Connections, this is all about beautiful, sensual connections...

The connections you make in life are so incredibly important. They can make or break you. They can help you grow, enable you to see yourself in new ways, make you feel safe and loved. Those connections can make you know, without a doubt, that with your partner at your side, you can take on the world. This is one of those connections.

I've been wanting to do add Couple's Boudoir sessions to my website for quite some time. Finding the right couple, a couple willing to share that side of themselves with the world, took a bit of time. When I met J + H, I knew I'd found the right couple. They are loving, sweet, free, and so fierce. He adores the ferocity she has, and she adores everything about him. Their comfort level with each other is mesmerizing. This is what a couple's session is about for me, that intimacy, that comfort and love that binds us to one another. I adore them both for trusting me and their willingness to share. Here are two sneak peeks. Enjoy!

PS My job is, to put it simply, quite freaking awesome.

Finding MY Fierce!

Yes, I too need to periodically find my fierce, remind myself of that deep seeded ferocity which I know is there, but sometimes seem to misplace. I have to remind myself of who I am and what I want. I need to reinvent myself, find my ground and hold it.

The first place I started to work on that was with my website. My website has not represented me for a bit now. It was lovely, and showed lovely images, but it didn't feel Fierce. And no, my website is not who I am, but it's definitely a reflection of me. So I've been working hard along side my amazing web guy, Josh Currier of Neon Thoughts to recreate my site and have it reflect me and what I believe in. I believe in YOU! I believe in your ferocity. I believe that every woman deserves to be able to walk into a room and feel confident in who she is. I want to help you remind yourself of that. You have it in you, you may just need to find where you have hidden it. I'd love to help you do just that.

Check out my new site! Ciao Bella Boudoir

I will also be starting to speak about Boudoir Photography and finding your fierce this April. I am so excited to start this new adventure!

And one final way I've pushed myself was to submit to a print competition. What I love about print competitions is that these are not based on how pretty your model is, but in the technical merit of the image. I chose a black and white, high key image. My model was of course lovely. The gorgeous Marie sat for me. She is perfection and certainly has the ferocity I admire. But to  get the tones as they needed t be, the posing just right and the edit perfect, that takes skill. So much of my work is never seen. I submitted my work and waited. We went to the WPPI conference in Las Vegas, a photographer's conference where the judging would take place. The day arrived when the images that won would be put on display. I was so nervous walking around, looking at all the work. I rounded a corner and there she was. My Marie, with a silver ribbon. Holy crap! Seriously! It was such a HUGE honor to see that! To receive such validation from an incredibly talented group of world renowned photographers is beyond words.

So here she is, Miss Marie, looking fierce and lovely.

Celebrating a Woman's Beauty and Power with a Gorgeous Blonde

She sent me a message asking "Should I keep my hair natural and wild or tame it?" My answer was natural and wild, of course! We get wrapped up everyday in what is ideal for everyone else, but forget to consider what is ideal for us? What makes YOU feel beautiful, what makes YOU feel powerful? The sexiness that will shine from every pore of your being comes from those two feelings. A woman empowered by her own beauty and power will empower those around her, she does not need to be told she is 'sexy' by anyone else or on anyone else's terms. My goal with every one of my sessions is to help each woman realize her beauty, her power and to leave her session with those feelings. I want every woman to know those feelings and carry them with her out into the world.

This woman? She came to me already there, already full of her own power and beauty. It was a complete pleasure working with her. I fed off her energy and she off mine. There is nothing like it in the world: two creative souls working together to create magic. Miss Fredua was a natural, wild beauty and it was my pleasure creating gorgeous images with her!

What makes you feel beautiful, powerful and sexy? A session at Ciao Bella Boudoir may be just what you need. ;)

Manifesto for a Boudoir, Wedding, Portrait Photographer

Hmmm, a manifesto? Yup, a manifesto. I'm not great at writing. Nope, not at all. I'm one of those people who tend to write in a train of thought, throw it all on the page, kind of fashion. Not the easiest to read. Freud would most likely LOVE to read my writings and dissect my psyche, but for everyone else, it's hard to muddle through (lost yet?) my writing. To that end I'm trying out a writing course of sorts from Kristen at Brand Camp. I love the way Kristen writes. I love that I get such a sense of who she is from her writing. My first assignment from her 'Circus Circus' was to write a manifesto, 3 times.

So, here are my first 3.

1. I want you to see how beautiful you are. I see people every day and see how beautifully stunning they are. I also see how few of them realize this fact. I want to show you that beauty. From the way you look at the camera when I talk about the things you love, to the way you look at each other when I cover you with her veil. When you forget that your supposed to be 'on' and can just be is when your beauty shines through.

2. You only get to experience this life once. Even if you do the same task over and over, each experience with it will have something different about it. It's all those differences that make like beautiful, exciting, momentous. I love seeing those moments, being part of them with you. I love that I get to use my art to show you just how beautiful those moments are.

3. Photography reminds me to see things differently. To notice the details and remember how the moment felt. It reminds me of the beauty in a look, a hand held, a shift of the hips, a tear, a smile, a frosting covered face, of newborn skin held by work worn hands, a kiss. It reminds me that beauty is everywhere, if we only take the time to see it.

I love what I do. I am passionate about my job, my art and you. :)