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.
I’ve honestly delayed writing this testimonial a bit because I couldn’t think of a way to best convey how amazing an experience it’s been working with Stormy. From my very first email to her, through to the build up of the shoot, the shoot itself and even on through to post-shoot picture selecting, she has been SUCH a pleasure!! She is the consummate professional while at the same time, completely accessible, friendly and simply great at easing any and all concerns. I did my shoot strictly for myself, mostly as an exercise in self-appreciation and self esteem boosting. I was super nervous, had never done anything like it before and could not have found a better person to work with. She even managed to pick THE perfect boutique hotel for me. Honestly, it was almost spooky how perfectly matched I felt to the room. Stormy provides a 5 out of 5 stars service!
If you haven’t already done so, you need to look at ALL of her pictures. One of the things that attracted me to Stormy was seeing how she made a woman in body shaping undergarments and rollers (typically not considered sexy attire) look AMAZING!! That’s not to say the woman herself isn’t beautiful. Clearly, she is. But I suppose that’s the point. All of us carry our own sort of beauty and Stormy is simply brilliant at helping to bring out our most beautiful selves and captures it on film.
Now several of my friends and family members are hoping to do their own shoots and I’m just trying to figure out an excuse to work with Stormy again myself…
Dear soon-to-be brides, bridesmaids, grooms, the recently engaged, and all other manner of people connected to weddings in the next year or so,
I’d be delighted to see you at my booth at The Wedding Fair at ExCel London the 20th and 21st of this month. If you weren’t planning on going but would like to, please get in touch – I have a handful of free tickets:) Just email me via the contact button above and I’ll pop them in the post for you.
We’ll have lots of product samples, great gift ideas for grooms/bridesmaids/maids of honour, and all the information you’ll need to decide if Rebel & Romance Boudoir Photography is your sort of thing. I’d love to answer any questions you might have and/or talk your ear off about how this all works. A few previous clients and my makeup artists are coming along too, so you can chat with them and get the inside scoop.
Also…
We’re doing a MASSIVE PRIZE DRAW, and one of you is going to win the boudoir lottery…to the tune of £2500 worth of Rebel & Romance experience and products. There are some very good runner up prizes too.
Seriously, bride or not you should come hang out with us and put your name in the hat. The fair has a massive champagne bar and a fashion show, plus odds are someone will be handing out cupcake samples. I’m told we’re next to a very popular cake maker, so I’ve got high hopes;)
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.
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.
The decision to undertake a boudoir shoot as a wedding present for my husband to be was a big one. Whilst I was totally confident he would love the present, I wasn’t so confident about taking my clothes off in front of a stranger, especially as I have issues around my pregnancy stretch marks. I spent a long time researching boudoir photographers on the internet. At 44, it was important that my album was a relatively natural and classy affair and so many of the sites I came across showed photographs of over made up women, obviously airbrushed doll-like photographs or cheesy poses (I know, I know, pretend I didn’t do the police shots!). When I came across the Rebel & Romance website I was immediately struck by the beautiful photographs, which were exactly what I was looking for, but I also loved the personal tone to the website content.
In person Stormy was exactly the same and I was really impressed that it was equally as important to her as it was to me, that we struck up a rapport before agreeing to go ahead with a shoot. With this in mind, turning up on the day wasn’t nearly as scary as I had expected – I was far more nervous that my fiancé would phone and ask where on earth I was!
Venturing out of the bathroom in my first set of lingerie was a little bit odd, but by the second set I was totally at ease. Stormy chose poses to hide the areas I wasn’t comfortable in showing and throughout the shoot had me naturally laughing, which was a relief as beforehand I was a little worried I would look like a rabbit in headlights in all the photographs.
I was really nervous meeting Stormy to see the photographs, but I couldn’t have been happier. In fact I did keep wondering if it was really me – surely I couldn’t look quite that good?! I was so excited! The worst part of the whole experience was keeping the secret until the day before my wedding. I had this amazing album hidden in my wardrobe and couldn’t tell a soul.
But it was worth the wait. My fiancé couldn’t believe his luck and the wedding photos of us chatting during the ceremony are actually him telling me how amazing his present was!
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.
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:)
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.
…genuine copper leaf. Because we can, basically. And also because I have a Pinterest addiction.
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.
