One for the Road

Tuesday?  Already?  It can’t be!  I’m still partly on a high from the amazing photoshoot I had last weekend and partly so ridiculously sore from the marathon day that it hurts to walk.  If I bend my right leg too much, I lose all muscle control, it’s crazy stuff.  Being a photographer involves a whole lot of squatting and kneeling and let me tell you, I’m feeling it right now.  Big time.  Oh but it was so worth it!  And here’s why…

Ever since I took that boudoir workshop a couple of months ago, I’ve been itching to get out there and do it my own way.  I’ve been planning a boudoir marathon and all the ideas and planning finally came into fruition last weekend.  This shoot has been in the planning process for a couple of months and I’m so excited to finally be able to start sharing it with you!  I rented out a super swanky little boutique hotel in Westwood to serve as the backdrop for the shoot and I rallied up some helpers to make it all come together.  My amazing and talented friend, Amber, did the makeup for all six of the beautiful women who posed for me.  Branden was my assistant and did everything from setting up lights to pouring champagne.  I’m planning a separate blog post for each session.  These girls are so sexy and gorgeous, they each deserve their own moment in the spotlight.  But for now, because I’m so excited that I simply can’t wait to show off some of our hard work, here’s one of my favorites so far.

I can’t get over this shot.  This whole shoot was a great opportunity for me to play with artificial lighting since the hotel room was quite dark and I had so much fun doing it.  I’m usually partial to the soft & pretty natural light that I find outdoors but for this session, I’m in love with the more playful lighting.  I think it adds a little drama and edge to a lot of the photos.  I really tried to challenge myself to do some lighting that looks natural, which you’ll see in upcoming blog posts,  as well as some more dramatic lighting.  This is one of my favorites from the whole day…on the more dramatic side.  I love the light and the “look” and the outfit.  Isn’t Ashley amazing!

For the techies out there, I used a huge Alien Bees Ring Light and a speedlight (no softbox).  A HUGE thank you goes out to my friend Jake Reinig for supplying all the lighting equipment and even teaching me a thing or two.  I don’t know what I would have done without his generosity.  Thanks man!

I’m hoping to get a full post up by tomorrow before I jet outta town again to get some wedding stuff done up in Big Bear.  No promises though!  See y’all when I get back!