Thank you to all who came out to shop local and support small business artists!
Enjoy a few photos from our shop small Saturday open studio, featuring fashion illustrator Holly Nichols, makeup artist Danielle Keefe and yours truly!!

Miss out on today’s event and holiday offers?
You can still get a complimentary mobile look book when you schedule any boudoir or beauty portrait in the month of December.
For more info, contact us HERE.

#ShopSmall

[Danielle’s Organic Lip Scrub]

Love & Lipstick’s own Danielle Keefe can now be found at Shannon Michelle Photography!
Designer Decor . Custom Lip Treatments . Headshots

Holiday Cards and Mugs by Holly!

Holly Nichols Studio [left] | Shannon Michelle Studio [right]

Live Sketching by Holly Nichols

We LOVE Christmas and the holiday season and we’re excited to share with you what we’ve got planned for the biggest shopping weekend of the year! The deals below are exclusively available Friday, Nov. 28th – 11pm on Monday, November 30th.

BECAUSE ALL HE WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU…

We are making boudoir sessions easier and more affordable than ever…introducing Holiday Mini Sessions! This years theme is “LIPS OR LEGS” and includes an 11×14″ canvas print for just $159!
[No coupon code required]

If you’re a past client and have a BEAUTY PORTRAIT that you love, save 50% on all canvas prints!
[Coupon code: SHOPSMALLCANVAS]

If you know you’re going to be in way too many holiday photos this year, you might want to take advantage of 50% off the POSE THIN VIDEO download.
[Coupon code: SHOPSMALLPOSING]

Last but not least, if you’re a FASHION LOVER, take 20% off select DESIGNER DECOR. At just $12 each, they make the perfect stocking stuffer!
[Coupon code: SHOPSMALLPRINTS]

For more info on deals and to purchase online, simply click HERE for BOUDOIR and HERE for DESIGNER DECOR.

I just got an email from a future client who was just so open and honest and absolutely adorable! She says feels sexy but still a little “Jiggly.”  Who can’t relate to this?! The truth is that no matter where we are weight wise, we always see more improvement to be done, right?  Well, we’re not going to let those “jiggles” take control anymore! We’re not going to let them stop us from doing a shoot that celebrates us!! Here are a few lingerie pieces that I love that are sexy and still help to cover a lot of those “jiggles.”

Shape wear is the answer ladies!

Shape wear used to be something you might see in your grandmothers closet or straight out of the movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers [great movie btw]. But thankfully, lingerie companies are on board and they are creating such beautiful pieces for the fuller figured woman.

Thank God, right?!

I mean when you think back to when those skinny little bitches dressed to the nines in their fancy gowns and riding in beautiful horse drawn buggies just to go to town to pick up a package…it took them at least 30 minutes and 3 dressers to help them get into the corset thing underneath that makes them look so skinny [but we forget about that part]. It’s about time they started making supportive lingerie that women can be proud to wear! 

Ok, coming down from my soap box. Here are a few favs…
[Click on the photo, courtesy of the brand, to find ordering info]

Got a better idea of what you might wear for your intimate boudoir shoot?
Time to book an appointment! Call 617.307.1155 or email info@shannon-michelle.com

Maidenform, Spanx, Torrid, DKNY, Va Bien 

“It doesn’t look like you; but it feels like you.”

That what Asha’s youngest said about the pictures of her mom. Asha Ramakrishna is the women you see in the photographs below. She is a wife, a mentor, and a mom. She grew up in Venezuela where [I was surprised to hear] when a little girl walks into a room, she is immediately judged based on “could she be the next Miss Venezuela” or not. There is even a grooming program for young ladies who are being considered. So to Asha, being beautiful literally represented better opportunities, a better life and a way out of a poor country.

Talk about pressure.

“I think I resisted that [beauty] side of me…” Asha says as she shares her story about the realization that she did not fit their traditional role of beauty queen. “I’m more of a natural person. I don’t wear a lot of makeup, I live in the country….but I’m so curious about seeing a different side of myself.”  

Because part of the intention for this shoot is to help challenge her daughters’ minds and their perception of beauty, Asha brought them in when it was time to pick up her portraits. We all had a conversation about the fashion industry, our own relationship with beauty and hopefully inspired them to see and think differently.  

Here are just a few of their favorites.

Photos | Bookings: Shannon Michelle
Hair | Makeup: Shana Christoforo

We recorded the reaction to Asha’s girls seeing their mom as a model for the first time (video coming soon).
Here are a few screenshots from that footage.

Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of working with a great team to come up with some fun and creative hair concepts. Kai Anthony, owner of Salon 1803 in Marshfield, MA is an amazingly talented stylist. He’s also a Redken educator, my personal stylist and a good friend. On a whim [which is how he makes most of his decisions and I love that about him] he decided to take a Mastered class with UK hair icon and celebrity stylist Sam McKnight. So for the next 4 months, Kai will be given an assignment and we’ll be photographing it for you  and sharing it on our blog. Make sure you follow along. You won’t want to miss the various levels of creativity that is Kai Anthony!

[Scroll below the pictures for links to all creatives involved as well as a behind the scenes video.]

Hair: Kai Anthony
Make Up: Joshua Litterio
Models: Maggie Inc.
Photos: Shannon Michelle
Book a shoot: info@shannon-michelle.com

I recently came across a video about the everlasting conversation around retouching. It was led by another boudoir photographer and one of the comments made was…

“As boudoir photographers, we talk out of both sides of our mouth saying that you need to love the skin your in, at the same time let’s put you in all this hair and make up and lingerie…because you’re not good enough as you are; it’s a fine line. If you’re a boudoir photographer, I bet you struggle with this a lot, especially when you’re talking about why you shoot boudoir. How can you not be hypocritical when you’re doing this.” [Let me go on record and say that this photographer is quite passionate and lovely and I could tell she cared very much for her clients. I actually really enjoyed what she was saying, aside from the quote above. And I loved that the reason she retouches is to help women look past their “flaws” to be able to see their true beauty.]

As someone with almost a decade experience of working with high fashion runway models and someone with equal experience photographing women who are not models, I am more than qualified to speak up on the gap between the fashion industry and how we see ourselves day to day. Regarding that quote above and any other comment that comes close to it, I call “BULLSHIT!”

Keep reading to find out why…

I call bullshit because….

I know exactly where I stand on this issue. I don’t struggle with this at all and hypocritical is the last word I would ever utter out of my perfectly made up red lips when I describe my work. Can you hear the steam coming from my ears right now!!!!

Why is someone who has “all this hair and make up and lingerie” automatically described as “because you’re not good enough as you are?” If that’s why you’re doing it, I can understand why you’d have a problem with it. I say “because you love the skin you’re in and because you’re worth it, let’s put you in all this hair and make up and inspire you to experience a side of yourself you may not have yet seen.” Does having her hair and make up make done and dressing up really make her any less of who she is without it? What about when she comes out of the gym covered in sweat with frizzy hair? Or when she is covered in puke while taking care of her newborn. Do those “outfits” define her? No. They are all temporary experiences that together make up who she is. Not one or the other and certainly not because she’s “not good enough.” Why are we so quick to judge the dressed up version of ourselves but not the dressed down version?

That attitude is what shames women and it’s disgusting. 

The fashion industry is so fun; I absolutely love it and I’m proud to be a part of it!! But I think what everyone forgets is that the fashion industry is theatrical in nature. It’s not meant to be something you compare yourself to day in and day out. It’s meant to be fun! And if you want that experience, I can certainly give it to you. But again, it’s just that…an experience. It’s not who you are and it’s not who they [models] are.

Most women can’t relate to working in the high fashion industry. That’s OK, I probably can’t relate to what your job includes. But I think we rush to judge things that we don’t fully understand and I think that’s what happens when people attack the fashion/beauty industry. We are afraid to say things like “I want to look like that. I’m insecure. I’m afraid to be vulnerable.” So instead, we attack. We say “Shame on you for retouching. Shame on you for being 13 and skinny. Shame on you for selling us something we want but don’t want.”

What I’ve found over the years, is that the more that women find their own confidence and find the ability to love, forgive and care for themselves as they would others, the more they want to take care of and celebrate themselves. They want to embrace a variety of experiences and yes, for some, that includes hair and make up, lingerie and retouching. It also means embracing an experience that adds value and confidence to their life.

And shame on you if you think any differently.

[Naeem Khan | Reem Acra | Venexiana | J Mendel ]

Click HERE to book your own boudoir or portrait shoot!
Click HERE to find out why I think having a boudoir or portrait shoot makes you a better mom.

Why do you hang portraits of your children? Why did your parents hang portraits of you? All pondering aside, did you know that research shows children who grow up in homes where their portraits hang on the wall, grow up with higher self esteem than those without?

Why?

Because it says to them that they are valued and are worth showing off to anyone who sets foot inside their home. It says “my parents are so proud of me and the family that we’ve become and I am a worthy part of that equation.”

I can almost hear your thoughts….

“Well then, how about just pictures of the kids then. Maybe one family portrait from 10 years ago and a small print of our wedding photo will do.”

Nope!

Something I’ve learned as an adult and as a wife is just how much our parents’ actions and belief systems mold us into the people we are today, for better or worse. You can tell your little girl anything you want, but if you don’t believe it for yourself, she’ll have a hard time believing it for herself. The best thing we can do for our children is live by example; to be the person we want them to be.

I believe:

We need to take better care of ourselves.
We need to celebrate ourselves.
We need to be proud of the person we are today and the person we will become.
We need to be patient with ourselves.
We need to forgive ourselves.
We need to love ourselves better.

The last thing you would want, is for your child not to believe in himself because you didn’t believe in yourself. Or worse, be afraid to become the best version of themselves because deep down inside they feel guilty about being the person you could not be. So how can you tell your little girl, learning to be a woman [or your little boy, learning to love a woman] that they should proudly have their portraits on the wall, but you’re not worthy of the same?

Lead by example.

And if you’re not ready to have children; first I applaud you for recognizing that and not rushing in, but second there’s no better time to build your own self worth than before you actually have them.

Either way, the people who love you, love you  just as you are today; and tomorrow is not promised. When was the last time you were photographed? When was the last time you were photographed in a way you loved? When was the last time you were photographed in a way you wanted to cherish?

If you can’t remember, call us [617.307.1155]. Let’s chat about how we can help you.
You deserve it! If you’re not convinced a wall portrait is for you, click HERE.

Recently, I was asked by the lovely Marianne Cherico to join her on a coaching call and offer advise to “women in their second half” about posing. I gladly did so and we briefly chatted about how important is for women to celebrate themselves and to be photographed. As Marianne was wrapping up our segment, she quickly added the words “and not in an ego way.”

In all honesty, it took be aback for a minute. Because I believe so desperately in what I do, it had never once crossed my mind that what I was talking about could be considered to be done out of ego. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve heard it before.

“O, I wouldn’t want to put up a big picture of myself. That’s weird isn’t it? Do people do that?”

If you’re a photographer who sells large wall portraits and you’re reading this, you’ve most likely heard this a time or two in your own studio. If you’re a client reading this, you may have had the exact same thought as you look around my studio and see lots of large artwork on the walls. And I’ve heard that exact statement come out of the mouths of a few of you. No worries though, I get it. I heard the question in your voice. “It’s so egotistical, right?” You’re asking the question because you love this portrait so much that you would want to see it hanging in your home somewhere but you aren’t sure where you would put it or how you would explain it to your friends.

“Do other people really do that?”

Let me answer this way….if people didn’t buy them, I wouldn’t offer them. So yes, other people really do that. But let’s chat about the bigger picture here [pardon the pun]. Why are you worried about what other people might think when they enter your home for a few short hours?

Isn’t that ego? 

Ego, by definition, is the part of the psyche that experiences the outside world and reacts to it, coming between the primitive drives of the ID and the demands of the social environment, represented by the superego.

…experiencing the outside world and reacting to it…so really, isn’t it ego NOT to hang your large portrait?

I completely understand if a portrait of you in the buff is not something you want hanging over your living room sofa. That’s not what we’re talking about here. My clients get a beauty portrait or something that is appropriate to share with the public during their boudoir experience. And some clients come to me strictly for beauty. So yes, maybe your bare bottom belongs in the privacy of your bedroom or in an album. But that stunning portrait of you, looking relaxed and confident, that belongs out where people can see it and celebrate with you.

If you’re ready to celebrate you or someone you love, contact us [info@shannon-michelle.com] for booking info.

I’ve had this white bob wig in the accessories closet of my studio for well over a year. Last weekend, I finally got to use it! I absolutely LOVE monochromatic colors and when we applied that theme to Claudia, it did not disappoint! Here’s a before and after photo and some behind the scenes video from this fashion inspired portrait shoot.
I just LOVE the transformation with hair, make up and photography.

If you want us to recreate this look for you, message info@shannon-michelle.com!