too. I'm pretty OC when it comes to pictures I'm adding to my folio, that's why I spend days tweaking them on photoshop. I'm not even good with photoshop, all I know is how to correct pictures. I don't even know how to use the path tool, for crying out loud. Partida pa, just to show how patient I can be with photoshop: I'm using photoshop 6 on a monitor that's not calibrated! Even my photoshop isn't calibrated so I'm basically editing blind. If you look at the photos in photoshop, it's too light. That's why I have to always remember to make sure that the retouched photos are lighter by at least two stops from where I want to be. Then I check the picture in Windows Picture and Fax viewer and in the folder view thumbnails. I average out the three views (all different!!! Waah!) to have an idea of what the final image will look like. I think it's slightly scientific because when I looked at the images on a calibrated monitor at DPI earlier today, only two photos out of 20 had to be re-adjusted. O, ha? This is why I can't stand it when my photographers don't do cleaning up on photoshop. It's hard to get a perfect picture, photoshop is there for a reason, better use it. I was psyched kanina coz I bumped into one of the photographers I work with. I was telling him all the retouches I did and he said they're good daw coz hindi halata. Yey. Four days of photoshop is now worth it. Hahaha.
Ok, it's past 1am (I edited my post). I still need to research pegs for meeting number one later: friggin 730am in Makati! Then I've another meeting at 930 then a shoot at 11am. Then maybe go to Fete with Driver L. First gimik since March so I'm looking forward to it. :D
I don't know, all plans are falling into place so I'm kinda aiming really, really high right now. Who knows, if things go well, I may yet achieve that particular goal. Sasaya ang Pilipinas pag nagkataon. *giggle*
First thing's first: yes, I am well again. Or as well as I usually am, which basically means perpetual cough and colds but otherwise fine. I'm still not sure what I got as I never got to see my doctor again after the first check up. Yes, I did get a blood test but my doctor wasn't in when I went back the next day with the results. I never did get to go back because as usual, I'm gearing up to be overbooked again.
It was a week's worth of being sick, from Monday last week 'til Sunday. Of course, being the "workaholic" (I'm doing my darndest to be one) that I am, I went to a shoot Friday. That was probably the best day in a very crappy week.
Rundown of all my symptoms: on and off fever; severe sore throat; enlarged tonsils and lymph nodes (so bad I couldn't bend my neck to look up--it hurt too much); cough and colds; joint pains; a face rash that's peeling off--it wasn't a rash per se where there are bumps, I was just really, really RED--also the same rash on my hands, so now the skin on my palms is starting to peel off and I feel like a leper. I also had behind the eye pain and headaches galore. Fun, huh?
One good thing that came out of this is that everyone who's seen me recently have told me I lost weight. Yay. That and the enforced bed rest means I am raring to go and work again. I did go on a shoot Wednesday this week and it went well. It's for my crappy men's mag so as usual, I'm not quite sure if there will be something to put in the portfolio. They pay cash though, so all's well, :D
Good news, I think I got the fashion ed position. I'm not sure if there will be an "editor" on my official designation (I hope so!), the EIC and I haven't discussed that yet. Nor have we discussed renumeration. I do know that I'm supposed to cough up around 30 pages per issue. Good luck to me as it's now re-orienting itself back into the shopping magazine it always was. Madugo ang pullout nito.
Add those thirty pages on top of the hundred pages I have to cough up for my mommy mag and we all better pray I lose more weight from working on this. *giggle* Yes, I'm trying to look at the bright side. Good thing the mommy magazine is a quarterly publication while the fashion mag is bimonthly. The universe is kind. It's doable, right? I get monthly salary from both mags so everything should hopefully be peachy.
The main reasons for me taking on the job are:
1) I get affiliated with an established magazine. I haven't really done that and I KNOW that's what I lack in my portfolio. I'm not well known because I accept so few editorial assignments. This way, I'll have work that comes out regularly in a good enough mag.
2) I get an ID. I know, silly reason. It's just that I don't have an ID. Do you know how hard that is? Alangan naman I bring my passport everywhere with me. I misplaced my old ID from my previous magazine job and that's the last ID I have. My wallet got stolen twice, remember? Ayun, no form of identification. I am a non-entity. Hahaha.
3) I can contribute to the other magazines in said publishing firm. That is, if I can squeeze in the time between my two magazines plus my outside projects. I have to learn to say no, all I know is to accept every booking that comes in, at the expense of health and sanity. Anyway, if I have the time, I really would want to expand my editorial portfolio. I need to stretch pa, and grow as a stylist. Editorials pay squat but they are challenging, and mostly fun.
One thing I'm worried about is that I have to start dressing up. Dangnabbit, what will happen to my "forever comfy" look? Goodbye slippers and tees? I need to dress up, specially for events. I have to carry the name of the magazine so that means if I'm in charge of the fashion pages, then I have to be fashionable. Nooooo! Comfort first. Huhu.
As it is, my feet are on strike right now. Today's the first time in months that I wore heels. Tsinelas forever na ako eh. Good because my shoe collection will finally have some use again, bad because I know my feet, knees and back are gonna start wanting to kill me again.
There is a gym in the bulding though, and I was telling the EIC that's one of the things I'm looking forward to--going to the gym on at least a semi-regular basis. If I'm gonna dominate the world, I better make sure I'm beautiful, natch.
The EIC is cool though, she's getting me contractually, not as an employee. That way, I'm not tied down to the magazine and I only have to show up maybe a day a week. As long as I turn in everything that's needed by the mag, I can get as many outside projects as I can. I know, I better brush up on time management skills too.
Oh, and the EIC of another magazine I style for in the same publishing firm is partly to credit for this. I think she showed the editorial I did and in her words, "everyone loved it!" I was so touched because she emailed me praises! Oh my god, do you guys understand how good that felt? As in nag-email ng papuri. She's getting me again for the next fashion editorial. I'm quite excited because we're doing looks for pregnant women this time. Let's see if I can pull off the look I want for it!
Dear lord, sana po ang model na buntis ay model talaga at marunong gumalaw, kahit buntis sya. Yun lang po. Salamat.
Ok, time for the next installment of pictures:
This is the pasaway model I was telling you guys about. 20+ layouts in one day and she has the nerve to complain about the fotog (and god knows what else) pa. This wasn't a paying job, mind you, we basically did it for fun. It wasn't even really fun (because she's the most anal person I know of) and we didn't even stay overnight. Now, I'm using the photos to practice my photoshop on. Out of the 20-odd layouts we did, I picked out five to add to my portfolio. Not bad, 25% of output. Not good either, 25% lang of output. Problem is, she had specific pegs in mind and she was doing the exact poses in them. Hello? Copyright laws. She didn't even like me adding a lot of accessories, except when the original pegs called for it. Out of the five I picked, several are ones I gave ideas myself, or Jay did (his exhibit shot). Yung hindi kinopya from anywhere. The first picture, the gray one, it's a copy but it isn't exact. That's why I changed the color treatment and I cropped it. That way, unique. Also, I changed the accessories. Since it's a simple shot, hopefully hindi halata na pinakopya niya ito.
I'm not adding this to my folio because the idea is from a print ad. I just went to town with photoshop. It's NOT perfect but I'm too tired to actually make it better. What did I do? The toughest is to take out the ribbon on her bikini bottom. I still don't think the skin is good enough. It's "pwede na" but it isn't perfect. I want perfect but I think I lack the skills patience necessary for that. Oh well.
This is my favorite layout but I still haven't had it printed out for my folio yet. Why? Because the best shot (the largest one in the layout) doesn't show the umbrella. Argh. I still don't know if I'm gonna add it to the top of the picture. It will change the dimensions though. Oh, do you see the ship in the background? Cool, huh?
This went through extensive photoshopping. First off, I took care of the background. A lot of extraneous elements are on the raw file which distracted from the main subject. I blotted out and darkened everything in the background, then I enhanced the light. Also, I changed the leg on the left side. In the original picture, she was standing straight lang. Ngek! At professional model ka (kuno), iha? During the shoot itself, I was already telling her to open her legs but she wasn't listening. Ayun, in the original picture, she looks like a wooden marionette on strings. I took a leg from another picture and added it to this one, then erased the original leg. Ayan, more motion. I added this to my folio because this shot is one of the original ones.
This one, it's really just to practice photoshop on. This image is an almost exact copy so wag na. Also, it's a pretty plain picture, nothing special. I found this the strongest shot in this layout though, that's why I picked it for posting. There were just two major problems. One: the face in the original picture was wooden. As in dull eyes and a slack mouth. Two, her hand was way too high on her torso. You see that part where the sarong folds up? That's where her hand was, right underneath the fold. So first, I took a face from another picture and tweaked it to fit this picture. In the other picture her head was slightly turned so major retoke yan. I also enlarged her eyes. Then I pasted in a new mouth, one where she has a tiny smile.
With her arm, I had to lower the damn thing. It's still not low enough but to make it lower I have to change everything from her shoulders downward. I am NOT a photoshop goddess so I don't think I can do that. Can anyone tell me if that's doable? To change her structure to make the pose correct? I think it is but teach me how.
This shot I love. Again, a cribbed shot but with enough differentiating factors to hopefully make it different from the peg. With this one, I just had to make her pop against the background. Only natural light was used and she sank into the picture. I have some small quibbles with the positioning of her right arm but I can live with it. Basta, I really like this shot.
This isn't the shot I'm adding to my folio. This particular one is the nearest to the original peg kasi. I'm keeping the one I'm adding to the folio to myself for now, I'll post it later. This is a strong shot though, and a square cropping works for it. A boon to whoever guesses where the original shot came from.
I noticed something with the shots I chose: they mostly don't look like the model. I think the one shot I picked where she looks like herself is the yellow one, with the dancing one a close second. In the others, it ranges from Claudine Barreto to maybe Aaliyah Parks?
I love it kasi when in a series of set-ups using only one model, the model looks different in each and every one. For me, that's an effective shoot because it shows the range of looks the model has. Remember the fairy layout I posted earlier? In the rest of her layouts, she looked different too. You kinda know it's her but she looks different in each one.
Oh, and yes, I'm anal too. I'm pretty OC when it comes to pictures I'm adding to my folio, that's why I spend days tweaking them on photoshop. I'm not even good with photoshop, all I know is how to correct pictures. I don't even know how to use the path tool, for crying out loud. Partida pa, just to show how patient I can be with photoshop: I'm using photoshop 6 on a monitor that's not calibrated! Even my photoshop isn't calibrated so I'm basically editing blind. If you look at the photos in photoshop, it's too light. That's why I have to always remember to make sure that the retouched photos are lighter by at least two stops from where I want to be. Then I check the picture in Windows Picture and Fax viewer and in the folder view thumbnails. I average out the three views (all different!!! Waah!) to have an idea of what the final image will look like. I think it's slightly scientific because when I looked at the images on a calibrated monitor at DPI earlier today, only two photos out of 20 had to be re-adjusted. O, ha? This is why I can't stand it when my photographers don't do cleaning up on photoshop. It's hard to get a perfect picture, photoshop is there for a reason, better use it. I was psyched kanina coz I bumped into one of the photographers I work with. I was telling him all the retouches I did and he said they're good daw coz hindi halata. Yey. Four days of photoshop is now worth it. Hahaha.
Ok, it's past 1am (I edited my post). I still need to research pegs for meeting number one later: friggin 730am in Makati! Then I've another meeting at 930 then a shoot at 11am. Then maybe go to Fete with Driver L. First gimik since March so I'm looking forward to it. :D