I’ve always thought my biggest strength, what really separated my work from others, was my photojournalistic approach. Ninja with a camera, gettin’ all the moments, you know? And most of my couples agree – they hire me because they want as little fuss and muss when it comes to portraits, preferring to go through family portraits quickly and efficiently so that as much time as possible is spent on my candids. And they love that, even if we only have five minutes, we can still get some fun couple portraits and get them back to their party ASAP.
But I’ve found over the last two years just how much fun I’ve been having with my bridal portraits. Yes, we’re fast with the family shots, but if a bride and/or groom gives us plenty of time to shoot the two of them, I’ll take it! 
Heck, I could shoot them all day!
So when my friend Maria Chang of Professional Makeup Artistry (yes, one of the best I’ve ever worked with!) teamed up with Jen Skog to offer couture boudoir portraits, I was intrigued. I’d met Jen briefly at Una Bella Sera at Casa Real and just loved her. And when I saw her boudoir site, I was floored. Couture most definitely! Jen has this amazing way of making every woman look like she should be a model and that you’re reading a fashion magazine.
But would I be comfortable shooting naked people? Eek!
So I thought about it. And I talked with Maria and Jen when they both kindly and generously donated their time to Project Smile (see previous posts). They formed a partnership, offering styling and shooting to create these magical images. I thought about it a little more. Then I talked with another of my favorite stylists and Project Smile volunteer, Monina Wright of Natural Images. She’d been toying with boudoir, too!
We came up with a unique approach, one that I couldn’t find with other boudoir sites. And I most definitely wanted to leave the couture to Jen and Maria, since I’m convinced that Vogue should be begging Jen to shoot for them! I’ve always loved movies from the 30s through the late 40s – the cinematography has always blown me away, and that super saturated feel of the black and whites is what I strive for in my own work. Wow, what if we did a type of boudoir that was similar? And what if it told a bit of a story, too? I knew I wasn’t into the “show it all” style I’d been seeing, but more of the suggestive style, like they did in the 30s and 40s, but with a more contemporary twist.
And no way was I only going to shoot women. I really wanted men to want to do these, too! I would LOVE to see my hubby looking dapper like Cary Grant, with a starched shirt undone and his hair slicked, looking like the most fascinating and sexy man ever. So I bet there are tons of other ladies out there that would want this for their birthday/anniversary/holiday/groom’s gift.
So Monina and I decided to go for it. And with a very generous gift of the penthouse suite at the beautiful PruneYard Plaza Hotel for the day (have you seen this place? It’s gorgeous!), we asked my couples past and present if they’d like to be involved. The response was amazing! We actually had to turn a few away. Wow, were we onto something?
So Friday the 1st, Monina and I started at 9 am and didn’t stop until 9 pm. Whew! Monina and I talked with each person or couple, thinking about the style that they most represented. One of my clients looked unbelievably sexy when she smiled, but the one right after her looked so much sexier when she didn’t. I had clothes and lingerie and hats and jewelry – the jewelry! Monina’s friend Bonnie Harper of One World Designs showed up with piles of the coolest bridal and costume jewelry. There were rhinestone edged blushers, and feather hair clips, and pearls and gleaming glam and we could use whatever we wanted. Yay, Bonnie!
But what really made me smile was how FUN everyone made it. They brought bags full of things, one guy even went as far as doing a full on shopping spree the week before. Nice! It was like a big costume event, with a lot of goofy fun and some sexy thrown in here and there. We had upbeat music going, and my assistant Jen, who is just as much of a goofball as I am, would be boppin’ to the music while holding reflectors or adjusting backdrops.
So here’s a taste of what we were able to get. Most are body parts until we get full permission – no way I’ll post faces until I get an okay from my clients, ya know? ::grin:: PLEASE, tell me what you think, either by email or post it here on the blog. Is this something you’d do? And what would you do with the images? Right now we’re thinking that a “pillow talk” book would come with each shoot…
