Low tide at dusk in El Nido, Palawan: a parent and child wade far out under a pastel sky between dark island silhouettes

Photographer · Cebu, Philippines

Lia Navarro

Portraits, weddings & quiet places.
Based in Cebu, happy to get on a boat.

See the work

Golden hour in Cebu today

Hello, I'm Lia

I photograph the in-between: the breath before the vows, the light on an ordinary Tuesday, the hands that made the thing. Nothing staged, everything noticed.

  • 140weddings since 2016
  • 38islands, and counting
  • 1very old film camera called Lola

Find the light.

Then wait for the moment.

01 Behind the frame

Every frame is a decision about light.

Four photos, taken apart: where the sun was, where I stood, and what the camera was set to.

A woman seen from behind on a beach, facing a low setting sun

Frame 01 / 04 · 5:41 PM

Facing the sun

I put the sun right behind her shoulder and exposed for the sky. The rim light does the rest: no reflector, no flash.

Aperture
f/2.2
Shutter
1/1000
ISO
100
Light
Backlight, sun 2° above the sea
A couple dancing in silhouette at sunset, mirrored in the wet sand

Frame 02 / 04 · 5:31 PM

First dance, golden hour

Low tide turned the beach into a mirror. I knelt on wet sand, exposed for the sky and let them fall to black.

Aperture
f/4
Shutter
1/1600
ISO
100
Light
Sun in frame, silhouette
An unlabelled amber dropper bottle with window shadows falling across it

Frame 03 / 04 · 8:40 AM

Amber glass

One north window, one white card on the right, and the window frame doing the styling. Product light can be this simple.

Aperture
f/8
Shutter
1/160
ISO
100
Light
One window + one white card
Two fishermen in a small boat silhouetted on a gold sea at sunset

Frame 04 / 04 · 5:52 PM

Fishermen heading home

I waited forty minutes for the boat to cross the gold. Patience is the most underrated lens in my bag.

Aperture
f/5.6
Shutter
1/1000
ISO
200
Light
Sunset, exposed for the highlights

02 Selected work

Frames I'd hang on my own wall

A small edit from the last few seasons. Tap any frame to see it big, with the settings I used. The viewer browses all of them.

Show

  • No. 01 The veil, from behind Minnesota, USA

    Camera
    Full-frame DSLR
    Lens
    50mm f/1.2
    Aperture
    f/1.6
    Shutter
    1/800
    ISO
    200
    Light
    Overcast, soft and even

  • No. 02 Chocolate Hills at sunrise Carmen, Bohol

    Camera
    Drone, 1-inch sensor
    Lens
    28mm equiv.
    Aperture
    f/4
    Shutter
    1/400
    ISO
    100
    Light
    Sunrise haze, 6:02 AM

  • No. 03 Stoneware, morning sun Kitchen table, Cebu

    Camera
    Full-frame mirrorless
    Lens
    100mm macro
    Aperture
    f/5.6
    Shutter
    1/250
    ISO
    100
    Light
    Hard window sun, 8:40 AM

  • No. 04 Shine on A meadow at sunset

    Camera
    Full-frame DSLR
    Lens
    85mm f/1.8
    Aperture
    f/1.8
    Shutter
    1/640
    ISO
    160
    Light
    Golden hour, rim light

  • No. 05 Before the vows Garden ceremony

    Camera
    Full-frame mirrorless
    Lens
    100mm macro
    Aperture
    f/3.2
    Shutter
    1/320
    ISO
    400
    Light
    Dappled late-afternoon sun

  • No. 06 Ridge walk below Mayon Camalig, Albay

    Camera
    Drone, 1/2.3-inch sensor
    Lens
    20mm equiv.
    Aperture
    f/2.8
    Shutter
    1/640
    ISO
    100
    Light
    Clear morning

  • No. 07 The long way home Santa Catarina, Brazil

    Camera
    Full-frame mirrorless
    Lens
    50mm f/1.2
    Aperture
    f/8
    Shutter
    1/2000
    ISO
    100
    Light
    Into the sun, hazy

  • No. 08 The farmer's path Batad, Ifugao

    Camera
    Full-frame mirrorless
    Lens
    35mm f/1.4
    Aperture
    f/8
    Shutter
    1/500
    ISO
    200
    Light
    Morning, light cloud

  • No. 09 Facing the sun Smiths Beach, Australia

    Camera
    Full-frame DSLR
    Lens
    85mm f/1.8
    Aperture
    f/2.2
    Shutter
    1/1000
    ISO
    100
    Light
    Sun on the horizon, backlit

  • No. 10 First dance, golden hour Andaman Islands, India

    Camera
    Full-frame mirrorless
    Lens
    35mm f/1.4
    Aperture
    f/4
    Shutter
    1/1600
    ISO
    100
    Light
    Last ten minutes of sun

  • No. 11 Amber glass Studio, window shadows

    Camera
    Full-frame mirrorless
    Lens
    100mm macro
    Aperture
    f/8
    Shutter
    1/160
    ISO
    100
    Light
    One window, one bounce card

  • No. 12 Fishermen heading home Corong Corong, El Nido

    Camera
    APS-C mirrorless
    Lens
    56mm f/1.2
    Aperture
    f/5.6
    Shutter
    1/1000
    ISO
    200
    Light
    Sunset, silhouette exposure

  • No. 13 Barefoot on the shore Shoreline at dusk

    Camera
    Full-frame DSLR
    Lens
    35mm f/1.4
    Aperture
    f/2
    Shutter
    1/500
    ISO
    400
    Light
    Blue hour, after sunset

  • No. 14 A handful of cacao Manizales, Colombia

    Camera
    Full-frame DSLR
    Lens
    50mm f/1.2
    Aperture
    f/2.8
    Shutter
    1/200
    ISO
    400
    Light
    Shade, one hard side light

  • No. 15 Candles for the long table Reception, after dark

    Camera
    Full-frame DSLR
    Lens
    35mm f/1.4
    Aperture
    f/1.4
    Shutter
    1/125
    ISO
    3200
    Light
    Candlelight only

  • No. 16 Quiet morning Window light, home studio

    Camera
    APS-C DSLR
    Lens
    50mm f/1.2
    Aperture
    f/1.8
    Shutter
    1/250
    ISO
    320
    Light
    North window, sheer curtain

  • No. 17 A bangka in the lee Coron, Palawan

    Camera
    APS-C DSLR
    Lens
    24mm f/2.8
    Aperture
    f/8
    Shutter
    1/400
    ISO
    100
    Light
    Soft morning cloud

  • No. 18 Woven, sunlit Studio still life

    Camera
    Full-frame mirrorless
    Lens
    50mm f/1.2
    Aperture
    f/4
    Shutter
    1/250
    ISO
    100
    Light
    Sun through leaves, 4:47 PM

  • No. 19 The last boat out Bantayan Island, Cebu

    Camera
    Phone (the camera was in the bag)
    Lens
    24mm equiv.
    Aperture
    f/1.8
    Shutter
    1/2000
    ISO
    80
    Light
    Sunset, straight into the sun

  • No. 20 Just married, low tide A beach at sunset

    Camera
    Full-frame mirrorless
    Lens
    35mm f/1.4
    Aperture
    f/5.6
    Shutter
    1/1000
    ISO
    100
    Light
    Golden hour, sun in frame

  • No. 21 Through the wheat Mexicali, Mexico

    Camera
    Full-frame DSLR
    Lens
    85mm f/1.8
    Aperture
    f/2
    Shutter
    1/1250
    ISO
    100
    Light
    Golden hour, backlit

03 The cull

Two thousand frames in. Eighty out.

Every gallery starts like this: a sheet of tiny frames and a red grease pencil. I cull hard, so you only ever see the ones that sing, not the twelve where someone blinked.

Move over the sheet to use the loupe.Drag the loupe across the sheet.

04 The darkroom

Some frames deserve paper.

Every wedding comes with three hand-made silver prints. I expose them on an old enlarger, rock them in the developer and hang them to dry, the slow way, under a red light that makes everything look like a secret.

  1. Black and white print: a bride seen from behind under her veil
    No. 1 The veil
  2. Black and white print: a couple dancing in silhouette at the water’s edge
    No. 2 First dance
  3. Black and white print: a farmer walking a stone path through rice terraces
    No. 3 Batad, morning

05 On light

Golden hour is a time, not a filter.

Slide through a day on the coast. This is how I plan every shoot: by the sun first, the schedule second.

Flooded rice paddies with coconut palms and green mountains behind, on Biliran Island
  • Blue hour. Soft, cold, quiet. Perfect for moody couples and city lights. Bring a jacket and patience.
  • Sunrise. Pink, gentle and empty beaches. Worth the 4 AM alarm, I promise. (I bring the coffee.)
  • Morning. Clean, bright light. Great for product sets and families with small, early-rising humans.
  • High noon. Hard shadows, squinting, the works. We go into shade, under trees, or embrace it for bold product shots.
  • Afternoon. Warming up. Good for getting-ready shots and the ceremony on a Filipino schedule.
  • Golden hour. The good stuff. Long shadows, honey skin, everyone looks like they're in love. Because they usually are.
  • Dusk. Fifteen magic minutes of pink and purple, then the reception lights take over.
A photographer in a wide-brimmed hat raising a film camera to her eye in golden backlight
Behind the camera. Cebu.

06 About

I learned photography from my Lola's shoebox.

She kept every print from every fiesta, every baptism, every Sunday lunch in a shoebox under the bed. None of them were "good" photos. All of them were priceless. That's still the bar.

I've been photographing people in Cebu and around the islands since 2016: weddings on sandbars, portraits in rice fields, products on my kitchen table at exactly 4:47 PM. I work quietly, I direct gently, and I will absolutely tell you when there's spinach in your teeth.

In the bag

Bodies
Two full-frame mirrorless (one is always the backup)
Lenses
35mm f/1.4 · 50mm f/1.2 · 85mm f/1.8 · 100mm macro
Film
A 1978 rangefinder named Lola, Portra-style colour and Tri-X-style black & white
Light
The sun. One reflector. A phone torch in emergencies.
Prints
Fibre-based silver gelatin, made in my home darkroom

07 Services & packages

Simple packages. No surprise fees.

Prices in pesos, travel within Cebu included. Every package comes with a private online gallery and full-resolution downloads.

  1. I.

    The Portrait

    Couples, families, personal brands, graduates

    from ₱6,500

    • 1 hour at golden hour, 1 location
    • 30+ edited photos in 7 days
    • Help with outfits and spots
    • Online gallery for 1 year
    Book a portrait
  2. II. Most booked

    The Wedding

    Church, garden, beach or sandbar

    from ₱68,000

    • Up to 10 hours, two photographers
    • 500+ edited photos in 6 weeks
    • Sneak peek within 48 hours
    • Three hand-made darkroom prints
    • A pre-wedding walk at golden hour
    Check my date
  3. III.

    The Product Set

    Small brands, cafés, makers, menus

    from ₱14,000

    • Half a day in studio or on location
    • Up to 15 products, styled
    • Web + social crops included
    • Props and backdrops from my stash
    Plan a set

Travel, elopements and destination weddings: tell me where, I'll bring sunscreen.

Featured story · Bantayan Island

Ana & Migs, barefoot.

Read the story

08 Kind words

Written on the back of the print.

Notes from people I've photographed. Swipe or scroll sideways.

  • She disappeared into the crowd and somehow caught my Lolo crying at the first dance. I didn't even know he did that.

    Bea R.Wedding · Bantayan, 2024

  • Our product photos finally look like the coffee tastes. Sales from the new menu shots paid for the shoot in a month.

    Paolo D.Café owner · Cebu City

  • I hate being photographed. Lia made me walk, talk and laugh, and now my mum has three of the photos framed.

    Joanna T.Portrait · Moalboal

  • The darkroom prints arrived in a linen box with a handwritten card. We cried. Again. It's becoming a habit.

    Carla & JunWedding · Bohol, 2025

  • She checked the sunset time, the tide table and the wind. We got the shot at 5:31 PM exactly. Who does that?

    Mika L.Elopement · Siargao

09 Questions

Good to know.

How far ahead should we book?

Weddings: 8 to 14 months, especially December to May. Portraits and product sets: usually 2 to 4 weeks. Last-minute? Message me anyway, clouds cancel things all the time.

Do you travel outside Cebu?

All the time. Anywhere in the Philippines, and abroad for weddings and elopements. Travel and lodging are billed at cost, no mark-up.

What if it rains?

Portraits move to the next clear golden hour for free. For weddings I bring clear umbrellas and a plan B spot, and honestly some of my favourite frames are wet ones.

Can we get the RAW files?

I don't hand out RAWs: the edit is half the photograph. You get every keeper, fully edited, in full resolution, with a print-friendly licence.

How do I reserve a date?

Send the form below. We'll have a short call, then a 30% booking fee and a simple contract lock it in. The rest is due a week before the day.

10 Booking

Let's find your light.

Tell me the date, the place and a little about you. I reply within a day, usually from a beach.
Demo