Koop Island Blues

I discovered this seductive little song and subsequently amazing band, KOOP from a familiar photographer's boudoir website, where this was playing as background music. I totally fell in love and the Parisian imagery is stunning.
Gorgeous and sexy, but so sad ♥

A day in the studio with Button

Late last year, I got an email from a model, Button saying she'd like to work with more models and would I like to arrange something with her? She is a lovely girl; I first met her a few years ago at one of the Brighton group shoots and she's now a friend of mine :)
We were lucky enough to have use of Graham Wood's Red Rose studio in the New Forest, and we had three great photographers for the day; Karen Jones, Riccardo de la Venetzia and Roland S.
Button and I worked independently at first, then joined towards the end of the day for some Calvin Klein-inspired shots.
It was a wonderful day and I would work with her again in a heartbeat, not to mention the other photographers. I had done several shoots with Karen prior to this one and also shot with Roland the week after these were taken, when I unfortunately had raging flu!

Anyway, here are a few from Riccardo on the day, (January 8th) all except second row / left and the last, which were taken by Roland. I decided to style a fringe for the shots where I coupled up with Button.

 

 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Karen was particularly fond of the last set, judging by the number of images she edited!

The following are all taken by her. She has a very distinctive way of editing - sort of a vintage feel, which I adore. I especially love the tones in the sepia.

 

 

Third session with the Porters

My last shoot as a twenty four year old was with Julian Porter for Ecole Boudoir. Jules, Sue and their client for the day, Zedrick Burgos were all happy with the results, and I left before midday so they could continue their session with second model, Lucy Lu.

Zed had travelled from Quatar to train with Julian and had never shot boudoir before.

These photos were taken Feb 16th, the day before my 25th with some lovely lacy new lingerie I bought for Valentine's Day! ♥

 

 

 

 

 

If you are interested in taking photographs like this, please don't hesitate to get in touch with Ecole Boudoir for more details on the one-2-one courses they offer and group days that constantly run throughout the year. Their aim is to show you how to shoot and build a boudoir business.

"During our day we have 2 models and each model changes a couple of times and one will also do our 'how to look good naked' shot at the end of the shoot (subject to model preferences)  This will give you a great idea of how to pose and change lighting depending on what the model is wearing as well as provide you with a great startup portfolio.

Our aim is for you to leave being able to shoot like this and have the ability to add this very lucrative style of photography to your business,

We offer one-2-one days 7 days a week to suit you (subject to our availability) but we also run group workshops for up to 4 people but NEVER more. Our next group day with spaces is March 8th, details below."

A few past memories

Yesterday I was somehow linked back to my old DeviantART account, (which I have an unintentional habit of forgetting about) and not only did I find some pretty horrific images of me from years back in my own galleries, (what was I thinking!) I had a little sort out and came across some images of me that other photographers had added.

Mick Waghorne - the link there is for his DeviantART page, although all you need to do is image google his name and you'll see most of his stunning work.
Anyway, April/May 2008, was a delight to work with.. so charismatic and fun, and the icing on the cake? He loves the Doors! Well, he used to love the Doors. He probably doesn't love the Doors so much now after I found an old LP resting up by a door and made him play it the whole duration of the shoot.
I'm not usually a fan of music playing whilst I'm working, which is odd because I'm very musical and play the piano; I find I can't concentrate. But there's something about Jim Morrison's voice that draws you in to just the right mood.. mmm.

Jim Rowbotham - lovely guy and good friend who now specialises in exquisite dance photography and once took me to Paris to shoot at the Sacré-Cœur and Père Lachaise cemetery. We have shared many a story along with images and our inspirations.

Here's one from June 2008, not in Paris but just down the road at Lowford Studio when the studio was just starting out.

Ashley Pomeroy, whose blog 'Women and Dreams' I really admire, was one of the first photographers ever to have worked with me at Lowford Studio. In fact, I think it was when the studio had a different name and was managed by the previous owner.

July 2008 - I used a whole tube of silver body paint to cover every inch of my skin and we experimented with natural light to enhance textures and shape.

November/December 2008 - classic art nude by a beautiful window in a beautiful indoor location and a first proper attempt at erotica with George Swift. It wasn't far off his first attempt in this genre either. I think we did well but I'd have to dig into external hard drives for more photos from this session.

Plus, having also worked together in the last four months, I will be posting images very soon of our second shoot.

So I arrived in Newcastle after a 7-hour train journey, desperately needing a cup of tea, somewhere to retouch my make-up, somewhere to chill for 5 minutes before shooting.. but thinking we were heading straight for a bitterly cold outdoor location to get started.

No, George had booked a 5* room in a gorgeous castle - a large ensuite and a beautiful four poster bed. One of the many reasons I am so fond of him!

Mark Gilham worked with me during an afternoon in Kent this time last year. His studio in Maidstone, The Beauty Of Light is where he took the final photo, (below) after many attempts and hours of very slight movements of my body, hair and the light behind me. It was a very awkward pose to hold but as I hope you'll agree, well worth the effort.

Sometimes, having one striking single image to show for an afternoon's work has more impact than getting and keeping a dozen.

Finally, at some point before May last year, (I can't remember exactly) I did an art nude workshop for Mikko Summala at MWM Studios. These photos were taken by one of the participants of the workshop, Gary Plumley, not Mikko himself.

It was a highly productive and informative day, even for me. We were playing in low-key, experimenting with shadow and learning about the use of directional light with the aid of a snoot.

I love being able to easily see how light falls on my body. The slightest movement can make the shadows dance.

I also love how in the last photo, shadow has been used to enhance my body shape. It really 'nips in' my waist and encourages the eye to follow the contours of my curves.

As for my DeviantART account, it's empty now bar one photo, but I will be looking to add bits here and there, so please feel free to watch or add me as a friend if you're a member: http://wildchief.deviantart.com