Love 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. This is shoot #2 for Kai’s Mastered class with UK hair icon and celebrity stylist Sam McKnight. Our beautiful model is Jesslyn of Maggie Inc. Makeup by the amazing Shana Christoforo.
[Scroll below the pictures for links to all creatives involved as well as a behind the scenes video.]
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.
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.
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!
Fashion inspired senior portrait photography by Shannon Michelle.
For information, visit posepretty.com
Hair and Make up by Shana Christoforo.
Marina Bay – Quincy, MA | Blue Hills Reservation – Milton, MA
I’m always saying posing and lighting matters!! Kira from Creative Photography Classes shows a fantastic example of this in the photo below. Thanks so much for sharing!
If you want to learn more about how to pose thinner, click here check out our posing video.
Ever heard all you need is confidence to take great picture? It’s total bullshit! How many of you have felt confident but still didn’t like your pictures?
Exactly.
Do you know that models are some of the most insecure people I’ve ever met? [shhhh, don’t tell anyone….they’re human too]. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Their entire career is based on rejection and rejection solely on their physical looks. They know exactly what’s “wrong” with them and they’re always aware of it. So how can that be? How can a model be insecure when one of the most important things you need to look great in pictures is confidence?
What models do have, is confidence in how to pose on camera and because of that, they are comfortable being photographed. They know their angles and how to show a product, but as a person they have insecurities with their bodies just like you and me. So that thing you’ve heard about confidence is sexy. That’s probably true in person. But on film, I find that your confidence isn’t really needed. Mine is.
[Huh?!]
Keep reading…
[Megan – Norwell High – Class of 2016]
Since I don’t expect you to learn how to become a model overnight [although that would be nice], what you really need is a photographer who is confident in posing you!
So many of the women I work with are nervous about how to pose and that’s completely natural. But what I want you to know is that when you work with me, whether it’s for a boudoir shoot, a senior portrait, a headshot, maternity…it doesn’t matter… I will pose you, nose to toes! You will never have to worry about how to pose when you step into my studio. You just have to relax, enjoy having your hair and make up done and then trust me. I will teach you industry tricks and tips that work best with your body frame. But the best thing about fashion? The editorial division! If you’re just so totally bad at posing straight to the camera, I’m going to have you move in a way that I know will photograph nicely. Playing with your necklace, playing with your hair, movement, looking away and photographing details are all things I use to create a diverse album but also keep you looking good, no matter how awkward you get! After all…
You don’t pose to look like a model; You look like a model because I pose you!”
Contact us info@shannon-michelle.com now for booking info and find out firsthand how I would pose you!!