Jungle Babes

 

Yesterday I had the pleasure of shooting with two of my favorite models, Joey Darke and Kira (Floofie). The shoot had been planned for several weeks to sync with a time both Joey and Floofie would be in town. Joey sometimes drives up for the week and schedules several shoots during her trip, but Floofie travels a lot for her modeling gigs, so scheduling them together isn't difficult; it requires a bit of planning.

Unfortunately, Joey had a bit of car trouble the day of the shoot, but since she was staying nearby, I picked her up on my way to the studio. Joey and I planned to shoot first, then Floofie would join us for a bit, before I wrapped up with Joey and started working individually with Floofie.

We had another bit of trouble before the shoot. After I'd set up the backdrop and the material covering the floor, the flashbulb on one of my studio lights failed. Usually, I bring three strobes with me, but for this shoot, I needed only two and I didn't bring a spare.

Again, fortune smiled, and Floofie had a large ringlight available in the studio. By adjusting my settings, I managed to set up the ring light as my fill, and we got on with the shoot. It wasn't the best situation, but it worked. 

The shoot's theme was "Jungle Babes." Animal print outfits, a jungle print backdrop, and a number of artificial and real potted plants provided some realism for the concept. I prefer to shoot outdoors when possible, but the Pacific Northwest weather precludes that for much of the year. Sometimes the studio is the only choice for certain concepts.

Joey did her usual great job. We managed to shoot several different outfits and poses during our allotted time. Floofie joined us for the duo portion of the shoot, and although the lighting wasn't the best, I managed to get many good shots in as well. 

Floofie, of course, nailed the concept with her poses and the three of us had a good chat while Floofie posed, I shot, and Joey tried on different outfits that Floofie was giving away. 

Models around here often trade or give away outfits they no longer want to use, and Floofie had recently hosted a swap meet for models. It seemed Joey had a lot to choose from, and she came away from the shoot with a bag full of different outfits. I even got a new piece for my djinn concepts.

After the shoot, the models helped me pack up my gear, and I dropped Joey off at her next location. I plan to shoot the concept outdoors when the weather is much warmer, but I'll probably use different models and props for the next shoot. If you want to see more images from the shoot, they'll be published soon on my Deviant Art account.

The Winter Fae

 

My second shoot of the year was a culmination of a years-long project. The Winter Fae has been the one concept in my Fae in Us all series that has eluded me for years. I purchased the custom wings for the shoot over a decade ago, along with boots, a tiara, and many other items I planned to use. Unfortunately, weather and locations, as well as road conditions, didn't cooperate. 

This year, I made plans to shoot it yet again. Kira told me of a location she had recently used for a snow shoot. It was at a high enough elevation that we'd have a good chance of snow, but it was also right off the highway so we wouldn't have trouble getting to the spot. Unfortunately, despite our plans, the mid-winter weather didn't cooperate, and a warm front moved through a couple of days before the shoot, erasing the snow with a cold rain. 

Determined to finally get the shoot, I suggested to Kira that we move the shoot to her studio and use one of the backdrops I had previously used for my Winter Pinup series. She agreed, and here are a couple of the results. 

Kira was also my Summer Fae, so having her as the Winter Fae created a nice bookend to the project.

American Beauty Erotic

 

My first shoot of 2025 featured the lovely Jade Monett. I had hoped to shoot the concept before Valentine's Day to have the images ready to share on my Deviant Art account, but the timing simply didn't work and we had to shoot the week after the holiday. 

The concept played upon the poster for the movie American Beauty but with an erotic twist. Jade came to mind as the perfect model for my version of the concept, and he certainly made the concept work. 

To prepare for the shoot, I separated four thousand silk rose petals from compressed stacks of 100 petals each. As I peeled each petal from its stack, I dropped them into a large plastic trash bag so I could transport them for the shoot. At about three thousand petals, our new kitten decided to take a running leap onto the bag, then whoosh!, I had a rose petal volcano and petals flew everywhere. Despite the eruption, I managed to save all the petals and finish preps for the shoot.

In the studio, I set up a black velvet backdrop and positioned a dark red bedsheet on the floor for the petals. I used three lighting sources–a large octobox on the left, a large softbox on the right, and a small stripbox overhead on a boom. The window light was blocked with tarps, so the sole illumination came from the studio flashes.

I asked Jade to wear red lipstick and to bring heels with her for the shoot. I provided the rest of the costumes for the shoot. Those consisted of various body harnesses that I thought would work well for the concept. Jade exceeded my expectations. I think you can agree that she rocked the concept.