All images are shared with permission from my client.  Seriously – isn’t her hair to die for?!

I mean, WHY NOT?  Not something you would think of right off the bat as “sexy” or “boudoir” and not for everyone, but why not add it to my collection?  Why not push the boundaries and rethink what sexy is?  Why leave those out that have a little saucy side and want something different?  After all, I am the girl covered in tattoos that owns her own business and loves the quirky and saucy gals!  Seriously – look at this photo and tell me it ISN’T sexy.

Okay, so no one really asked me why I bought the headdress for boudoir because people know me by now, but I’m sure some people scratched their heads.  I’ve always been one to think outside the norm, push the limits, redefine what society and media tells us is beautiful, sexy, wrong, right, classy.  I love that my clients are willing to venture out and redefine sexy as well.  You are confined by what your mind tells you and the walls society has built around you.  Step outside, get some fresh air and do what makes YOU happy.

To me, both go hand in hand and are most present in personality.  As a photographer, my job is to make that shine through photos.  You don’t know these women, you don’t see how they carry themselves or hear them talk, but you see a more solid and stoic version of them.

This is one of the 3 ladies that came to a recent beauty shootout put together by a past client.  She had friends that she wanted to introduce me to and wanted to be pampered and photographed, so we all got together one morning, chatted and painted nails, they had hair and makeup done and I photographed them in a simple yet elegant way.  I wanted these photos to show their inner beauty and be less boudoir-esque.  From here on out I am starting all of my boudoir sessions with a small beauty shoot.  It helps you warm up, get comfortable in front of the camera, you’re wearing more clothes so it’s not BAM-get naked and I get to see how you photograph.  Not only that, but you get beautiful photos like these that you can share with family and friends where you might not feel comfortable doing that with your boudoir photos.  I will be sharing the other 2 beautiful ladies photos in the coming days.

You are beautiful.  Celebrate it.

Creative shoots can get pretty crazy but when you have amazing ladies in front of the camera it makes your job a lot easier.  I opt to still work with real women versus models 99% of the time, even for these personal shoots.  Most of the time I call back a past client who has a certain look I want and that I know was comfortable in front of the camera and had a lot of fun with it.  I knew “R” would be perfect for this setup and had been wanting to work with her again since her initial shoot about 3 years ago. She makes me laugh non-stop and our shoots are so goofy.  She’s patient, will make suggestions, and takes direction really well.  I love even more than she is a real everyday woman. We had so much fun on her shoot yesterday and I thank her again for spending her day with me – oh, and for bringing me TONS of new wardrobe options and props for the studio!  ”R” loves Renaissance fairs and is also a belly dancer so she makes a lot of her own costumes.  She gave me quite a few pieces that were handmade or custom made and I’m so excited to use them!  She even made the top in these images!

So my vision for this portion of our shoot was backstage showgirl.  I wanted it to look like a dancer late in the night of performing and in the gritty backstage rooms at the theatre.  There are tons more from this set and others but I couldn’t wait to show off a few!  This headpiece is part of the studio wardrobe so if you’re looking to unveil your inner showgirl, I’ve got you covered.

Funny story time.  So I can do a lot with natural light, meaning the sun.  I know how to create shadows with it and so I figured “how hard can it be to do the same with actual lights?”  Well, after having a friend accompany me to a test shoot where we could try just that I learned that it is, in fact, not the same at all.  For over an hour we tried to stick a light behind some blinds to get the blind panels to shadow across her body.  We moved this light every way we could, made it face every single way we could, she stood everywhere she could (including behind the blinds) all while topless, in a floppy hat and heels.  It could have been really awkward if we weren’t friends and she didn’t start out as a client and know what to expect from me.   In the end and with over an hour of shooting we gave up but we DID get a few photos with the shadows.  Not my best moment, but I own it.   I never learned how to make those shadows but I will try again one day.

Anyway, last year I really wanted to try my hand at lighting.  I wanted to be able to expand my portfolio and offer a more diverse look to clients.  Shooting natural means you just use the sun to light your images with no studio lights.  This is how I have always worked and preferred to work since I know it, I get it, and it’s cheap!  Lighting intimidates me but I like a good challenge every now and again.  I purchased a lighting kit from the guy who owns the studio where I shoot and began practicing.  While I know I have a lot to learn I’m really loving the feel so far.  I love being able to offer a more sleek and editorial feel to my images and my clients love it, too!  Here are a few photos from a recent shoot using studio lighting.  No, this isn’t Jennifer Lopez, this is a real client.   Isn’t she stunning?

These were all lit with an AB-800 strobe and 24×32 softbox to camera right about a 2 feet in front of the client.  85mm, f6.3, 1/125 sec at ISO 200.

2012 has been huge for me.  It is the year where I pushed myself and my limits.  I became a full time photographer in July and I could not have asked for a bigger blessing in disguise.  As I looked back over the photos to compile these images, I am in awe that I only met these women this year.  Women I have come to adore and I feel like I have known forever.  Women who I keep in touch with and whom are some of my most avid supporters; both in business and life.  This is just a small glimpse into this past year and the stories and images I have been so blessed to share with the world.  As always, this is only about 50% of the ladies I have had the pleasure of photographing, as privacy is my number one interest with clients and I respect their rights when it comes to image sharing.

While these images are beautiful as are the women in them, it is the stories behind them that you don’t always see.  Women who have fought and are fighting cancer.  Women who are business owners, mothers, wives, and lovers.  A woman born with 2 uterus and who at 40 has decided she may finally be ready for children.  A woman who was pregnant at her session but unfortunately lost her baby to a tubal pregnancy 2 weeks later.  A woman who’s husband hasn’t touched her intimately in months and another who’s husband pushed her to celebrate herself and see herself as beautifully as he does.  A woman with a double mastectomy, newly weds, brides to be, incest survivors, women working over seas, women in armed forces.  We have cried together but more importantly, we have laughed together.  All of these women that have one thing in common – the desire to look and feel beautiful and sexy, just as they are.

My heart is full and I have become a better person for helping them with their journey.  Documenting their beauty and sensuality and giving them permission to celebrate it.  I could go on forever but sometimes less is more.  I adore you all, and I thank you for an amazing year.  Also, I have to give half of my credit to my amazing makeup artist, Jade.  She has been my sidekick and partner through this all and I could not ask for a better stylist to have on my team.  We have gone through bottomless cups of coffee and packs of eyelashes but not once has she complained about the early mornings and late evenings.  Only the best for my clients!  Also to my amazing boyfriend who has been my biggest supporter and has put up with so many nights where I only had the energy to eat and fall asleep while watching a movie.  I cannot wait to see what 2013 holds.  Please, keep shining on.

Since starting to shoot boudoir 3 years ago, my boudoir wardrobe is bursting at the seams.  From late night shopping sprees online to buying pieces for myself that ended up not fitting, I have a very wide array of clothing, lingerie, and prop.  Lace, silk, sequins, sheer tops, thigh high boots, feather capes, vintage perfume bottles and cameras, you name it.  Then came my next idea.

Often times women will email me and want to book a session and ask for advice on what to purchase.  They know they want to have a session, but they have no idea what to wear!  They see the pieces on my website and love them (many which are my own) but they are only familiar with the popular lingerie stores, like Victoria’s Secret.  I keep a suitcase in the back of my car full of random pieces and let clients look through it to see if there’s anything in there they’d like to use.  Most sessions are usually a combination of my pieces and theirs, and sometimes my pieces are things past clients have donated!

This coming year though, I want to put more attention on styling sessions just for my clients.  I want to find out the exact vision they have for their shoot and help them run with it and take it to the place they imagine and beyond.  This styling will come at an additional fee but at the end of the session, clients can either choose to purchase the items at a reduced cost of they will stay a part of the boudoir wardrobe.  While I already make it a point to get to know my clients and their vision before their shoot, I want this to go further.  I want it to be more personalized and I want my clients to know that when they slip into a certain piece of clothing at their session that it was chosen specifically for them and to make the photos they have in mind.

]]> http://simply-boudoir.com/blog/2012/12/03/styling-greensboro-north-carolina-boudoir-photography/feed/ 0 http://simply-boudoir.com/blog/2012/11/28/showgirl-greensboro-north-carolina-boudoir-photography/ http://simply-boudoir.com/blog/2012/11/28/showgirl-greensboro-north-carolina-boudoir-photography/#comments Wed, 28 Nov 2012 18:54:35 +0000 Stacey http://simply-boudoir.com/blog/?p=2892 These are some of my most favorite images to date.  This client brought along some beautiful pieces to her session and I brought along random pieces I have.  We paired her high-waist panties and thigh highs (I LOVE these) with my feather cape and made the room look like it was full of rich and luxurious fabrics and patterns.  She had the perfect look to fit a sensual yet classy and cheeky cabaret look and she moved like a dancer.  I made sure to let her know that I loved how she held her mouth slightly open, because most people feel weird doing so.  She laughed and said “Oh, well it’s the only model pose I know!”  haha. I love when ladies relax and have fun and I think these photos prove how well relaxation reads on the camera.