7 Ways to Prepare for a Boudoir Session in Joshua Tree

Every Thursday this month (except for Thanksgiving) I will be posting about our LA adventures.  I'm baffled how it has been 6 months and I haven't shared these photos before.  In our first post of the series, I wanted to go into detail about our Joshua Tree photos.  More specifically, I wanted to use this pre-post of these series on things you should be prepared for when shooting boudoir in Joshua Tree.

1.) Leave an Hour Earlier than Planned

LA TRAFFIC IS NOT AN EXAGGERATION.  Let me repeat!  LA TRAFFIC IS NOT AN EXAGGERATION.  I have driven through Austin, Dallas, Las Vegas, and Atlanta but Los Angeles traffic takes the bloody cake!  The place you could be going to might be 3 miles away but it's going to take you 30 minutes to get there.  Therefore, if you are looking to move around LA then leave an hour ahead of the time you THINK you should be leaving.  
 
Driving to Joshua Tree took us an additional hour because of the immense traffic in Los Angelos.  It's not like there was an accident or anything.  It's just the nature of the traffic beast in this city.  It doesn't help when you're shooting in natural light.  

As you know when you are shooting with natural light you are fighting against time, SO LEAVE EARLY!  

Believe me when I say just leave an hour earlier.  
Trust me.  You'll be thanking us.

2.) Check the Weather & Bring Warm Clothes

Yes, I know.  Not all deserts are warm.  This is elementary school knowledge.  Being the adults we are we should have known better.  I knew we had fucked up when we pull into Joshua Tree and everyone was wearing coats, beanies, and scarves.  Jazzy and I looked at each other in terror as we saw people passing us all bundled up.  

I had no sleeves and no jacket. Ms. M was in cut off shorts and a tank top.  Jazzy only wore a thin jacket.  In our defense, LA was almost 80 degrees when we left for Joshua Tree.  Therefore it never occurred to us to check the weather in Joshua Tree.  Had I done that I would have known it was in the high 40's.  

The first rule of all travel is to check the weather.  We did not do this.

3.) Bring your Own Set-up Station

Joshua Tree is not only a park, it's a national park.  The keyword is "National"... NOT "Park".  In my mind parks have benches.  We had made plans to use the benches at this park.  We would have used these bench for Jazzy to do makeup and a place for me to sit and clean my lenses.  None of this happened.  NONE. OF. IT!  

There was not a bench here.  There was not a bench there.  There was not a bench anywhere!  

Jazzy had to do Ms. M's make-up in the back of our hatchback in the freakin' cold!  I cannot make this up. I'm so happy I have pictures of this.  Therefore, when coming to Joshua Tree make sure you have a portable makeup station where your client can sit when needed.

4.) Do Hair & Makeup BEFORE you get to the Park

Going back to point three there aren't any benches (or at least we didn't come across any) so it is my suggestion that you don't do hair and makeup while at the park.  Again, please see point three.

5.) Plan your Session around the Sunset.  

Once golden hour hits the sun sets pretty quickly so it's very important you are efficient with your time.  This actually goes back to point number one.  Make sure you leave an hour earlier than planned because the traffic can be crazy.  This will also ensure you have enough time to get all your looks in and find a great secluded area without the need to rush.  

Also, make sure you find out exactly what time the sun sets on your day of your shoot.  My favorite place to research sunrise and sunset is at the site Time and Date. 

6.) Bring an Extra Person with You

I can't stress this point enough.  After doing makeup in the cold for an hour Jazzy was through.  I wish I had an assistant with me to help with a reflector and holding equipment.   When in dusty areas I hate putting my camera down and having an extra set of hands would have been more efficient.

7.) Separate & Organize Outfits before Getting There

This particular day we did not organize the clothes in specific bags.  This caused us to lose some time shuffling through everything looking for particular items.  Even when we found them they required to be cut off from certain types of packaging but none of us has scissors.  So make sure everything is packed into individual bags and make sure everything is readily available to be put on right then.  If I had to make a point 8 it would be to bring scissors.

I hope these 7 tips help you prepare for a boudoir session in the dessert.  Of all the points highlighted which one brought you the most enlightenment?

Contact Us!

If would like to book a boudoir session with us please fill out the form below or go to our contact page and give us a call.  We typically return calls and emails within 24 hours!

The Art of Allowing Yourself to Live | Dallas Boudoir

For a long time, I was missing something in my photos.  Yes, many of them were technically correct, the editing was perfect, and I was getting the posing down for my clients... but there was just SOMETHING missing in them.  The draw-in factor if you will.  After meeting Denise Birdsong of Modern Love Photography two years ago I knew exactly what it was.  

I was missing the emotional factor.

Art makes you feel something.  

It wasn't until recently that I really felt like my photos moved people.

Anyone can take a decent looking photo.  I mean, how many beautiful sunset photos have we all seen?  It's not just a sunset that draws you in, it's the power of a beautiful sunset after a hard day that draws you in.  It's the fact that no matter what you create in this world God's art will always be best. It's the emotion that the image evokes that stays with you.  When emotion evokes something from the viewer that's when you know you have an epic photo.

The most memorable pieces of art communicate feelings.

The main difference with Wonderland Boudoir compared to many boudoir studios is the fact that we aim to produce evocative photos.  We want you to give yourself permission to own you.  When shooting, we go on a journey of feeling sexy, confident, loving yourself, and much more.  This is what separates us from everyone else.
  
When a session is booked with Wonderland Boudoir we want our clients' photos to feel like a piece of art.  When they see themselves we want them to feel beautiful, sexy, and confident.  We want them to know they are actually the woman they always dreamt they could be.  
At Wonderland Boudoir we are offering you the time and space to be unapologetically yourself.  We provide an opportunity to cast away all the restrictions society has placed up.  We want you to go there with yourself.  We want you to own YOUR beauty.  

You may not look like Chanel Iman, Karlie Kloss, or Kendell Jenner... but guess what?  You weren't meant to either.  You guys don't have the same journey.  Therefore stop comparing yourselves to them. 

Own this journey.  Own your path.  Create magic.  Create art with us at Wonderland Boudoir.  Give yourself full permission to give us all your emotion.  Give us your anger, happiness, sweetness, and coyness.  Share all that with us to make sure you get the most out of your photos.

Don't know how to do that?  Don't worry. That is were come in.  I will help coach you through it so you can get the art that you have always dreamt off.  Give yourself permission to live.  

This is your opportunity to create a memorable piece of art. Take advantage of it.

Why You Should Book a Boudoir Mini Session | Dallas Boudoir Photography

I LOVE boudoir mini sessions!  They are my favorite to shoot because it requires me to get creative quickly because we only have a limited time to shoot.  I need to make sure that you look beautiful to ensure you have a ton of photos to choose from during our in-person reveal!

Our Summer boudoir mini sessions will be held August 27th and 28th near Downtown Dallas.  My team is beyond excited to make this experience one of a kind for you.  

Why should you Book a Mini Session?  

The mini sessions are about 40% cheaper than our normal entry collection.  That's a savings of $240!  With that, you get hair, makeup, 10 digital images, and a 10-page hardback photo book of the pictures of your choice!

Mini sessions are a great way of getting your feet wet with boudoir.  If you're interested you can book a full-fledged session with us in the future.  Feel free to let your friends know about your session.

What are the Details of the Boudoir Mini Session?

• Price: $357
• Deposit: $89.25 (non-refundable). The remaining balance of $267.75 will be due at the time of the session.
• Mini Session Includes: Hair, Makeup, 10 digital photos, and a 10-page book.
• Photo Reveals: Photo reveals will happen about 14 days after our session.  This will be an in-person reveal.  In our reveal, you will have 30 lightly edited proofs to select from as your final 10 photos for digital copies.   The photos chosen will be the same ones used to create your book.  

What are the Time Slots?

 Saturday: 08/27/2016:

12PM
3PM
5PM

Sunday: 08/28/2016:

12PM
3PM
5PM

What if I want More Photos after Seeing my Reveal?

You will have the option to purchase additional photos.  Each additional photo is priced at $20 or you can purchase your full set for $250!  If you like a 30-page book instead of a 10-page book that price will be $150 (savings of $105!!!).  

The average client spends about an average total of $750 when they upgrade to the full package.  

All final products will be hand delivered to ensure receipt.  

If you do decide to upgrade your package 50% of the cost must be paid at the time of the session. The remaining balance will be due when you receive the final product.

So what are you waiting for?!  

Book your boudoir mini session with us ASAP!  These spots will sell out quickly and I want to make sure you get a seat.  

Feel free to book your boudoir mini session HERE!

If you have any questions please CONTACT US so we can schedule a time to speak.

Don't miss out on this opportunity y'all!

Free Boudoir Session Giveaway Winner | Dallas Boudoir Photography

Congratulations to Sarah Durrett for winning the FREE boudoir session!

Thank you all for entering to win this epic prize!  

However, if you're not Sarah know that we are offering $100 off ANY regular priced boudoir collection.  

Don't forget that we are still offering Boudoir Mini Sessions.  These sessions will take place August 27th and 28th!  While the $100 off offer cannot be used for this session you are still saving over 40% off our regular priced sessions!   However, you need to act fast as we ONLY have 6 spots left as of today!

Learn more about the Boudoir Mini Sessions HERE!
Book HERE to ensure a spot!
Contact us HERE for any questions!

Have a Wonderful Day Y'all!
Wonderland Boudoir Team!

Thank You from Dallas Boudoir Photography, Wonderland Boudoir

July was such an incredible month for Wonderland Boudoir!

Our traffic to the site has been the highest since February of this year.  In fact, our traffic rose 21% from just last month!!!  This weekend we were able to meet over 200 of you ladies at the Dallas Bridal show!  Let us not forget we were able to shoot some incredible ladies this month.  Including a client that has come back to me three times since April! 

Oh yeah!  The Knot Wedding Magazine reached out to me and requested that I be featured on their website.  Be sure to check my profile out! 

Major Key Alert!  I have some IN-CRED-DI-BLE (yes, I know I spelled that wrong) post planned for this month.  I am bringing you even more of Wonderland Boudoir!

The main reason I wanted to post was just to tell you ladies thank you.  I really appreciate all the love, support, emails, and just genuine comments we receive all over social media.  It means the world to myself and the Wonderland Boudoir team that you guys enjoy what we do. 

Having that support from our community makes it that much easier for us to continue with this journey.  I pray that you guys can keep joining us.  I really plan on launching… like REALLY launching... our YouTube channel by the end of this month.  I want you guys to understand that boudoir isn’t anything to fear and in fact, makes you feel beautiful for being born the way you are.  

By engaging more with YouTube I hope you guys are able to see my more of my personality and why Wonderland Boudoir rocks.  Reading my quotes or blog post only gives a two-dimensional version of who we are as a brand.  I LOVE interacting with you guys on Periscope and many of you guys have requested that I started vlogging. 

I have thought A LOT about vlogging.  With my schedule doing a daily and consistent vlog will be a lot.  However, I have decided that every time I have a major shoot planned or travel for photography that I will bring you along!  I worry that my content will be boring and over the place, but I think the more I vlog the better I will become.  My major concern is running out of time.  However, to help with my productivity I did purchase the Productive Planner created by Alex Ikonn.  

My friend and hairstylist Dominique Dai of Mane Affair told me about this productivity planner and once I saw Alex’s YouTube video on it I knew I had to have it.  A quick Amazon purchase later I had it the next day (don’t you love modern day technology?)  I may do a review of this book in about 3-6 months (in time for the holidays).

I have a lot of things planned for August so I can’t wait to share with you guys!  My first vlog should be up later this month.  

Again, thank you guys so much for making Wonderland Boudoir what it is.  

In the comment section below please let me know what types of videos you guys would like to see from me regarding your boudoir session!

Quiet, Happy New Year

The essence of stillness and quiet seems like nothing than less than a pure luxury these days.  

Honestly, these days I seem to only get this quiet 20,000 feet in the air between Sante Fe and Grand Junction.  I have less than two hours until I land in LA.   That's when all the chaos will begin.  

At times I feel like I'm going to loose my sanity, and since giving up drinking the only thing I have left to loose is my mind.  

I'm okay with that... as long as it's not my ambition.

But like the saying goes.  Don't complain about a full plate if you asked to eat.

That is what I'm doing, eating.  I'm shooting ALL the time.  Working with incredible boudoir clients and shooting in the style I finally like.
I still have a full-time job. I get up at 6AM (okay, I lie, more like 7AM), get ready for work, walk my dog, shower, rush out the house because nine out of ten times I'm already late.  Rush to work.  Work until 5.  Talk on the phone on the hour long trek back home.  Play with the dog. Eat. By this time it's 7PM and I'm working until 1 to 2 AM in the morning on my passion. 

Sometimes I feel like I'm walking aimlessly through the dark.

Well, if I'm too be honest, I feel like that all the time.

Photography is the only thing that brings me happiness.  Well, not the only thing.  The pure childish innocence of my niece and nephews' laughs are way up there.  Okay, it's number one but photography is a close number two.

In such a chaotic world I feel like it's the only thing I control. 

I have learned so much about photography this year.  The biggest lesson is that I'm the director on set.  While everyone can give me their opinion, wants, and desires ultimately it's my eye that decides what goes into the final product.  

Let me tell you at first, it was REALLY hard for me.  When I work I feel like it should be more of a collaborative effort, but the more I shoot the more I learn that I have to be more assertive about what works and what doesn't.  I HAVE to have a critical eye.  I work with styling, hair, and makeup... and I have learned so much about the team and people that I work with.  

I used to fear that if I asked them to change anything they would be upset.  But they soon learned, just like me... it's not that the work is bad, it just doesn't match the vision.  The more I started to work with people the more our styles began to collide and the magic begins to happen.  
I have become closer with so many amazing people.  It's so hard and rare to find in a world people who work as hard as you.  Let's be honest, busy doesn't mean hard working it means that your time has been occupied with something.  Right now I'm working with artist, fashion creators, videographers, hair stylist, makeup, stylist, and models.  All these people are artist because they create something from nothing and spread happiness, love, and beauty.

I mean, when you get a haircut and everyone starts complimenting you it's because of the eye and hard work of your hairstylist.  Or when another woman comes up to you and compliments you on how beautiful your eyes look against your fiercely beat fact that came from the makeup artist.  

Art changes you on a mental and emotional level.  

It's been such an honor to speak to so many women who have thanked me for turning them into art. They get to look back at their photos and feel inspired, they feel happy, they cry, and they share with me the feeling of finally FEELING beautiful.  

This is what art creates.  Art evokes an emotional connection that shapes you in some form.

Which brings me to why I love boudoir.  Why I'm okay with only five hours of sleep each night?  While I feel as though what I'm going through is not a sacrifice but more so an initiation of what to expect when I begin to do this full time.  

I want to create an art that speaks to women all over the world. 
I want to show the world that a woman needs no permission to be intelligent, sensual, powerful, and sexy.  We are designed that way by nature.  Why must we be scared of that? Why must we be ashamed?  Why do we allow society to define what a "lady" is? Why does sexy only look one certain way?

I can say without a shadow of a doubt all that is changing.  

Change isn't coming.  Change is here.  What are seeing are the masses finally getting it.  

Today I take a vow that I will give myself at least seven hours of quiet time a week.  Which in turn will allow me to connect with you guys more and more.  

I can see in my soul that nothing but good things are going to happen from this.

Let's consider this a Happy New Year for the brand.
04/27/2016.

How to get the Most Out of Your Boudoir Session | Dallas Boudoir Photography

If you guys haven’t noticed I did a MAJOR facelift to Wonderland Boudoir.  I thought my website was good but I had been toying with the idea of updating it for awhile.  After a long conversation and a virtual reality check from Denise Birdsong( from Modern Love Photography) I took off one full weekend to updated my boudoir site.  

One of the suggestions that Denise had for me was to use one solid image as my anchor image.  As soon as she said that I knew what image… or in my case images… that would be.  

Recently my client Tia drove all the way down from Arkansas to shoot with me for her 21st birthday.  I felt so honored that she allowed me to take these beautiful photos for her.  

There is a reason why Tia’s photos came out so incredibly amazing.  Tia communicated exactly what she wanted from her photos, already had her wardrobe ready, listened with intention, and kept an open mind.  

COMMUNICATION IS KEY FOR SUCCESSFUL BOUDOIR

The most important element in ANY relationship is communication.  Tia and I communicated so much that it was easy to gauge exactly want she wanted.  

She hit me up on the Gram (translation: Tia sent me a direct message on the social media platform Instagram) inquiring about a session.  She was turning 21 and wanted to do a shoot to celebrate herself and all her accomplishments to this point in her life. 

Tia already had a clear idea of what she wanted to accomplish from her session.  She wanted single, strong, and sexy.  She backed up this concept with inspirational photos as her example. She would find and screenshot photos from other models or photographers on Instagram.  There would be some mornings where I would wake up and find a whole slew of inspirational photos that she had gathered the night before.  

I love when clients send too much information rather than not enough.  I never want a client to feel as though they are “bugging” me when they send reference photos.  That doesn’t bother me.  If anything I encourage it.  It shows you're dedicated and excited about your upcoming boudoir session.  

Since Tia was able to explain what she wanted out of her boudoir session through photos and conversation we were able to produce beautiful imagery the reflected exactly what she wanted.  

PERFECT OUTFITS FOR YOU BOUDOIR LOCATION

What you wear to your session should not only reflect  your personality and body shape but the location of where the session will take place.  People tend to forget look over the fact that location plays an important role in planning for your outfit.  What you wear should compliment that location.  

Currently, Calvin Klien is all the rage again.  We are seeing CK underwear everywhere.  Kendall Jenner, Justin Bieber, and Twigs has been rocking this retro brand. Even Urban Outfitters now carries the line.  Calvin Klein represents minimalistic sexiness.  Something Generation Yr’s love.  I mean we did grow up with CK.  

Since CK represents minimalistic strength I knew the focus would be on her and to use the room as a backdrop for negative space.  The CK brand is strong enough not to need an extra fancy bedroom set.  The focus would be her and her Calvin Kleins.  

Since the focus was just going to be leveraged on style and posing I knew I had to shoot very simplistic and strong.  Sometimes the most effective element of art is simplicity.

HOW TO POSE FOR A BOUDOIR SESSION

Having strong and effective poses is critical when producing amazing boudoir photos.   When you look at your photos 20,30,50 years from now you will want your pictures to bring you to back the beautiful emotional state you were in when you first saw them.  Part of that is creating strong and evocative posing.  

Practice Makes Perfect

Tia is not a professional model and nor are most women who take part in a boudoir session so it’s up to the photographer to help pull out the best poses.  However, it would be really beneficial to you as the client to study magazines and movies prior to your session.  While I am not a huge selfie person I do suggest that you guys practice your “modeling face” by taking selfies and learning what your face actually does (not what you think it does) when you’re taking a photo.  

Listen with Intention

Listening to your photographer about how to achieve level 10 posing will help create epic photos that you want to buy.  Hearing is something we do all day, but listening is not something we all practice on a daily basis.  Tia rocked this season because she listened with intention.  She didn’t think about what she going to do while I was coaching her poses. She listened and then went into the pose. 

Keep an Open Mind

Keeping an open minded during your boudoir session will help you create beautiful photos with your photographer. While Tia knew exactly what she wanted from her session she did keep an open mind up when I suggested a mild variation on any idea.  Your photographer is accomplished and well versed. Typically when they suggest something it’s because they see something you may not because they do this quite often. 

Just Remember...

When you and your boudoir photographer work as a team you will create beautiful images that you will cherish for a lifetime.  In order to create these beautiful images, you need to have open and constant communication.  Also, your apparel and lingerie should match your location, you must practice strong posing, and you have to keep an open mind.  

If you’re interested in having a boudoir session or just want to learn more about boudoir please contact me using the form below.  I typically reply back to all to inquiries within a 24-hour timeframe.  
 
In the comment section below please let me know which photograph of Tia’s is your favorite.