WEDDING FILE NO. 5: "I'M TOO SEXY"

"I'm a model you know what I mean and I do my little turn on the cat walk...I'm too sexy for my car, too sexy for my car, too sexy by far..."

--Right Said Fred

If there is one memory that I don't ever want to forget it would be the prenuptual pictorial with Chito Vecina. Ever since I was a kid I am fond of pictures. Up until today I look at a picture in the magazine and I get intrigued on how the photo was taken. Sometimes I try to shoot digital images of subjects and display it as my desktop. And ever since I bought my first digicam I became an instant photo critic.

Have you ever tried posing like a model infront of a cam?
The only camera that I feel comftable posing for is my digicam... with me taking the picture. There is a certain feeling of discomfort feel whenever I am facing the lens. "I feel like a microbe under a microscope." As if every part of me was being judged. Its like when you go to the mall and you face the security camera... that kind of feeling. To top it all I'm not that good looking to feel good in a picture. I never liked the camera when in zooms in on my face...

My wife however, becomes possessed in front of a cam. She can pose like a cat! And in every picture 90% of the time she looks good! Even better in person! (that's another 50 pogi points for me!)

When Doc Philip recommended Chito Vecina to cover our wedding I didn't hesitate to get him. Me and Philip share a common way of judging things. Whatever we decide whats best, it went under our gold standard. Take our wives for example! They are much sexier that the Viva Hot Men...Babes pala! And a lot sweeter than sugar. (that's 100 pogi points for me and Philip!)

Chito has been in the business of being a photojournalist for many years now. He has won several awards and had earned a big name for himself. He is currently working for the Philippine Daily Inquirer. You can see some of his work on the Lifestyle page or check out his website at www.chitovecina.com

One of the qualities that I'm looking for on a photographer is his patience and his tolerance for inexperienced models. We didn't have any background on modeling. naa-uh! Even if we did our own photoshoot in here in Bahrain we can't say that we are experienced. Its different when you take your own pictures. If you don't have a tripod your arms are always streched out, and you hardly get any of the background. Its just a photo of your face.

During the photoshoot we started our day with the usual beauty regimen. I don't know about Lany but I had a few drinks the night before. This brings out a different aura in me. My face looks pale and my lips look red. (weird huh?) And maybe if I put vulcaseal on my face I would definitely look like a celebrity! Unfortunately the nearby hardware store was out of stock. For Lany, a trip to Clamar at Tomas Morato is a must. They did a good job at her with minimal supervision. I on the otherhand felt sleepy while I watch the make up was being put on. Its not badingish, but very educational. I decided that if I ventured on the funeral parlor business I would definitely take them as a beauty consultant! Joke! They put very little make-up on my Hunny. The only problem with the make up was that she had the allergies later after washing the make-up off.

We then traveled by taxi to the meeting place, Fort Santiago Manila. Since we arrived about 30 minutes early we headed straight to Chowking for a quick lunch. BTW, the meal that is being served in all fastfood in Manila, especially in Chowking, suck! Because you don't get the food like the one in the picture. Most of the time it has less of what they have in the picture.

After 45 minutes we went to the Fort Santiago entrance gate. We payed something like P.40/person (when I was a student we only pay like P.10) as we wait for Chito. He arrived soon after with 2 digicam with a huge lens. I actually got so nervous at that time. Its my first modeling stint! But after the security guard saw him we were asked to pay about P.1,000 because we brought a professional photographer. Chito told me to return the tickets for a refund saying that its not fair. He asked the guard with angry voice, "Why can't I take pictures here?! I'm a Filipino and this is my country! How dare you let foreigners in to take pictures and you don't charge them extra?!" The guardia sibil turned pale and told us that it was their policy. So we refunded the tickets immediately and left for another spot. This time Chito decided the location. I felt a bit upset because the Fort was my personal choice. In all the years that I visited the place, I felt like it was home. During my college days we use to frequent the place for practicing our plays and for just hanging out. What a stupid policy I told myself. They shouldn't charge us at all. Our forefathers fought and died in that place.

Our first location was at the back of WOW Philippines. There were a few bystanders there but it didn't matter. But sometimes we felt stupid posing because we didn't look like professionals. And at times, the uziseros (on-lookers) think that we're nuts while we pose without a camera! They couldn't see the photographer because he was shooting the photos from a mile! I tell you, those camera lens are so powerful. I bet if he moved really close he could take an x-ray picture of us. He took several shots of us in every corner of the place before moving on to a much better location.

There is this picture of us behind PLM that I like a lot. The background was great! It was not long that we ran out of poses. The sun was bright in that almost cloudless sky. I am not used to taking my shades off in that kind of weather. Our eyes were hurting and we were sweating like pigs, but we have to project a seriously in love, and a ridiculously happy face! Its not easy to look sexy. And its not easy to show your true self in a crowd of people. He also made us kiss in public! We can do it in a disco or a cinema where its really dim and romantic, but in front of people we don't know?! Its a challenge. And we both felt like we were on a Reality Based TV show.

We walked on the Old Intramuros wall facing the golf course. The view was great. We saw a lot of green. There was also this one shot... Lany was standing before me then a golf ball went pass her. It almost hit her head! It would have been a great view but you are in front of a driving range. Its a dangerous spot for lovers.

Before the second location, a change of wardrobe is a must. We kept it simple. Just like a regular line of clothes. We picked a red (to match the motif for our wedding), a white and a black shirt. All of which are plain in color and design. We figured that after 10 years, these pictures would look funny to our children. Not like my elementary picture in which my mom curled by bangs to make me look like Robby Rosa of that boyband Menudo. I had that in my ID picture so I had to display it for a year. After the school year I decided to burn it! For the benefit of those who are just 25 years old and below, this popular group was very popular in the 80's. One of its successful member is Ricky Martin (no relation to Martin Nievera). He was still a kid back then.

Chito took us to a new church in the Macapagal area. I forgot the name exactly but it sounds like the Shrine of Jesus. We were suppose to be in the center of a grassy lot. But to Chito's surprise the vacant lot was partly mixed with cement from the building that was being constructed nearby. And the place was a dumping ground for the construction workers. And not just excess cement. I'm talking about human shit!!! So we stayed away from the tall grass and took our pictures near a clear area. I decided to put a different approach to our posing technique. I lifted my Hunny off her feet and started to carry her around. We became very creative and for the time that we spent there was fruitful. Being in a vacant lot without any people is a big break for us. Its hard to work with a lot of uziseros.

Third location was a challenge. This will test us to our limits. Chito briefed us about how to handle the shoot at "Baywalk". This super crowded place is a hang-out of all sorts of people. He said to watch out for hecklers. He had an experience before that his clients were being dissed. He just included the hecklers in the photo, and then they became friends. Its a big no no to fight back, you won't win.

We posed infront of the sunset, we hugged, kissed, layed down on the dirty bench etc. But the most embarrassing part is when we decided to have a shot at the pedestrian crossing ala Beatles while they cross the Abbey Road. I don't know how many times we crossed the street. The people are starring at us thinking that we are nuts! At that time we were sweating bullets. I almost lost our composure at one point. But it was fun! We made our first experience modeling a real memorable one.

We capped the day up with a well deserved meal at Max Fried Chicken. Chito brought out his laptop to burn the CD copy for us. Afterwhich, we talked about the upgrade that we want in our package. He agreed after a good haggle. It was an exhausting day for us. You really have to prepare physically and mentally for this.

We saw the photo's when we got home that night. We looked like Jingoy Estrada and Loren Legarda! I guess I made a mistake in hiring a photographer rather than a magician to make me look like Brad Pitt. I accepted the fact that it is so. Like they say in Bahrain... "What to do yani?" The thing is that we had fun on the eve of our most important event of our life... were going to tie the knot at last. This is a good story for our kids in the future. I'm also glad that I wasn't a model... what would happen to Brad Pitt then? Haha! I'll keep on dreaming...