Leading up to summer, a colleague of mine, Boon Ong of Figuratif by Boon, and I were comparing our shooting styles. I commemorated him on his ability to achieve such intimacy, such confident quietness into his work and while he was struggling to find more "SEXY", I was having a hard time slowing down, and just flowing and being. It's interesting when you look at your work through someone else's eyes and I know that my work is standardly strong, voyeuristic, and a tad cheeky, I have been lacking a certain slowness....like, if I slow down then something unexpected might happen, then what? And if you have met me, I am like a horse chomping at the bit and raring to go with all my pent up energy. When I shoot it is no different, I jump around from location to location, outfit to outfit like there's not enough time in the day. And while this works for efficiency and the way I create, it's always fun to challenge oneself because within that challenge, I will be able to grow and maybe see some new inspiration where I was afraid it might NOT be. In any case, both Boon and I set out to attempt a different vibe in a shoot, each channeling the other and while he embraced a bit of sexuality and sensuality into his intimate work, I slowed down, thought about composition and used my babe in ways that I normally wouldn't. I did less poses designed to elicit sexuality, but instead focused more on intimate existence...if that makes sense. The deadline was my birthday and well, today is that day. For me, I paid attention to hands, I worked on elongating the neck, I looked at the lines in the location and I worked with the ambient light that I had. I played with light differently than I usually do and I looked for things that I normally am moving too quickly to notice. So, thank you Boon, for inspiring me to slow down, move with my client and I can only hope that I am capable of channeling even a little bit of your stillness and beauty in my work.Model: BeccaHair & Makeup: Erin Marie ArtistryLingerie: The Shops At The Loft
The Tapestry of Her Life's Story ~ Winnipeg Boudoir Photography
I consider Miss S to be a good friend in addition to an awesome client. I mean, this babe will literally go to the ends of the world for the people in her life...who doesn't want someone like that in their life?? Well, we were supposed to do maternity photos for her, but if you remember the time I had someone go into labor while they were in hair and makeup, then you will be happy to know it was Miss S and the baby that arrived about 4 hours after we sent her to the hospital is Mr. T (above). Miss S came to my studio to paint my wall for me (because my attention to detail is shit and she showed up with her own professional brush!) so in exchange she was the first babe photographed on the wall and since she was a new mom, we also had Mr. T join us for the occasion. I literally never have babies in my studio during a session, but this was a bit different because we wanted to document something different.This is the season of her life now. Just when we would get into a sexy pose, Mr. would cry for his momma (he was hungry) and while we tried to continue, it was easier to stop and feed him, but during this time we also got some of my favorite photos of forever. For Miss S's shoot, this time around (she had done a shoot with me the year prior when I was in Vegas), I wanted her acknowledge her mom bod and really see it for what it was so I only lightly edited the images. I wanted to showcase her swelling breasts which provide sustenance to her baby, I wanted to show her the amazingness that is the body's ability to inflate and deflate, growing life while doing so. I wanted to show her that motherhood doesn't mean a lack of sexiness, it means a change in mind as to what sexy is. I wanted her to see that her body, while different, is a wonderful thing that is capable of so, so much (including climbing a 10ft ladder without falling off!!). Lastly, I wanted her to see that this is a new season of her life and her body is being used in a different fashion that it was before. Right now, it may seem like it's no longer hers, but the purpose of providing life and sustenance to her little dude seems to be a pretty important task...to add the task of fitting into "societal beauty standards" and the "yummy mummy bod" would be rude. She is beautiful, gorgeous, and changed from the experience of having a child. Miss S wrote her own experiences in her blog here , explaining that she finally feels "at home" in her body!! I highly recommend checking it out!
Her body is not ruined, it has evolved.Her body is not ruined, it is a map of the terrain her body weathered while growing a life, giving birth, and continuing to feed. The blue rivers stretch to feed her baby, the shallow valleys of her skin tell the story of her body's journey, and mountain ridges of scar tissue while red now, will eventually erode, falling into the tapestry of her life's story.Her body is not ruined.
{This was the moment when Mr T decided to poo all over his momma's arm.}
Something A Little Different: NSFW ~ Winnipeg Boudoir Photography
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