A rare treat today – a few anonymous images from a recent couple’s boudoir shoot. This pair has an edgy, alternative vibe and were great fun to work with. To maintain their privacy, we’re keeping everything cloak and dagger, but you can still get a feel for how things turned out;)
Love a good black and white details shot.
I know this is just one person, but how gorgeous does Mrs. look here? Those shoes too…
Bums and hands:)
Seeeriously. Legs for days.
We did an “Eyes Wide Shut” inspired set with some of the Venetian masks I have available for clients. Obviously you can’t see them here, but they turned out great and it’s a theme I’d happily shoot again.
Anyone else feeling like it’s time to hit the gym? Such good figures on these two.
A slightly different frame here. It think black and white feels more classic.
Good light never fails.
Jeffrey Campbell spiked boots and lots of edgy accessories made for a completely different feel to the second half of the shoot. Part of the fun of a photo shoot is that you can put your own personality and style into it, whether you’re the corporate power suit type, the rock ‘n roll headbanger type, or something in between.
Mr. and Mrs., it was lovely working with both of you!
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.
Miss L is the nicest person you’ve ever met. Not probably the nicest, she actually IS the nicest, warmest person in the history of people. As in, if Disneyland made a woman prototype to entertain children at the park, it would be her. So when I needed someone to help me teach a 1-1 workshop for another budding photographer, she was the perfect choice.
Valentine’s Day is coming up, so of course we did red.
Red lingerie on red velvet. A winning combo if you ask me!
Loooong legs, and a sort of weird, accidental pose we stumbled into here on the right. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but it’s growing on me. What do you think?
Chunky black heels give this a more contemporary, quirky vibe than a traditionally stiletto.
Miss L’s lacy red lingerie set is from Boux Avenue. They have several great Valentine’s Day lingerie options, all for about £50 for a matching set. Step things up a notch with a corresponding suspender belt and stockings for around £30 more. If you throw on a classic pair of black heels from your closet (or mine) and a signature red lipstick, you’ve got a killer head to toe look for around £80.
It’s worth remembering nails too – Miss L’s sparkly 4th finger looks fab in person, but sometimes a bit weird on camera. My advice is a solid neutral colour that will work with each outfit you have planned.
A grainy black and white is always so moody.
These images we created in the window were my favourite from the shoot.
Oh Miss L. You and your doe eyes are so prettyprettypretty.
Do you need a gift for Valentine’s Day? Hmmmm? Hint hint.
Seriously. You will WIN Valentine’s Day if you show up with images like these.
New studio (updated pictures coming soon), new favourite pose.
I thought that I came up with this “play in the curtain” idea on my own, but I’ve recently realised that I’ve probably subconsciously stolen it from Victoria’s Secret.
#sorrynotsorry
We did this whole shoot in one lingerie set. I’d encourage variation and variety when possible, but in a pinch, one look will do!
Miss L, you were wonderful as always. It was so nice to catch up, can’t wait to see you again:)
She’s a yoga-doing, vegan-eating, entrepreneur-minded stunner. Also, a salon owner and dreadlock extraordinaire at The Eclectic Chair in Idaho Falls, ID where she does great work. She cut and coloured by hair while I was in America and I’m so happy with it, which is really saying something.
And now…I’ve captured her soul in my camera:)
We created this outdoor set for Shante’s boudoir photography session, but when Tia said she was up for a shoot as well I couldn’t resist adding her to the mix. I mean – look at her real life hippie hair!
I’m still so amazed by this light:)
This lacy shawl is ideal for a bohemian theme. It’s also a really forgiving cut, so if you’ve overdone it on the cake lately something like this would be a great wardrobe option.
Dreamy. Those earrings are perfect.
Tia never smiles on camera, but I tricked her into it.
See? I’m funny.
And if you don’t think I’m funny, I’ll just fall off something or do a chicken dance. Whatever it takes. You can only be so serious when your job is basically playing dress up and taking pictures of people in their underwear.
Look two with big hair and really dramatic, dark lips. This is probably a stronger look than would suit most people, but it certainly makes a statement.
Love love this image.
These look so different in black and white, don’t you think? I prefer the colour versions for most of this shoot, but I liked the soft light spill at the top on this one.
The golden hour is so bewitching.
Tia, it was such a pleasure working with you! Already looking forward to next time:)
Whatever you want to call it, we had a lot of jewellery, tassels, and sun flare going on for this shoot.
Putting a bed outside is an idea I’ve been blabbering on about for so long that I’m even sick of hearing myself talk about it. I’m so pleased we finally made it happen though. Isn’t this light incredible?
Like lots of things this past trip to America, our shoot location had to be changed at the very last minute. Luckily, we were able to make this little group of trees in the back yard of Miss S’s childhood home work. When in doubt, light over location.
Coco Chanel said, “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.” Great advice, but the trick to pulling off this sort of look is to do the opposite. Just keep piling it on. When you think you have enough, add some more. Then look in the mirror, and add one more thing. For more irreverent styling advice, visit Shante’s fashion blog, The Confashional.
Isn’t this floral shawl great? Miss S found it at TJ Maxx (TK Maxx for those of us in the UK).
We pulled this entire set together in about an hour – everything was scrounged together from stuff we found in the garage and around the house. A big thank you to Tia at The Eclectic Chair for her fantastic work on Shante’s makeup and ridiculously good hair extensions.
Happy happy. Love those feather earrings.
Hazy hot summer sun.
A slightly more moody feel to these.
Oh, did I mention we found some more animals to annoy? Neighbourhood horses came to play!
Once again, I was reminded how challenging it is working with animals. Horses are by far worse than snakes, but we still got a few fun shots out of it. Miss S is working it like a pro here.
A quick makeup and wardrobe change for our second look. Deep dark lips are one of Miss S’s signature looks, so it only seemed right that we add it in to the mix.
Check out those custom boots!
And to finish this post, a few frames shot in the dying light of day. Shante, I’m so glad we did this. You absolutely killed it;)
We played “Chloe gets married” at the warehouse the other day…
…don’t you think she’ll make the most stunning bride?
Perfect hair by Gemma, and fantastic-as-always makeup by Debbie. Bridal slip is Chloe’s own, and it worked perfectly.
Many of my bridal clients love the idea of using their wedding veil in their photo shoot, but often times they either don’t have it yet or are concerned about getting it dirty. Enter the ebay veil. This beauty was 8 Pounds and arrived in three days. Possibly the best purchase I’ve made this year!
Lovely lovely Chloe.
This is a boudoir shoot after all, so we stepped things up with a white bodysuit for our second look.
It’s worth noting Chloe’s red nails, which can be a little distracting. Red is a great for making a statement with dark or strongly coloured lingerie, but I’d suggest a more neutral nail colour that will transition through all of your wardrobe choices, particularly if you are planning to include a traditional white or ivory “bridal” look in the mix. We threw this shoot together on very short notice, so there was no time for a jaunt to the nail salon.
We did this set with no jewellery at all, but you could quite easily add some in if you wanted. A small necklace, diamond studs, or a gold bracelet to match Chloe’s metallic shoes would all work well.
A slightly pulled back view of this new warehouse venue. It’s very similar to the old one, so it’s great to have each as an option.
Simple, clean makeup seems to be the best pairing for a bridal boudoir set. I like a step up from natural, but not so much that it grabs your attention.
The new warehouse does have this incredible wall panel, which I fell in love with straight away.
You know I’m a sucker for the backlight.
Look 3: white lingerie separates and nude stockings. It retrospect, I wish we would have done this look barefoot or with different shoes – maybe patent nude heels. It looked great in person, but I feel like the shoes seem a bit heavy in the final images.
This mask on the left is from Tanith at the Masque Boutique. Her metal masks are incredible – if you need to look mysterious anytime soon I’d give her a shout.
Something about black and white images makes you sink into them – they always seem to feel older and more authentic. I’ve been playing around with these genuine polaroid textures and grain settings lately, I think I’m starting to get the hang of it:)
I mean…you can only be pretty and lacy for so long, right? Our last set was black on black, with a strong red lip, smokey eyes, and a lace wrap borowed from Gemma.
And see? Now the nails are purrrfect.
Chloe’s come to steal your soul in this one:)
And that’s a wrap! Chloe you were a dream to work with, thanks again for a fantastic shoot.
She’s dynamic, beautiful, funny, and confident. Maybe she’s always been this way, or maybe it’s just what happens when you wind up your fast leg and kick breast cancer squarely in the mouth.
It was an honour to photograph her either way.
We started the shoot off in her husband’s shirt. This is such a lovely way to show your partner you’re thinking of them, and it looks great too.
If your partner is quite a bit bigger than you, we can always pin the shirt around you so it doesn’t drown you. Or, you could bring other items that are personal to your relationship – maybe a tie, a piece of jewellery, an old concert t-shirt, etc.
Statement jewellery can be a lot of fun.
These pearls were a dream to shoot with, and you don’t have to break the bank – just get some good fakes and no one will ever be the wiser.
For our next look, we added a bold red lip and paired it with classic black lingerie.
Oh Hi…I’m Mrs. M and I have the most incredible eyes ever…
Sometimes a sneaky little anonymous shot is great for an album cover or wall art. We ended up choosing a different image for Mrs. M’s album, but I still like the mysterious nature of this frame.
This location has a great view of the Shard. The weather was good and Mrs. M was feeling brave, so we hopped onto the balcony quickly.
This is Mrs. M’s wedding sari. HOW CUTE IS THAT? We both loved how these turned out, and I’m sure her husband did too:)
Initially, Mrs. M told me that she didn’t like her breast cancer scars and might want me to remove them in post production, but she wasn’t 100% sure yet. After we talked it through, I told her that I’d leave them so she could see how she felt about them in the final images.
In the end, they didn’t bother her half as much as she though they would and we left them in.
I like that.
You know why? Because a scar does not make you look less beautiful. It just makes you look stronger.
OH MY HELL. Shut up with your pretty face Mrs. M.
And the legs. Enough already with your long legs.
Just kidding, you’re amazing. Loved these implied topless shots as well.
Mrs. M, it was beyond lovely to work with you. My very best wishes for your two new projects coming up;)
Emma and I first worked together about two years ago. She had a very different look back then, so when I had a last minute session come free we arranged for round two. Newer, fresher, summery.
I actually just dug through my blog archives to find our original images, and I’m having a very surreal feeling comparing the two shoots…but that’s another post for another time. On to the good stuff.
Simple, pretty, a little understated, and a little French.
Miss E is wearing Agent Provocateur’s bridal range on top. This bra is part of my (small but growing) studio collection of lingerie that is available for clients to use, but unfortunately I don’t have the matching bottoms. I brought it along anyway, and Emma just so happened to have a perfectly matching set of knickers in her bag. One point to us.
Sometimes the best frames are the ones you don’t even try for.
A little window light is all you really need for beautiful bridal boudoir imagery.
The obligatory silhouette. It never fails.
Next up is this beautiful raw silk kimono and matching knickers, hand made by the lovely Katrina of Stripped Beautiful.
I’ve been waiting for weeks for an excuse to use this in a shoot. It turned out exactly how I’d imagined – soft, flowy, and a little whimsical. This is also available for clients to use, and it’s a very forgiving fit since the knickers tie up on the sides.
Lots of moody black and whites this go around.
And then there’s this number: an insanely priced set from Agent Provocateur’s Soiree Collection. It’s a quarter cup and weighs about ten pounds, but it’s quite tricky to photograph without pasties. I’m working on getting some pasties made to match and then we’ll show it off properly;)
Love this pose, it seems to be universally flattering for women.
A few frames using the vanity table and mirror. This shoot alone has convinced me to buy one of these for the new studio.
The thing about Emma is that she’s got verrry long legs and is six feet tall, so we had to be a tad careful that she didn’t end up looking like she was in a doll’s house.
Fun with mirrors.
Some more fun with mirrors. It’s a bit of a theme this shoot;)
Messy hair, dark eyeliner, and black lingerie for the win.
Miss E has such a great stare down.
A few lighter bed shots next. These sort of images are a great way to inject a little fun and movement into your album.
This room is overpoweringly silver in real life. It looks garish and fake at best (because let’s face it – there’s no way that’s all genuine silver leaf). However, thanks to the magic of a little clever lighting and toning in post processing, the end result is anything but.
There’s something a little Angelina Jolie about Emma here.
Over the shoulder:)
This last set is not for the faint hearted. Another Agent P number, this one is all straps and daring PVC. It’s a bit intimidating, but great if you want something that’s going to push you outside your comfort zone.
You can see it doesn’t quite fit Emma properly, but we though it was close enough to use anyway. If we wanted to get technical about it, we could have just pinned that rogue strap back or retouched it out, but I wasn’t that bothered by it. I just really loved Miss E’s hair and lip colour in this image.
Anyway – if you’re feeling brave, this one is yours to borrow as well.
We ended the shoot in the terribly lit bathroom but still managed these two images. A bit arty and maybe a little over-processed, but still sort of cool:)
Something about black and white images makes you sink into them – they always seem to feel older and more authentic. I’ve been playing around with these genuine polaroid textures and grain settings lately, I think I’m starting to get the hang of it:)
And that’s a wrap! Chloe you were a dream to work with, thanks again for a fantastic shoot.
