Before anything else, if this is your first time reading about #RomanceClassCovers, Mina V. Esguerra has written multiple posts about where it began and how we just kept on growing.
The Cliffs Notes version of it is that we needed something that wasn’t being made available to us, so we just did the thing and made it available ourselves. (Which is a running theme with us over here at #RomanceClass.)
Yes, hi, that’s my back and top bun up there. I’m #RomanceClassCovers’ designated photographer. I also write for the community and you can find my books on romanceclassbooks.com or check them out here.
I’ve used my love of photography for some extra earnings on and off since college. I freelanced for two years, taking promotional photos for the club and events scene in Metro Manila. I also moonlighted as a landscape photographer for a farm slash recreational facility in Bulacan. And in between, I did studio and location shoots with friends or some concert photography whenever I was allowed.
Even with mere hobbyist experience, I still had to make some adjustments going into this project. Because one thing that I never ever EVER did was send unedited photos to a client. I always took my time selecting the best photos and editing them until I thought they were worth presenting. But with #RomanceClassCovers, it’s mostly hands off for me as soon as the shots are taken.
Photoshop IRL
Everything has to be, for lack of a better term, pretty basic. There’s standard lighting (that I still play around with once in a while because I CAN’T HELP IT), a recurring gray background (we tried the on-location thing before and wow, much logistics), and a set of individual poses that we do in every shoot.
Original photo 
As book cover
As much as I would like to play around with the final product, I can’t. Because most of the creative license over the photos belongs to the author and their cover artist/designer. My only job is to give the author a good canvas based on their specifications.
Original photo 
As cover illustration
The best I can do is to Photoshop IRL. A process that includes, but is not limited to:
- Fighting the urge to crop too closely. This gives enough room for the cover designer to decide the best crop. I have my preferences regarding how the photos will best appear on a cover, but I remind myself that these photos are not mine. I leave my cropping suggestions on RomanceClassCovers’ Instagram page instead.
- Making sure that the contrast isn’t too stark. It’s not to say that the photos should be flat. It’s more of a consideration of what mood the author and cover designer will decide on in post. I do this mostly with the right lighting and adjusting the settings within my camera. (In case anyone’s curious, I use a Canon EOS 600D, a Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS Macro HSM lens, and a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens that I affectionately call ‘Tiny.’)
And lastly… - Checking all equipment days before the shoot. One time, I forgot to check, and I arrived on set with a wonky lens. It resulted in a handful of ruined, blurry shots, that otherwise would’ve been completely usable. These mistakes must be avoided to produce the best possible selection of photos for the author to choose from.
Styling is also a huge part of how we make things work. Our stylist Alex Lapa gets all the authors’ pegs, takes note of the models’ sizes, and works her magic with her own collection of clothes at every shoot.
Putting clothes and accessories on a model may seem easy, but since she left us (huhu) to do great things elsewhere, I assure you all that it is not. Her eye and knowledge of how things will look like as a finished product is something we may never be able to replicate. Her own version of Photoshop IRL brings characters to life.
We also recently began getting the models’ make-up done professionally with the help of Layla Tanjutco (who also writes and edits for #RomanceClass). Her work sets the tone in terms of what attitude and overall vibe the characters are required to exude in the photo. From feisty to sweet, Layla makes it happen!
Candor and Chemistry
With most aspects of each photo required to be as simple and bare as possible, there are things that we rely on for effectiveness. Our models play a huge role here.
Aside from the fact that the authors choose these models based on how their looks match the characters, how they interact with each other makes a big difference.
Most of our models meet for the first time on set. There may be awkwardness in the beginning especially when it’s also their first time working with #RomanceClass. But because of how we generally are as a community, it all changes within the first few minutes.
We try to make them feel as comfortable as possible. We crack jokes (I always remind everyone that I’m not a professional photographer but an emotional one), we share stories, and we direct along the lines of “Gusto niyo na ang isa’t-isa pero di niyo pa alam (You’re attracted to each other you just don’t know it yet)” or “Ngiting pang-ID (Smile like you’re taking an ID photo)” or “Guwapo lang (Just… be handsome)” which we’ve found to be quite effective.
There are even happy coincidences where something so magical happens during a shoot, an author will feel compelled to make actual changes in their book to reflect that. Like dogs:
I mean, we do take our goal of bringing more Filipino faces into romance book covers very seriously. But at the same time, we don’t take ourselves too seriously.
This helps us create an environment where our love for the thing and the joy we feel when we do the thing pushes us and those around us to do more of the things. We like doing the things for love. 😉
It Takes A Village
It’s not just Mina or Alex or Layla or me. It’s the #RomanceClass authors writing books with good representation, it’s the cover designers who align their designs to the purpose of showcasing these Filipino faces, it’s the models who are always game, it’s the readers who champion the work.
A lot of us put our time and effort into this because it’s all very personal to us. Seeing our stories depicted on book covers, with faces we see in our everyday lives as Filipinos, is something that we feel very passionate about.
It all comes down to something quite simple, really.
We want our books to scream “Romance! Filipino!” with very little explanation. And we want more people to feel seen as deserving of their own happily ever after… both on the cover and behind it.
Still curious? Go Behind the Scenes Of A #RomanceClassCovers Shoot with Carla de Guzman.
Follow us on Instagram @romanceclasscovers to stay updated as we aim to have a more diverse and inclusive line-up of models. Find all our existing books and other #RomanceClass-related information here.