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Sunday Morning Sunrise Boudoir
How many of you have told yourself the following?
1.) I wish I had a special someone to take photos for (you don’t)
2.) I need to lose weight to do boudoir (are you kidding?)
3.) I need fancy new lingerie to boudoir (girl, we ballin on budgets)
4.) I don’t know how to pose (I got you)
I’m here to tell you, none of those thoughts should deter you from a boudoir shoot. How many of us say we’ll wait, and that wait turns into never doing it?
A boudoir session is a healing process, you get to fall in love with yourself all over again. When it comes to boudoir, I always tell my ladies - whether you have a significant other or not, at the end of the day this is for you. This is a gift to yourself AND them. A gift of reminding yourself of how empowering you really are, and flaunting it to them.
Boudoir is an intimate session, allowing someone else to capture you through their eyes. Putting your full trust into someone else to show the most authentic & best you. Boudoir photography offers a way to see yourself in a new light. Boudoir is one of my favorite things to shoot, as I can never get over the reactions and shock, the famous: “that’s me?” That’s you.
Whether you want to take allusive, saucy, nude, or somewhere in between. A boudoir shoot is about what makes you comfortable and feel beautiful.
As the photographer, I am here to help you stylize, plan, and pose. I love to do this by creating a mood board for inspiration with clients. I want to get a full idea of your wants and needs. This is just as much your vision as it is my mine.
I want to cohesively bring who you are and how I see you into one image.
I promise you, don’t wait.
How To Take iPhone Photos
First things first: have you heard of Urban Buzz?
Because if you haven’t - I’m introducing you now, and you can thank me later.
Small little drive thru coffee shop in SWFL located near downtown Cape Coral - and it lives up to it’s name. Since they’ve opened in 2020, right smack dab at the start of the pandemic…they have been a Cape Coral new found treasure, and people have not stopped buzzing about it. Including me.
And that’s where this story starts: Urban Buzz now sells Stuff-a-Bagel.
I know? Kind of a big deal, right?
I had an immediate idea in my head, and I just couldn’t shake it. For funzies purposes of course, but I really wanted to support a local small business I know & love personally. Photography is an amazing outlet I have found to support so many different people in so many different ways in life. I wasn’t about to let this moment be any different.
And no, I didn’t need to go crazy…well, maybe a little. I guess if you call bagels on a stick crazy….but I’m talking about I didn’t need a fancy DSLR camera of any sort to take these photos. Just my good ol’ iPhone.
For taking these photos, I did three things:
- Dress like T-bo from iCarly, as that was the inspiration for this photoshoot. One bag of bagels+one stick+a lot of hot glue.
If you don’t know the reference, please see —> here. - Grab my boyfriend, but you could always grab your tripod…or just something to lean your phone against, honestly.
- Shoot on my iPhone 11, with HDR settings off - and the .5 lens option turned on. This gives you a wide angle lens, perfect for scenery photos, and my personal favorite: fashion photos. The key to using the .5 lens while doing fashion photos, is crouching your camera down, and tiling your phone back to really play on the perspective making the landscape and you, look taller.
Tips & Tricks
- Stay within the focal point, which is pretty much the center of the frame. If you stand too far out of the focal range, you risk looking kind of stretched out/distorted.
- The wide angle lens will make you appear farther from the camera, so stay fairly close to get the dramatic perspective we’re going for.
- When posing, this effect is really cool to include movement into the foreground. Whether it be flinging an accessory at the camera, kicking your leg, or angling yourself above the camera, it’s bound to create a more interesting “fashion” inspired photo.
- If you’re by yourself taking photos, don’t fret. You have the self timer, an old classic - of course. But a personal favorite of mine: video. That’s right, taking a video…to get a picture. Ground breaking, I know. I did this even with my boyfriend present at one point, for sake of getting the perfect capture of the bagels flying.
- Using video, you are able to screenshot different stills and capture different eye movements, hand placement changes, avoid blinking photos, etc that you may miss if you’re relying on the timer to catch the perfect moment.
Family Photos at Golden Hour
I’m so blessed to have this passion and career that allows me to get to capture so many special people.
What’s really cool, is when I get to do it for my own friends & family.
I got the chance to take photos of my boyfriend of 2 years & his family, whom I’ve come to love so much, and being trusted to capture their beautiful family was such an honor and so much fun.
This photoshoot was planned perfect, from outfits+props, location scouting, to arrival time for that perfect golden hour light.
When it comes down to it, it’s all about communication - between family members individually, and of course with some of my guidance.
When it’s time for family photos, there’s a few things to keep in mind: I’m here to capture the essence of your family. To capture your relationship, your interactions, and genuine display of who you are at that time.
It is so important to me to make this a fun experience for a family. Not everyone in the family is bound to feel the same way about getting photos taken - some love it and some hate it. And trust me, I get it. To make it easier for you I will pose you step by step and give you pointers on movements and facial expressions.
Heck, sometimes I may even make you crack a laugh or two.In my experience, I find the more I interact, and the more I prompt those naturals movements and facial expressions - that’s when the magic happens.
And I know you’re gonna ask: but how are we supposed to dress?
I have one rule only and a few suggestions
# 1 Rule: not all blue jeans and white shirts!
I’m joking, I’m joking.But I want your family to stand out! Represent YOU!
Outfit Tips & Suggestions:
Coordinating colors: Avoid the cheesy matchy match photos! Not every color works for every family member. Mix & match colors that compliment each other but are not uniform.
Patterns: plaids, stripes, florals, etc. You can even mix-and-match them, and don’t be afraid to layer them with your solids!
Appropriate shoes: More often than not, closed-toed shoes are best. For safety, looks, and the amount of style options. Of course there is some location instances or style inspiration that may call for barefoot or sandal attire.
Textures: I’m all about mix of textures! Some example of this is jeans, a fuzzy jacket, silk, cotton, etc. Don’t be afraid to mix!
Layers: With family sessions, especially with children, it can be hard to get multiple outfits in one photoshoot. But I’m on my clients side so I like to tell them all about the secret of layering, and using this tactic to unveil different versions of an outfit. A quick and easy way to change up your look throughout our shoot.
