Shaira Luna

Shaira Ana Teresiana Luna[1] (born September 20, 1986) is a Filipina photographer. She, among others, was known as a "gifted child" and a "Promil kid", having been featured in Wyeth's infant formula ad in 1995.[2][3][4]

Shaira Luna on July 23, 2013
In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Teresiana and the surname or paternal family name is Luna.

Luna is currently a fashion and advertising photographer represented by the international creative talent agency Jed Root Manila,[5][6] founded by American businessman Jed Root in 1989.

Early life and education

Shaira Luna was born on September 20, 1986 in Malate, Manila, to businessman Bong Luna and Centro Escolar University dentistry graduate Jenny Luna. Both her parents were in their middle 20's when she was conceived.[7][8] As an infant, Luna reportedly began speaking fluently as early as six months, and can read and write the alphabet at age one. At age two, Luna became knowledgeable in different branches of science, as well as playing various musical instruments including the piano and the violin. While she spoke English fluently, she also developed interests in learning the French and Spanish languages.[9][10][11]

Luna's parents then sought professionals' help due to these abilities their daughter were having. A personnel from the Department of Education, Cultural Studies (DECS) discovered that Luna had the IQ of a sixth grader, similar to that of a high-school student. According to Jenny Luna, her daughter's intelligence might have been a result of heredity, as her family consists of achievers who graduated from school with honors.[12] She then was advised to have her daughter attend a sixth-grade class at the Philippine Christian University (PCU), as she would easily get bored in a kindergarten class.[13][14] Another reason Luna was enrolled at PCU was to improve her social skills, since she had the tendency to be reserved.[15]

Luna was 13 years old when she enrolled at De La Salle University, to earn a Bachelor of Science in human biology. After shifting to different courses, she dropped out in 2006.[16]

Career

While a student at De La Salle University, Luna bought a Canon EOS 350D (her first digital single-lens reflex camera) and dabbled in photography for six months, during which she would "literally shoot everything: I tried portraits, I tried food... I would shoot events, birthdays, binyag (Christening), fiesta, basketball ng liga (basketball leagues). Minsan libing din (Sometimes funerals too)."[17][18] In an 2015 interview with When In Manila, she said that "Photography was really just a hobby during college. My career developed very gradually and organically—I really went through everything before it even occurred to me that this was something that could be done for a living!"[4] She described her expertise in the field as "self-taught".[17][18]

Personal life

Luna is a patron of ukay-ukay stores, a thrift shop in the Philippines.[2][18] She has considered doing vacuum as well as cooking and doing grocery as some of her personal interests, calling vacuuming "[the] best thing next to the glamorous photography business".[2] She has cited The Pickers, Storage Wars, and Ancient Aliens as some of her favorite television shows. She frequents the humor website 9GAG.[18]

gollark: I mean, I'm sure they can do *some* helpful stuff with it.
gollark: Allegedly.
gollark: Perhaps. I don't think they actually *document* how most of their stuff works or how much data it gathers.
gollark: I mean, they *could* be doing that if you run your email through them, I'm not sure if they do it in practice.
gollark: So if it's not an immediate and visible problem it doesn't matter. Great.

See also

References
  1. Fernandez, Carmelita (June 22, 1989). "Parents of young genius seek help". Manila Bulletin. Parents of Shaira Ana Teresiana Luna, a two-year-old child prodigy, believed to be country's youngest genius, sought the help yesterday of Education Secretary Lourdes Quisumbing on where she can go to school
  2. Capirayan, Anthony (June 3, 2016). "Shaira Luna: Embracing the Beauty of Imperfection". Youngster Online. Inspire Hub. Archived from the original on July 23, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  3. Jose Miguel Dumaual (January 29, 2015). "Then and now: 'Gifted' children 20 years later". ABS-CBN Corporation. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  4. Villaluz, Nicole (January 22, 2015). "Gifted Kids from Popular TV Ad in the 90s: Kiko, James, and Shaira, Where Are They Now?". When In Manila. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  5. "Shaira Luna Bio". Jed Root Manila. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  6. "A gathering of storytellers: An invitation to the Philippine Readers and Writers Festival 2016". CNN Philippines. August 23, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  7. Fernandez, Carmelita (June 22, 1989). "Parents of young genius seek help". Manila Bulletin. Gifted with a very high intelligence quotient (IQ), Shaira, a resident of Malate and only daughter of Bong Luna and his wife Jenny...
  8. Jusay, Analyn (June 21, 1989). "Genius, 3, poses problems to ma, DECS officials". Headline. Manila. Little Shaira is the only child of businessman Bong and dentistry student Jenny Luna, both in their middle 20s.
  9. Doloricon, Richelda (June 21, 1989). "2-year-old girl displays Grade 6 mental skills". Malaya (No. 155). p. 1. Now at the two years old, she is interested in anatomy. She can explain how the digestive system works, starting from the mouth to the intestines, Mrs. Luna said. Other new interests include playing the piano and the violin, although she has not abandoned her interest in oil painting.
  10. Alano, Jun (June 21, 1989). "This toddler is ready to go to high school". Philippine Daily Inquirer (Vol. 4, No. 194). She can identify minute parts of bones, name the two moons of Mars, identify the flags of all nations, and match them with their respective countries on the globe [...] Shaira Luna is only turning three, born Sept. 20, 1986, she is the country's newest whiz kid.
  11. Acosta III, Ceferino (June 21, 1989). "Girl, 2, has mental age of Grade 6 pupil". Daily Globe. Manila. p. 1. Shaira Luna can recite 40 nursery rhymes from memory and can enumerate the names of heads of state. She speaks good English, but insists she'd like to learn French or Spanish at age 2. she's only two years old.
  12. Lee, Cristina (June 21, 1989). "3-year-old knows more than most of us do". People's Journal. The mother of a two-and-a-half-year-old yesterday sought the advice of the Department of Education, Cultural Studies (DECS) on what to do with her daughter whose intelligence she said may be equal to that of a second year high school student [...] Luna attributed her daughter's talent to heredity. She claimed that all members of her family graduated from school with honors.
  13. Salcedo, Socorro (June 21, 1989). "Shaira Luna: two-year-old genius". The Philippine Star. p. 2. At present, Shaira, who has the mental make-up of a 12 to 15-year-old, sits in a grade six class in the Philippine Christian University. Her mother said Shaira will just get 'bored' in a kindergarten class.
  14. Fernandez, Carmelita (June 22, 1989). "Parents of young genius seek help". Manila Bulletin. Shaira, who has the mind of 12 to 15-year-old, will easily get bored in a kindergarten class, her mother said [...] Shaira prefers books to toys, the mother said.
  15. Acosta III, Ceferino (June 21, 1989). "Girl, 2, has mental age of Grade 6 pupil". Daily Globe. Manila. p. 2. But Shaira also has to overcome her shyness, and her parents are taking her to sit in sixth grade classes at the Philippine Christian University so she can learn to socialize.
  16. "Shaira Luna: From gifted child to pro photographer". GMA Network. April 5, 2013. Archived from the original on November 6, 2016. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  17. Nacpil, George (January 22, 2015). "Featured Photographer: Interview with Shaira Luna". ucreative.com. Archived from the original on July 23, 2017. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  18. Ramos, Marj (July 26, 2014). "Photographer Profile: Shaira Luna". preview.ph. Archived from the original on April 26, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
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