About Us

Our History
There are different reasons why people want to have photographs: There are those who want to capture their memories in eternity; others want to capture the beauty of everyday things, some would like to share their moments and some would like to evoke emotions. For Cleo, all this is reason enough to take his photography to a professional level. I joined him in 2004 as his assistant and discovered my own creative taste in photography. After a few weddings we decided to hone our skills by joining contests and taking seminars while taking in more photo projects. When Cleo won a major photo contest, we felt very confident about branding our team as The Smile Co.

Veteran photographer/writer Erman joined the team when he decided that it was time for him to showcase his photography in a different level other than just in magazines. He is still a contributor for several magazines while experimenting with other fields of photography.

With the dailiness of things at work as a graphic designer, Max explored his creative side through photography. When opportunity knocked, Max joined our team knowing that it was time for him to follow his dream.

We are continuously evolving as a team as any team should in order to develop the best working relationships both within the team and our clients.

So here we are making our dreams come true, sharing it to you.

Our Goal
We believe that because our history is built on our dreams and passions, we can make things happen. We are driven to make your visions a reality through our photographs. Whatever the type of photography needed by each client, we want every detail of their event to be both a pleasurable and memorable experience. Therefore we offer a host of packages and services specifically tailored to the needs of each client.

How we work
We are a group of artists with a passion for photography. We have different skills and have ventured into the different fields of photography. Whatever the needs of our clients we have a photographer that is an expert in that field. We want to create the best possible image not only to serve our clients but to fuel our creativity. Every image we create is a reflection of our passions and personalities as well as it is the vision of our clients. We take the time to carefully plan, shoot, and process our photos to produce the best possible images.

The Crew

Cleo Sinues
Photographer/Graphic artist

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Cleo our main wedding photographer, started photography in 2002 when he got his first Pentax SLR. Self-studied for a year then took a more formal training with FPPF where he took his Basic, Advance, and Practical Digital Photography Seminars. He won several awards during his courses in FPPF. What started out as an interest turned into a hobby when he got his Digital SLR, then finally to professional level after training as an assistant for some famous local wedding photographers. He debuted as a wedding photographer in 2004 and then explored portait and event photography. He still shoots film with his favorite Fed3 rangefinder even though he works with an all-digital equipment nowadays. Currently he is refining his skill in studio portraits photography.

Career Highlight:

In May 2006 he won the EOI Panibagong Paraan 2006 Photo Contest sponsored by the World Bank and Makati Business Club, where he bested veteran photojournalists. His photograph will be featured in World Bank's calendar for 2007.

Erman Ballecer
Photographer

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Erman started with photography during the summer of 1996 when he took his dad's Minolta SRT (manual SLR without batteries), bought a roll of Colpan in Hidalgo, and spent the whole afternoon around the breakwaters near Folk Arts Theater. He then used the pictures as samples to get in The LaSallian (DLSU's school paper). He self-studied but was able to attend several free trainings including FPPF. He also had his OJT in Manila Bulletin under the tutelage of Ramon Samson. Currently Erman is a contributor for PULP and had works published in several magazines including Panorama, Mabuhay, and other on-line magazines. His favorite subjects for photography are music gigs and rock concerts. He makes sure that he always has a photo published every month since he started in 1996(whether it would be in Magazines, Broadsheet, School Papers, On-line Magazines, Advertising materials, etc). He has worked with an all Pentax system (Super ME, MZ-7, and K1000) since 1997 and own several KODAK digital cameras to date. His favorite lenses are the 28mm and 105mm for his Pentax cameras, both fixed. Right now he is toying around with a Lomo LC-A camera along with a Kodak RFS film scanner.

Career Highlight:

He worked with KODAK for some time as a Technical Supervisor for a call center and got the chance to go to Rochester NY (the town that KODAK built). There he learned the secrets of the business (photo paper, digital technology, blueprints of upcoming digital cameras--usually designed three years in advance).

He also taught basic photography for a couple of years in De La Salle-St. Benilde.

His goals include publishing any of his photos in FHM , have a Billboard in EDSA, join a Photo contest, and ultimately contribute for National Geographic magazine.

Rachel Ivy O'Dell
Photographer/Sales & Marketing

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Rachel or "Ivy" liked only to be photographed but soon after she fell in love with the person behind the camera, there was no turning back. What started out as the love for the photographer grew into the craft (photography) itself. If you asked her, she would humbly tell you that the photographers' passion rubbed into her but what she didn't realize was her passion for writing and arts found another creative outlet to visually showcase her creativity. Her attention to authenticity, details and perfection, which she honed for so many years in creative writing, is clearly visible on the beautiful portraits that she creates for fashion, glamour, wedding, family, maternity and child photography. She took her basic and advanced photography workshops in FPPF under the tutelage of well known veteran photographers. She won several awards during her workshops where her photos are now showcased on the FPPF (www.photoworldmanila.com) website.

She likes to engage in self projects to hone her skills in Photography. Most of the fashion and glamour photos that you see in our gallery are her work. She also likes to interact with her subjects a lot, you'll find her easy to talk to and open to new ideas. She shoots digital and does all the post processing herself, which she enjoys a lot because of the creative freedom and enhancements that she can do on a image while maintaining the authenticity of the subject.

Rachel is considered a "Jane of all trades", aside from being our portraiture photographer; she also takes care of our marketing and sales. She's responsible for promoting the team and our services, and oversees all the production work so we meet deadlines.

Career Highlight:

Rachel currently works as Creative Photographer for Blow-up Babies. She now specializes in Studio Portrait Photography, her portraits are really works of art with intricate lighting and great focus on details at the convenience of her clients.

She also won several awards during her workshops, which includes:
--Third place in portraiture by available light, basic photography (FPPF)
--First place in Still Photography, Advance Photography (FPPF)
--Third place Photo Essay Advanced Photography (FPPF)

She also won first place in the 1st Grand Masters Challenge and several Masters Challenge in the Pinoy Photography Forum (PiPho), an online Filipino photography organization for professional and non-professional photographers.