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!
