I’ve started bringing a little video camera along to shoots. This is my method: shove it at people on set and tell them to film. It’s not the most professional arrangement, but so far everyone has managed to get something useable, and it’s fun. I know a boudoir shoot can be intimidating and a little scary, but hopefully a peek behind the scenes will help you realise that 1) we’re not that cool and 2) you can totally do this.
Here’s one from Lainara’s London boudoir shoot last month at the Courthouse Hotel in Shoreditch, with Sadaf on makeup, Natalia on hair, and yours truly behind the lens.
It’s been hectic, but really good too. We’ve had some great women to work with, a few fun ideas for new sets and props, and plenty of good laughs. Unfortunately, lots of shooting means lots of editing. You can currently find me buried under a mountain of retouching work, so please don’t invite me out anywhere fun. I cannot go, I am in retouching exile until further notice. Send snacks.
Anyway, I thought I’d share some behind the scenes snapshots from the last two weeks. These are straight from the camera so please don’t judge.
Springtime flowers for the win. Clearance roses are my new favourite photo prop.
I made this flower crown in about 15 min out of a wire coat hanger and some fishing line. It was brilliant, everyone wanted to wear it, and it photographed like a DREAM. Here’s a few shots of Gemma and I “working” with Chrissy.
We also DIYed a wedding dress out of some fabric and ribbon. It’s obviously no good for full length, but with a little extra pinning it worked great for bridal hair and makeup shots. We shot some great bridal themed lingerie with Chrissy too, can’t wait to show you those.
This idea needs a lot more work, but doesn’t Chrissy’s makeup look stunning?
A super hot sneak peek for Sarah;) Her shoot is turning out great, and I think she’ll probably be okay with sharing some of it publicly, so you might even get a look if you stay tuned!
This is lovely Anna, who came to shoot portraiture with me for a few days. Anna and I met on set at the TeamGlam photo shoot a few weeks ago. When we realised how much we had a lot in common and that we shared a lot of the same goals for our portfolios, we set up a few days of shared shooting. It’s always more fun to learn with a friend.
Curvy girls in the house! Gorgeous Katie, Jazmine, and Amy bravely came down to be our guinea pigs.
I have also fallen in love with using the hair dryer for creating faux breeze. It’s amazing, I can’t believe I haven’t been using it this whole time.
Makeup artist Hayley manning the wind machine for Eleanor’s set.
Another flower crown, and a comfy & cozy set from Katie’s shoot.
I’m also hoping to be able to release two new lingerie shoots soon – both are slated for publication in magazines so I have to keep them quiet for the time being. I’m told the images will be published “soon.” Your guess is as good as mine on what that sort of timeframe actually means lol! It’s always an honour to see work in print though, so Debbie, Sadaf, Olivia, Katie and I are happily practicing the virtue of patience.
One last thing, we have a really cool location arranged for tomorrow’s shoot. Follow me on Instagram for behind the scenes sneaks: @stormy_rebelandromance
I joined forces with TeamGlam recently for a day of bridal and wedding boudoir. It was great fun playing wedding dress up and prancing around a few million pound flat like we owned the place;) Final images and a full film to come soon! For now, check out this teaser film, which is the exceptional work of Alex at Black Frog.
December always goes by so fast. I mean, it’s the 18th already and I’ve only watched “Elf” once. Disgraceful.
That said, I really can’t complain. Lovely lovely clients lately, some really fun shoots, and a few exciting projects to kick off 2015 with.
Over the holidays we’re hoping to finish more work on the studio, mainly the floor in the second bedroom and some more work in the entryway, which is now the perfect shade of grey. If you’re interested in seeing things as they progress, feel free to follow me on Instagram: @stormy_rebelandromance
I’m pleased to say both of these gorgeous women will be gracing the blog soon, so keep an eye out for them.
Olivia (@curvycampbell) and I have been scheming again;) We’ll be shooting with some fantastic lingerie in January, but that’s all I’m allowed to say for now. We’re also going to be releasing some never before seen images from our last pin up editorial. This shoot was such a massive hit online, I can’t wait for you to see the rest of it.
What else? I’m doing a few great Valentine’s Day themed shoots for anyone who needs a killer gift for their partner this year. Think sexy and seductive, moody lighting, dark red lips. Maybe roses, but nothing cheesy. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’re interested:) We need to get you in early though okay? If you call me on Feb. 12th saying you want a shoot with 6 outfits and a gorgeous custom designed album and you need it at your hotel by dinnertime on the 14th, I’m just going to hang up on you. Quality takes time.
I’m going to go virtual shopping for you too, so expect to see my picks for Valentine’s Day lingerie on the blog in January.
Let’s have a moment of silence to commemorate the death of this hideous little space.
Before and After. What an amazing transformation right?!
All credit goes to the boys on this one; they did such a great job. My father in law, brother in law, and husband managed to turn this gross little cavern of 70’s orange and green into a sleek, modern room anyone would be happy to cook in.
I looove it.
Dinner at mine!
We’re making good progress on the rest of the space, more coming soon:)
I’m four days back in London, and I’ve got some great stuff cooking from the trip. In the meantime, here’s some behind the scenes sneaks and some general randomness from the trip.
Our Idaho boudoir set. I’m so happy we’ve finally made this idea come to life. I honestly forgot how incredible the late afternoon sun can be when it isn’t hidden by miserable clouds. It made for easy easy easy shooting.
Things are not always as they seem. After some last minute schedule changes, we ended up shooting in my client’s backyard and her neighbour’s pasture. That’s me perched atop a fence. Idaho style.
I hired my little sister as my assistant since I was so close to home. She schlepped all my bags, and then I gave her my camera set to auto and gave her about thirty seconds of guidance. She still managed to get some really great stuff! Love this shot she got of me photographing Miss. S and black beauty.
My sister Autumn. You can call her “Horse Whisperer” for short.
RZRs, our transportation to shoot location number two in Swan Valley. I really dislike these things (imagine a 4 wheeler on steroids and you’re on the right track), but there’s no other way to the top of the mountain.
A few behind the scenes prep shots with makeup artist and hairstylist Tia (who is amazing) and Miss S.
Tia and Thena at the crack of dawn, on top of the world, freezing. Neither of them were in the mood to be photographed.
Bwah…look at my sister’s face! She soooo loving her new job right now.
I was lucky to spend a few days with my family before heading home. We made a day trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. If you’re not familiar with it, this is the place you go to get your cowboy on. Or, to buy a giant bronze otter. Or, the tackiest, most blingtastic belt you’ve ever seen.
Or, maybe you just need a very large bear chair in your life?
Also, food is different in this part of America. For one, the fish counter workers are more creative (props to you, lemon crab/octopus maker), and people apparently eat a lot more corn dogs than I ever realised, since they now get their own section in WinCo. Did you know you can actually buy a corn dog that is made of a sausage wrapped in a pancake with maple syrup already applied? I mean…I don’t even know what to say about that except the obvious, “MURICA!”
And, I ate some really dirty gas station food. It was terrible. I remember it being waaaay better.
Then there were the flights. The very long, no good, why is there only ONE customer service centre in the entire airport open, most-of-the-way-around-the-world-flights. I would like to thank everyone in middle America who looked at me like I was an alien for doing a teensy bit of yoga on the airport floor. I would also like to commend United for failing to get me to anywhere on time, “upgrading me” to a middle seat on my redeye home to London, and making me wait in the longest customer service line known to man. Honestly – just as I got to the front of this 55 minute line, United was kind enough to send me a text to say that my delayed flight had just been delayed a further three hours because of “no aircraft.”
I thought maybe I was on that “Boiling Point” show and that I was going to win a car or something if I didn’t lose my sh*% at the customer service lady, or maybe I’d stumbled into a non-celebrity version of “Punked.” Buuuut no. No car, no Ashton Kutcher popping up from behind the counter. Just a seat far worse than the one I booked originally.
As many of you know, I’m working in America until the first part of October. It’s been really nice to be back, and to see some familiar and friendly faces. Yesterday, I bought a Little Debbie lemon pie and a giant pop from the gas station on my way home. I put the window down, the country music (which I don’t even like) up, and sped down the dirt roads to my parent’s house dodging potato trucks and farmers. I felt 17 all over again:)
I wanted to share a few images with you straight away. One of my clients has an incredible cabin in Swan Valley, Idaho, which just might be the prettiest place on earth. We spent the night under the stars, took a stomach turning ride to the top of the mountain before daybreak, and photographed her on the edge of the world at sunrise.
It took our breath away.
I’ve photographed her at least ten times over the years, and I’ve never seen her looking more beautiful than she did in this place. I can’t wait to share the final images with you. Until then, enjoy the scenery:)
Today…a little behind the scenes look at the studio.
We’re seriously making progress now. The bedroom, as you’ll see below, is basically done!
There’s still a lot to do for soft furnishings, but construction wise we’re mostly done – just some trim and plumbing in the the claw foot tub. After testing about seven hundred different colours on the walls (some very ambitious ones too) we ended up going for a neural cream, and it was definitely the right choice. The floors came up great, and the moulding turned out so nice in this room too, even better than the front room I think.
Proper antique side tables with plenty of character. I’m still looking for coordinating lamps, but I love these little guys.
The bedroom chandelier, by day and by night. This photo on the right is really misleading though, because it’s actually SO INCREDIBLY BRIGHT that you can probably see it from around the block. We’re going to get dimmer switches soon. Or sunglasses. One or the other is definitely necessary.
The bedroom fireplace, and antique fire screen. I of course spent 6 or 7 hours painting it a bright, glossy white, but then we decided the black was more elegant and fitting for the room, so I painted over it all. At least I can be grateful it wasn’t the other way around:)
My favourite chandelier of the bunch is this 100 year old French beauty in the hallway. As you can see, it’s a little beat up at the moment, but it’s going to be incredible with a little TLC.
Our one lightbulb wiring test. How great is that shadow?!
These old church pews will serve as a table and seating area in the hallway. They’ve lived the last ten years in some sort of preschool, and arrived covered in sparkle glue, magic marker, and chewed up gum, but they are a nice distressed white now (gum free).
Antique candlesticks, and details on the main room’s fireplace.
The main room’s chandelier. It came from America, but the crystal hanging instructions were quite clearly from a factory in China – one where attention to detail is in no way required to get a job – because it was a joke. The instructions referred to sets of crystals that either weren’t there at all, or were labeled with the wrong letters (N? R? basically the same thing right? just make a squiggle and ship it to the stupid Americans). My father in law spend all day helping us wire and hang it, and then took us from 6PM to 1:30AM to get it to this point. There’s still a whole box of crystals to be hung too!
Chairs for days:)
Yeah…this thing still isn’t done…
The rest of the floors and these stairs are our next project. Everything is going white, and I can’t wait to see how they turn out.
The bannister is staying like this though – rustic and distressed to match the chandelier.
This room will be my office when we’re finished. To the shock and horror of everyone that has seen it so far, we’re leaving that back wall unfinished. I like it. Can I also draw you attention to that stack of antique frames and mirrors? There’s so much goodness hiding in that pile, you just wait and see.
Gunna learn to sew sooner or later!
This is the bathtub for the bedroom. It’s this shocking teal colour now, but will soon be covered with…
…genuine copper leaf. Because we can, basically. And also because I have a Pinterest addiction.
She looks totally different than she did for our first shoot together about two years ago, and I feel like a vastly improved photographer since then, so I thought I’d have a (fun? for you maybe?) look back at our original images.
It’s given me such a weird feeling to go through these again. I’m relieved to find things I still like about this original set of images, although the pile of things I don’t like is obviously much larger. Funnily enough, I remember doing this shoot quite clearly, and I remember being really happy with the resulting images…
I’ve since raised my standards.
At the time, Emma was doing a lot of hair modelling and had a Fifth Element sort of thing going on. Since then, Emma’s traded her red hair and pale skin for a more natural ombre hairstyle and a beachy tan. I think this new look suits her a bit better, although I will always be impressed that she can pull off both looks so well.
I’ve tried to pair these images so the old and new examples are roughly similar. These backlit window images seem the most telling:
A little moodier.
An early vs. recent attempt at a great over the shoulder shot.
I don’t know what I was doing here. Why didn’t I fix the creepy claw hand? Why is she so red?
It took me way too long to realise that nobody looks good with their face directly on the bed.
The far left pose has certainly improved.
Trying to be cool with colour.
I know these are small, so I’ve also added a gallery that expands to full screen below. Y’know, so you can see them in all their horror/glory:)
Meh. It’s a good problem to have I guess.
I hope the next few years bring an even bigger jump up:) If you’re a photographer, it may also be of interest to you to know that my gear hasn’t changed. My post work is better, but my camera and lenses are still basically the same.
