The fascination of Filipinos for taking photographs, or having photographs taken rather, I really…read morequite astonishing. How else would the Philippines be proclaimed as selfie capital, right? The demand for digital cameras and camera phones is pretty much indicative of that. So when the trend and clamor for photobooths soared, we were not shocked. Nope, not at all. Besides, it was a nice way of capturing memories, both for the guest and the couple, plus it doubles as giveaway, too. Guests would line-up at the foyer or the cocktail area, sometimes even during dinner, just to have their photos taken at the confined area the photobooth can capture. Sounds limiting? A bit. It was this that led to our discovery of Kameraman by Kameraworld Digital Inc. Having been in the business of photographs (taking and printing), it's not very surprising that they started deploying photographers and printers in one. Basically, the photographer wears a backpack that's equipped with a compact printer, able enough to print a 4 inches by 6 inches photograph. Think of him as a roving photobooth, with which your backdrop can be pretty much anything in the venue, or could fit anywhere from one to a group of 15 people. Awesome, right?

Camera Cart Studio is located in the famous Maginhawa Street in Quezon City. They offer photography…read moreworkshops, photography merchandise, studio rentals and photography equipment rentals. We reserved the studio for a photo shoot and we were all surprised to see how cool Maginhawa Street was. It was my first time there and I must admit that I found the place really cool. We rented the place for four (4) hours with a rate of 600 php per hour. We didn't find this rate too high because it includes the ff. along with the studio space: 3x 400W - Rimelight Fame E-4 1x Octabox (150 cm) 1x Large Softbox (36" x 48") 1x Small Softbox (10" x 20") 1x Strip Light Softbox 2x Sets 2-in-1 48" Umbrella (Reflective and Shoot Through) 1x Beauty Dish 1x Barn Door 1x Snoot 1x Honeycomb Grid 20 degrees 1x Honeycomb Grid 30 degrees 1x Barndoor with Color Gels 1x Wall - White 1x Background Canvass - Dark Gray 1x Background Canvass - Sky Blue 1x Background Canvass - Black 1x Background Canvass - Green 1x Background Canvass - Pink 3x Large Light stands 2x Medium Light stands 2x Bowl Reflector 1x Snoot 1x 5-in-1 Reflector 1x Benro Tripod with ballhead 1x Radio Trigger 1x Red Colored Gel 1x Blue Colored Gel 1x Yellow Colored Gel 1x Ladder The size of the whole studio is 20ft x 20ft. Wifi was free and it was really fast. The place also has a toilet room, dressing room, and free drinking water. It is also fully air-conditioned. The studio was just the right size for everyone to move around. The wide space was really good and both the model and photographer were comfortable with the set. We didn't have problems with anything and the whole shoot went by smoothly. I recommend Camera Cart to anyone looking for a good place to have a photo shoot. It's the perfect place!

Edge Manila is your solution for all post-production needs. They're a one-stop shop for editing,…read morecolor grading, visual FX, and any additional cleaning that a film or video goes through before it goes live. They're a very easy group to work with, fast and efficient, and it helps that everyone on their team are geeks and movie buffs as well! Edge Manila has done work with some big names in the local film industry, and you'll see lots of their finished work on MTV, local networks and film festivals, and the big screen itself. The head honcho, John Wong, is a director and editor himself, so he knows how to balance both sides of the coin. When I worked with Edge on a film project, they took great care of us. Even though we were cutting it very close to the deadline (our fault, not theirs), they pushed and helped us make it to the finish line without complaint. Their rates were also very friendly, and for the quality of work that they do, there's hardly need to go anywhere else.

My work highly involves Film and Video production that's why I always need a trusty team that can…read morehelp me accomplish pre-production and post-production work neatly and efficiently; kARITELA Production therefore, is my go-to production house for any of those needs. kARITELA is basically a creative team composed of freelance writers and multimedia artist professionals specializing in Audio and Visual production. Their working experience varies from advertising, corporate events, political campaign strategies and materials to music video production, music producing and recording, film scoring, independent film making and visual documentaries. Some of their corporate clients includes Fullybooked, Colgate-Palmolive, Sky Cable, Jollibee, Starmobile, Watsons, Happy Concept Group, etc. they also have commissioned projects from below the line agencies like Contact IMC and First Tier Inc. while some of their works for independent clients includes short films and documentaries screened and awarded in CCP like "Bohe: Sons of the Waves" and "Nanay Mameng" to name a few. What I like about this group in particular is their highly cooperative and active nature in brainstorming and pitching ideas; they make sure to deliver creative fresh ideas and concepts just right for their client's needs. Despite their advertising and corporate project profile, they happen to exert double effort in highly artistic (yet low budget) projects that they believe will somewhat be a good contribution to the local art industry. People in kARITELA are more than just creative, they are artists. I did mostly independent music tracks and music videos with this team and I'm more than happy and satisfied with the output that they gave me. I especially commend their music production and audio engineers for creating high quality compositions with advanced beats and musical techniques; as well as their post-production team that can really do a lot of magical tricks in video editing and music scoring. Their prices are also very friendly especially with their fellow artists in need. You can contact 09178159752 for more details with regards to their rates. To see some of their works, you can check out their Creative Director's profile at http://marxdiego.wordpress.com

If you're a production person like myself, having the right kind of contacts for equipment rental…read moreis EVERYTHING. While advertising has all the money in the world to spend (at least so I've heard), television and digital video production can't say the same for themselves. With TV, and now I am learning that with digital content as well, the cheaper, the better. I know, #producerproblems. Back when I was still working for a local cable channel, I had the challenge of producing high quality promos with a very limited budget. It was quite a mean feat but I was able to pull it off with the help of a few friends. They pointed me to Cinerent, a production rental house that's got the works - camera and lenses rental, camera grips, light equipment and audio rental. Just like every other production rental house, Cinerent has a complete list of whatever you'll need in a shoot. All their equipment has a corresponding caretaker to make sure that the shoot runs well and without any hitch, at least from their part. Their day rate is equivalent to a 16-hour shoot, starting from the time you set-up and ending when someone shouts, "that's a wrap!" Cinerent guys (the grips, the people you scheduled your reservations to, etc) are all very nice as well. In a highly stressful shoot day, all the smiling faces and energetic personalities are what will help make the process more fun! It's one of the main reasons I like Cinerent - I've never had problem with any of their people in any of the shoots I've done with them. Thank God for these guys and I've managed to pull off some of the most difficult shoots I've had.

When I saw this guy holding a camera and modestly smiling like Spiderman while being armed with…read moreother gadgets ala Ironman or the Transformers, I was very much amused. A human tech booth with camera, laptop and printer for weapons? The gadgets may not be Avengers-worthy but I have to admit the idea is cool! Like a superhero indeed, Photoman will save your guests a trip to the photo booth. Now, your guests can pose all they want without having to stand up and leave their food. And, they will all get their pictures instantly because Photoman has a sidekick who is tasked to control the laptop and printer. Pictures have borders or backgrounds as in the traditional photo booth and may pass off as wedding favors for the guests. Also, if you are trying to save money, you can scrap the high-end photographer for your reception and let Photoman take over instead. The most expensive package is unlimited number of shots and prints for four hours at PhP 10,000. Not bad, especially if you plan to make him your sole photographer. And, if you are worried about not getting all the photos, worry no more; Photoman saves the day and promises to turn over all pictures taken to the client in a CD.

One of the more creative photography groups in the Philippines today is Bleach N' Stain (BNS). They…read moreused to hold open shoots called Washdays that had such unique concepts. I love the series they did on Alice in Wonderland, too bad I missed out on it. For a small fee, the photoshoot already included set-design, make up and a stylist. I love their style and the overall mood of the shoot -- everyone is fun, friendly and you don't feel pressured at all. It's more like playing than doing an actual shoot. You get the high-definition soft copies of the photos about a week after the shoot. And you will be amazed by the results, they could make anyone look awesome! Unfortunately they don't do much of those these days as they are more into wedding photography, pre-nup sessions and debutante shoots. Looking at their portfolio now, I still think they rock the photography world and are still among the most notable photographers in the industry.

I had a project once that had me watching hours and hours of actual clips from a race. My task was…read moreto get the best shots, stitch them together and make a story out of it. The work was composed of 10 videos, 3 minutes each and I, being the sole copywriter had to finish everything in 4 days. It was my first big project and I was so stressed and shaken by the whole thing that my hair started to fall out. Luckily, I worked with a production house that made everything easier for me. They stayed with me throughout the "ordeal", fed me well, assisted my every need and gave me encouragement whenever I would feel my tears well up. Yes, it was that terrible but we finished strong! My director August Espino made my scripts come to life and in the end all the hard work pulled through. Our mega client was happy, so we were happy. I'd definitely recommend this production house to anyone looking for one. They work well and they work hard.