Tell us a little bit about yourself, your education, your first job maybe, and how did you start photography?

Hello! I’m Shaira, and I’m a fashion and commercial photographer. I have been shooting professionally for the last 14 years and I still spend most minutes of every day thinking about images! I love imagining, creating, and sharing them.

I spent half of my career shooting fashion, portraits, and covers for our major local magazines (such as Philippine Tatler, Lifestyle Asia, and Mega), but since many of the print magazines I shoot for have folded (L’Officiel Manila, Preview, etc.), most of the work shoots that remain are fashion and lifestyle campaigns, and materials for both online use and out-of-home advertising, like billboards and store displays.

#fotografíaSpotlight © Shaira Luna, Fashion Photographer

These shoots range from major campaigns for brands such as Regatta, Penshoppe, SM, and Dove, to ads for companies like Ayala Land, Huawei, Fuji, and Century Properties, to name a few. It’s certainly a fun, challenging range!

As a photographer, I wouldn’t say I associate myself with a single style, although outside of these brand shoots, people usually describe my work as either dreamy, retro, or cinematic.

I personally think most of my shoots are simply light, easy on the eyes, and are hardly ever deep or thought-provoking! But it will also depend on who you ask, since I try to adapt and adjust as necessary – whether it’s a big ad campaign in a studio, an editorial, or my personal shoots that I produce whenever I have free days.

Because I’m constantly and consistently producing so many images of varying vibes, I take advantage of the digital age by sharing them on various platforms (I have five very active Instagram accounts, a Tumblr, a Facebook page, and a YouTube channel), and to different foreign indie-zines outside of my “style” (like Sticks & Stones, Cake Mag, C-Heads, Boys by Girls UK).

I have a very long history that I can probably attribute this flexibility and level of productivity to, beginning with the fact that becoming a photographer was the last thing I ever thought I would be! I won’t even touch on the personal aspect of all this, or else we’ll never finish!

Like many other children back then, I dreamt of becoming a doctor. I was into music, art, and dabbled in all sorts of hobbies and disciplines. I also had lots of “grown-up” duties, such as doing talks for the Department of Education, and hosting (and eventually producing) a segment for the morning show, Alas Singko Y Medya on Channel 2.

In 2000, at 13, I entered DLSU-Manila and was in BS Human Biology for two years. I finally realized I didn’t want to become a doctor after all, so I shifted a couple of times until I ended up in AB Filipino Studies major in Filipino in Mass Media. It was honestly a great course for me because of my media training. I thoroughly enjoyed my subjects there.

Also around this time, I was watching my singer-songwriter friend’s gigs and became so fascinated by the effect of the stage lights and got myself a point and shoot camera to document it.

Fast cut to 2006, I had zero drive to finish my thesis and I eventually stopped going to school despite everyone’s expectations. I left home, left the comforts, and finally found myself in uncharted territory! I was slowly progressing from a photography hobbyist to shooting all sorts of things, from events, to food, to products, and lifestyle stories as a freelancer and also for The Manila Standard.

Somehow the shoots and assignments kept coming, and I would take them all! The genres came by the years: 2008 was PR and events, 2010 was a lot of portraitures and profiles. 2012 saw a lot of food and lifestyle photos, and it was also the blossoming of my personal + fashion editorial work.

#fotografíaSpotlight © Shaira Luna, Fashion Photographer

In 2014, I started being represented by Jed Root Manila (now Artists & Company Manila), and 2015 were the years I started pumping out personal shoots at a furious pace – there were weekends when I could manage three fun shoots a day with different models, hair & make-up teams, complete with thrifted clothes and props from my own closet, a location that I rented or a set that I dressed, etc.

2016-2019 was the peak of shooting magazine covers, ads, and international travel to shoot fashion campaigns. Ah, who knows what else 2020 will bring? I don’t think I’ve ever had a single week free until March happened, so this period has been a very interesting adjustment.

Anyway, back in 2018 (while still working non-stop), I released my first photo book, entitled “Playing Long After Us.” It is made up of five love stories, set in different time periods, using things and clothes from my own dress-up “trunk,” of course!

I have a more detailed timeline of my career path here, in case anyone is interested: https://www.facebook.com/urbanizeph/videos/2566216900294547/

I’m just playful when it comes to shooting, really. I guess I operate more by feel than by calculations, in contrast to my rather calculated past and childhood. I will always be grateful for the people I’ve come across, and for the many, many chapters that consciously/subconsciously shaped the way I shoot and go about life!

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