A disused belt factory in North London, a pink faux fur jacket, and a “we’re with the band” attitude; this is how Lesley’s London warehouse boudoir photography session went.
Lesley is an animal lover with a cool, alternative style. She has a heart of gold and is so easy to work with, so it’s always a pleasure to have her in front of the camera. For this shoot we used one of my favourite venues, a disused belt factory in North London. It’s a popular location for commercials, music videos, and magazine shoots, and the kind of place you spot on telly often once you’ve been there.
Our first look was a 90’s / grunge aesthetic. Please don’t feel limited by lingerie or pressured into showing more skin than you want, there’s no reason we can’t throw in a clothed look like this! It’s still really fun, and it can be a nice way to break yourself in. It’s also a guaranteed way to have a few images you feel more comfortable sharing publicly. We did two looks for this: a band t-shirt and a Nirvana-esque plaid option.
When the outfit isn’t lingerie (totally fine)
A similar idea on the same theme; if you want to make a visual impact, something super scandalous is certainly not the only lever we can pull. Lesley unpacked this stunning pink faux fur jacket and I gravitated to it immediately. I may have tried it on at some point, because I cannot help myself. If you’re looking for further inspo along these lines this Wonderland editorial uses a similar piece in a way I like.
This corner of the warehouse has a bare plaster wall I love. I might be the only one who uses it, because it always has a mountain of stuff piled up and I have to spend 20 minutes moving it all out of the way. It’s worth it though. It has the most dreamy light and a soft yet textured finish that feels totally different to anything we shoot in the rest of the venue. I’ve been using it for headshots for ages, and I thought it would be perfect for this look.
Half the battle with non-traditional styling is just not being predictable. The other half is staying true to yourself and your style. I’m all for stepping outside your comfort zone, but it still needs to be something you actually like. Ideally something you love, but you think it’s a bit too crazy or you’re not quite cool enough / brave enough / whatever enough to pull it off. If you wouldn’t be caught dead in something in real life (because you think it’s ugly), please don’t bring it to a shoot – you’ll end up feeling like a clown in it and we’ll swap for something else anyway.
Rockstar energy: London warehouse boudoir photography
This next look was rockstar inspired. We used lots of vintage props like an old telly, a bunch of busted up speakers, and my favourite light in the whole world. It weighs about a thousand pounds and gets super hot, but creates such a perfect vintage glow. I will probably cry if I turn up here one day and it’s busted, because we all know I’m never getting that thing in a carry on.
Wardrobe for this look was fully unhinged. Lesley is wearing a bodysuit with some sort of angry rabid fox on the front (?maybe it’s a dog?) and the most un-walkable shoes I have ever seen in real life. They are so cool though. They remind me of McQueens from that alien music video. This look came together thanks to the posing though, if you’re going to be with the band you have to own it. I’m always asking people to bring a playlist – doing this with no music feels weird, trust me.
A fringe jacket, a lightbulb, and covering up on purpose
Our last outfit of the day was based around a classic black fringe jacket. I love any jacket situation for a shoot, it makes everything look so cool and also (somehow) like you’re barely even trying to look hot.
As I’m writing this, I’m also noticing that Lesley’s upper arms are covered for almost the whole shoot. For many curvier clients, that is an area that feels more difficult to show and love. This shoot is a great example of how we can use wardrobe to de-emphasise upper arms in a cool, non-obvious way. Mixed feeling about this lightbulb though, the idea is there and I like the way they turned out, but ideally it would be one of those vintage filament ones. Maybe I’ll put that in my rider lol.
If you love this vibe and would like to shoot here, let’s chat about it. This is truly such a fab venue, and they even have a big heater now, which makes it an option outside of the normal summer months. It’s surprisingly flexible, with lots of space and nice-to-haves like a makeup room, kitchen, dressing room, and top notch sound system. If you’re tempted, you might also like to check out The Ringmistress Shoot with Kat, which was also done here. Get in touch if you’d like more information about how you can have a shoot here too.
