2014 San Diego Boudoir Photos

Oh my Goodness! The last five weeks of my life have been a complete and utter blur.  Between getting ready to head to San Diego, being in San Diego, working on photos from San Diego, shooting two swimsuit campaigns, and getting ready for my upcoming  promo campaigns for Wonderland Boudoir it has been a crazy ride.  Oh yeah, did I forget to tell you that I work full time Monday-Friday in a corporate office?  I haven’t been to crossfit in about 6 weeks!!!!  *ugh* I’m going back tomorrow for the record.  Sorry Johnnie!

Yes, my nights include me staying up until 2AM and walking into work as a zombie. 

What we go through to reach our dreams, right?

​Well, I have to say that I finally finished all the edits from the San Diego trip and you guys can see the work now in the portfolio section of the website! 

YEAH! 

I want to say thank you to Kimberlee and Marissa from the Boudoir Divas for taking the time out to teach us for a whole week.  I think this was a blessing that I really needed.   I felt compelled to go to San Diego in April.  I am so happy that I did. 

I absolutely FELL IN LOVE with this city.  That says a lot because I’m not someone who believes in love at first sight.  The water was so good that I could drink it from tap!  I haven’t drunk water from tap in the last 12 years.  The air was so clean.  I honestly felt refreshed and rejuvenated while there.  I met SO MANY AMAZING business women.  Let me be honest, each attendee was great.  It honestly felt like being around a group of women you had known for years.  I know I needed to be around a group of ladies that wanted the same thing I wanted in this life.  Complete independence and being able to create art on your own under our own terms.  We all wanted to create an experience for women to feel beautiful and comfortable. 

I could go on and on, and I will in another blog where I do a complete tell all about the retreat. 

Let me tell you this, Kimberlee, Marissa, and Wes left me feeling incredibly inspired.  I have never felt more motivated and had more direction in my life.  I know I wanted to do this, but I needed someone to tell me their experience of how they did.  Seeing this successful trifecta succeed has shown the light that I can do this as well and be great at it. 

Let me not get too incredibly deep.

Thank you Kimberlee, Marissa, and Wes for taking the time out of your busy lives to show us your beautiful city and help inspire and touch a group of women who needed your guidance.  You guys showed absolutely no ego during this entire experience and It made me even more humble.

Okay, now here are some pictures!

Happy Thursday!!!!

Unless marked Wonderland Boudoir the BTS credits go to Agi M Photography and The Boudoir Divas.

Thank You! The First 200 LIKES is Always the Hardest!

WOW!!!

Over 200 likes within the first 30 days?!  I couldn’t have dreamt of a better response when introducing Wonderland Boudoir to the world!  I would like to say THANK YOU to everyone who took the time out to like the new page and support this brand new photography journey. 

I am very humbled and just want to get better with each touch of my shutter release button.  I can’t wait for both you and I to see the progression in my work and where this leads us all. 

Most of all I want to inspire women to know that they are beautiful.  Not just believe, but to know. We can’t let society or the media dictate what is beautiful and what is not.  We can’t fall into the trap that this cream, or that wrap, or that surgery is going to make you any more beautiful.  If you don’t see the beauty within yourself you will NEVER except what you look like on the outside.  You have to know you self-beauty and self-worth. 

I want to show the world what YOUR definition of beauty is through photos.  Chances are your pictures may inspire another young woman to know that she is beautiful in exactly the way she was created.

Again, thank you so much for taking the time to LIKE my page, visit the site, and browse the blog!

Here’s to 500 likes!  

Swimsuit Shoot at the M-Line Trolley In Dallas

A Dallas Boudoir Blog

I’m going to start doing all my blogging Tuesday and Thursdays!  I’m highly considering creating vlogs when I get a second camera… but I really don’t know if I can see myself making vlogs.  You know how some people hate the sound of their voices?  Well, I’m one of those people.  However, we will see.

I love Sundays.  Mainly because I use Sundays as the days I do my personal work.  I was commissioned by a local Dallas magazine to be one of the photographers for their June swimsuit issue.  Last week I shot a beautiful model named Elaine and this week I hosted a session with Alexis. 

Alexis and I have been trying to work together for the longest time, but you know… life gets in the way. Well, she saw that I had an ad needing models for this project and she sent a message directly asking if she could be a part of this unique assignment.  So of course I said yes! 

While I can’t show you guys the final photos as of right now I wanted to showcase behind scenes pictures of what happened that day. 

I worked with the infamous Dallas Make-Up Artist Jazzy Baptiste for this project.  I spoke to the operation staff for the M-Line Trolley and they agreed to pull out Rosie for our shoot.  Rosie is a GORGEOUS Victorian style trolley.  The seats are a luscious burgundy backed with beautiful wood.  The trolley is actual runs on full electricity!  Alexis even rang the trolley bell at the end of the shoot.  Joe, who is part of the M-Line family, let us shoot for 30 minutes.  While shooting he was nice enough to monitor traffic.  I want everyone to take the time to LIKE the M-Line Trolley Facebook page.  He highly requested it since he’s the one who runs it!  So please like HERE!

The photos show Jazzy putting the finishing touches on our girl Alexis on location. 

Here are some instagram photos of me hard at work! 

The last photo is probably one of the few sneak peeks I will be giving people before the magazine gets published. 

So I hope you guys like these behind the scenes photos of this swimsuit shoot we did.  My goal was to make it both high fashioned and sexy. 

Happy Thursday!

Define What Beauty Means to You

A Dallas Boudoir Blog

The Friday before heading out to San Diego I had a conversation with a beautiful woman who was all of 63 years of age.  It was Friday and I walked into the camera rental store to pick up the 24-70mm lens that I would be using for my San Diego trip.  “Martina!”  she greets me, “Where are you going?!” with a smile so big that anyone could get lost in.  I was renting the lens for a full week and not the typically weekend so of course she knew I wasn’t staying in town. 

“I’m going to a boudoir retreat in San Diego" I replied.

“Wow!  That’s pretty cool.  Are you going to learn some new thing?”

“Yes, I’m going to learn how to better use and utilized studio lighting and get some tips about running a proper business from the best in the industry.”

She smiles then yawns.  “I’m so sorry Martina.  I have been so tired.  Recently my husband and I have been staying up to 2AM, but then I have to get up at 6AM and come back here again.  We are working on a video project.  However, I’m really not going to complain.  I’m 63 and I am so happy to be doing what I love at my age.  Many women my age are sitting around and complaining about life.  But I’m not.  I get to come here every day and speak to all the young new photographers.  It keeps me young and vibrant.  I feel young being around you guys.  The fact that I feel young makes me feel sexy.  Many women my age no longer feel sexy.  Women have a tendency to define sexiness by men and the media when in fact we should define what being sexy is to us.  We don’t need to validate our sex appeal by people who aren’t us.  When we own that we will always be that.”

Never before had I ever thought about her age when I came in the shop.   She was right.  She always came off as a beautiful and graceful woman.  Even at an mature age I can totally see what attracted her husband to her.  She has beautiful full blue eyes, a sexy frame, and gorgeous silky gray hair that could only belong to an artist.  I would liken her to a sexier version of Helen Mirren.  We all know how hot Helen Mirren is at 68.  She would be Helen Mirren’s hotter younger sister. 

“I had to warn my daughters that one day their beauty was going to fade and I don’t want them to be thrown off by that, but I wanted to let them know that sexy is not physically beauty.  It’s how you carry yourself and how you see yourself.   If you don’t feel and carry yourself as beautiful.  No one else well.  No matter what age you are.”

She made me think. 

What is beauty? 

During the retreat I was informed that the photographer is the one that defines beauty.  The Photographer decides what  is to been seen an how it’s to be showcased.  However, I think it’s half and half.  Society influences the media just like the media influences society.  It’s the Yin-Yang effect.  How about we as a society change how we define beauty?  Once we do that, the media will have to turn face as well, because the point of media is to change with society.  As a society we have say in what beauty is therefore we must (re)define that. 

My goal with Wonderland Boudoir is to show through my work that every woman is beautiful.  Your age, complexion, or dress size does not validate if you are beautiful in this world, but your confidence and how you hold yourself does. Let’s stop letting the world define what beauty is.  Let’s define beauty to the world.

I know that at the age of 63 I don’t want to be in a retirement home and not feeling beautiful.  I want to be out in the world giving the young girls a run for their money. 

In the comments below let me know what beauty means to you.

Hi-Key Lighting for Boudoir Photography

A Dallas Female Boudoir Photographer…

While in San Diego I FELL in LOVE with Hi-Key lighting.  I think that once I get this style completely down that Hi-Key lighting might come to be one of my signature styles for my boudoir photography.  During my stay I was able to meet and simply adore Hannah.  She was the model for all the Hi-Key looks featured today.  Yes, she looks like a super model but the reason is she is confident. 

Confidence is the sexiest thing a woman can have. 

No matter your age or waist size the beauty of confidence can always be captured, and Hannah had confidence to spare. 

Of the two styles I have to stay that I LOVE the red body suit the most.  Many people think boudoir is about lounging around in lingerie while having your photo taken.  No.  Boudoir is about the experience capturing your beauty through confidence on camera.  You can wear a Natori lace bra and panties, a bandage dress by Bebe, or just simple jeans and t-shirt and still look incredibly sexy in front of a camera.  This is why I love Hannah.  She encapsulated all of that. 

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Let me know what you all think about the photos in the comments below.  To book sessions please refer to the contact page, and to see more recent work please check out my Facbook Fan Page!

Thank You!

Shooting with In-Studio Boudoir Lighting

A Dallas Boudoir Photographer...

Recently I traveled to San Diego to attend workshop and retreat with the Goddesses of Boudoir, Marissa and Kimberlee, of the Boudoir Divas.   This retreat inspired a clear vision of what I wanted out of life and photography.  While I still love UrbanJunglePhotography I have learned that I am more into portrait than wedding and family.  I love working one on one, creating an experience with the people that walk into my life. I love boudoir because I enjoy highlighting their individual beauty.

One of my favorite parts of the workshop was working with in-studio lighting and models of all ages, sizes, and complexions.  It’s VERY important that you have a versatile boudoir photographer.  For the next couple of weeks I will share with you different types of boudoir and swimsuit shots that I took while in San Diego learning from the best.  Today we start with Brittany & Sondra.

These shots are both interesting because I don’t typically work with in studio lighting.  Especially spot lighting.  However, the Divas taught us how to utilize them and different ways on how light will affect our photos.  While in my personal studio I may still use natural light for a little longer I think these photos are amazing and I can’t wait to start dabbling in more dramatic studio lighting for my sessions.

Let me know which photos you like more.  Feel free to check out Wonderland Boudoir on Facebook HERE to see more boudoir work!

Have a great day!

What to Wear to a Boudoir or Lingerie Shoot

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Many women want to know what to wear to their boudoir shoot.  This really depends on your body type and what you want to highlight or hide.

For example, if you want to hide your stomach, don’t just bring a bra and panty set to your session.  That’s not fair to you or your photographer.  You may want to bring a corset or a cute sheer robe.  Also, a sex bondage dress goes a very long way.  This post will show you some items you may want to wear to your boudoir session. 

Bondage Dress or a Little Black Dress

You don’t have to wear lingerie to have a great boudoir session.  Boudoir photography is about FEELING sexy.  You don’t necessarily have to dress in Agent Provocateur to obtain that feeling. 

Bebe and Express make some BEAUTIFUL bandage dresses.  These dresses do a great job by to accentuate your frame while hiding your tummy.  These dresses are perfect just about any woman.

 

If you do go with a bondage dress I suggest that you wear Spanx or some other brand of control shapewear.  The best place to shop for these types of items, in my opinion, is Neiman Marcus.  Yes, Neiman Marcus may be on the more expensive side, but you will get the time and attention of their very educated associates about these items.  I purchase most of my undergarments at Neiman Marcus.  The more you go and befriend the associates the better they get to know and your purchasing style.  They will also email you personally when your favorite brands go on sale.  I LOVE the people at Neiman Marcus

 

 

Sweatshirt:

Trust me when I say that there is nothing sexier when a woman rocks a sweater in a boudoir shoot.  Lets really be honest.  Men love how their women look, but many love the sweet and simple nature of how women looks in just a cute oversized sweater.  I suggest cutting the sweater like I did in the above photo.   A sweater like this adds a touch of innocence.

 

Boyshort or Booty Shorts:

 

The best thing to pair with a sweater is boyshorts.  Men really love seeing a full buttock and then the cheeks just peeking out from below.  They are subtly sexy underwear that will never go out of style. 

 

Teddy & Chemise

 

Teddies and Chemises are another great yet sexy option for women wanting to conceal their stomachs.  These pieces come in all fabrics and sizes.

Below are some options that I think would look amazing on a plethora of different women and sizes.

 

Bra and Panty

 

Yes, sometimes we just like the classic bra and panty sets.  There is NOTHING like just regular bra and panties.  Men love to see that booty. 

 

These are some ideas for you on what to wear to a boudoir shoot.  Let me know which look you all like the best in the comments below!