On the blog this week: Jess!
I did some 1-1 training with an aspiring boudoir photographer a few weeks ago, and Jess was kind enough to come down for a shoot and help me teach some posing and direction tips.
I am in constant admiration of the women I meet doing this job, and Jess was certainly no exception. The more I learned about her the more impressed I was – she’s a mother, a cancer survivor, a tattoo artist, a horse lover, and just like all the rest of us, someone who sometimes struggles to call what looks back at her in the mirror beautiful. I know was hard for her to work up the nerve to do this, especially after a particularly challenging few years and lots of tough body changes, so it was a real honour to photograph her.
Like, honestly – it is not easy to be pregnant, to push a baby out of you-know-where, to deal with a diagnosis of cancer and the various operations, treatment, and the ridiculous amount of stress that accompanies that situation, to be a new mother, to loose the baby weight, etc etc etc. and then shortly after all of that, to say yes to yourself and your quiet hope of more self-confidence and reclaiming a teensy bit of your carefree self…by getting half naked in front of a stranger’s camera.
We can laugh and joke about it being a silly photo shoot in your knickers all day long, but the truth is that saying yes to a boudoir shoot is an act of pure courage. I cannot TELL you how much I admire and respect the women who show up in my inbox and at my door.
This work matters. Maybe not to everyone, but it mattered to Jess and it matters to me.
Window light is my absolute fav.
She absolutely killed this pose. You know what else killed? My back. Teaching boudoir posing for two days straight is no joke.
On the right, the classic S curve.
Jess did her own makeup for the shoot, and I think it looks lovely.
In fact, between the tattoos, the hair, and the eyeliner, it felt like we had Amy Winehouse in our midst.
A few simple bed poses up next.
On short notice, Jess bought some of those stick on false nails. They seemed great at first, but we’d lost a few by this point and more kept popping off every few minutes. I tried them once too, and they wouldn’t stick on my fingers very long either. Take it from us: avoid them for your photo shoot/important event/life in general. You had one job nails. One job.
As part of the training, we shot late into the day to practice low light techniques. Silhouettes like this one are a godsend if it starts raining cats and dogs mid-shoot.
Love this.
Legs for daaays. And big shoes. Double win.
Finally, just a few more dark and mysterious bed shots to finish the day.
Jess, thanks so much for your bravery and your patience. Lovely to meet you and work with you:)
xx
Stormy
