At the workshop: Martine de Luna of Make It Blissful, Toni Tiu of Wifely Steps, Rosario Juan of our workshop venue, Commune and our workshop lead, Mia Marchadesch-Jaranilla of miaymarch.com
Blog Your Best Shot was a photo styling workshop I attended yesterday. What caught my attention when I first learned about this workshop was learning how to find your blog’s unique photo style, and not needing any fancy camera gear. I’ve been using my trusty pocket camera, a Canon Powershot S95, and my iPhone for many years, so it was pretty cool to learn new ways to maximize how to use them. The workshop was led by the awesome Mia Y. Marchadesch-Jaranilla, lifestyle photographer and inspiration seeker.
We kicked off our workshop with a variety of tips and tricks from Mia. She gave a short and meaningful lecture on how we could tell stories with our photos. There were basic lessons like finding the best light for your pictures, to even more meaningful tips such as styling your subject in a manner that reflects the personality of your blog or business.
Cupcake and Tangerine. One of my seat work assignments at the workshop.
My favorite part of the workshop was the practical part: getting up from our seats and applying what we learned from Mia! It was amusing seeing all these women with cameras and phones, aiming at various subjects around the coffee shop. We had props from Paper Chic Studio to complement our photos if we wanted to put more accents.
Demolished Cupcake.
I’m not very fond of props, but through Mia I understood how they could help tell a story better. In the pictures I took for our seat work assignment, I didn’t use much of the props provided. I struggled a little bit with the props at first, unsure of how to use them. I was more comfortable using different backgrounds, like the geometric print in the “Cupcake and Tangerine” pic. Moving forward though, I’m inspired to experiment with props in the future. I’d love to have my pictures tell better stories!
No props. Just my one-eyed latte bear. Ahoy there, matey.
Blog Your Best Shot was super fun! I learned a lot and am very excited to apply what I learned. 
Another fantastic part of the workshop was getting to meet blog friends IRL! Hello to Nadia and Chrissy! Plus of course getting to make new friends. Hello to my table-mates Alex of Heima, Mia of Juice Hut and Kristina of What Tina Loves.
Sharing a slice of apple pie with new friends = Pretty sweet!
If you’d like to join workshops like this one, follow Make It Blissful’s workshop page over at: http://makeitblissful.com/workshops/.
Martine, Toni, Mia.
Thank you to Martine, my good friend and editor of Make It Blissful, for making this happen. Here’s to more workshops that put more meaning into our everyday bliss. Thanks to Commune, our cozy workshop venue. I now know where to find a warm and quiet nook when I’m in the Makati area. Thanks to Mia for being such an awesome mentor! I’m looking forward to more learning opportunities like Blog Your Best Shot! <3
Hi! I'm Toni Tiu,
and I've been blogging at
at Wifely Steps since 2003. This started as a blog to help newly weds adjust to married life. It has evolved into a home and parenting blog. I write about things close to my heart -- good eats, good reads, family, marriage, and the little things that make everyday happy.
Martine | WAHM. Wife. Blogging Belle.
March 24, 2014 at 11:44 pm (10 years ago)Thanks for supporting Mia and the workshop, Tons!! I hope you enjoyed and learned a lot — as I did. It was super fun!!!
Toni
March 31, 2014 at 5:45 am (10 years ago)Yup, had a great time! Thanks for putting it together, Marts!
Mia Y. Marchadesch
March 29, 2014 at 8:29 am (10 years ago)I was thrilled to meet you, Toni! You are a inspiration!! So your presence was such an honor.
Don’t worry about too much about props because your photo style is using your subject to tell the story. Add props as needed only, for support. Your photos are great and backgrounds are the simplest form:).
Love this! Thanks for writing about the workshop!!! Can I re post in my FB? IG?
and blog?
Pls keep in touch!! (Mia)
Toni
March 31, 2014 at 5:39 am (10 years ago)Thank you, Mia, for teaching us all these wonderful tips and tricks! Yes, please feel free to repost wherever you want!! <3
Airees
March 31, 2014 at 1:33 pm (10 years ago)Hi Toni! So you’re @macaronigirl pala on IG
Your cupcake and tangerine pic was my bet to win the give-away actually. Just want to say you have a lovely and very inspiring blog here. I have yet to read your past posts! Too bad I didn’t had the chance to mingle with you (I noticed you with your red shirt but didn’t realize you and macaronigirl are one plus, I’m just too shy!) 
Hopefully the next time I see you I’ll have the courage to introduce myself. 
Toni
March 31, 2014 at 3:10 pm (10 years ago)Hi Airees! It’s so great to hear from you. Your crafts are gorgeous, and I’m so happy I got to learn more about them through the workshop! Thanks for rooting for my cupcake and tangerine pic!! <3 We'll hang out next time!
Tina
April 1, 2014 at 8:49 pm (10 years ago)Hi Toni! It was nice meeting you, as well as our other seat mates, at the workshop!!! Hope to bump into you in future workshops 😀
xx,
Tina
Toni
April 4, 2014 at 9:39 am (10 years ago)Hi Tina! See you soon!
Photographe paris
August 3, 2014 at 9:50 am (9 years ago)Handy info. Blessed everyone I found your website accidentally, and I’m shocked the reason why the following chance didn’t came about before! I saved them.
Anchell Workshops
October 10, 2019 at 10:50 pm (4 years ago)Seems like you had a great time!