White Boudoir

I thought I'd post some of Nora's favorite images from our recent boudoir shoot. I always find it interesting when a client chooses completely different images as favourites than I would choose. Obviously, she knows herself and how she looks much better than I do. Perhaps she finds these more flattering than the ones that I think make her look awesome! I'm happy to oblige!

If you're ready to try some boudoir photography, now is a great time! There's still time to get some prints done in time for Christmas and you can take advantage of our October BOGO! Book a paid shoot before the end of the month and get a gift certificate for a second shoot. Give it to a friend or lover as a gift, or come back for a second helping yourself. E-mail me now.

And if you've read this far, go "like" our Facebook page already! There will be lots more to come soon!

Tweet

Tango!

Sometimes one of my models or clients has an idea and the theme for the shoot is set long before the session begins. This was one of those shoots. Sure, it went in some unexpected directions, but tango was the plan. Or the red dress was the plan.

Tweet

Wedding Photography Details Behind the Scenes

When you see the latest in wedding photography, you often get some highly unique poses, some cute angles of the smiling couple, and some stunning images capturing the very best of the happy day. Those are the shots we all want to get and that every bride and groom want to have for their album or to hang on their wall.

But when I look at wedding photos, especially when I'm checking the latest trends or critiquing a fellow photographer's work, the shots that I immediately like are the ones that capture the minute details of the day... the colour of a tie, the close ups of the bouquet, and the set up of the banquet hall.

And you know what? The bride and groom like to see these details as well. A lot of work goes into the modern wedding and a lot of choices are made (with sometimes the gnashing of teeth!). I try to capture some of these choices along with the rest of the wedding, so that when your aunty wonders if you used the vase she lent you, or if your friend's borrowed and blue item was part of the service, you can see that they were... even if you missed it in the blur of the day itself.

Tweet

Thanksgiving Weekend

I believe it was W.C. Fields who said "never to work with children or animals" and there's a good reason for that. Even when they are your own kin, it's awful hard to get them to stand still for very long. Yet, I couldn't resist the opportunity to get some shots of my nieces and nephew when they were here for Thanksgiving.

Despite the whole thing devolving quickly into chaos, I think the shots were more worth it. ;)

 

A Natural

The whole crew

Tweet

Nora and Why Not to Use Continuous Light

I was so enjoying my results using continuous light last week that when Nora arrived for her shoot on Tuesday, I immediately set up the directional softbox once again and began shooting. Nora was fantastic! She could move, pull interesting poses out of thin air, and quickly move from one idea to another in no time.

A bit too quickly.

After we were shooting for a while, I realized that my miss rate was way up and I was less than satisfied with our results to that point. There were a few good images, but not the usual amount. The reason: I was shooting too slow due to the lower light levels and Nora was moving a lot. This meant a lot of blurring and ghosting and fewer great images to work from.

The solution: Slow Nora down for a bit, and switch to strobes for the rest. The lesson: Play to that energy and vitality, don't try to reign it in!

The rest of the shoot flew by in a (literal) flash and I was more than pleased with the outcome. Here are some pics from both parts of the shoot.

 

 

In this set, you can see the soft and directional light from the continuous bulb. It feels and looks natural and the colours and quite rich. Nora looks fantastic. The other thing that I really like is that in the bottom right images, Nora isn't wearing anything scandalous... it's a full, sleeveless top and full boy shorts. They could just as easily be white gym tights. Boudoir photography can work for you, even if you're shy about showing too much skin or want to keep your midriff covered. Stretch marks need not be an issue!

Likewise, in this set done with the studio strobes, Nora is wearing a full tank top in some images and a men's tuxedo shirt in others. A successful boudoir image, in my mind, creates the suggestion of sexuality, without necessarily invoking any immodesty. You don't need to be in-your-face-erotic to create provocative and sensual pictures!

If you're ready to try some boudoir photography, now is a great time! There's still time to get some prints done in time for Christmas and you can take advantage of our October BOGO! Book a paid shoot before the end of the month and get a gift certificate for a second shoot. Give it to a friend or lover as a gift, or come back for a second helping yourself. E-mail me now.

And if you've read this far, go "like" our Facebook page already!

Tweet

Stephanie and the Continuous Light

On Wednesday, I had a terrific boudoir shoot with Stephanie, a make-up artist that also does a bit of modeling. (She did Kristina's make-up and styling for the Twelve Days Project last year.) I had two goals in mind for this shoot. First, I wanted to get at least one really awesome image to update the collage on the boudoir page of the new website, and second, I wanted to try out some new lighting and focus techniques.

As you'll be able to see from the images, it was a full success on both counts. Lots of great images and some really interesting lighting. (Note: These are unretouched thus far.)

First up, a collage of some bright, high-key (read: almost blown out) images using three strobes.

Second, the same location and gear, but now using a single continuous light (i.e. not a flash, just a normal light) with a softbox and grid. Obviously two VERY different types of images.

More pics from this set to follow, but I wanted to show the big difference between the strobes and the continuous light.

OCTOBER SPECIAL: BOGO! Book one portrait, boudoir, or Halloween session and get one to share or to use yourself at a later time! Makes a great gift!

Tweet