One specific request I get occasionally is to share some information about inexpensive lingerie, which I’m happy to do. I’ve recently found Amazon to be a good source for inexpensive lingerie. Inexpensive is sometimes a nice term for “cheap”, or “comes apart in the laundry”. For the purposes of intimate lingerie for a photo shoot, that might be the only time it ever gets worn! If it gets worn more often than that it probably doesn’t stay on long (wink).
Read MorePhotographers are all well versed in the tools of retouching. It’s just a fundamental tool of the trade. Retouching means different things to different people. I think to a photographer, the spectrum of what “retouching” or “photoshopping” is a lot wider than non-photographers generally understand. For instance, sometimes I fix something as simple as a freckle or a flyaway hair. Some non-photographers immediately think of photoshopping as adding UFOs to an image.
Read MoreI really enjoy when my clients do themed shoots to bring out their personality. This client was a huge Harry Potter fan but clearly was aligned with House Slytherin. There definitely was something DARK about this shoot.
Read MoreI love working as a boudoir business, it’s a truly empowering and rewarding industry. However, there are still challenges to working as a boudoir photographer, and most of those challenges center on misconceptions around what “boudoir” actually is. The “taboo” nature of shooting intimate photography makes it difficult to dispel all of the misunderstandings because people just can’t bear to discuss it!
Read MoreWhat in the world is Wokefishing? Well apparently, some dating service users think they have exploited a loophole in our society. This moment in time is one where many inequities have come to light, and many are craving the friendship and attention of like-minded people in the fight for fairness. On the other hand there are some terrible humans who think this is an opportunity to get laid more easily.
Read MoreI was delighted to have Kandis Shaw in the studio this past week. Kandis won the boudoir giveaway we ran in June out of over 4000 entries. Here is a video of her makeup reveal after Rosie finished. Kandis looked amazing!
Read MoreBeautiful and curvy gals like you have a challenge when it comes to shopping for lingerie. It’s the Victoria’s Secret brand. They are the world’s most well-known lingerie brand, they even hold an annual runway event televised each year. Why is this a problem for curvy women? Well Victoria’s Secret models are rail thin—setting an industry standard.
Read MoreAries You love to be the first to try a new pose, but trusting your experienced photographer is what gets you the best images. Resisting too much against Liz’s posing guidance could totally disrupt the shoot. Though you may have frustrations resist the urge to badmouth your co-workers when you’re chatting in hair and makeup.
Read More“I can’t think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself.” - Emma Stone
If there is only one takeaway from this blog, I want you to know that you are beautiful, special and worthy of being loved! We are bombarded with airbrushed images of women with perfect skin, impossible waistlines and killer confidence everywhere we go. We are marketed shape wear, makeup concealer and over and over we’re told that we’re not good enough. That’s absolutely not true!
Read MoreChicago is full of great women, and the great movies that have been set in the Second City are no exception. I thought this would be a fun list to highlight some fictional women who epitomize the qualities of the ideal Chicago woman. Resilience, courage, grit, determination and hard work, and all of this against long odds are consistent with the women I admire. Here are a few:
Read MoreThis has been a devastating wedding season for those that were planning on holding their big day sometime after March 2020. COVID-19 has caused such strange times and everyone exists in a state of limbo while we’re waiting for the pandemic to pass. We don’t even know when we will be able to reschedule important events.
Read MoreWhether your wedding budget is $10,000 or $50,000 you NEED to make boudoir a part of your wedding plan! Carve out some room for a part of your wedding that will be special to you and your significant other forever.
Read MoreThis has been a difficult time for just about everyone. People have suffered major illness, death of loved ones, termination of employment or disruption to finances, canceled weddings, graduations and a multitude of other losses. Not surprisingly, stress and anxiety are on the rise.
Read MoreThe pandemic has changed so many things for our world, mostly negatively, but there are positives to be mentioned. We’ve been given a gift of time for introspection; lots of time to ask important questions. For example, “Am I doing the work I want to do?” and “Am I ready for how the world will change?”
Read MoreChicago Boudoir has been in existence for just over 2 years now and I’ve definitely grown and learned a lot in that timeframe. I at least started the business with a knowledge and experience in photography and also with specific experience in boudoir, working for another boudoir studio. I’ve had some great mentors! However, many things that work well in my business have been learned the hard way, after making mistakes.
Read MoreOur new normal requires a lot of web-conferencing, and that won’t be changing anytime soon. Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex, Skype and others are replacing the face to face meetings of the past. Even conference calls may soon be a thing of the past for professional meetings since web conferencing technologies have improved their user experience. However, it can be a challenge to still look and feel good on web conference without taking special steps.
Read MoreThe hardest question to answer these days is “What’s new?”. With the world rocked by COVID, there hasn’t been much to look forward to, but Netflix hasn’t disappointed. Netflix must have created one massive backlog to carry it through an extended quarantine because the new releases keep arriving. Here’s a quick list of what I’ve been enjoying (not all are new releases).
Read MoreThe selfie photo is a staple of your social media feed. You can share cute pet pics and re-share memes all you want but your friends and fans expect some personalization in your feed. In a way, the selfies you post on your wall answer the question “How are you doing?”. They subtly tell a story about your health, your mood, your latest style choices, where you’re traveling and who you’re spending time with.
Read MoreFirst, I can assure you that a boudoir shoot at my studio is nothing to be worried about! I do everything in my power to make it a wonderful experience and make you look and feel you know what you’re doing. However, butterflies still happen to all of us unexpectedly. The good news is that you can do somethings to help you calm your mind about experiences that give you trepidation.
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