Today we feature an editorial shoot by Erika Nelly of Erika Nelly Photography. Erika photographed model Jessie Jess at her studio in Miami, Florida, with hair and make-up artistry by Vanessa Ortiz. Thank you Jessie and Erica for sharing your boudoir session with us!
If you’re looking for a boudoir photographer in the Miami area, visit Erika Nelly’s portfolio and to see more of her work http://www.erikanelly.com
Today we bring you an editorial shoot from Boudoir International member, Tamara Paskey- Alexander of Paskey Photo & Boudoir. Tamara is a boudoir photographer in Kansas City, Kansas. She was very much inspired this past year by model, Molly, who is featured here in multiple shoots. Thank you Molly and Tamara for your contribution to the Boudoir International blog!
Hair/Makeup Artist:
Molly did her own on the field shoot. For the greenhouse shoot I did her makeup, and Sammy Roberts did the hair.
What was your overall vision for the shoot, or – how did you decide to shoot this concept?
I always shoot boudoir with lingerie so I was wanting to change it up a little and go for some glamour this time. I love fashion inspired shoots with gorgeous makeup and a soft setting.
When I moved to Kansas in November I came across the field and fell in love. The grass was dead and the perfect height to shoot in. I knew it would be the best back lit with a sunset with a vintage feel. The greenhouse is something I’ve always wanted to shoot in, but never had access to. Not sure where the idea came from, but I knew it had to be with a dress that was over the top amazing and curve hugging. I wanted it to feel like a Chanel ad in a magazine.
Did you work with a stylist, or did you style all the outfits/accessories yourself?
I always style my own shoots. They wouldn’t feel like mine if I let someone else do it for me. I’m a big fan of antiquing and thrift shopping so I have a great collection in my “studio closet”. Everything in the “Winter Glamour” shoot is vintage and paired for a 40’s feel. I think the cool pastel of the green satin offsets the warmth of the sun to make a subtle contrast.
In the Greenhouse shoot we used one of Molly’s old pageant dresses! She was an avid pageant contestant and always loved that dress. The second she brought it to the studio for my opinion, I fell in love. I’m glad my 2013 representative has great taste! It ended up being perfect for an old Hollywood glamour feel. I asked Sammy (hairstylist) for old Hollywood waves and I think she hit the nail on the head!
How would you describe your typical style, was this a departure or were you playing into your typical inspiration?
These are definitely my style. Working with Molly and other models allows me to let my creativity out. While I don’t typically do these types of shoots with my normal boudoir clients (they arent requested as much as the sexy stuff), outdoor glamour is definitely a passion just as much as boudoir with lingerie in a studio. I think most would say my style is easily recognizable because I use the same techniques to pose and work with my clients whether its for boudoir, glamour, fashion, or pinup.
If you could choose the most important pieces of the styling or set in your images that you would say set the tone for the whole shoot what would they be?
I would have to say the colors and fabrics of the outfits I use have the biggest impact on the feel of the shoot I’m trying to create. I wanted to use pastel satin for the field shoot to create a natural flow of colors drawing all the focus up to her eyes. The gold sequins of the pageant dress to stood out against the bright greens, pinks, and yellows at the greenhouse. It was much more bold and focusing on the curves of her hips.
Photographers always know that nothing goes to plan in a editorial shoot where there are so many elements that have to come together, overcoming them and still getting killer images is what makes us pro. 🙂 What challenges did you face?
We luckily didn’t come across to many challenges with either of these shoots, since we work so well together. I also like to plan everything out as much as I can before hand. I suppose you could say the wind was something we weren’t expecting for the field, but it worked so well in our favor! I couldn’t imagine that set without her hair blowing now.
The greenhouse was also fantastic except for photo bombers. Haha. A few older women were being nosy and stood in the background of our shots trying to figure out what was happening. 🙂 We asked one woman if she wanted to be in our photos and she quickly walked away. 🙂
Describe the setting of the shoot/location, and how it inspired you:
Both locations were the original inspiration for each shoot, then everything else is added in afterwards.
Would you want to recreate this shoot for your clients? Or was this a one-of-a-kind original?
I would love to! I would customize it for their style more though so it didn’t feel like a copy.
Anything else you want to share about the shoot?
Molly is my 2013 representative for the year. I moved to the Kansas City area within the past year from Lexington, KY and basically had to restart my business. Working with Molly has helped me a ton by allowing me to create images to share for advertisements and online, and even more important, she tells EVERYONE about me. She’s been an amazing addition to Paskey Boudoir.
If you’re searching for a boudoir photographer in the Kansas City area, check out Paskey Photo and Boudoiron Boudoir International. To see more from Tamara, visit her website.
Sexiness is different to everyone. It depends on your mood, maybe what you like to wear, or maybe even what you think is deemed a “sexy” location. Ask us and we will always say that Paris is the “sexiest” city in the world. Now onto the definition of boudoir photography, every photographers definition may vary, but for us, it’s sexy photos of a woman that make her feel incredible! So now combine our loose definition of sexy with our lovely definition of boudoir, and you might be able to say this video and images make the cut for this blog. Either way, we want to encourage women that boudoir photos doesn’t have to mean racy lingerie, or the lack of any lingerie, hee hee. You can take gorgeous sexy photos in a dress, or a sweater and jeans. And if you find a location that is a sexy too, well that’s is just icing on the cake!
We are in L.O.V.E. with this gorgeous curvy boudoir photo shoot by Jodi Lynn Maxwell of Le Boudoir in Tempe Arizona. Jodi’s model, the beautiful Miss Amanda, is absolutely ROCKING this photo shoot. And I just love that Jodi shows the world how women of ALL shapes and sizes are absolutely gorgeous!!! We love this. Jodi, thank you for sharing your beautiful shoot with us!
Model: Amanda
Hair/Makeup Artist: Beauty by Erica
What was your overall vision for the shoot, or – how did you decide to shoot this concept?
From the moment we are little girls from one avenue to another we are surrounded with images and ideals of what women “should” look like. We see women in magazines, on television and on the runways, modeling with their thin bodies. It can set an unhealthy tone for a girl’s life if she is naturally curvy. There is no way that a naturally curvy woman will be able to exercise or diet enough to fit into a size zero, nor should she want to!:) Every woman is built in different ways and learning to embrace yourself and your body (yes all of it!) will promote more happiness and acceptance in life. Jodi Lynn, photographer and owner of Le Boudoir Studio believes plus size boudoir photography is so much fun!” (written by Le Boudoir’s studio blogger, “Tianna Leigh”)
I had clients that were coming to me asking if it was ok to come in to the studio if they were plus size, my answer, “heck yes!” I saw that Amanda embraced herself and loved herself and wanted to share that to everyone! My clients did not see enough curvy women on my website and I needed to change that, pronto!
Did you work with a stylist, or did you style all the outfits/accessories yourself?
I brought Amanda shopping so we could make sure we had the perfect fit and style that we were going for! Her husband though loved the cute sexy nerdy girl look at the end and picked it out himself! I wanted to make sure even though we had her model for us that she still had something included that was sentimental for her man!
Describe the styling of the shoot
We wanted to have a few looks, not just one:) My client also owned a few items but not all….
Most of our lingerie was Lingerie Superstores since we also have a partnership with them:)
I always have spare stilettos, at the studio in most sized as well as fedoras, pearls and other jewelery that we purchase at Charming Charlies. An amazing accessory store that you can spend hours in!
How would you describe your typical style, was this a departure or were you playing into your typical inspiration? Most of my style is pretty, bright, natural light but I like to have something for everyone. This is why I added the “Bombshell set” which is the set Amanda did with the gray and black stripes and wall sconces. Super sexy and moody:) Most people describe my style though as sweet and sexy and I feel like the sweetness of my style makes clients less timid to work with me:) I feel like this session shows my style for sure!
If you could choose the most important pieces of the styling or set in your images that you would say set the tone for the whole shoot what would they be?
Honestly, I think that each outfit we chose goes with the light from each set so I feel like the outfit is key! The clothing on the bed is soft and sweet and the dark set has more moody dark clothing. Even the plain white background has the perfect clothes because they really pop since the background it not distracting.
Photographers always know that nothing goes to plan in a editorial shoot where there are so many elements that have to come together, overcoming them and still getting killer images is what makes us pro. 🙂 What challenges did you face?
I think this went very smooth compared to other modeling sessions. I feel like Amanda was very shy at first but really broke out of her shell and embraced everything. I think its hard for any size girl to meet someone for the first time and start trying on lingerie for them within the first 10 minutes of introducing ourselves in person. I think finding the outfits was stressful at first as we tried on so many!
Describe the setting of the shoot/location, and how it inspired you:
The session takes place at my studio in Tempe Az, “Le Boudoir Studio” I almost always shoot there but wanted even more bright lighting so I decided to photograph more in front of the window than we normally do. We just purchased a new chandelier and us photographers know that when we have a new prop we want to platy!
Would you want to recreate this shoot for your clients? Or was this a one-of-a-kind original?
Most sessions I do for models is to test it out for a future client so I love using this session as my inspiration for them!
We are super excited to share this photo shoot with you today!!! This Featured editorial shoot comes from Ashley Durham of The Secret Pinup. Ashley is one of our members on Boudoir International representing Colorado Springs, Colorado! We love her Marilyn Monroe-inspired shoot, and asked her to share a little bit about her vision for the shoot.
Photographer: Ashley Durham
Model: Missy
Hair & Makeup Artist: Landa Chavez
What was your overall vision for the shoot?
Landa and I really wanted to recreate some of Marilyn Monroe’s iconic photos – she was such a classic beauty and is such an inspiring model for me. I really wanted to capture that innocent femininity and sexy playfulness – but also her serious, soulful side.
How would you describe your typical style, was this a departure or were you playing into your typical inspiration?
My typical style is to really focus on the individual client, to tailor each shoot to their personalities – but to also take them to the edge of possibility. Doing this more classic pin-up was a departure from my typical shooting style because we were so focused on recreating and being inspired by images taken half a century ago – but I like to think my style of class and sex appeal weaved into it as well.
If you could choose the most important pieces of the styling or set in your images that you would say set the tone for the whole shoot what would they be?
The most important piece of style was really the model herself – finding someone who not only shared a similar look to Marilyn Monroe – but that sweet, sexy innocence was by far the most important part. Having someone able to feel relaxed in front of the camera and accurately portray Marilyn was vital because without a proper Marilyn, it wouldn’t have been the same.
Photographers always know that nothing goes to plan in a editorial shoot where there are so many elements that have to come together, overcoming them and still getting killer images is what makes us pro. 🙂 What challenges did you face?
The biggest challenge was not just recreating the images – but to put my own spin on them. It’s very easy to copy poses and lighting, and even to find a great model – but really nailing all three together while all together creating something new and (hopefully) inspiring was by far the biggest challenge.
Describe the setting of the shoot/location, and how it inspired you:
We did this shoot in my home-based studio, as well as at the shore of a local beach for the outdoor swimsuit portion. While this was an Ode to Marilyn – this was also a boudoir shoot. Boudoir – as you know – is a French term for “women’s bedroom” … so being in a bedroom studio set was definitely inspiring!
Would you want to recreate this shoot for your clients? Or was this a one-of-a-kind original?
This really was a one-of-a-kind original – it was almost cosmic how it all came together. But I am always looking to go outside the box for clients, to do unexpected things and really make their experience one-of-a-kind – no matter WHAT type of shoot we do!
