AAAAH! I was so excited when my buddy Jessica Rae told me that we would be photographing the glorious Georjah Jaymes for our little shoot out at her studio! Georjah and I had messaged back and forth awhile ago when I was traveling to Vancouver, but it just never worked out, so I was pleased that this time around I would not only get to photograph this beauty, but also meet her in person. And let me tell you - she is one of the nicest, most brilliant humans on the planet - and I only spent half a day with her!! She's hilarious and an amazing professional in front of the camera! Needless to say, we made our way through a bunch of different looks and she nailed every single one!
Inspiration Was Everywhere ~ Winnipeg Boudoir Photography
Miss S. was a beautiful angel brought to me for a fun shoot day, post Oklahoma City workshop. Not only was she incredibly confident in front of the camera, but had a smile that could light up the room (as you will see in the images below). We didn't have too much time to chat about her life, but I did find out that this babe kills it at cross-fit and loves to eat! The location we were provided for the fun day was a sweet artist's loft in OKC where we not only had access to an open space, but also to the artist's studio and I was deeply inspired to create images in there. At the time, I had just finished watching Dear White People and LOVE the cinematography with it's framing, color tones, and overall vibe, so I threw a bit of that into this session as well. Lastly, the few images of Miss S on the rug inspired me to get a sweet patterned rug for the studio! It's sessions like this that remind me that boudoir or intimate portraits aren't always about looking sexy, pretty, or sensual...sometimes it's just about existing, finding the light and looking like a piece of art. When it comes to designing your session, I want you to think beyond the boudoir, so to speak. Some of my favorite images involve small patches of light and blurred creations that capture movement and emotion.
Stefania {Chapter 1} ~ New York Editorial
When I reached out to Ms. StefaniaFerrario a year ago via Instagram, I put it into the universe that we would someday meet up and when I didn't hear back instantly (because that's what we expect, right?) I assumed she was busy living the dream of being a model and doing her thang (which she was!). But let me rewind a bit: My first "meeting" with Stefania, was watching her interview in the Embrace documentary and watching her speak so eloquently about what it was like being a "plus" model who is between a size 8 and 10 and explaining about the terrible things that women would do to themselves and their bodies to be accepted into the modeling industry. As soon as I saw her poise and sparkle on camera, I started following her on the Instagram. Now, I had never really had the guts to reach out to professional models before, but for some reason I reached out to her because our dual passion for body neutrality and celebrating the uniqueness in humans was something that connected us. Anywho, fast foward now a YEARish after I sent the original message asking to work together and I commented on one of her insta stories about a book she had found! I guess, in responding to my message, she had seen that I had previously messaged her about working together and messaged me back telling me about the book AND THEN SAYING YES WE SHOULD WORK TOGETHER. I almost dropped my phone....but I tried to play it cool, because I didn't want to scare her off. But in Winnipeg, in my studio, I was fucking FAN-GIRLING. HARD. Anywho, she had just moved to New York to model with IMG Models (she's originally from Australia), so I took literally the only free four days I had off in the last 6 months and booked a flight to NYC. Sometimes, you just gotta take a chance. Now, this sweetheart also let me stay with her, which was freaking incredible, because she, like me, gets inspired at the drop of a hat so we found ourselves shooting throughout the day and even one evening at midnight (as you will see in another chapter later on!). So, the day I flew in, I had a hiccup with my luggage at the airport, but we ended up shooting anyway! Previously, I had found this adorable vintage cotton bra and panty set from the early 80s so I threw it in my bag last minute AND THANK THE GOOD LORD! It fit her like a damn glove. We paired that with her amazingly tiny pink bathroom and set to work on our first editorial! Now, as a she is a professional model, I doubted my skills for a second...especially when I pulled out JUST my camera and she said "You don't have any lights?" and look inquisitively at me. I choked down my fear and replied "Nope, I like shooting with ambient light." but in my brain was like "oh my fuck." But really, what was I going to do? I work best under pressure and have way more fun creating, so somehow we managed to throw together literally one of my favorite editorials EVER because it is lifestyle, but also bad ass. Oh, Stefania is also a big proponent in saying no to Photoshop! So, while her images have been color corrected and color toned, there is no skin retouching on this fierce babe! So, now that you have the low-down on how we met, I am going to let you get to enjoying this delightful session we did! I introduce to you Ms. Stefania - Chapter 1:
Howdy {Las Vegas Diaries} ~ Winnipeg Boudoir Photographer
As I started planning my shoots for Vegas next year, I was reminded that I never ended up blogging my shoots from Vegas THIS year and that had to be fixed immediately! I brought Nicole to Mexico with me for some workshop fun and photoshoots! Well, we ended up doing a few shoots, but the main one for me was when we drove out to the dry lake bed at dusk and did this shoot in like 20 minutes. I was inspired by the harness set from Little Black Diamond and scoured the internet looking for a denim bikini (which apparently is in fashion now....)! I had found some thrifted western shirts and cowboy boots and we kicked up some dust! I hope you enjoy scrolling through this editorial session that we had so much fun creating![audio mp3="https://www.terihoffordphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Rollin-In-The-Dirt.mp3"][/audio]
She Couldn't Stop Looking At Herself ~ Florida Boudoir Photography
Miss Dawn will go down in history as one of my most self conscious clients....which is ironic, because she spends her days telling other babely babes that they are awesome and worthy of being photographed. Miss Dawn is a boudoir photographer in Florida and someone that fell in love with our lovely miss Sam and since she saw that shoot she knew she had to have a shoot with me! Well, the stars aligned when I took my little Florida tour and not only did I photograph her, but she also had me stay with her and do a Body Image Bootcamp for her clients, friends and family. We had an amazing few days together full of shop talk, me yelling positive things at her when she would doubt her babeliness, dressing up in her studio outfits to make breakfast, and empowering other women that joined us! In fact, the morning of her shoot she came out of her bedroom and told me that it was a good thing I was staying with her because otherwise she would have tried to cancel her shoot!!! Hey! If that's what it takes....invite me for a sleepover and I will make sure you get your session done!! It's always fun for me to try to use other photographer's set ups and Miss Dawn has her studio out of her house (actually the bedroom I stayed in!!) It's always a fun challenge for me to see the light differently, have access to different furniture and have to think on my feet! Well, despite her fears, she KILLED IT. As soon as we got going with the first outfit, she turned it on for the camera. Shortly after I returned home and had sent her a sneak peek (photographers are worse at peskiness than regular clients) she was blown away. However, before she even SAW the photos, she had noticed a change within herself that had come from just doing this thing that scared her....and that's what I tell all of my clients. The photos are just a bonus for you to remember how amazing it feels to do something completely out of your comfort zone and to document the moment when you shed a bunch of layers of societal bullshit. The EXPERIENCE is what we want you to have the most of! A few of Dawn's phrases after seeing her images included: "This has forever changed me." and "DON'T EVER STOP doing what you do. You are absolutely impacting women everywhere!" and "I cannot stop looking at myself!"Scroll through the images, listen to the music and when you get to the bottom feel free to watch her video testimonial![audio mp3="https://www.terihoffordphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Only-Thing-That-Matters.mp3"][/audio]
