Lady Anne Maternity Session

Been meaning to post these for awhile. So many beautiful pictures from this set but here are some of our favourites =)

Congratulations, Lady Anne and Anthony! We can't wait to meet your little princess!

tips for great engagement sessions

 Engagement season is upon us! It's as if the beginning of spring signals the start of wedding festivities and engagement photo sessions. A lot of brides usually contact us during this time asking how they should prepare for their much awaited engagement session, so here are some suggestions based on our personal experience in photographing these momentous event. Of course, you don't have to follow all of these, but these are merely suggestions to ensure you look your best for one of the most celebrated events leading up to your big day. Here we go....

1. Have your hair and make-up professionally done. This is a great time to do trial make up and hair, and visualize how you would look on your actual wedding day. We always tell our brides and grooms that the engagement session is a great opportunity to create memories that best reflect their personalities. With this in mind, having make up and hair done should not make you look unnatural, but should simply enhance natural beauty.  A good make-up artist will be able to create a look that makes you effortlessly beautiful and not overdone. While you're at it, pay close attention to your nails. Your most prized accessory will be photographed and it's a chance to show off those enviable and lovely hands =)

 2. Don't get caught up in location/props. In other words, keep it simple! While it's important to pick a location that is most memorable to you, or reflects your relationship the most, location is in fact, just a location. The engagement session is a great way to tell a story and the use of props should be meaningful as not to take away from telling your story. Staying in one location also allows us to have enough time to put your story together nicely and cohesively.

 3. What should I wear for my engagement shoot? Coordinating your outfits is key! You don't necessarily have to wear matching outfits to looks great in your engagement session. If she's wearing a plain dress, he can wear a printed shirt. Keep it simple with accessories as well. Don't go overboard. If hiring a stylist is in your budget, then by all means =)

 4. Final advice: Relax and have fun! This reminds me greatly of a FRIENDS episode when Monica and Chandler went to get their engagement session and Chandler couldn't get rid of his nervous smile. We try our best to make you as comfortable as possible and we hope you find this as much fun as we do. We want to be able to show your great personalities through your pictures so having a fun shoot matters to us. 

Thanks Michaella and Paulo for being such a fun couple =)

eggplant omelette (tortang talong)

Eggplant omelette or Tortang talong in Filipino is a popular Filipino dish. It's my first time making it so I had to google a recipe and found this really interesting food blog. Thanks tinybites.ca for the step-by-step and pictures =) Click here if you're interested! Eggplants are rich in folic acid and potassium and helps block free radicals. Delicious and healthy!

Ingredients:
2 medium eggplants
2 eggs
salt and pepper
cooking oil

Directions:
1. Using your oven, set it to broil on high. Put the eggplants in a rack and make sure to turn them to broil all sides.
2. After all sides are broiled, remove the skin.
3. Using a knife, cut the eggplant in strips, leaving the top part and opening the eggplant like a fan
4. Scramble the eggs and add salt and pepper. Dip the eggplant into the egg mixture.
5. Fry on medium heat and turn until both sides are cooked.
6. Enjoy!

hoisin beef with vegetables

Hoisin Beef with Vegetables

It's been awhile since I posted a recipe, so here's a quick recipe for you :)

Ingredients:

beef tenderloin cut into strips

1 cup of snowpeas

1/2 of yellow bell pepper cut into strips

2 carrots cut into strips

1 medium tomato cut into cubes

1 medium onion 

3 cloves of garlic minced

2 tablespoons of hoisin sauce

1/4 cup of soy sauce

salt and pepper to taste

cooking oil

Directions:

1. Marinate the strips of beef in half of the soy sauce, salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. In a medium pan, add some cooking oil. Set on medium heat, saute garlic and onions. Add the tomatoes. Add the beef and cook until it's brown on all sides. 

3. Add the vegetables and stir fry. 

4. Add the remaining soy sauce and the hoisin sauce

5. Serve with rice. Enjoy!

Sneak Peek: Maternity Shoot

Is this a maternity shoot or an engagement shoot? Don't worry, I'm confused too. These two look so happy and so good together, we couldn't help taking photos of them. Congratulations, Dre and Toya on your newest addition! We can't wait to meet him soon. xoxo

back from Chi-town!

I could have sworn I posted an entry before our Chicago trip but I guess I must have forgotten to publish. Hmmm. Strange and slightly annoying. I am now picture-less and post-less haha. Anyway, I had an awesome time! (Note: I said "I" had an awesome time. I can't speak for Mr. Pearls who was probably annoyed at my crazy fan-girl phase). Again, too bad I can't post pictures and I can't link it either because the web browser at work is so old. I can't even format this post properly. Oh well. I have a few days off in the next little while so hopefully all of these technological issues will get resolved.

As I was saying, I was in awe of Chicago! What a beautiful city. Love the old buildings and beautiful architecture. Love the picturesque parks and quite striking landmarks. Love the rows and rows of flowering trees, cherry blossom and semi-NYC but cleaner feel of the city. It's a shame we were only there for a little bit because I would have loved to stay and take more pictures. I think our rushed/distracted tour of the city did not quite do justice in capturing the beauty of this city. So needless to say, we'll definitely be back. Chicago future bride and grooms, please invite us soon! We would love to visit your beautiful city again!

At the end of it all, I made new friends. How often do you go away and get to meet amazing individuals who are just as dedicated (and slightly crazy haha) as you are? It was truly an amazing experience. I will tell you more about it shortly when I'm not as distracted. Although, for those individuals looking for some M&G pictures, they will be up shortly. Email me at adrianandjanaphotography@gmail.com and I will email you the details of how to access the gallery and the very secret gallery password. *wink*

Happy Wednesday, y'all!

**UPDATE** a SNEAK PEEK!