Come November

 Only two shoots in November as the weather was rapidly turning cool and wet. We removed and stored the outdoor decor, stacked the chairs and tables, covered the grill and smoked, and brought in the cushions and umbrellas. The cool, wet weather and dying blooms meant backyard boudoir and outdoor shoots elsewhere simply weren't feasible. Also, winter is when  I break (mostly) from shooting and begin editing my images for the year. I thought the two shoots I planned were quite successful, so it was a good month regardless of the number of photo shoots.

The first shoot was part of my "On Black" project. Shawna enjoyed wearing the custom chains during our Sauvie  Island shoot in October, so I decided to use her for this project as well. The "On Black" project is simply the model posed in various positions against a pure black background and on an elevated platform. I light the model with either strobes or LED panels, as I did with Merrique. For Shawna's shoot, I used a diffused beauty dish for the key light and a large umbrella for fill. 

The outfits for the shoot were simply different chainmaille outfits but we did through a set of pearls into the mix. For the next "On Black" shoot, though, I'm going to add a gridded strobe and a backlight/hairlight to provide some rim light and separation between the model and the backdrop.

Shawna On  Black

November's second and final shoot involved a traveling model making her way down the West Coast. Copper is a petite model with short red hair and a sparking personality, despite her lack of coffee which I quickly remedied with a fresh pot. We spent an enjoyable couple of hours shooting boudoir around my living room studio area. As it was a rare sunny day for the time of year, I opened all the blinds and curtains to let in as much sunlight as possible. I then used a bounced fill flash with a  reflector card to provide fill and to create a specular highlight in the eyes. That small spark of light makes the eyes sparkle with liveliness. 

Copper &Pearls.

I have a couple of Xmas pinups scheduled for next month. I try to do at least one or two every year. They're always fun to shoot  and I'm hoping to use Shawna and Floofie for those shoots. 

The End of Autumn

October was another busy month for shooting.  First was an indoor/outdoor Autumn Boudoir session with Joey who had come up for a visit. We tried out some new colors and styles and I felt like we got some fun images from the shoot. We did a variety of poses using both indoor and outdoor locations. Joey is a delightful model in all regards, but she really shines with her pinup poses. 

Autumn. Boudoir with Joey

A couple of days later, I had my first shoot with Shawna, a local model I found on Model Mayhem.  Since the weather was still warm, I decided to do a mix of indoor and outdoor images with Shawna as well. Shawna is a very experienced model and is also a boudoir photographer herself,  so it was very easy to work with her. She had great poses and understood the lighting requirements of each shot. 

Backyard Boudoir with Shawna

The following week I had the pleasure of working with a traveling model by the name of Riann Nova. She was completing the last few legs of her journey around the United States. She had contacted me earlier to inquire about shooting with me and I was quite agreeable to the idea. She is a petite redhead with a gorgeous smile and a very happy attitude. For a couple of hours, we shot indoor and outdoor boudoir in various outfits and in different settings. I enjoyed working with her and should she return to my area I would happily work with her again. She is quite comfortable with her body and poses and is a fun conversationalist.

Red Lace and Jasmine - Riann

A few days later, I had a shoot with Merrique. I recently purchased a set of Neewer LED light panels and wanted to use them in a shoot. Merrique and I had worked together on several projects, so I knew she would enjoy the challenge. The LED panels are capable of a range of colors and I intended to experiment with bi-color lighting. The lights worked well enough, but as with most LED lighting lacked the power to shoot still photography without a significant boost in the ISO setting. I decided then I would use the panels for accent lighting and then use one of my AEOS LED lights for the key light.

Merrique Under LEDs

We also shot a few Backyard Boudoir images since the weather was still warm and sunny.

A couple of days later, Gwen did her first boudoir shoot with me. She had taken to heart all the tips and recommendations from our shoot at Sauvie and she seemed much more comfortable during this shoot. 

Gwen in Lace

During our previous shoot, Shawna had expressed an interest in shooting in some of my custom chainmaille jewelry outfits. These are body jewelry pieces made with various crystals and chains and have a thematic consistency for each set.  Shawna posed in three sets of chainmaille outfits - Raven, Dewdrop, and Valkyrie. We also used pearls, a black bikini, and shot some simple nudes. Shawna rocked the shoot in every outfit.

Raven Chains

I wrapped up the month by shooting with Floofie again. This time we shot in her garage studio and I used the new setup with the LED panels and the LED key light. The theme was goth boudoir and as usual, Floofie nailed the makeup, hair, and mood. 

Goth Girl