More Boudoir and Wax - This Time with Ana Molly

 

I've been shooting with Ana since 2016. This was our 7th shoot and our first boudoir set. Ana and I have shot several different concepts over the years: glamour, nudes, Halloween and Xmas pinups, even a couple of specific shoots for her Patreon account. 

The last time we shot was in 2023 on Sauvie Island. There was supposed to be another photographer joining us (a fan of Ana's), but he showed up at the last minute, and only took a few shots. I think he was just there to meet her.

Anyway, this was to be a combination boudoir shoot and a replay of the wax shoot I'd previously shot with Floofie. Once again, we met at Floofie's studio and shot for two hours. The first hour was the boudoir portion of the shoot, and the second was the wax-play shoot. 

I'm not going to go into much detail about either portion of the shoot since my previous posts have described similar shoots. An excellent model, Ana performed her job well, and I got all the shots I had planned. You can see more examples below.

Nudes in the Morning, Glamour in the Afternoon

 Earlier this week, I headed down to Leisure Land to
shoot with Joey at a new spot she located for us. Every time she finds a fresh spot around her area that looks good for a shoot, she lets me know, and I can usually find time to travel south to shoot with her. This happens at least once or twice a year. She challenges herself to find a new location for us every year. 

This time, she found a great spot on the river where many flat rocks and stone outcrops dotted the river bed. She had shot there only once before with another photographer, but wanted to shoot there early enough to catch the morning light. So, I got up at 5:30 am to make the drive to her home, and we were on the river, bright and early. We had a clear, cool morning with no breeze for our shoot. It made a chilly shoot for Joey, but I gave her plenty of breaks to stand in the sun and warm up while wrapped in her jacket.

The lack of the breeze made the water still and full of reflections. The only drawback to the spot was the vacation home across the river from us, but our activities didn't seem to bother the occupants, so we carried on for about an hour and a half. We started with art nudes, then, after a while, did some bikini shots. 

This shoot also allowed me to test my new RF 135mm f/1.8 L IS lens with a real shoot. It exceeded my best expectations. Here's a shot from that lens:

I wanted to shoot some backlit images in the same location, but the sun's position and the high tree line made that impossible. We headed down the road to another spot I hoped would provide the right light. I had shot with Joey there before, and I knew it was easily accessible with a lower tree line and more in line with the sun's transit.

I had three outfits I thought would work well at that location. The first, a colorful peacock print cover-up, created a brightly saturated image illuminating the silhouette of Joey's body beneath the fabric. 

The second outfit, a sheer dress made of tiny rhinestone crystals, created a less dramatic image, but still worked well. 

The final outfit, a flowing lavender-colored cardigan, didn't lend itself to backlighting,  but worked well with dappled light and shadows.

After completing that series of shots, we took a break to grab lunch and discuss the next set of shots, which would take place in the field and the woods surrounding Joey's cabin. Joey mentioned a hollow tree on the property, which she thought would be a good spot for some shots. 

I had brought a camera I had converted to infrared some years back, and I planned to use it for part of the hollow tree shots just to see what it would do. Unfortunately, the lens I brought to use with it had sat idle for several years and had a sticky focus mechanism. That made it tough to use until I exercised the focus ring a few times to free it up.

The next set of shots we had planned included a Red Riding Hood cosplay. We thought it would be a whimsical addition to the day's activities.

I also brought a couple of juicy ripe peaches for a quick set of images. If you look closely, you can see the juice dripping down her body and off her breast.

By this time, the day had become quite warm. Joey felt fine in her nudity, but I had started to sweat. The shade beneath the trees felt great when we began to shoot our last series of images, a theme I call Military Glamour. It features camo clothing, military-style gear, and a fun pinup look and attitude.

Third Shoot with Riann Nova

 

I shot with Riann for the first time in the fall of 2022. She's a traveling model, and this visit made her third to the Pacific Northwest. She always travels with an extensive wardrobe and her emotional support dog. She fosters canines in her spare time, and this time she brought one of her fosters along as well. Her pups are never a problem. She brought a collapsible crate to the shoot, and the pups relaxed in the shade outside the studio while we had our session.

We met at Floofie's studio where I used a similar setup for Riann as I had for Belle. For our past shoots, we had shot at my home, in my backyard, and at Sauvie Island. Once again, I was switching it up by shooting boudoir rather than glamour or nude, and the setting worked well for us. 

I had Riann leave her oversized suitcase of wardrobe in her car and only bring in her small bag of props we'd be using for the shoot. I almost always provide the outfits for my shoots, so I seldom have models bring their own clothes. I plan each shoot carefully and match the costumes and props to the model and the concept I want to capture.

Riann performed in her usual excellent fashion. We had a fun and productive shoot, cycling through the different outfits and poses with ease. As a bonus, Riann got to meet Floofie for the first time when we ran into her on the sidewalk as we were leaving. Floofie is much admired in the freelance modeling community, and most of the models I work with either know her or have followed her work for years.

I don't know when I'll be shooting with Riann again. It might be next year, or the year after. She's currently traveling in the Southeast, but I expect she'll return to the Pacific Northwest in the not-too-distant future.

Belle in Boudoir

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Exploring New Concepts with Floofie

 I've been shooting with Floofie for about 15 years. She has become my model of choice for exploring new concepts. For this shoot, I decided to work with bodysocks and low-melt wax. Floofie happily agreed to pose for these concepts, and we used her garage studio for the shoot. 

We started with the bodysocks. I brought four of the outfits in different colors: nude, pink, red, and purple. I set up a black background so the model and stockings would stand out clearly. Two strobes with large light modifiers were set at forty-five degrees to each side of the model. They were placed close to the model to wrap the light around the subject, and their power was set for an aperture of f/8.

For each bodysock, Floofie spent about ten minutes attempting various poses. The socks tightly conformed to her body, and it took real effort for her to push against the fabric's confines to extend her arms and legs. She got a good workout with each set of poses, sweating and short of breath by the time we finished all four socks. We started with the nude bodysock, then shot our way through the colors.

After she had had a chance to cool off and dry off, we started the second phase of our shoot–dripping wax on her body. This required the use of special low-melt candles made of a mixture of paraffin and soy. 

The candles were unscented and came in various colors. Through experimentation, we discovered that the best drip patterns started with the darkest colors and progressed to the lighter ones. The candles also had to be held at the right angle to get the best flow and reduce the heat of the falling wax. 

For most of the shoot, Floofie held the candle and directed the drips onto her body. I used the candle when she could no longer reach or see where the wax fell. We started with her left breast, then moved to her hip, and finally to her derrieré. 

After the shoot, the wax peeled off easily, leaving only a faint trace of color on the skin. This washed away quickly in a hot shower.