Sexy Lazy Saturday in Los Angeles | Los Angeles Boudoir Session

While I am a boudoir photographer based in Dallas, Texas I do enjoy traveling to other states to shoot. One of my favorite places in the world is Los Angeles. What's not to love? Palm trees, great weather, and better food. Let me tell you, that the ladies out in LA did not disappoint!

Wonderland Boudoir also shoots in Los Angeles. If you are looking for an amazing Los Angeles Boudoir session please contact us so we can speak about your session! The best way to reach out and schedule the best time for you to speak is using this link!

The thing is, I did have each one of the ladies I captured complete a questionnaire for the blog after it was completed, but my dumbass didn't think to have them write their names on their forms so I don't know which woman wrote what. So, unfortunately, all the Los Angeles boudoir blog post will have to come through my perception.

I know! I love hearing directly from the clients as well!

I send out questionnaires after the sessions because I love to hear feedback. I also use those questionnaires to help write the blog post. However, I fucked up because I didn't ask for the names of each one of the contributors so I don't know who wrote what responses. LOL. What's crazy is all the ladies pretty much responded the same to each one of the questions so I'm just going to have to improvise for these next four blog post. LOL.

Ms. A and I have been trying to shoot together for a while now. I was supposed to come out to LA last year, but things just fell apart. When it came to this round I made it my priority to make sure she was the first person I told when I was coming out to LA. Let me tell you, she did not disappoint.

Having confidence in whatever you're doing ( even if you have no idea what it is) will have an amazing impact of how you work looks. For example, Ms. A exuded a level of confidence that is hard to find with most people. In that confidence, you can see how much she loves and appreciates who she is. That is what I love to capture in my photographs. When you have this level of confidence your sex appeal goes up at least 5,007%.

Let's be honest, self-love is the sexiest and most important love of them all.

One of my favorite parts about shooting Ms. A was her attitude. She was up for anything, had an open mind, but wasn't scared to voice her thoughts. Even when I directed her for a pose she took that suggestion and then brought it up one more notch and it made it her own.

Another thing I really enjoyed was putting the outfits together. I will have to be honest with you here. You can't EVER tell how big anyone is based on photos. Let me tell you, the girls in LA are all super small. They may be curvy, but they are small. With that being said I brought a number of items that I thought would be too big for her, but they ended up working perfectly. While I loved each of the looks one of my favorites was the undershirt that we cut to showcase underboob (cuz who doesn't love underboob) and paired with these super sexy tights that had rhinestones all over it. Geez. That look was fun, sexy, and out of this world.

HOW TO STYLE A BOUDOIR SESSION

Just a note, a lot of people think that for boudoir session you have to spend thousands of dollars on your outfits. Honestly, you could just come in naked and that would be perfectly fine with me. If you are too shy to bare it all for your first boudoir session then that’s not a problem. Keep in mind that when styling for your session you should think outside the box and not necessary rock lingerie for your session.

STYLE YOUR BOUDOIR SESSION BASED ON YOUR LOCATION

In Ms. A first look we used a comfy knit sweater and some cute but bright yellow panties. Since we were shooting in a studio apartment then I wanted the vibe to be more Saturday afternoon/Sunday morning lazy. Something sweet and cozy. The best way to accomplish that is by wearing a sweater in your boudoir session.

HOW TO COLOR BLOCK FOR A BOUDOIR SESSION

WHAT IS COLOR BLOCKING?

When you're styling for a boudoir session keep colors in mind. I am a huge fan of color blocking. Color blocking is the art of taking complementary colors on the color wheels and pairing them together.

Most people think that color blocking is just wearing opposite colors on the color wheel. In fact, it's not that simple. There are three ways to color block:

1. Complimentary: Using two colors opposite each other on the color wheel

2. Triad: Using three colors that are equal distance from each other on the color wheel

3. Analogous: Using colors that fall right next to each other on the color wheel.

In Ms. A case we used the Analogous formula of color blocking for her second look. Mind you, this look is sexy as fuck! Most of the shoots taken can't be pinned on Pinterest, but this is my website and I'll do what I want (Cartman voice). I love how purple and blue rock together.

Besides sweaters, robes are a sexy way to spruce up your boudoir session. The best part about using robes in your boudoir session is how they naturally fall on your frame. They always seem to know where to fall to flatter you the most. The sheerness of her purple robe just electrifies her look.

The last look was from an iconic American brand. Remember how I said that boudoir outfits don't have to cost you a whole mortgage payment? Well, this silver bodysuit from American Apparel was picked up for only $1! Yes, girl! I said one dollar! I am a WHOLE sucker for a closeout sale.

Maybe about a year or so ago American Apparel closed down most (if not all) of their US locations and became an online retailer. To liquidate their products they were having massive blowout sales and I picked up a NUMBER of items for only $1. This metallic bodysuit was one of them. When you're out shopping for your boudoir session make sure you keep an open and fun mind about what you want to wear. Not everything has to come from Agent Provocateur!

I have to admit that I had an amazing time shooting Ms. A out in LA. I cannot wait to get other again and shoot her. She was an absolute dream to work with. I couldn't have dreamt of anything better.

SONG OF THE WEEK
Every week I'm going to post a video that I can't get out of my head. This week it's Lil' Wayne's Uproar ft Swizz Beats:

If you're interested in having a boudoir session with us next time we are in LA please hit me up here! I can't wait to speak to you!

Blonde and Boudoir | Dallas Boudoir

I love being a boudoir photographer in Dallas, Texas.  I meet so many incredible women.  Some whom I have shot three of four times already.    It's great to earn the trust and love of your clients.

Speaking of I am shooting one of my favorite faces, here we have  Ms. M again!  This has to be about my third or fourth time shooting Ms. M and trust me it never gets boring.  

Ms. M gave me the liberty to style her boudoir session.  Down to clothing, hair, and makeup.  I love these types of challenges because it shows me the client REALLY believes in my ability, and it also gives me the chance to be more experimental.  This is why I love my clients, they really allow me to stretch my imaginations.

If you can believe it or not, we actually shot this whole series in my apartment.  The first look took place on my balcony.  We had Candy from StylesByCandy come in and handle hair.  Jazzy was covering makeup.  I actually styled both looks. 

For hair I wanted to go for something full body and free. I love messier hairstyles in boudoir sessions.  It makes it much easier when shooting because I am not constantly concerned about the hair being perfect.  Messy hair gives me the liberty to push the session to the limit.  

Jazzy went with a very classic makeup look but still gave it his signature style be giving her the perfect heart lips.  The lips match perfectly with the aesthetic and style.  

The clothing pieces actually came from a closing American Apparel store.  If you guys didn't know, American Apparel is, at the time of this post, in the process of closing all of its locations.  This entire outfit cost me less than $5.  Yes, I bought all the pieces for 90% off.  I am willing to bet that anything with the American Apparel tag will be considered vintage and worth a lot of money in the future.  So hanging on to your American Apparel pieces may come in handy in the future... just not the near future.  

In this second look, we stuck to American Apparel high waisted bottom but then opted for this beautiful top purchased from Forever 21. Again, this purchase was from another clothing store.  I picked the top for $3... again, another boudoir outfit that cost less than $5.  

This goes to show that it's not about the price of the pieces but how you rock them.  

In the comment section below please let me know which look that you liked best.

Boudoir on a 70 Degree Day, Texas Winter | Dallas Boudoir

In order for me to be a better Dallas Boudoir photographer, I have to either be constantly shooting or consistently studying the craft.  As a person, I have a huge issue when it comes to just being still.  I feel like being "still" brings complacency, and if you guys are long time followers of this blog you know complacency is something that I am not about.  

After December business slowed down a tad bit. This free time allowed me to really put effort into putting together a whole boudoir session styled for myself.  It allowed me to focus on things that I need to work on.  This includes how I work with people, styling, hair, and makeup.  Downtime normally gives me the opportunity to be experimental in what I do. 

That's precisely what we did when meeting up with Aroy.  Aroy and I have been trying to work together for awhile.  Even before she officially moved to Dallas we were trying to work on something.  Finally, January arrived and I had free time. 

I am a proponent of whatever you're doing on the first of January is going to line up how your year is going to go.  Therefore I love spending my January 01st working, grinding, and networking  

I feel like each person I work with is my favorite person in the world, and Aroy was no exception.   She was just so easy to talk to, very open, and incredibly intelligent. She was just the meaning of life.  

For 2017, I am trying to get better at styling my sessions.  I hate limiting myself to typical lingerie pieces in order to create a beautifully styled session.  

I am a lover of sequin.  I have no idea why but I have always loved sequin since I was a young child.  LOL.  I know a lot of people don't like sequin because if you're not careful it can look very comical.  

Since this is Texas it means that our January first was 70 degrees.  (I do not envy people in the north).  I also wanted to experiment with video as well.  By no stretch of the imagination am I a videographer, however, I do want to start making video a real thing in my work. So working with Aroy really helped with that.  

Aroy is close to 6 feet tall and VERY lean so I wanted to take on the challenge of styling her. I have a lot of clients who are worried about what to wear for a boudoir session if they are super tall. So I decided to place Aroy in this beautiful one piece lace number.  I want to say this piece was from American Apparel.  We kept is super simple with bone straight hair and simplistic posing.  

In the second look, we went a little more experimental.  You guys already know my love and appreciation for high waisted bottoms so I paired this piece with a sequin bandeau and a sequin jacket.  The sequin bandeau was purchased from Forever 21.  The jacket was a vintage thrift find from Austin.  I picked up it for right around $10.  I mean how can you say no to vintage 80's sequin jacket?  

I loved how this jacket caught the light of the sun and would just bling for the Gods.  We ended up removing the jacket and focusing on posing and facial expression by using the strength of her body to create some Vogue worthy images.  

These photos really make me want to work with fashion more and work with better quality pieces.  I plan on networking more with lingerie brands to make this happen.

In the comment section below let me know what you think of the video.  I am open to critique as I am learning more about the art of video. 

The Girl Next Door Turns Vixen| Dallas Boudoir Photography

I haven't shot in a studio in quite some time.  While I love the idea of having a constant place to go, shoot, and call my boudoir home.  I have to admit that I do love shooting on location because my photos, work, and brain power will never go stale because each image for each client will look drastically different.

However, if I were to ever pick a client's place that I could shoot in every single day of my boudoir career I would be Ms. N's.  She had an atrium, nice concrete floors, powerful soft light, and this incredible blue studded and tufted jewel couch that was to LIVE for.  You know what else I loved about her place?  It was luxurious but minimalistic.  I know, what a juxtaposition!  (I'm going to be honest, I just wanted to use that word).  

As I say in just about every other blog post, you have to match your style to your settings.  This is how you get those drool-worthy Pinterest boudoir photos that every woman yearns for.  

Since the settings were very minimalistic we decided to have the outfits, hair, makeup, and posing standout and play the power forward position in the photos.   

Dominque Dai is one of my favorite hairstylist in Dallas.  She is one of the most versatile and professional hair care specialists in the city.  For Ms. N photos I wanted to go simple, girl next door glam.  We went for a very loose french braid look with a curl end.  This worked perfectly with her ombre colored hair.  

Jazzy is my right-hand man.  He went in for the kill for the beautifully executed softly dark makeup look.  I know, what the hell is a dark soft?!  Well, the lips were a dark glistening pink and the contour was dark, but not heavy.  Jazzy loves to go for editorial drama in his looks.   Let's not forget about that highlight though! 

Ms. N gave us free range and we were able to have her as our fun little canvas!  

The Girl Next Door

In look one we decided to go with a gray oversized sweater.  Sweaters are my thing.  We shot Kryssi on a black sweater the other day and now we are shooting Ms. N in this sexy gray number.  She had always wanted to wear this piece but could never find anything to match with it.  Therefore she was excited to wear it for our session.  

In most sessions, the more simple a look is the more powerful the image becomes.  Therefore, all we really needed was her couch as the statement piece.  Can you believe she found this tufted jeweled couch on the side of the road driving on Harry Hines in Dallas?!

The Vixen

Ms. N is a juggernaut of beauty!  Besides her gorgeous place, another thing Ms. N had going was the fact that she had racks on racks on racks of lingerie!  In fact, shortly after our session she reached out to me and gave me ALL her lingerie because she was moving across seas and could not take the items with her.  So I have soooooooooo much new lingerie that I haven't even shown off yet.  Judging by these pieces you know they are good!  LOL!

For her second look we decided to show off her assets while not needing to bare them all.  You can tell that Ms. N has a body and attitude that could take down foreign leaders.  So we styled her in a bodysuit that had a really sexy ribbon tied front.  We did this because, while we know her frame is sexy, it still leads a lot to the imagination.  The toasted peach color of her Victoria's Secret bodysuit was perfect for our boudoir setting as we shot these in her atrium.  Dominique just undid the french braid which caused the beautiful shape and volume of her hair.  Jazzy just darken the look a tad to give her more of a vampy vixen vibe.  (How did you like the use of all those V words?)

I had SUCH a blast shooting Ms. N.  She is such a damn doll!  I couldn't have asked for a better client, with a badass lingerie wardrobe, in the most perfect home for boudoir!

Let me know in the comment section below which boudoir look you like the best?  Personally, I really like them both!

If you are in the Dallas area and would like to book a boudoir session please check out our pricing and hit us up on the contact page. Or even just fill the form out below!

4 Top Luxury Lingerie Companies

Happy New Year Guys!!! 

Can you guys believe this is my first post of 2017?!  I had an ah-mazing winter vacation.  I was able to spend it with friends and family, but I also used the down time to create a TON of content for 2017!  While I still have a lot to do I look forward to putting in the hard work to make this brand even bigger for the next 300-and-something days!

Speaking of hard work, one of the HARDEST things one does for a boudoir session is pick out lingerie.  You can only imagine how much I LOVE lingerie.  It's no secret how I love to use none traditional lingerie items to style boudoir sessions because it's more cost-effective,  but sometimes a girl HAS to dream about splurging and buy buying classic pieces from some of the top names in the luxury lingerie industry.  Today, I want to share with you guys four of my favorite high-end luxury lingerie brands.  I am not ranking these companies in any particular order.  I just love the art of their pieces equally.

 

1.) For Love and Lemons

I for one  LOVE lemons.  I eat a lemon with every meal.  I also adore luxury lingerie company For Love and Lemons.  For Love and Lemons (FLL) was started by best friends Gillian Rose Kern and Laura Hall.  While this brand did originate in Jackson, WY they now operate out of the Arts District in Los Angeles, California.

You can spot a For Love and Lemons piece almost instantly.  This brand has dominated my Pinterest mood boards for a few years now and I die over and over again with each new season and design.  FLL pieces are very feminine, sexy, classy, and timeless.  If you're into a lot of soft sexy lace in pastel hues this brands is for you.  The best things about FLL is that they offer very unique pieces that I have never seen anywhere else.  Pieces average about $200 each.

My Fave Pieces: 1/2/3
Site: http://www.forloveandlemons.com
IG: @forloveandlemons

 

2.) Agent Provocateur

Unless you live under a rock, you know of Agent Provocateur.  They are THE NAME in luxury lingerie.  Let's be honest, they are THE STANDARD in luxury lingerie.  Listen, I know For Love and Lemon can run about $200 per piece but that’s going to look like a bargain compared to the $3400 this gorgeous piece cost. 

Prices aside, I love how unapologetically daring this company is to the world.  They thrive on women dominating and owning their sexuality.  They teach women not to be ashamed of being their true selves.  Yes, you can be sexual, still run a household, all while balancing your Fortune 500 company as the COO.  Because this brand knows exactly who they are they know exactly what type of clientele that it wants to attract.  A lingerie company with confidence is sexy AF!

My Fave Pieces: 1/2/3/4
Site: http://www.agentprovocateur.com/
IG: @agentprovocateur

 

 

 

 

 

3.) Natori

Natori was my first luxury lingerie set I ever purchased.  I was shopping in the flagship Neiman Marcus located in Downtown Dallas when I opted to just check out the lingerie section before leaving.  Let me tell you something, EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. I go into Neimans the employees treat me so well.  They get to know you by name and take the time and pleasure to help you look for items, especially in the lingerie section. They also take your name and send you PERSONAL emails when new pieces from your favorite designer comes in.  I mean, how is that for customer service?!

You have got to LOVE the backstory of owner and designer Josie Cruz Natori.  She is of Philipino decent and states that in the Philippines women are encouraged to be entrepreneurs.  Her grandmother gives her a quote we should all live by, “Don’t put yourself in a position where you have to depend on anyone.”

Natori designs have a very Asian aesthetic to them while balancing the traditional Western influence in the design.  Compared to For Love and Lemons and Agent Provocateur this line is a tad bit more affordable with prices starting at $28.

My Fave Pieces: 1/2/3
Site: http://www.natori.com/
IG: @natoricompany

 

 

4.) La Perla

Can we take a moment and just marinate over the exquisite beauty of Italian lingerie company La Perla?  In 1954, the luxury line was created by Ada Masotti in the town of Bologna.  Ada created wearable works of art that celebrated the beauty of women that has caught the attention of the entire world, including some top name celebrities.  In fact, Kendall Jenner is currently the face of this season's campaign.

Key pieces are priced over $2300 but you have to keep in mind you are wearing genuine pieces of art.  As we know, art is invaluable.  

My Fave Pieces: 1/2/3/4
Site:http://www.laperla.com
IG: @laperlalingerie

These four Luxe lingerie brands are some that I daydream about shooting.  While the price points are super high you have to consider many of these pieces are handcrafted works or art.   This is why they are considered luxury lingerie. 

Which brands were your favorite?  Please leave your top four list in the comment section below.

Also, if you like to shoot with us at Wonderland Boudoir please contact us here or feel out the contact box below.  Also, feel free to check out our online gallery (HERE) and follow us on Instagram at @Wonderland Boudoir