It’s a perfect fall evening, the air is crisp but not cold. The distinct sound of the street performer playing drums on his plastic buckets is one that is almost as much of a staple to Lansdowne St. as is the smell of piping hot sausages, peppers and onions along with the yelling of excited (and a bit crazed), lifelong Redsox fans. This is Fenway Park!
Pushing through the crowds, we ascend up a dark, narrow, concrete path that leads to an opening where upon exit you are almost blinded from all the lights. Then, the most exciting thing happens. As your eyes adjust, you take in place so saturated in color, a place so rich in history and just like that you are staring at the oldest ballpark in America! A place where since 1912, generation upon generation of die hard fans have been cheering on loyally; rain or shine, win or lose. The place where JFK’s grandfather threw the out the “first pitch,” where fans have stuck it out since 1918, just before Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees, until 2004 when the “Curse was Reversed.” You can’t avoid the excitement of such a place. And Tuesday night was just that exciting! It was my husband’s birthday and what better place to celebrate than out for a night of baseball with friends?! Cold beer, popcorn, the loud and vulgar heckler attacking player #9 on the Tampa Rays inning after inning (I’ll come back to that later), all added to the experience. “NOW, BATTING FOR THE BOSTON REDSOX, DESIGNATED HITTER DAVID ORTIZ!” Designated hitter huh? My husband so lovingly explained that his only job is to hit the ball. Although Ortiz does occasionally cover first base, designated hitters are not required to play offense and will often bat in the lineup for pitchers. “The pitcher’s don’t know how to hit?” I asked. He just kinda laughed it off and said they may know how to hit but it’s not worth taking the risk that they may get hurt during a play. As the evening went on, I noticed the pitcher warming up for the next inning. Then another. And another. How many pitchers does one team need?! LOL. Well, turns out there are opening pitchers, relief pitchers, closing pitchers etc. As you can probably by now tell, I’m not the most educated sports person there is but it got me thinking, these ball players are professionals. Their leagues are professionals, their coaches, managers, owners, all professionals. Yes, they love the game but let’s face it, baseball is a business. They are there to make money. If they don’t make money, they can’t continue to do what they love. Without making a profit, they don’t play ball. I’m sure that the pitcher for the Boston Redsox can hit a baseball and I’m sure the designated hitter can catch one. But to run this team like a professional business, they let each player do exactly what he is best at. And that is his only job. He is just expected to hit the ball. He is just expected to pitch the closing inning.
I often hear “You don’t photograph weddings? You don’t photograph families? Kids? What do you photograph?! What’s left?” I always find that a bit funny. It’s as if there are only weddings, families and kids as a career option for photographers. I guess that’s a little like me saying a baseball player catches, runs and hits. It’s the very broad, general idea but not at all how a professional team actually works. And it’s not how I work either. In answer to your question about what else is there to photograph, there are photographers who just photograph food, there are advertising photographers, photographers who just photograph pets or landscapes. There are some photographers who just photograph fashion, editorial, runway, red carpet, lifestyle, a day in the life of…I could go on and on. But I create fashion inspired portraits for women. And do you want to know my answer to why I only create fashion inspired portraits for women? It’s because I’m really, really good at it. Plain and simple. Yes, just like a hitter can also catch a ball, I can also photograph a wedding or a family portrait. But just like the professional leagues, I leave that up to someone else on my team…and by team, I mean colleagues. I don’t need to be the opening pitcher, relief pitcher and closing pitcher. Could I do it? Probably. But wouldn’t I be exhausted?! And I wouldn’t be able to give the best of me at all times. I want you to have the best of the photographer you chose. Getting married? Hire someone who specializes in weddings. Expecting a baby? Contact someone who just does newborns. Your family is growing? Time to book a family portrait photographer. Need a grooms gift (boudoir) or really feel the need to be pampered and celebrated? Then I’m your girl! I’m really good at what I do. And that is to pose people from their nose right down to their toes, to make them feel comfortable and to connect with them in a way that creates a portrait like no other. I understand there is a lot of emotion and urgency that goes into buying the services of a wedding photographer or newborn. But what is more urgent than having a portrait of yourself that you are proud of? One where you feel beautiful and comfortable? If you wait until you are perfectly happy with your body or the way you look, will your children’s children ever have an amazing portrait of you? Since your little girl learns from what you believe, not what you tell her, will she ever know what it’s like to accept herself? To think of herself as a beautiful, strong woman who deserves to be celebrated? Do you remember when you would watch your mother get ready for an evening out? You thought she was the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen. You watched her apply her lipstick and maybe even helped with her pearls. You watched as dad lovingly kissed her shoulder and zipped up her dress on the way out the door. You have beautiful portraits of her because she was confident. She didn’t hide from the camera. What will your loved ones have?
Now, about that loud and vulgar heckler….yea, that was my husband. LOL.
FOR BOOKINGS OR INQUIRIES: info@shannon-michelle.com
It’s always an honor to get to create portraits for other industry members. Make up artist, Shana Christoforo and I, got together last week to create something extra special for her new website [coming soon]. Here are a couple of favs from the afternoon. We’ll definitely share more when her new site goes live.
Hair/Make up: Shana Christoforo
Photo: Shannon Michelle Photography
FOR BOOKINGS OR INQUIRIES: info@shannon-michelle.com
Shopping for boudoir accessories can be quite a challenge. So can finding the perfect set of lingerie. What if I told you, we combined the two? Well, we didn’t…but Black Lace Skin Jewelry sure did! We’re are always looking for new and creative things for our clients and this totally tops our list this month! Jewelry designer Mary Ann Richman, and graphic designer Bonny Katzman (both Boston locals), have teamed up to launch Black Lace Skin Jewelry. And when we heard they were joining us this year at NY Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, we jumped at the chance to photograph their work on the runway. Check out the photographs of the Malan Breton fashion show featuring Black Lace Skin Jewelry. Imagine the look on your hubby’s face when he sees you wearing nothing but these one of a kind works of art. Boudoir just got a little bit hotter!!
Check out the Boudoir Video & Photo Shoot featuring accessories and one of a kind lingerie by Black Lace Skin Jewelry.
Photos by Shannon Michelle Photography
FOR BOOKINGS OR INQUIRIES: info@shannon-michelle.com
“I look like a drag queen!” It’s an all too often response to getting your make up done for a boudoir or portrait session and one I recently experienced myself. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a good drag queen! It’s just not the exact look I’m going for in my own professional portraits.
I understand. You’ve invested a lot of time, money, you had an idea of what you could look like when you had a team of professionals working with you, and in an instant, all that is taken from you. It’s the moment you see your reflection in the mirror; and you’re supposed to be confident with this look in front of a camera in a matter of minutes! You wonder ‘How can this be ok?!’ Everyone around you is telling you that you look amazing but you can hardly look at yourself without having a small panic attack. Although I know this is a very normal part of the process, I didn’t realize until just recently, why that is. Below are three observations about having my own make up done for a new headshot that I think will help better explain why this is necessary for a great end result. But first, here are my photos! The one on the left is exaggerated in photoshop to show you just how much make up I felt I had on. The photo on the right is the final product and what was actually on my face.
1) THE BUILDUP: When you put on your own make up at home, you see the transition happening slowly. You see the build up of make up. It’s much more shocking going from rolling out of bed, wearing nothing but moisturizer to full make up for film (which, by the way is more than just full make up…which brings me to point #2)!
2) FULL MAKE UP FOR FILM: There is a very big difference between wearing make up for every day wear and wearing full coverage make up for film. You may have heard this before but maybe you don’t fully understand why or what to expect. You think, “Sure, I’ll have more foundation and it will be fine.” But the truth is, foundational coverage is such a small part of it. Your eye contact is one of the most important factors of a great portrait. If your eyes don’t stand out, they will get lost in the photo. In order to help them stand out on film, your MUA (make up artist) needs to very much exaggerate them in order to balance out the lighting and the loss of contrast. But in person, it’s shocking! The same goes for your lips. So now…you have more make up than you’re used to wearing and you have both your eyes and lips beyond exaggerated. Of course this is a lot to take in at once!!
3) DEPTH: When I started teaching posing classes, I realized one thing that is obvious to some of the more elite photographers but maybe not to you, is that photograph are one dimensional. In person, our eyes auto-correct for distance and space between objects. We see things in 3-D, but in photographs you need to create that dimension on a flat surface. You can do this with posing. You can also do this with make up, and it’s one of the things your MUA should be doing. In order to create that depth (or to make your eyes “pop”), he/she needs to create layers. Those layers are created with eye liner, lashes, shadow, highlights etc. It’s also the many layers that you were not expecting when you look in the mirror, which is why it’s so shocking. You’ve probably never had layers in your make up. It is, after all, one of the reasons why you hired a professional, right?!
This is all super scary, I get it! It can be quite a lot to take in at once. It is however, an essential part of the process that you need to trust. We as photographers, hair stylists, makeup artists etc. all want the best for your portraits. It does after all, reflect on us and our work too. Our names are on the work we create. We take that very seriously, and we would never lead you in a way that we believe is harmful to your portraits in any way, shape or form. Because I was prepared for that reaction I would have, I just trusted the process and it was the smartest decision I could have ever made. I love the final product and am beyond happy with my make up!! If you have any questions about make up or fashion inspired portraits, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Our email is info@shannon-michelle.com. Hope you found this helpful!!
Hair: Kai Mitchell of Salon 1803
Make Up: Shana Christoforo
Photo: Megan Ryan of Shannon Michelle Photography
FOR BOOKINGS OR INQUIRIES: info@shannon-michelle.com
In the spirit of fashion week, I took a little down time to head to Newport, RI to meet up with friend, and wedding photographer, Jaclyn Lombardo of Jaclyn L Photography. Newport Film, along with the Rough Point Mansion hosted an outdoor showing of the documentary Dior and I. The film followed designer Raf Simons as he took over for John Galliano at the House of Dior and produced his first fashion show for them in just 8 weeks!! Our black and white damask/french themed picnic was the perfect accessory to the evening’s events.
NY Fashion week starts September 4th! Be sure to follow us on Instagram (@ shannon michelle photo) for behind the scenes coverage.
FOR BOOKINGS OR INQUIRIES: info@shannon-michelle.com
Kai Mitchell, owner and lead stylist of Salon 1803, celebrated his birthday as many small business owners do…at work. Although, this was no ordinary day at the Salon for Kai and his team! The usual quiet and intimate space located in Marshfield, MA was suddenly transformed into a bustling photo studio! Blow dryers roaring, make up artists and models chit chatting away, camera and video crews scrambling for the perfect shot, assistants and more, were all present. And for what you might ask? To celebrate and take part in a video being filmed to promote Salon 1803 on the oh so popular Yelp website. It was a busy day to say the least. After starting at 5am, Kai’s schedule was filled with informal interviews, behind the scenes camera work, 3 hair make overs, and of course…a photo shoot by yours truly. We can’t wait to see the final video but in the meantime, here are some sneak peak photos of what went on (keep reading…there are behind the scenes pics after the credits below). HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAI!!!!
Continue reading….behind the scenes pics to follow….
Model 1: Jolene Nicole Hunt | Model Club Inc.
Model 2: Krista Marie River
Model 3: Molly Dillon
Hair: Kai Mitchel | Salon 1803
Make Up: Michelle McGrath | Anchor Artsits
Stylist Assistant: Giana Calapa | Salon 1803
Photos: Shannon Michelle | Shannon Michelle Photography
Photo Assistant: Megan Ryan | Shannon Michelle Photography
Video: Yelp
There were people everywhere! There were lights, cameras, make up & hair teams, not to mention the crowds of fans trying desperately to sneak a peek. I patiently waited next to her as her stylist fussed over every inch of her five foot, ten inch frame. She then sat down, looked right at me and smirked flirtatiously for the camera. It was effortless for her. I couldn’t help but notice… the flawless skin, pouty pink lips, golden locks that bounced across her shoulder. She is after all, a Victorias Secret supermodel. More specifically, I had just photographed Doutzen Kroes.
I’m just going to say the one thing every photographer thinks but is not supposed to say out loud.
IT IS JUST MORE PLEASANT TO PHOTOGRAPH BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE.
So what is it that you don’t like about yourself? What is it that keeps you from thinking you are beautiful? Coming up with a list of things we don’t like about ourselves is usually not a problem. In fact, unfortunately, it’s almost on autopilot.
My nose it too big
My nose is too small
My hair is too curly
My hair is too straight
I’m too short
I’m too tall
I’m too skinny
I’m too fat
I don’t like the shape of my eyes
I don’t like my smile
I don’t like my skin
I’ve even had a client say “I don’t like the shape of my nostrils!” I photograph women of all ages, all shapes, and all sizes. When I recently put together my speaking program for teen and preteen girls, I racked my brain about what is it that really makes someone beautiful?
No, but really, what makes someone beautiful?
I thought about the celebrities and models I’ve been lucky enough to work with over the years and then I thought about the young women who enter my studio every day. We’ve all heard that confidence makes someone beautiful. My problem with that is that models (just like everyone else) have a list of things they don’t like about themselves. In fact, their list may be longer than yours. After all, rejection (and rejection based on looks alone) is an every day experience for the professional model. They are more aware of their flaws than anyone I know and not all models are confident. So how does that make any sense?
If confidence is what makes someone beautiful, what makes someone confident? And then it hit me…
VULNERABILITY IS BEAUTIFUL.
We all have the ability to be vulnerable. Your world will change when you can take that list you make of reasons you are not beautiful and look yourself in the mirror and say “This is what I don’t like about myself but it’s ok. I welcome you to look at me (or photograph me) just as I am.” Vulnerability is a fragile state. Many of us have worked for years to cover up any part of us that is vulnerable. But the one thing we thought was protecting us, may be the very thing that has kept us from growing in love. If you can be open about what you don’t like, I think you just might be able to accept some of those ‘flaws.’ There’s always room to improve but appreciating yourself as you are is what gives you the room to grow.
Confidence is what people tend to see on the surface of those that are perceived ‘beautiful’. But being vulnerable (in my humble opinion) is what makes someone truly beautiful. Vulnerability leads to acceptance,which leads to self love, which leads to confidence. Start to take a second look at those models in magazines. Are they confident? Or is there also sense of vulnerability about them? We all look for someone relatable. I think vulnerability is one of the most relatable and honest attributes you can have.
So yes, photographing beautiful people is more pleasant. I JUST TEND TO THINK EVERYONE HAS THE ABILITY TO BE BEAUTIFUL, STRONG AND CONFIDENT.
FOR BOOKINGS OR INQUIRIES: info@shannon-michelle.com
This is my hair stylist. Isn’t he totes adorbs?!
[Kai Mitchell is also the owner of Salon 1803 in Marshfield, MA. Check it out when you get a sec.]
On my last visit, I found myself sitting in his chair, just staring at this 10″ pile of hair in front of me! No, his salon is not a mess. It’s actually quite clean and quaint. It was my hair. My wedding hair to be exact. The hair I had spent such a long time growing so that I could have beautiful big curls as I walked down the aisle on May 30, 2014. Well, that had to go now. No one has time to style that kind of mess on a daily basis!! So, off it went to Locks of Love. It was grown in love and cut in love. Thank you Kai.
It got me thinking though…cutting your hair is really a lot like having boudoir photos taken.
Here are 3 reasons I see the similarity.
1. Sexy just isn’t sexy – I could take Kai a photo of a sexy looking model and say “I want to look like this.” And, because we have worked together and have known each other for years, he would probably just laugh in my face and say ‘Yea, so would I.’
You know that by copying a hair cut, you are not going to look like that girl, right? And most likely, if you copy a pose from a model, you are not going to look like that girl either. When ladies try too hard to look sexy, they usually don’t. Sexy comes from confidence, connection and looking (being) relaxed on film.
2. Shape matters – One reason I absolutely love my Kai is because when I do show him a picture of a model who’s hair cut I want, he says ‘ok’ and then changes it. Hear me out!
He changes it to fit the shape of my face. If he copied the cut exactly as is (which he is more than capable of doing), it wouldn’t look right. It’s his job to look at the photo and then look at the shape of my face and make small enough adjustments where I am beyond thrilled and it’s the right cut for me.
Same is true in the boudoir studio. Every body is shaped differently. It’s my job to take a pose or idea that you like and to mold it to make it work for you.
3. Leave it to the professionals – I don’t second guess Kai. I ask for what I want and then I trust him to do what’s best for me. I surely would never attempt to cut my own hair. So if I didn’t trust him, I would never get my hair cut! The same goes for your boudoir portraits. If you don’t trust me, you’ll never get them done. And I wouldn’t want that for you. You deserve it. You deserve to see how beautiful you can be on film. If you take anything away from this blog, I would want it to be this….
“You don’t pose to look like a model. You look like a model because I pose you.”
I know what’s best for your body type. It’s my job to know it. And I’m really good at it. No more “But I don’t look like those girls.” Good! Maybe you don’t. Please know that
“You don’t have to look like the girl in the magazine to celebrate the girl in the mirror.”
If you are ready to celebrate the girl in the mirror, visit shannon-michelle.com or click HERE for more information about our services.
Hope to see you soon!
Shannon.
Are you super nervous about the idea of a boudoir shoot? No worries, you are not alone!! But chances are, you are so focused on the shoot that you haven’t even thought about what happens after the shoot?
That’s where we come in! We consistently search the globe and are very proud to have one of the best boudoir product lines available. It’s just not enough to have a few small prints made to be shoved in a drawer somewhere to be found years later. These are beautiful, intimate images of you at a very special time in your life and deserve to be celebrated by presenting them in a stylish and modern way. We are beyond proud to offer you many ways to do this. Even prouder, many of our products are made right here in America!
Please enjoy a few of these American made selects from our product line. Which one is your favorite?
A couple of our boudoir albums are made in the USA. This uniquely shaped ‘clutch’ album is one of them!
Beauty boxes come in three different sizes and include a grouping of custom made prints, all made in the USA.
The mobile look book is made in the USA and a great way to keep all your fav photos at your fingertips.
We offer custom prints that are made in the USA. All prints are mounted for added protection and coated with clear layer that protects against fingerprints and UV rays. Nothing but the best for our guest!!
Metal prints, metal murals and sublimated metal prints are all made in the USA.
And last but not least, of course a photo shoot with Shannon Michelle is 100% created in the USA!! Gift certificates are a great way to celebrate the ones you love.
Please note: Products featured here today are, to the best of our ability, known to be created in the United States of America. Should an item come to our attention that does not fit the requirements, the item will be removed.
FOR BOOKINGS OR INQUIRIES: info@shannon-michelle.com
What to do with all those beautiful portraits? Try a beauty box! Perfect for gifts or to keep all your favorites in one location without binding them to an album.
Hair | Make up: Krisann Kiley
FOR INQUIRIES OR BOOKINGS: info@shannon-michelle.com