Upping The Anti

 Caitlin and I collaborated on a story she wrote for The Phoenix about local T-shirt company The Anti. Words are hers, photos are mine. Check out the slideshow here. Thanks to The Anti crew for enduring two photo shoots, which I just found out about today. I’m a big fan of their work. Check out their shirts here.

A big huge congrats to Caitlin too who was hired by The Phoenix this week. We’ve come a long way together! I remember when we were just little grad students. She’s going to take the writing world by the reigns. See her blog here.

Evolution

I had the privilege of assisting my former photo teacher Randy Armor last night during his photo class at the New England School of Photography. I photographed a model while he spoke about lighting. He demonstrated a technique called beauty lighting that involves placing three really hot, sweat-inducing lights very close to a model. The effect is soft and shadowless.

After class he showed me the video below of a photo shoot. Ever wonder what a model looks like before she is lit, styled, made up, and Photoshopped to high heaven? Watch the video below…

Book soon!

Hi ladies, I know there are a bunch of you out there still deciding on dates. I wanted to let everyone know that I am booking up very fast for the summer. I met with a client this evening and realized my number of free weekends are dwindling.

I created an online calendar to keep everyone up to date on my availability. I primarily schedule shoots only on the weekends because I work at a camera review website during the week.

Because of the popularity of the boudoir sessions, I will have two time slots (10 a.m. and 2 p.m.) available on Saturdays and Sundays. If you would like to book, please contact me with your preferred date and time.

International Boudoirs

A recent client of mine just came back from her honeymoon. She and her husband stopped in Vienna where she saw this store. She emailed this photo to me today and told me that it reminded her of me…

“You become. It takes a long time.”

My lovely friend Caitlin (also a fave model of mine and FABULOUS music writer. See her blog here.) of mine sent me the passage below today. I really loved it and wanted to share. At first I didn’t think it was related to photography, but then I thought about two “Real” people I know, my grandparents. I took the portraits below during the past year. Though they’re aging and their health is declining, they remain the pillars of wisdom in my life.

From the Velveteen Rabbit:

The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.

“What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”

“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.”

“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.

“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”

“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”

“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

The ladies keep on coming!

Here are a few shots from last weekend’s boudoir shoot. I loved my client’s beautiful corsets, long black gloves, jewelry, and fan – very classy!

 

More props + What to bring

My lovely client this weekend brought a fan with her to use in her photos. She graciously donated it to my growing collection of boudoir session props (a recent shopping list of mine included things like cherry red lipstick, sheer fabric, lace umbrella, and black gloves). My friend stopped by later and I took a few test shots of her with it. No female friend of mine is safe from being a test model! I love the fan because it gives the photos a vintage feel. It also reminds me of burlesque, which, if you ask me, is hotter than stripping (in my straight, female opinion) because they never reveal it all. Did anyone else watch that reality show a few years ago about burlesque dancers ? What I would give to move like that. I’ve tried – it’s harder than it looks!

Many of my clients ask me what they should bring. Bring whatever makes you feel good! Many of my girls have worn bustiers, which are flattering on all figures. Boy shorts are figure-friendly. Also popular are thigh highs and high-heeled sandals (I hear Fredrick’s of Hollywood is a gold mine for all of the above). And almost every girl I’ve photographed has brought her boyfriend/fiances/husband’s Red Sox jersey!! If you plan on having a book made, bring 3-4 outfits, so the end product has a variety of looks.

Conference Center at Harvard Medical

I was asked to shoot the Conference Center’s annual Showcase Event again this year. The building, catering, and staff are all truly top notch. This year’s focus was the space, while last year’s focus was the food, which you can see here.

 

Breaking News: Thushan’s back

The young man who I accredit jump-starting my passion for photography is back on his photo blog after an EXTREMELY long hiatus. His photos are fascinating to follow, so check them out if you have a chance. Hopefully he won’t leave his fans hanging for months this time.

All cameras, all the time

While I’m not taking photos, I work as managing editor for DigitalCameraInfo.com, an absolute authority on all things digital camera. I primarily edit news pieces and digital camera reviews, but occasionally I squeeze in some writing of my own. I wrote a piece about a 13-gigapixel photo (in photographer that means like, really, really big), the brainchild of photographer and artist Gerard Maynard and pano software maker Autopano Pro. Give it a read