Now for something a little different. ;)

You know that I get to shoot gorgeous women, beautiful babies and stunning weddings, but this week I had the pleasure of working with a lovely male model (and one of my favorite muses, Miss Bonnie). This was a blast! So here's a little bit of eye candy for all of you gorgeous women. Enjoy!

Alex was a blast to work with and quite a natural model. I'm looking forward to working more with him in the future.

All images copyright of Teri Fiske, Hanlon-Fiske Studios, INC, Ciao Bella Boudoir

YES! Oh YES! ;)

OK, I know it's not pc to toot one's own horn, but I feel good! As a matter of fact, I feel GREAT! This month is my birthday month. My 43rd birthday month, to be exact. I've known people who freaked out when they turned 30, I didn't. I thoroughly enjoyed it, honestly. I've known people who REALLY freaked out at 40. Again, didn't really bother me. 43? That one seemed a little rougher. Maybe it's the increased frequency with which I have to visit my favorite stylist: Valerie Schaubroeck to get my white stripe back to my 'natural' shades of red and violet ;). Maybe it's the weather. But at the beginning of birthday month (yes, I celebrate birthday month!) I was, for a lack of better terms, 'feeling my age'. So I'm doing a few things to remedy that. I'm drinking more...water, that is. I love coffee, I love to run around like mad, I love staying busy. Combine all those things and one forgets to hydrate. So now I have a lovely pitcher of water with cucumber and lemon to drink all day. It's pretty and it makes me feel better.

The other thing I did? Well, if you're going to talk the talk, you damn well best walk that walk! I'm constantly telling women that they need to do a Boudoir session for themselves! I have had many clients come to me to do a session for their significant other. By the time they leave the studio, they are feeling EMPOWERED! They feel strong, they feel beautiful, and they definitely feel sexy! They now realize the importance of that session for THEM. The opportunity came for me to do that for myself when Troy Smith from Subculture Magazine asked me to submit photos and a quick blurb. Being a Boudoir photographer, I could not simply send in a nice head shot. So, Michael Hanlon (my consummate partner in crime, business, life and love) helped me out a bit. Aaaannnnnddd, we submitted this:

OH YES! Take THAT 43! ;) That felt GOOD! Seriously ladies, I am not superficial, I don't walk around thinking 'Shit, I'm hot', but that photo? Oh yes. I feel it! I needed that little boost. I deserved that little boost! We all do!

So what exactly are you waiting for? Permission? Here it is, I give you permission to celebrate YOU! Do it! A Ciao Bella Boudoir session is exactly what the doctor ordered. ;) YES! Oh YES!

A bit of Hollywood Glamour with a very modern girl...

Bonnie is definitely a beautiful, powerful, sexy woman. She embodies all of the grace of any Hollywood starlet you can conjure up: Lillian Gish, Marleen Dietrich, Veronica Lake, Jane Russell; she just has it. We were thrilled that Bonnie was available to work with us and got started planning the Hanlon-Fiske Studios, INC old Hollywood style shoot with wedding dresses from Heart to Heart Bridal.

As always, Valerie Schaubroeck did the makeup and honestly, I think she knocked it out of the park with this one! I'm looking forward to our upcoming Ciao Bella Boudoir sessions not only here, but in NYC as well.

We are all thrilled with the results and think you will be as well.

On another note, we (Hanlon Weddings) love that we have the space and gear available to offer a shoot like this to any of our brides. While the 'Bridal Shoot' is not as popular here in New York, it's something Mike and I love! We've had couples do 'Day After' sessions as well which is another way to get more amazing images of just the two of you!

Ciao Bella!

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. :)