Tracy Monsod

When Tracy goes shooting

There’s more to getting ready for a shoot than just grabbing my camera and running out the door. I also take into consideration what I should wear, not in the sense of being oh-so-fashionable even behind the camera, but in different ways.

Like picking shoes. I’d never wear my girly high-heeled shoes, obviously, and I would rather not wear flip flops when shooting, either. My go-to shoes are either my Doc Martens or my trademark Converse Chuck Taylors, simply because they’re the most comfortable on my feet. For days when it looks like it’s going to rain, I opt for my boots so I can easily walk through puddles. Both are also easy to take off when I need to. Yes, I sometimes take my shoes off. Like when I stand on (cushioned) chairs because I’m a small girl.

And because I stand on things that quite often come into contact with other human beings, I wear clean socks for hygienic purposes.

I also tend to wear jeans more often when I go shoot, because it just feels a little more professional. This is the case most especially when Tender Blender goes to shoot at Unilever, where everyone is in office-appropriate attire. On more laid back and/or outdoor shoots, however, I sometimes go for shorts when the weather is insanely warm.

I try to pick shirts with a neckline that isn’t too low, because I want to avoid having people see down my shirt. I have a tendency to do whatever I can to get that perfect angle, even lie on the ground to the point that it looks ridiculous.

When we shoot food, I dig up my white shirts! Some people may think it odd for me to be very particular about this, but the color of my clothes often get reflected onto the parts of the dish that show…reflections. The colors also sometimes affect the color of the photo, especially when using flash (I don’t use flash anymore though, so that’s minus one problem). If I’m out of white shirts, I opt for black. It pays to have invested in a black and white closet all these years, hooha!

Of course, how I dress for shoots is subject to the kind of shoot I’m doing. I was commissioned to document a christening once, so I dressed accordingly to show respect for the ceremony. Another event I shot was western themed, so my client said everyone was asked to come in plaid, and so I followed suit (pun intended). I may just have been the photographer and not a guest, but it’s a big deal to have on an appropriate attire. (:

When I’m done dressing up, there are four things that I immediately look for and put on, or push into my pockets — my watch, my glasses, my phone, and my iPod. I prefer to wear my Hello Kitty yellow orange glasses when I shoot, because my big round black ones often make it a little hard for me to look through the view finder.

At this point, I’m ready to grab my camera bag and go.

I thought about it this morning, and I can actually NOT use my camera bag, given the immensely small amount of equipment I have. Especially now that my old 400D kit lens is somewhat out of commission and I have only one lens to work with, I actually bring very few things with me.

But then again, I think I’d still prefer to have it with me. It just makes me feel a little more professional, plus the great convenience of having compartments in it. I mean, I could stick my camera, extra battery, lens pen, and battery charger into my bag, but it’s just easier to have specific spaces for all these things rather than fumbling around my huge bag for something. Plus I could simply fit my wallet into my camera bag instead, haha.

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At the shoot (especially with Tender Blender), there will be moments when you have a little time to be silly. It’s important to have fun!

Just a disclaimer, this is not a sponsored post! Hahahaha.

We had a shoot today at Unilever, and they had a wall lined with boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts! Because they love us so, they gave us a box which we shared with the Unilever interns whom we’ve become friends with. Being our silly little selves, we switched on our studio light and…well obviously we had a little fun.

…perhaps a little too much fun.

Again, not a sponsored post! We’re just really big fans of Yummy magazine. (:

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Pretty random post, but mostly I just wanted to share those silly pictures of us. It’s downright impossible to have a 100% serious shoot with these guys.

Slightly regretting not bringing my camera to this gig, as gigs are my favorite kinds of events to shoot!

It’s all good though! Still having a blast!

Today!

Salon date this afternoon with my favorite blondie, Tricia! I’m a loud little redhead again, and she got her roots retouched. :D

Dinner at Yellow Cab with friends — Teptep, Adi, Kim, Andrew, Chrissy, Tricia, and RG! I found myself to be quite the seventh wheel after Kim left early, since Kiks wasn’t in attendance tonight. But it’s all good. :D

Couple photo bomb! Sort of. Haha!

Dessert at Happy Lemon. (:

The little red dress // 05202012 (by Tracy Monsod)

While the LBD (little black dress) is a staple in every girl’s closet, I prefer to have a LRD instead, ‘cause that’s just how I roll.

Also, I obviously don’t follow trends and just go with how I normally dress. Not really much of a chameleon when it comes to dressing up. A lot of you know by now that red and black is my go-to (and favorite) combination when dressing up. There used to be underlying “emo” vibes when I donned the colors when I was younger, but now I think I’ve been able to inject a little more class into these red + black outfits.

Since I mentioned that wearing this dress by itself (paired with black tights) makes me feel like a ballerina, I figured to add a belt to break the monotony of the solid red and to make the outfit a little more “me”. Also to highlight my lack of womanly curves, as I am clearly very rectangular. Thankfully, the skirt portion of the dress flares out a bit, so I’m able to deceive people to a certain degree that I have hips, if only slightly.

I don’t post outfit photos a lot, but when I do, it’s usually to document the ones that I really like and intend to replicate in the future, ohohoho.

It’s on very few occasions that I actually buy clothing. Whenever I do, it’s usually if 1.) the piece has been something I’ve come across a while back and still love it after finding it again (at a lower price, most probably because it went on sale), 2.) it’s something I’ve convinced myself complements my character, and 3.) there’s nothing in my closet even remotely similar to it and would therefore be a good addition.

This burgundy dress was bought right before the store closed. I had little time to mull it over in my head if I really wanted it. It checked off all three above-mentioned “criteria”, so here I am with a new dress, partly thanks to Kiks who helped me pay for it. (:

This also came in black, which I had considered for a minute, but I figured I had enough black clothes in my closet to last me a lifetime (slight exaggeration there). While most girls consider the LBD (little black dress) a staple, I think I’ll fare just as well with this. After all, red has become my new black for the past few years, hoho!

I really needed more casual dresses in my closet. There are days when I just feel incredibly lazy to dress up, that I just want to throw on as few pieces as possible, and not fumble with buttons or zippers or sticking my legs through pants. This is the ultimate piece of clothing!

Another plus is that the possibilities are endless. I can see myself doing so many different things with this dress! So much potential, heeee.

You can tell how I giddy I am over this, and I obviously have very few dresses.

I feel like a ballerina in this thing.

Coffee, company, conversations, & cameras

Another evening with a favorite combination for a great nightcap.

I always enjoy spending the evening at CBTL in Katipunan. It’s so laid back, the music is at a relaxing volume, you hardly notice the chatter, it isn’t crowded, and you could spend hours there and never notice how quickly time flies.

First time to try my favorite evening CBTL drink over ice, and it’s just as good as it is hot. African Sunrise, I love you!

Upon entering, my attention was caught immediately by the cello sitting in the middle of the store next to these two boys. It was interesting to see something you don’t come across often at a place you’re usually at.

I was in the company of Kiks & Teptep, just like old times. (: Endless conversations were had, and it was nice just sitting there and forgetting about everything else for a while.

A tiny fraction of our conversations was thinking of a brand or product we liked, if we were given the opportunity to become the face of said brand/product. One of the brands that popped into my head was Doc Martens, hahaha. I wouldn’t say no to being sponsored by Dr. Martens, fosho! It’s also a given that I had thought of Canon, but that remains to be a dream, LOL.

Speaking of cameras, I think I may have to get a new lens real soon. My old kit lens (from my 400D) has been failing me on several occasions, to the point that it’s not funny anymore. I’m thinking of getting a macro next since I shoot food professionally, but that would mean no more wide focal lengths for me! Not cool, either. But then again, I’m still paying off my 2-month-old camera body, so that new lens — whatever it may be — is still pretty far off. Anybody willing to donate lenses? A nice macro, or perhaps that new Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L II? HAHA YEAH RIGHT.

Anyhow, it’s been a lovely evening. You can never go wrong with the combination of coffee, cameras, and conversations with wonderful company.

Helped Kiks arrange some flowers he bought for my mom and my grandmother. He wanted to put them in a jar, but there were no nice jars, so I suggested mugs instead. It was a cute idea in the end. (:

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms and moms-to-be! (:

Probably one of the most laid back Saturdays I’ve had in a while.

On a lighter note, I watched Up this afternoon before heading out to watch Dark Shadows (Tim Burton! Johnny Depp! Michelle Pfeiffer! Helena Bonham Carter!) with some friends. I suddenly felt inspired by the scene where the house was floating above the clouds in the clear blue sky, and decided I wanted to make a vector illustration of my own.

There was so much detail on the house that I couldn’t finish it! Now that I’m looking at my work in progress, I’m thinking of redoing the house in a more stylized manner like the balloons. I’ll have to continue maybe over the weekend or next week, since I have work to do!

Can’t wait to finish this. (:

2nd’s

This is probably going to be one of my most useless “reviews” (if you could call it that) because you will hardly see any food in the photos. LOL I stepped out after ordering, and the food was already there when I got back.

Since my mom won’t be in the country on Mother’s Day (she’s going to Shanghai for work! Boo hoo!), we decided to celebrate tonight.

I shared a dish of Truffle Three Cheese Mac with my lola (“grandmother” in Filipino), and it was really good! I particularly like how the restaurant presented food. Dishes were served on a small chopping board with a sheet of parchment paper, and some…leaves. I forgot what exact kind that is.

It was filling, like most mac & cheese dishes I’ve tried! We opted to add some bits of Spanish Chorizo for some meat and texture. (:

They gave us complimentary kamote (sweet potato) chips. I found these to be quite interesting, since instead of salt, they use shredded bits of cheese instead. Clever! They went very nicely with my pasta. The chips were so good, I asked the waiter for another bowl! Yum.

Upon first entering the restaurant, you’ll immediately feel the place is quite fancy. The lights were dimmed down, the music wasn’t loud like most restaurants, and they had a classy bar.

It’s very reminiscent of Borough at Podium, if you’re familiar with the place. The price range is similar (ergo, pretty steep), the feel of the place, and to some extent, the menu as well (I also ordered a similar dish the first time I ate at Borough).

It’s not the kind of place I’d go to on a regular basis given the average amount in my wallet, but it’s great to go to with family for a nice, quiet, relaxed dinner. (: