Glamour/Boudoir Sessions

One kind of shoot that has become very popular lately is the Boudoir shoot. Sensual and sexy is how people think of the boudoir style of photography. Others refer to it as glamour photography, where the photographer’s goal is to make you look better than your best. It is not about having the perfect body, the most beautiful face, or being tall, thin and gorgeous. What a boudoir photographer does is brings out the glamour that is in every woman. Boudoir shoots are basically sexy photo shoots that give you an opportunity to wear different styles of lingerie (or whatever you want). Boudoir photography is about glamour and fantasy. It’s about bringing out that special beauty a woman usually reserves for her lover in a series of photographs. The photographer captures what her lover has always seen in their heart. Lots of brides, in particluar, request these sessions, and the albums that I make are such a great gift for fiancee's on the wedding day--it always gets a great reaction!

There are often some questions about these sessions so I'm going to answer a few of them here in case anyone is thinking of having this done!

 

Q: What if I'm not a size 2 with a perfect body?

A: No problem! My job as a photographer is to emphasize the good and minimize the less than perfect. Besides, your significant other doesn't expect you to look like a different person, and he thinks you are sexy the way you are!

Q: Where will we shoot?

A: If you live in, or have a friend that lives in Shelby or Desoto County, we can shoot at that location. My house is also an option if you can't find any other place. A hotel room is also an ideal location, but please bear in mind that this is an expense not included by the photographer.

Q: What should I wear?

A: Its best to bring a wide variety of different outfits, and photos of poses you've seen in magazines that you like so we have something to start with. As the shoot progresses, you will feel more comfortable and able to try different things on your own, but it helps if you have something to look at to begin.

Q: Do I have to shoot nude?

A: No, of course not! Unless you are in lingerie, I primarily shoot only "implied nude", where you may not be wearing much but you can't see anything showing that you might not want shown. You don't even have to do this if you don't want to--lingerie is just fine. You can also decide at the shoot what you are comfortable/not comfortable showing.

Q: But....are you going to post photos of me on your blog? I really don't want anyone to see them!

A: No, of course not without your permission! The girls whom I have posted in my blog have given me the go-ahead to post those photos up there and I would never post photos of you that you were uncomfortable with.

The albums also make awesome Valentine's Day gifts, but they take awhile to produce, so this next month is the prime shooting time for these sessions! Retouching is included in all our packages to enhance the photographs and make sure you look amazing. Collages are also available.

Tis the Season

Tis the season for garland, bows, and showing off your holiday spirit. Who doesn't love the holidays with all of the colors, lights, and cheerful music surrounding you everywhere you go? It's one of my favorite times of year for many reasons, not the least of which is capturing the joy that is practically glued to everyone's faces from now until New Years. It's hard not to get caught up in that warm and fuzzy feeling as a child regales you with their innocent thoughts on reindeer, snowmen, and a jolly round elf that makes their most heartfelt Christmas wishes come true. These are the things that make me smile. These are the things that give me beautiful dreams and creative ideas that abound until I'm just bursting with good feelings and want to share them with everyone that I meet. Some of those creative ideas have come in the form of custom photo Christmas cards. I've designed flat photo cards for you to choose from. Folding cards are also available for certain templates.

25 5x7 flat photo card w/envelopes $50
25 4x8 flat photo card w/envelopes $40
20 5x7 folded photo card w/ envelopes $60

To help ensure that everyone has the opportunity to have their Christmas pictures made and ordered in time to send them to off to loved ones, I have set aside Saturday, November 28th. I will be doing back to back sessions all day in the Collierville Town Square. For those that are in the North Mississippi area, I will also be doing back to back sessions around the Hernando City Hall on Sunday, November 29th. If you would prefer to schedule a private session in a seperate location, please let me know so that we can set this up. All holiday sessions still require the standard $30 sitting fee. Please call or e-mail me to reserve your time slot.

**Templates will be posted shortly

Capture the Color

Fall is upon us, and I couldn't be happier! Fall is one of the greatest seasons for many reasons, but the most obvious reason is the brilliant colors everywhere. Sure the leaves are gorgeous in all of their vibrant oranges, yellows, and reds, but there is another reason that I love this season so much; the color temperature of the light. The light of early mornings and late afternoons are perfect for picking up and complimenting the subtle warm hues of ambers, yellows, and rusty reds. It's an ideal time for family portraits as they can get outdoors, enjoy the space and feel like a family. Autumn portraits also have a great informality about them, so it's easier to relax and simply be yourself. No more stuffy formal wear; just casual comfortable clothes that reflect your true personality and allow you to let that shine. So bring a colorful sweater, break out the scarves and furry boots. Let the rosy cheeks abound. It's time to show Spring that Fall is truly the better of the seasons when it comes to pictures. ^_-

Side note: This is also the time of year to start thinking about and scheduling your sessions for Christmas cards and gifts. Availability is limited and will only get harder to come by as the holidays get closer. E-mail, FB message, or call (901-647-3414) to book your appointment and reserve your date and time.

Digital Resurrection

Okay, so this is officially my very first blog post for Made You Look Photography, and I can only hope that I do the company justice. For those of you that know me personally, I readily admit to being a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my art. Photography is my way of expressing myself and bringing out the true beauty in my subject whether it is an object or a person. There is beauty everywhere, and my personal mission is to make it displayable for all the world to see. Yeah, I'm not totally sure that 'displayable' is a real word, but I'm going to go with it for all intensive purposes. It's safe to say that making you look not good but amazing is my ultimate goal. I love doing it! I thrive on it!


All of that being said, I have discovered a new way to resurrect digital images that otherwise would have been discarded due to over or underexposure. Sure, it's important to constantly check your camera settings, but sometimes the perfect pose comes just when I'm testing my shutter speed and/or ISO. Don't know what I'm talking about? All you really need to know is that the perfect setting can create the perfect picture. It's an art in itself just to get it set right. However, sometimes the sun comes back out unexpectedly while I'm snapping away and changes everything. For those times, I now know a solution. Oh, I'm not going to give away my secret formulas to fixing the pictures; just know that I have figured it out and am completely excited about it!!


Please bear with me a moment and allow me to show you what I mean. The following photograph has been completely unaltered with the exception of my newfound "fixit" technique. Will there be more to getting it ready for print? According to my photography OCD, yes, but that's just the perfectionist in me again.

I am constantly studying and learning my craft. Trust me, there's a lot to learn. I have not been in the business for years on end like a lot of the photographers who's work I admire, but I do think that I am growing with each click of the camera. It's very exciting to see something that takes your breath away and realize that you are the one who created it.


While I'm running on and on to fit so much into my first blog, I might as well get to another very important point: retouching. I've heard the arguments that if a photo is retouched at all then it is not a true work of art. I call malarkey on that claim. Some of the most amazing pictures that I have ever seen have been retouched and/or tweaked in some way, shape, or form. The fact is that our cameras do not always see what our eyes do. Eyes are fantastic in that they automatically adjust to any and all situations. They can focus on the tiniest thing in an instant and can have an incredible depth of field. While sophisticated and clever designs of digital cameras are always being created, they have yet to duplicate the exact ability of the human eye. Therefore, occasionally a picture may need a little boost to produce the emotion that the photographer felt when caught up in the moment of capture. Let's face it, photography is in fact an art, and art is subject to opinion based on who is viewing it.


Now that I've got that out of my system, let me show you a little about the process of retouching in my "lab." I would never want to blatantly call someone else out by displaying their raw images, so I used my own. Yes, this is a "hold your arm out as far as you can" picture taken with my trusty little purse camera otherwise commonly known as a "point and shoot." It's served me well, and while I would never use it during a session (that's what my Canon 50D is for ^_-), it works perfectly for simple examples such as this. Please note the difference in the Before, During, and After images. There is skin smoothing, blemish removing, color enhancing, and (my favorite) facial feature enhancements.

That's it for now. Please check out my fan page on Facebook. Simply type in Made You Look Photography in the search box or click on the following link:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1069253534&v=info&ref=profile#/pages/Made-You-Look-Photography/108683671610