Copied from Gigi Hadid? Photographer reacts to comparisons with Coleen Garcia's maternity shoot

MANILA -- Celebrity photographer BJ Pascual took to social media to explain the concept of his maternity shoot with Coleen Garcia after it was compared to the pregnancy portraits of supermodel Gigi Hadid.

In a series of Instagram posts, Pascual did not take lightly the insinuations made by the local gossip website Fashion Pulis, maintaining that they did not copy Hadid's photos.

He pointed out that they did the photo shoot with Garcia last August 1, while Hadid's maternity images were only made public on August 26.

"Unless may psychic abilities ako, or baka sobrang close siguro kami ni Gigi 'di ko lang alam, walang-wala talagang way para kopyahin namin 'yung shoot nila! Sadyang nagkataon lang. Stop making this an issue," he said.

"Please be respectful naman of Filipino creatives," Pascual told Fashion Pulis. "Some of us actually work hard on conceptualizing shoots to create these images."

"While you're at it, please stop pitting women against each other. Pati ba naman mga buntis? [Year] 2020 na. May pandemya pa."

In his latest vlog, Pascual can be seen explaining the concept behind Garcia's maternity portraits.

He said they got inspired by two paintings -- "Birth of Venus" by Sandro Botticelli and "The Swing" by Jean-Honoré Fragonard -- in their shoot with the actress.

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Garcia first confirmed her pregnancy with her husband, host Billy Crawford, last March.

The two got married in 2018.