Finding a Wedding Photographer

April 4, 2013 3:07 pm / Leave a Comment /
photo by Ric Maniquis

photo by Ric Maniquis

Your wedding photographer plays a huge part in your wedding day. You will spend a most of your wedding day with your photographer as well as ensuring them with capturing lifelong memories. You may be overwhelmed by the number of photographers you have to choose from, but it can be done. Just remember to be selective when choosing your photographer. Know what questions to ask and you’ll be able to knock another item off of your wedding checklist.

Know what kind of style you want

Don’t get sucked in by beautiful wedding photos that don’t mesh with your style. Know the type of style that you want and reduce the list to the photographers that are experts in that style.

Ask for references from friends and family

The best references come from friends and family. People are more than happy to tell you about their good or bad experiences with wedding photographers. Listen to their recommendations and follow-up on them. You may unearth your ideal photographer in no time using this method.

Look at portfolios

Don’t waste your time with photographers that do not have a portfolio. All photographers worth their weight in gold have portfolios because that is how they book work. Evaluate if the couples in the pictures look happy and if the is lighting good. Use a critical eye to discover the photographer’s strengths and weaknesses.

Ask about experience

Experience is as important as a portfolio. You don’t want to entrust a day like this to someone that has very little experience. Wedding photography is more than just pointing and shooting a camera and inexperienced photographers may get overwhelmed by the prospect of it all.

Go over the package with a fine-tooth comb

Know exactly what you are getting with the wedding package. Do you own the pictures? When can you expect delivery (up to three months is normal)? Ask all the questions you can think of so you aren’t presented with any surprises later.

If you know what you want and go in prepared, you should have no problem finding a great wedding photographer. Wedding photographers want you to have phenomenal pictures as much as you do and the right photographer will give them to you.

SimplyBridal.com is an American online retailer of high quality wedding gowns, bridesmaid dresses, and wedding accessories, such as veils and jewelry. SimplyBridal ships to twenty-five countries in Europe, North America, and parts of Asia. Our products have been featured on Style Me Pretty, Wedding Chicks, and Rock n Roll Bride.

Posted in: wedding photohraphy / Tagged: ,

Baguio Photographers Change of Plan And Xybergrafix Introduction

January 19, 2013 6:38 pm / Leave a Comment /

bp1The Baguio Photographers site actually came into being out of an experiment. While doing a lot of internet marketing and web development stuffs, I acquired an eBook about local marketing. The material taught how to rank sites for local business and how to take advantage of them. Since I’m often with photographers in Baguio and I usually edit those wedding videos they shoot, I thought of creating a site for shooters in the city. I then built the site and was able to rank it in the first page of Google in 3 days.

My Initial Plan And Why I Changed It

Initially, I planned to make the site a directory of photographers in Baguio. I am thinking of introducing it to the shooters in the city where they can join for free. But for those who want more features of the site such as more exposure and business advertising, they can pay for the premium membership.

The plan might be great but I realized that it is hard to implement it in actuality. First off, it is hard to gather all the photographers in Baguio and tell them to join the site. Moreover, the task in creating an online directory site is not a joke. Thus, I decided to turn to another route. Since I know some photographers, I rather thought of using the site for us. Aside from having an easier job, we can even get the most out of it. Today, my goal is to optimize more the site for us to fish for more clients who are looking for photographers and videographers in Baguio, who can cover their weddings or events.

Introducing Xybergrafix

profile logoXybertrix.com was actually created before I even thought of creating BaguioPhotographers.com site. It was a site we developed for us to offer graphic design services online. We became busy with both offline and online stuffs however so we were not able to continue it. It sat there for almost half a year but now, we are ready to let the ball rolling!

Instead of limiting the site for graphic design services, I decided to include photo and video coverage as well. I can even use Baguio Photographers site to gain more clients that I can direct to Xybergrafix. In this way, these 2 sites can work together for our business.

I can still go back to my initial plan of creating a directory of Baguio photographers but for now, I like to limit first my business with my circle. I also like to redesign the looks of this site by having a clean white theme. Just stay tuned and let us see what will happen soon.

Posted in: News / Tagged:

Baguio Photo Booth Service

December 10, 2012 7:09 pm / Leave a Comment /

Aside from the official photos during wedding and debut ceremonies, it would also be nice to have a photo booth for wacky picture taking during the reception. There are standalone Baguio photo booth services out there but you may rather consider something that is an “add-on” to the photography service. In this way, you don’t have to spend that much to hire another team. Moreover, it lessens the stress since you just have to deal with a single company.

What Baguio Photo Booth Service To Hire?

As I mentioned, some photography services are including photo booth when requested by the client. One of which is Quadro. A team led by the well-known Baguio photographer Ric Maniquis, they got ready-to-use photo booth equipment and crews when needed. Since the service is an add-on to the package, the additional fee is a bit cheaper compared to standalone photo booth services.

Photo Booth Template Of Quadro

Unlike other companies, Quadro is creating customized photo booth templates for each clients. They are not reusing any templates. Being layouted by Mark Lomboy, the templates are somewhat fun but still showcase professional touch.

Unlimited Shots For Visitors

When the photo booth is there, all the visitors can go and have their photos taken. May it be group, trio, duet, solo, or whatever, the photo session can be done by the crews. The copy is also given right away just after the photo is taken. Moreover, the softcopy is given to the client in case some of the visitors want to print additional copy.

Having a photo booth during your special day is a great addition to the official photos taken by the photographers. It can give additional fun and memories to the visitors attending your occasion. Your invited guest can also acquire great memories from you and don’t have to wait for your official photos to come.

Posted in: Photo Booth Services

Baguio Photo Album Layouting Service

November 26, 2012 8:00 pm / Leave a Comment /

If you are looking for a Baguio photo album layouting service, I have a recommendation for you. My friend Mark is great in layouting photo albums for wedding, debut, and others. He is also good in creating guest book for signature signing during the wedding.

Mark’s Album Layout Samples
(The photos used here were taken by Ric Maniquis)

Guest Book

Baguio Photo Album Layouting Service

Baguio Photo Album Layouting Service

Wedding

Baguio Photo Album Layouting Service

Baguio Photo Album Layouting Service

Debut

Baguio Photo Album Layouting Service

Baguio Photo Album Layouting Service

Rates

Layout rates depend on many things such as number of pages, level of work needed, and others. Just fill in the form below and we can provide a special rate for you:

Why Mark Is The Man!

Being his colleague for quite some time, I know how Mark works. He is good in Photoshop, Corel, and other layouting programs. I do graphic designs myself but I can’t do a lot of things that Mark does. Trained by Ric Maniquis in many aspects of spreading photos in the pages, he already know how to professionally layout albums. Through his years of experience, he is really the man you can trust in this job.

His Work Station

I accompanied Mark when he bought his i7 desktop computer and I envied him a lot during that time (so I also bought mine after hardly earning some income). Loaded with i7 processor, and 8GB RAM, his work station works fast so he can finish his jobs faster (except when he is experiencing hangover). Using two monitors, he can easily see things in more details for more accurate designing.

Let Him Layout Your Albums

So if you need a photo album for your wedding, birthday, and others, simply fill in the form below and I’ll contact Mark for you (Don’t worry ‘cause I’ll make sure that he will not get drunk during the layouting of your album):

Posted in: Album Layouting / Tagged:

Have Your Wedding In Baguio For Beautiful Photographic Scenery

November 19, 2012 6:07 pm / Leave a Comment /
Patrick and She

photo by Ric Maniquis

Nothing compares Baguio in terms of scenery for wedding photography. With high mountains full of green pine trees and fogs, you can have wedding photographs to remember. Have your prenup shoot here and you’ll surely love your photos. During your wedding day, you can also wear your special wedding attires while have some portrait shoot with beautiful surroundings as your background.

Cool Climate, Fresh Nature, And Rich Culture

Many couples are coming up to Baguio for their wedding celebration because of many features that this city has. With a cool weather, it’s a perfect place for honeymoon. Couples can also relax well in feeling the breeze of green pine trees around. Moreover, they can immerse themselves into the rich culture of the area.

Unlike places in the lowlands and other crowded areas, Baguio offers natural feeling of comfort to the couples. Whether couples are planning for a garden wedding or chapel ceremony, there are so many place that they can choose here. Being in the North, couples can enjoy each other here to the fullest.

With Talented Wedding Photographers

The whole scenery will never be remembered in the future if they are not preserved through photos. Thus, there are lots of talented wedding photographers in Baguio City, who invested in skills and equipment just to capture the special wedding occasions in this place. With years of experience, they can freeze those moments of the couple into beautiful photographs.

Composed of both veteran and young shooters, photographers in Baguio offer variety of styles for couples to choose from. With skilful photo editors and layout artists, they can also provide high quality photos and wedding albums. Photographers and crews here not only document the special occasion but also do their best to let the couples relax while the ceremony and party is going on.

So if you are planning to have your wedding soon, I recommend that you have it here in Baguio. You will not only enjoy the ceremony and reception but also the photos that you will see in many years to come!

Posted in: Wedding Photographers / Tagged:

Separating Photography For Art And For Business

November 6, 2012 7:56 pm / Leave a Comment /

Separating Photography For Art And For BusinessIn doing photography, which is more weighty, is it the art or the business? If you have been into photography business for a while, you can relate with me. Though I am not really into photo shooting this time, my experience in video shooting and editing is in the same boat. When you are working for clients, there are times that you have to give up your own taste of art to accommodate clients’ wants.

Why Deep Artists Get Poorer

A lot of great artists out there are really awesome but they left nothing for themselves since they don’t care about money. They only care about their art. While this can look great, it is too much in my opinion. So what if you have the best art on earth if you can’t even buy your own food? I’d rather be a middle class person as long as I can gain more money for me to support my family.

Prioritizing Clients More Than Your Own Art

Some people are too dramatic that they die for what they call “their own style.” I myself appreciate great artists but I guess we have to please clients first, not ourselves. If you are into business, set your own style aside and do what the clients like. It might be hard to do this but if you like to continue your business, you have to do so.

Learning From TV Shows And Movies

When I was young, I really can’t understand why those respected TV stations are keep on showing those none-sense dramas. Why don’t they rather show intellectual documentaries and more interesting things. Well, I finally learned the reason why – they do business. They are advertising products and if they only show intellectual films that only few people watch, they lose viewers tremendously. It is no wonder why movies in the Philippines are always a love story – to gain more viewers and make more money.

Don’t Be Caught In Two Extremes

I don’t mean though that you can make your photography shoots lousy and just focus on business alone. Of course, you also have to make your photo shoots as good as possible. However, you must consider your business too and not just your own style. You should talk to your client well and listen to what they like to achieve in their photos. Knowing more about them can also give you some hint on how to take the photos that show their personality.

Posted in: Photography Business / Tagged:

December – A Great Month For Wedding Photographers

October 29, 2012 7:20 pm / 1 Comment /

Baguio Wedding PhotographyDecember is coming soon and as always, a lot of couples are getting married. This is a great opportunity for wedding photographers out there. If you are a photographer, do your best to promote your business as early as now. If you will be getting married soon, learn how to choose a wedding photographer.

Why Couples Want To Have Their Wedding Here In Baguio

Year after year, many couples come to Baguio for their wedding. Baguio is actually one of the best places in the Philippines to conduct a wedding ceremony. Why? Well, the place has a cool climate, especially during the end of the year and I guess couples love that (you know the reason why). Not to mention the great touch of nature in the environment of Baguio, that makes the wedding portraits lovely.

For Couples Getting Married In Baguio This Coming December

Advanced congratulations to you, if you are one of those couples getting married at the end of this year! We are so happy that you chose to have your wedding in this wonderful cool place of the North. We hope that you prepare for your special occasion carefully so that it will be more successful.

There are so many great wedding photographers in the area and feel free to choose any of them to document your wedding. You might have cousins or friends who have DSLRs and they can shoot your wedding for free, but we recommend that you still hire a professional wedding photographer. Why? Because it’s really worth it. Your friends and cousins may not be able to shoot all the details of your
wedding since they are there to attend your special day, not to document the event. They also know most of your visitors and they might spend more time talking to people instead of taking pictures.

Hired photographers on the other hand might grab some of your wedding funds but they do so for a reason. They take unlimited shots of your wedding event and bring all their awesome gears and crews just to capture the entire activities well. Remember that this is a very special day and it only happens once in a lifetime. Don’t blow it by holding off some of your budget and will have “not so good” wedding photos soon.

For Wedding Photographers

I know that you are anticipating this coming December since you’ll make more money again. For seasoned photographers out there, they already have a name to show and they can surely have a lot of clients coming to their offices to book a wedding shoot. If you are a beginner however, it might be challenging for you to gain clients. A great solution here is to go with established photography businesses and be an additional photographer. That is also a great way for you to start and create your own business soon.

So again, advanced congratulations to those getting married this coming December! I also wish more photo shoots for wedding photographers out there!

Posted in: Photography Business, Wedding Photographers / Tagged:

How To Promote Your Photography Business Online In Baguio

October 22, 2012 7:18 pm / 2 Comments /

If you are a photographer in Baguio and you make a living through photography, you must learn how to promote your photography business online. Internet is such a great place to attract clients so you must take advantage of it. Many potential customers are now looking for photography service online and there are techniques on how to attract these clients. Let me show you some tips:

Create A Website

Almost any kinds of business nowadays have a website. It is now a necessity if you want to expand your market through internet. However, what if you don’t know how to setup a website, right? Well, don’t worry since there are easy to use CMS (content management systems) out there such as WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and others. WordPress is the most commonly used platform and with just a few tweaking, you can surely learn how to use it, even if you know nothing about programming. Just buy your domain name, purchase a hosting package, then build your site through a CMS (we suggest WordPress). You might just have to spend something here but it is really worth it, if you are serious in expanding your business.

If you think you are not yet ready to spend something for you to make a site, there are also free website builders out there. Try using Blogger, WordPress.com (different from WordPress as a CMS), Webs, Weebly, FreeWebsite, and others. It’s just that, your site will become a subdomain of the company’s domain, that is, your site will become www.yourphotographybusiness.wordpress.com instead of www.yourphotographybusiness.com. Moreover, you don’t have the full control in managing your own site. Thus I still highly recommend that you go to the first route I mentioned earlier. When you’ll have a site, add your sample photos and maybe make your own blog, explaining your styles, business, and others. You can also learn the basics of SEO (search engine optimization) for you to be able to make your site appear in the first page of the major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

Make Social Business Profiles

Aside from the website, social media are also powerful tools to attract clients online. Thus you must also create social media business profiles and gain followers online. Create your business Facebook page and gain likes, setup your business Twitter account and gain followers, build your business Google Plus page and attract friends in your circles. You can also use other great social networks such as LinkedIn, Tumblr, and Pinterest.

Join Baguio Photographers Site

This might be one of the best decisions you’ll ever make in promoting your photography business online. Why? Well, you can have it all here. First, you will join the list of photographers in Baguio and clients have a chance to choose you. This site is optimized and it is appearing in the first page of Google. Thus, clients who are looking for photographers that they can hire have a big chance to visit this site and might choose you. Once you have a page here, clients can check out the details of your business (such as address, contact number, rates, etc.) and photography samples.

Aside from including you in the list of photographers in the city and showing your business details and sample photos, we can also create your own site if you still don’t have one. We also offer SEO services to make your site appear in the first page of google. Moreover, we can also make social media profiles for your business.

Note: Those mentioned services are still not available since this site is still under development. Just keep on visiting and we’ll tell you when we are already ready to let the ball rolling!

Internet is such a busy world and there are thousands of people looking for your services online. Don’t miss the opportunity by not having a site or social media for your photography business. Just create your own website, social business pages, and gain more customers online.

Posted in: Photography Business / Tagged:

How To Choose A Wedding Photographer In Baguio

October 17, 2012 6:23 pm / 1 Comment /

photo by Ric Maniquis

If are getting married soon and you want to have your wedding in Baguio City, you must hire a wedding photographer who can document your wedding well. There are so many photographers in Baguio but it doesn’t mean that because they can show you their expensive DSLR cameras, they are already good. You must choose a good wedding photographer since it depends on him or her how your special occasion is captured into wonderful photographs, for your remembrance even in many years to come.

Tips In Choosing A Wedding Photographer

Look For A Photographer Who Specializes in Shooting Weddings

Photography is a broad skill and it has many specializations such as art photography, commercial photography, wedding photography, street photography, and others. While some photographers can do a lot of specializations, there are photographers who excel more in shooting weddings. Wedding photography depicts elegance, romance, and lovely art and not everyone can capture photos that show those feelings. Thus, check out the photographer’s samples and judge them by yourself.

Look For Quality Before Price

Most probably, your first question in inquiring for a wedding shoot is “How much?” Well, we can’t blame you since you have to know whether you can afford the package or not. You also have to learn the amount of money you have to prepare. While that is understandable, you must first look into the quality of the work of the photographer before considering the price. It is but normal for anyone to look for cheaper prices due to our hard living, but cheap ones do not always end up to be good.

As an example, I bought a cheap keyboard and mouse lately for me to save some money. After just about 2 months however, the mouse keeps on stopping and the keyboard’s space bar is not working well. I regretted in buying those cheap products really. I hope I spent a little bit more to have a keyboard and mouse that works well for a long time.

It is your wedding and that happens only once in a lifetime. Thus, you must give it the best shot. A quality wedding photographer might be more expensive but it is really worth it. Avoid hiring cheap ones since they will surely just provide you low quality wedding photos.

Check Out The Gears And Manpower

Photographers often say that it is more on the skill, not on the equipment. However, photographers also agree that better quality cameras and accessories are a big plus to shooting weddings. A photographer might be skilful in shooting a wedding but without a light and a lightsman for example, he or she might not be able to capture very good photos. Thus, it is also a good idea to ask the cameras and accessories a photographer is using and if he or she has enough crews to help him or her during the wedding shoot.

Ask From Others

One of the best ways to learn a good wedding photographer is to ask referrals from others. You might have cousins or friends who got wed before and you can ask them if who is the wedding photographer they hired. From there, you can have an idea if who will you hire soon.

Search Online

Internet is such a great place to search for wedding photographers in Baguio. Look for directories of wedding photographers and check out their samples. Just choose the photographer that you think go with your preferences.

Wedding documentation might just be one of the many things you have to consider in your wedding, but do not take it for granted. Your wedding gown, wedding cake, reception design, and everything might look great during the wedding but they their memories will not be preserved well anymore if you don’t hire a good wedding photographer. Therefore, consider those mentioned tips carefully and you will soon thank yourself that you did.

Posted in: Wedding Photographers

Baguio Photographers Directory

October 9, 2012 2:59 am / 1 Comment /
temp logo

Baguio PhotographersFor how many years, there has been no Baguio photographers directory where clients can visit and check out photographers, who can cover their events and special occasions. Thus, it is our goal to create a professional listing of talented photographers in this place. This directory helps both clients and photographers.

Helping The Clients

Clients include couples planning for a wedding, birthday celebrants, debutants, events coordinators, and others. For clients, searching for a photographer in Baguio can be tiring and time consuming. They have to visit one office to the other to talk to photographers and check out their samples and rates. Through this directory of Baguio photographers, they can just research for photographers in one place. Moreover, they even don’t need to go out from their homes since they can look for photographers in the comfort of their homes, just by browsing this site.

A Great Place For Photographers To Promote Their Services

Traditionally, photographers just wait for clients who will come and visit their studio or office, and book for a shoot. Some tie up with hotels and inns while others promote their business through words-of-mouth. While these traditional ways of promoting business still works, it is a great help if photographers promote their services through this site. They can do so by including themselves (or their company) in the Baguio photographers list. In this way, when clients come to check out photographers, there is a great chance that they will choose one of the photographers included in the list.

Helps Photographers In Any Situation

Photographers have different situations. Some have their own office and websites, while others (especially those who are working freelance) don’t have anything but just a camera and a skill. This site is a great help whether photographers have their own office or just doing things freelance, or if they have their own site or still don’t have one. In the listing, an image icon plus a link is made for each photographer. The link is pointed to a dedicated page showing the details of their services. This page also shows their samples, contact details, rates, office address (if they have one), link to their site (if they have a website), and others.

An Optimized Site For Everyone

The site is already in the page 1 of Google and the number of visitors is growing. We also have pages in the major social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and LinkEd In), where we are fishing more visitors to come and visit the site. Moreover, we are already in Google Places so we are included in the map.

The Baguio photographers directory site is a great help to both clients and photographers. It is a place where clients can easily look for photographers, and an area where photographers can promote their services.

Posted in: News / Tagged: