Start with your right hand around the camera’s main grip. Place your index finger lightly on the shutter button, and let your thumb rest comfortably on the rear control dial.

Francis drew in a breath as he held the camera firmly in his hands as his finger hovered over the smooth shutter button. The year was 2014, Francis had just picked out his first camera, a point-and-shoot resembling a DSLR, and he wanted to use it as soon as he got home. On the exhale, his shaky finger finally pressed the button. Click! There, in the center frame, was his firstborn with his cheeky smile and disheveled hair. "Musangon," as he would teasingly describe him in Buhinon.

At the time, the photos had not much artistry to be spoken for. The photos were taken in what little time left over for a man training for overseas work and a father who simply wanted more photographs of his child when he would be away.

Your left hand should cup underneath the lens, supporting its weight and stabilizing the camera to distribute weight evenly and reduce shake.

Years later, while working in Japan as an overseas Filipino worker, Francis bought his second camera, his first DSLR. Surrounded by unfamiliar landscapes and seasons unlike he had seen before and wanted to encapsulate it. In doing so, he rediscovered photography in a whole new light, it became a stabilizer as he navigated the shaky grounds as an OFW. Photography soon became his refuge -- an outlet after long work hours, a way to ground himself, and a bridge to connect with others who shared the same passion. It was with the views of Mount Fuji, to have a view of the mountain on the horizon felt the closest to his home surrounded by Mounts Malinao and Asog, that his love for photography started to hold a piece of his heart.

When Francis returned to the Philippines after his contract was up, opportunities landed almost as soon as he did. A wedding shoot. A local event. A local designer wanting to showcase his works. Then another. And another. His work began to speak for itself.

As recognition grew, Francis gave his passion a name as Kitlens Visual, after "kit lens," a starter lens that comes with a newly bought camera. It was where he believed he stood at the moment, looking through the kit lens to see a starting point, a foundation, and a quiet acknowledgement of a dream beginning to take shape.