Hello there mommies!  Sooooo the birthday party weekend is already done and over with and here's what to expect from me... Of course I'll be sharing a series of  our son's 1st-year-birthday-related blog posts beginning today because I'm elated about the turn out of our little one's milestone celebration.
First on the series is Damien's pre-birthday photo shoot.  We did the shoot two weeks before the event.

THE VENUE: Ayala Triangle Garden
Since we planned for a Jungle Safari themed party, every element should be well-coordinated. For the pre-birthday photo shoot session, I thought of a spacious grassy venue.  My choices were the Ayala Triangles Garden and Circuit Makati.  We opted for the former because the family friendly grassy area was nearby restaurants where we could dine in first so that Damien will be full and well-rested. There are also trees to give shade, wala nun sa other venue we had in mind.  We did the photo shoot on a holiday Monday, so the garden wasn't populated at that time compared to normal days or weekends.  We didn't pay for any fees nor got a permit in advance.  But I called the management to inquire if we could do a shoot for personal use and they said yes.  If you plan to use the garden as your venue for pre-nup or commercial purposes, that's the time they charge for some fees and when you need to get a permit from the admin.  So yes, first step which was to pick the venue, check.

PREPARATIONS: Zoologist Costume and Props
Second, preparing the star for his shoot.  Costume muna, instead of him being one of the cute animals in the Safari, Damien and the rest of the family played as the Zoologist.  So top of mind outfit would be khaki collared top with pockets, khaki shorts, white inner shirt, a hat (which he didn't like to wear so props na lang), binoculars (which I didn't have enough time to buy), and boots.
For the props, I used our animal print fleece blanket as latag, 2 pieces of vintage brown luggage (which my mom had and pinamana sa akin) and animal stuffed toys, hunter's/zoologist hat, and DIY name banner (used jute string, recycled a used brown envelope, bond paper cut in triangles and handwritten Damien's name) and DIY name plate to cover his polo's embroidered brand patch.
THE PHOTOGRAPHER: R & L PHOTOGRAPHY
When I was searching for a supplier which could give photo and video services at a friendly value.  I posted my requirement in a Party Planning group on Facebook, where you could post what you're looking for and suppliers comment or PM you their packages and the services they offer.

To be honest, yes I was looking for a package that will fit my budget, but I won't bite naman basta basta to the cheapest offer that I could get.  My tip is, set a budget in mind.  Get all the referrals or suppliers' packages, filter or shortlist only those that meet your budget requirement or yung mahal lang ng konting konti.  Then make sure you ask each of the shortlisted supplier what services they offer for the price that you have.  Next, make sure you ask for sample output of photos or videos.  Do their photo or video shots look professionally done or amateurish?  Given the package price, do the sample outputs look tinipid talaga or value for money?  These little things matter a lot.  When choosing, it shouldn't always be the cheapest.  Choose what's value for money and one whose sample works obviously show shots coming form an artist's eye, a professional, and one made with love.  Makikita naman eh.

So, the photo and video supplier I got passed all my selection checklist.  We got Royele and Arriane of R & L Prints | Make-Up | Photography.