Early Morning Again!

Hello all!

How unbelievably hot is it??? It’s quite unbearable to work in so today I decided to buy an air conditioner and it is brilliant! I’m having difficulty finding an escape from the heat because it’s unrelenting so I also got a blow up pool. When it gets too much, fill it, jump in it!

New studio is coming along well, not much more messy work to do now, almost on to the floor sanding, decorating and set making… weeeeeeeeeeeeee! I promise I’ll get some piccies of it uploaded on here soon, I’m just going bonkers with work and lack of time.

I bet you’re wondering what happened to all the text pilferers; well amazingly they’ve become a minority! I’ve only got one studio that has lifted all the text from my styling page, but wait for this, you’ll chuckle… they don’t have any form of contact info on their webpage, no phone, no email, nada! So until they do (I wonder when they’ll realize that no one can contact them?) I can’t contact them about it. http://studiopic.co.uk/news

New for summer is people using my business name in their Google adwords text, not simply a trigger keyword but the title of an add! A very respectable company (obviously) called Impulse Glamour, who also go by the name of Makeover Magic are actually having a serious identity crisis. They are telling people they are me in the title of their adds! Companies have been using Miss Boudoir as a key word for a while now but to actually have it as a title on their add is astonishingly rude and makes me think how their potential clients see this – confusing? Dodgy?

It’s a complete infringement of my trademark rights. The good news is Google will investigate a complaint made about adwords text so you guessed it, it’s been filed!

I should be used to this by now but some peoples general rudeness and lack of respect for others still surprises me! I’ve had a bad-hot day and I’m narked off by all this kinda stuff now, so no “ask nicely” missy J today.

Helen from Boudoir By Helen will be blogging an interview of me soonish, I’ll keep you posted about when that is scheduled to be online.

Change of topic - I love how much the boudoir results affect my clients! As some of you will know, I spend a hell of a lot of time on each clients images making them a Photographer’s Choice Gallery. This is basically my favourite images from all the develops, that I’ll retouch in a variety of styles per image. I regularly develop about 200 shots for people to choose from, sometimes more, sometimes less, all depends on the length of shoot. I can’t narrow it down to a stingy amount like 30 because we cover so much and so many different poses in a session that I’d be editing out perfectly good and varied images. So... the Photographer’s Choice – after I’ve retouched about 25 images in 4-7 styles per shot, the gallery is absolutely jam packed full choice and a complete wow factor.

It never ever fails to impress and the emails I get after spending so so long creating all these examples, makes it all worth it! I had one recent client tell me she cried (with happiness) when she saw them, it almost made me cry reading it! What a great job I have, the fact that I can make a difference to peoples lives daily, it’s such a good feeling!!!!

Right, bed time, early start and very frizzy lion hair so I’ll need some serious grooming time in the morrow!

Nighties!!!

Howdy folks!

I hope the UK readers got chance to make the most of that glorious weather we have just left behind. To my advantage for once, I was off from shoots for two weeks so I actually got time to get the pasty loins out and give them some bronzing. The only problem is, I go red due to being so pale then maybe a hint of beige a few days (and lots of after sun) later on.

It’s been a bit of a while since I last posted my goings on and in that time I have been to a 3 day music festival in Minehead which was brilliant and to Amsterdam for a friend’s birthday weekend. 

While in Amsterdam we hired bikes and I was absolutely petrified!!! I can ride a bike no problem, what I can’t do very well is ride a bike on the opposite side of the road with the brake being on the opposite side of handle bars, following a line or erratic riders (my friends) in a mixed crowd of pedestrians, other bikers, cars and massively scary trams. As you can imagine, complete random havoc and danger all along the way. 

I was warned that Amsterdam was going to be an eye opener and to be prepared for some very interesting scenes, but you know, I thought it was pretty tame. Maybe it’s the job I do which has made nudity and “allure” seem the every day now?

Next topic - the website…

All my galleries have been updated with new images of my fabulous clients. Thank you ladies!!!! And some much needed new galleries have been added for additional types of boudoir/glamour photography.

Kuku, this one is for you – Finally in my time off I have put online my visual diary of making the Regency Lounge, which was fully completed before Christmas. Kuku, In there you will find the shot of The Wizard helping me wallpaper but I only have the one because he runs away every time he sees any form of camera!

Along with the Regency Lounge diary, I have re-done the making diary of my very first studio so it’s all nicely in keeping with the style of the other galleries. Feel free to have a look and my progress comments can be seen under the photos.

What else, what else… ah!! I’ve added a bit of motion in the form of a slideshow type thingy on my boudoir studio page and I’m in the process or rebuilding my Miss Photography site as there will be some new types of photography being offered on there hopefully by the autumn.

Now I’m not very good at all with this social networking malarkey but in an attempt to understand what all the hype is about and why people rate it so much I have (in my book) been a bit of a saddo and made a Face Book business page (by accident) which I thought was a group then realised I’d done it wrong and finally made a group – what an idiot! Before I compiled the page/group, I made myself a new account so I can have a personal one and one for networking/business to keep things a little separate. So now, I look like even more of a saddo because my business account only has 3 friends on it, one of which is me!!!

*New studio* It’s underway, much later than I hoped but I wasn’t happy with my room plans so I went back to the drawing board and about a week ago I came up with a layout I was certain on. The building starts in under 7 hours (I really should be in bed) and I’m quite excited to see what my vision is going to turn out like.

The builders will be doing all the room structures and the Jones clan will be doing all the finishing, decorating and set building. I have already planned the sets and colours, got some of the wallpaper in ready and am almost settled on a style of décor for the styling room. 

I have planned for a wardrobe/costume room which is going to be quite big as I have a lot of lingerie and props. I can bet you now that this will be my favourite out of all the rooms, simply because this is where you can escape the every day and have lots of fun dressing up in whatever you like!

I will try keep you posted best I can as it happens.

And on a final note before I retire to bed – Natasha, all the best moving to New Zealand and I hope it’s everything you wish for (make sure you take you piccies over too) and I’ll be watching you blog for news!! 

Night all, E.

  

Birthday Blogging!

The end of May seems to be popular amongst my clients for Birthdays, therefore I must give a few shouts outs (blog outs?) to…

Mrs T! A great BIG “Happy 60^th Birthday” to you! A fantastic client of mine (and definitely doesn’t look a day over 46!!) who has hopefully had/is still having a brilliant day! Keep an eye out for a nice envelope appearing (hope you like it!)

Christie!! “Happy Birthday” for tomorrow and have a fab day! Again, keep an eye out for the postman visiting and I hope you like it! Lots of love, “Little Girl” ;o)

And a “Happy (belated) Birthday” to Caroline for her 30^th on Monday 25th! I only just found out this evening but I do hope you had a great day and your images arriving made it extra special! 

Emzzy J

Liquorice Allsorts

So my party of three on the 2nd birthday of Miss Boudoir… it was brill. The girls loved the studio, props and wardrobe. They had a rummage through all the lingerie and found things I forgot I had! 

I put some nibbles on, we had champers, tea but I couldn’t find my party poppers. Never mind.

I also got to try out a huge new silver mirror I bought a while back which is bigger than my gold one and good for the taller people of the land! I was originally saving it for my new studio but I decided to have it christened and boy does it look good!!!!  

I’m getting a bit more excited about the new studio now. My planning mode is starting to switch on and I’ve been dreaming up some good room ideas and sets, going bold, very bold and colourful this time!

Last week I had a meeting to become a member of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and I’ve got to say, they are brilliant. Offers for members, their services, support and general benefits are astonishing. I would highly recommend joining to small UK businesses and sole traders because the cost of membership far outweighs the benefits. For me it’s far more important I become a member of the FSB rather than another photographic organisation. None of my clients know anything about the photographic associations (never heard of them and have no idea what it means, let alone what their letters stand for), yet quite a few do know and have heard of the FSB so straight away, the trust level has just gone up and that is very important!

Twisted Ankle! On Friday eve I fell down a step that I didn’t see and hurt my ankle. Friday night saw a pack of frozen peas as the medication of choice with most of Saturday sat about, lots of pain killers and gel to numb it/bring out the bruising. It was like having a blue/brown lemon as my ankle, today it’s half a lemon and I can now put weight on it if I’m careful. I have been nicknamed “Hobble Emz” by a certain someone! Needless to say the healthy eating has been put on hold while I’m moping about hurting and depressed! Buns, apple pies, galaxy :o(

Ladies, back to the mention of that Soap and Glory range – I’ve tried out their filler for fine lines and my goodness it’s amazing for the price! It’s called “The Fill Montey”. Simply put a bit on the under eye area, then some concealer/eye luminator over and fine lines have vanished!

Hobble Emz is off for a midnight apple (possibly add “pie” after that apple), a quick read of the news and then to bed!

E

I completely forgot!!

And how could I? Tomorrow (18th March) is the second anniversary of my original studio’s opening!! Happy 2nd Birthday Missy Boudoir!

I have a group of 3 ladies in for a shoot tomorrow and I’ve already decided the champers, party poppers and some nibbles are coming out (they’re travelling a long, long long way so I’ve bought some very nice sweet goodies in plus some fruit for the healthy eaters), lets mark the occasion in style!!

I’ve had some of the most amazing feedback from my clients these past few weeks, from the ladies themselves and their partners. Sessions have been loved, clients bouncing about in excitement for two weeks before their shoots, tears (of joy) when partners have been presented with albums (yes I almost cried when reading that feedback), husbands in astonishment, confidence brimming and I LOVE IT! I completely love my job for it, I’ll never be rich, I will always look like a poor student but I will have made a difference to some lives and I’ll die a happy girly knowing that.

As you all know, I‘m a collector of vintage paraphernalia. I have lots of china cups and matching saucers from the 18th and 19thcentury but I am petrified of using them because of how delicate they are, if I drop them it’s a piece of history gone and the most matching I have in one set is 4 cups and saucers. So, I’ve been on the look out for a complete antique tea set for a long time and the nearest I came was a beautiful 18th century set with a hefty price tag but seriously, it should have been safely housed in a museum it was that grand.

I wanted antique, fancy, delicate and good quality to add to the atmosphere of my rooms. Obviously anything that is quality costs and for good reason. So I finally gave in and surrendered the “antique” requirement for my tea set and walked out of the Royal Doulton shop with 3 clattering bags and a hefty bill! Myself and Danielle (one of the stylists) christened the set on Monday over a conversation about how good tea tastes out of a china cup, we’re obviously getting old!

I’ve started collecting wedding dresses for a project I’m working on and I can’t believe the bargains I’ve snaffled! A wedding shop in Pontefract moved and donated 10 brand new wedding dresses to each of the 3 local charity shops, so the story goes. I have purchased 7 dresses costing an average of £30 each, yes brides-to-be, THIRTY POUNDS A DRESS!!! So if some of you out there are getting married are struggling with the budget, check out the charity shops for bargains, especially in Pontefract as these dresses are new, absolutely beautiful and still have the £900-£1,200 price tags on from the wedding dress shop!

Along with that I added 8 beautiful bras and 10 bottoms to the prop wardrobe for a total of £19 from the Castlefield shopping outlet in West Yorkshire (Junction 32). Some serious bargains out there if you know where to look.

I must point out a new favourite brand of mine at the moment – Soap & Glory! It’s amazing and I can’t get enough of it. Affordable, from Boots and the body scrub is the best on the planet! It smells so delicious too!

I think spring is here or almost here! It seems the past few days in good old Mossley have been glorious! I have felt well and truly ready to tackle the days, unlike the previous 5 months of cold, damp and tiresome greyness! I hope summer is a scorcher as I love the sun, shade when it’s too hot, cool beers and a good BBQ! Plus I want to go on a picnic!

Along with all these summery happy vibes comes my healthy eating. For the past 4 weeks I have swapped the pot of coffee for breakfast/dinner and meal at 10pm for Special K with honey or toasted fruit loaf sprinkled with cinnamon, a real dinner (when not shooting) and a tea at an adequate time (5-8pm). I have been very good and included lots of veg, fruit, lean turkey and salmon and said “arrivederci!” to the pizza’s, curries, pastas and Chinese takeaways that I already miss so much. I do love Chinese food but have now started to make fajitas a lot (love the spice)! I think my problem was finding time to cook, I’d always think “aaaah, I’ll just order in” but now I make myself stop and cook. I’m awaiting the results but hopefully I’ll feel some in a few months time.

I need some snooze time now so I’ll pop back shortly or when I have some more news/stories to bore you with.

E

 

Hello folks, I’m back!

Been a very busy few weeks so I’m sorry for the lack of posts, although the next few weeks are going to be even busier so I may as well apologise in advance for those!

Digital Photographer Issue 80, 6 of my images featured in a maze of an article along with some of my top tips.

I don’t know if I have mentioned this previously but for some strange reason I cannot read the articles that my work or writing has featured in, it’s completely odd really, like I have a fear of reading them and prefer to stand back and look from a distance. I have not read any that I’ve featured in so far. But I did get my mum to read one too me, that was just about bearable!

Below are piccies for your viewing pleasure.

Image featured is lady in window on right (08).

Images featured on the left page are top, middle-right and bottom (11, 13, 14) and on the right page, top-right and middle-right (17, 19).

I mentioned in the last post that my site was having a complete behind the scenes re-work; well I am happy to say it is now done and put online about 30 mins ago.

What you will notice - new pages have been added with some kitsch piccies, a new drop down menu and lots of new and helpful content (lets see how long it takes for the first copy of my new text to appear on someonelse’s website, my guess is 1 week max).

What you won’t notice – the way it works behind the scenes, completely manageable with minimum fuss and the fact that it now has a soul!!!

I’d like to thank my fabulous Colin, AKA the electric wizard for educating me on “how to” when it comes to doing a web page properly and helping me get it together and working to my advantage.

Focus at the NEC - Went down on the Sunday for a mooch around. Spotted my images in two places, one on the Spicer Hallfield stand (which I knew about) in quite a few of their albums which were nice to see and then on the Acrylic Pictures stand. I knew they were using my image at the SWPP Convention but was nicely surprised to see it there along with loads of mini desk acrylics with my image on… I did get a photo of it on the wall but I rushed it because I didn’t want to be in the way (plus I was embarrassed, god knows why) so there I was trying to hurry a shot with my point and shoot camera - fudged it up a bit, too many daft pointless buttons that a pro doesn’t use, so I came away with a reddish face, a blurred piccy but a big proud grin!

I start work on the new Studio No. 3 at the end of March (that’s when I get my key) so I’ll keep you updated on the transformation progress.

Back to the present - I’m shattered and going to bed! I’ve got a long day of photography tomorrow followed by “a letting down of hair” drink while doing a local pub quiz (exciting hey!).

Ta-raaaaa

Another early morning blog posting!

It’s been far too long since my last entry and I apologise for that.

A few important things have been happening in my world over the last 2 weeks, big decisions being made that are to shape the future of my business.

Well, I’ll just come out and say it… I’m moving!

Only 3 miles down the road but I will be moving into new premises, possibly by summer if I’m lucky or the end of summer. It will take a while due to working as usual while decorating in any spare time I get.

I completed my second room (Regency Lounge) only very recently and I do regret that I won’t be using it as much as I had hoped because it’s beautiful but I have an opportunity here that is too good to miss.

It goes without saying that the 3rd room that I had started work on has stopped and the plans I had for that room will be coming along with me to the new studio.

I aim to build 5 rooms in my new studio (purely for photography) in addition to a styling room, dressing room, wardrobe room and lounge. I plan for a very long feature wall which will be split into 3 different scenes.

I apologise in advance to my up and coming boudoir clients, I may be looking a little worse for wear because I know this is going to take every last copper I have in my piggy banks and will be done bit by bit over the months until it is perfect.

I will still be using my current studio throughout the year but once I have fully moved over to my new premises, I will either hire out my original rooms for TV and other uses or possibly use them for one to one training, seems as though I have had many, many requests recently.

I’m really, really happy at the decision to move because I love creating and this is me giving life to something but at the same time I am completely shattered at the thought of it.

I hoped my renovation days were over for at least 3 years but not a chance. I think I’m just a little down/faded because I’ve done nothing but work solidly for as long as I can remember (I’m serious, I do nothing but work, every day, all day – hence the early morning posts) and spend every penny earned back on creating and improving.

It’s a bit of a vicious cycle but once this project is done that is it! I am having some “me time”. My personal life has been on hold for far too long now, this is the last year I am going to neglect it otherwise I’ll have wasted some of the best years of my existence.

I’m currently updating my website with some new pages but mainly lots of behind the scenes work, trying to give it a sole. For those who don’t know much about code and website stuffz, it’s like having a really shiny and good looking shoe but the lining isn’t too great because the maker (me) was self taught and didn't know the best methods.

So the design isn’t changing but I will be adding a new navigation bar. Been working on it all day, looking at text and numbers and squiggles so my eyes are still set to a size 24” rectangle!

Focus on Sunday! For those readers who aren’t photographers, Focus a massive shindig for toggles (togs/photographers) with a chanced to handle some very nice kit, possibly buy some and see which suppliers are better than others. I’ve only ever been once before and met a very large promo bear!

I can’t wait, it’s going to be brill. Plus I get to see my photos in the Spicer Hallfield Demos and hopefully, very hopefully those nicely dressed (slightly dressed) Aaduki guys! About time we females got some eye candy at these techy/nerdy events!

And slightly off topic, I am back to my blonde old self. The red has gone and boy was it a hard, long process to get rid of it!

Right, I really ought to get myself off to sleep and start dreaming of that holiday I will book myself next year, on a beach with a good line up of cocktails served by an Aaduki guy!

Em J

Quick update on the last pilferer

I think I ruffled a few feathers with highlighting this latest case but quite frankly that is what it’s for.

I have been told by the infringer that:-

1) “It’s bad Karma” to highlight the situation – really – are you sure? And stealing is good karma?

2) “THEY'RE ONLY SO MANY WAYS OF DESCRIBING OUR PROFESSION” <-- not my grammar there /shudders! – And I disagree, there is only one way for me to describe my service and it’s not for people to copy and paste from my site. Sit down with a pen and pad, write honestly about yourself, service and photography rather than pinch bits from random sites – people will be able to read it better and it will flow properly.

3) “You were once just beginning yourself I'm sure!” - I said to the very nice lady “Of course but I know right from wrong and am no thief”.

4) “by all means help with advertising my studios...rather it be Negative or Positive” – Interesting take on the situation but rather the very nice lady than me.

5) 2) “MY STAFF USED SIMILAR WORDINGS IN DESCRIBING OUR SERVICES WITH "Emma's Boudoir Photography & Services” – Similar? Nope, completely wrong there. A copy and paste job more like. That is why copyscape directed me to it. Well anyway, you can check the screen shot yourselves and play a little game of spot the difference (I’ll give you a quick clue… name, date?). She has slightly modified her page text now and at least removed the name I have for my parties!

6) “IT IS A SAD DAY WHEN A FELLOW ARTIST FEELS A NEED TO STRIKE AT THE COMPETITION” – Competition is a must to stay on your toes and it makes you feel alive. I don’t like net criminals, simple as. It’s a sad day (I almost want to sing that) when people feel it’s right to pilfer and then claim it’s done by their staff… AND I’m a bad person for protecting my property. I’ve never heard anything so daft and backwards in all my life.

You’ve been found out and highlighted, the excuses and pointless gabble is of no use.

Unfortunately the very nice lady (Patricia Blythe) has removed her gothic page – darn, it was such a good example of complete disrespect for a professional author and his article. Grrr!

You can find an Emma bashing in half English, half text speak on the following link - http://www.justjimatpajazeyezstudioz.com/index2.html

I’m possibly working on an article with a journalist tomorrow to report on the sheer volume of this type of crime. I’m no expert at all, I just seem to be a target for some reason and she wants to use my cases to report on, so I’ll keep you updated.

After the meeting with the journalist I have my very first client from Spain in for a shoot, goes without saying that this is going to be a very long shoot as it’s a long way to come for a 45 minuter!

Then I’m off to Wakefield on Saturday morning for a music all-dayer… I get to go and play for a while. Whey!

Off topic - I'm really craving cadburys mini eggs!

E

The latest copying parasite - Just Jim & pAjAz EyEz Studio

So here is a new one - Paja and Jim or "Just Jim & pAjAz EyEz Studio" as they are also known by.

It's another quite bad case - an entire page and even listing their party service is stolen "Boudoir Belle's Party™". I just find it so SO shocking and completely disgusting that so called pro's do this! God knows where this parasite is based, there isn't an address or anything, I'm not even sure if it's a serious site?

Link to parasites page - http://justjimatpajazeyezstudioz.com/38323.html
What Copy Alert sees - http://reports.bitscan.com/r/CA75621/compare.html

Screen shot for your viewing pleasure



I did a little test with this site, I looked up one of their pages on copyscape (the goth one) and there were 8 other sites (including one being an article from www.photography.com) with the exact same text. So this proves that this person is a complete thief stealing content from anywhere they can - shameful! It's a like a truck full of stolen goods and they should be banned from the internet.

I had one of the previous infringers email me and question the amount of visitors my site has, who'll see this, who'll be bothered reading this - well I can say now that I have many visitors (good old matrixstats) and only 30% are UK based, a huge chunk are from the USA and Canada, plus I have some really nice emails from readers supporting my method of theft highlighting.

I can't stress enough the importance of checking your personal website text!

Emz

The randomness of night time bloggings

Weeeeeeeeeeeee it’s snowing out!! Always looks so beautiful on the hills, I do utterly love snow! Shame we don’t get it often!

A few things to report on really:-

I have got a new guest book on my site (after a few people asked where they could leave comments and one has nicely christened it) so people can leave their feedback if desired.

Prices and products page gets a revamp - Instead of having one page with all my packages on and then products/prices underneath I have decided to split it and have one for packages and one for products. I’ve been doing some serious exploring and spending on new and exciting products lately, you can find some of them on the products page and others are still in the process of being done. Personally I love the acrylic range and I may offer a metal range very soon… I’ll keep you posted.

I’ve had quite a number of emails from photographers lately about my products, so they are proving to be quite a hit and not only with my clients!

Along with the product buying comes my prop buying - I’ve already got many, many items for people to use but it wasn’t until the other day when I actually sat back and realised the extreme of my collecting and hoarding. I now have 4 big racks of lingerie, corsets, dresses, shawls, stoles, capes, and shoes/boots – must be about 200-300 pieces in total. I have a deco dresser stuffed full of evening and fashion gloves, a rainbow of them and more. Perched on the top are three top hats –a Victorian, a coach hat, a gentleman’s hat and nine pillbox/burlesque/40’s style hats.

This is just the tip of the iceberg! Every drawer has something different in it, whether it’s feathers, 50’s jewellery, sweets, candles or petals I think I can safely say that my rooms are officially the Aladdin’s caves of photography studios.

I’m getting into customising my props now; I’ve been painting burlesque canes to add a bit of colour and quirkiness, sticking jewelles on gloves and will be doing so on shoes, hats and one of the canes and riding crops. 2009 is set to be very sparkly!

To go with the new project that I’ll be working on soon, I’ve invested in some wigs (big, BIG wigs) so they arrived from the USA a few days ago and I am just waiting on 4 huge burlesque fans.

Themed Boudoir Art - This is something I don’t get time to do very often, especially when one piece may take 5 hours! But again, while ill the other week I made sure the coffee pot was on overdrive and I was firmly focused on being creative. I have been taking a photo with a theme and creating a complete art piece which is in keeping or slightly derived from. I don’t simply mean a pop art effect or something, I mean layer upon layer or creativity. One for example is a butterfly collage with derived from a client’s very retro tattoo. Another is a vintage poster for a jazz evening (to go with the jazz microphone in the shot). There is one thing in common with my arty pieces – all look old in some way or slightly shabby chic/grungy, it’s just my personal taste. The styles and variety will surely adapt with the brief given to me from my clients and I can’t wait to do more of it, I’ve really missed being “that” creative.

I will be adding this to my list of services for a fee to cover the time involved and client will be able to select any of their images and specify a theme and I’ll get to work on making something completely unique for them.

Gentlemen - There seem to be more and more enquiries from the guys coming in for male figure photography. I can’t call it male boudoir photography because it doesn’t sound right, it needs more of a rugged but still sensitive title for it. But anyway, it’d be wrong to think that the gentlemen of this world don’t have the same needs as the females, obviously they do. Just like us women, some of them guys need to experience, document and look back on their figures – we all need a boost now and then, regardless of sex.

So the problem for me is that I have a very girly studio! Don’t get me wrong, I love my studio, I could live in it’s that beautiful and cosy but it’s no good for male photography. Within my new room I’ll be creating a few sets that will be useable for the male form so maybe in the coming months I can offer photography for all and not appear sexist as I do now (I’m not honestly, it’s just studio restrictions).

Complete change of topic now - Nina (one of my partners in crime *cough* I mean hair and make-up artists) has one month left working alongside me, as well as the brides etc then she is off for 3 months while she brings another nipper into the world. Don’t worry, Mel and Danielle will be here for the ladies requiring their services.

Time for Top Tip No.2 and this is for women in the run up to a boudoir shoot. It’s a big confidence booster to have some new frillies for a shoot but as we know, nice and good fitting lingerie can be very expensive! Well not if you go to Intimas outlets. I went to the Junction 32 Outlet village in Wakefiled and ended up walking away with a mountain of lingerie for a very small price. The average price for a luxury bra was £5 and £3 for a brief. They also have a La Senza where I also got some great buys for the studio collection. One being a waist clincher for £25 and it was actually made for La Senza by Vollers… VOLLERS!!!!! I had a peep at the vollers site and they have it on there for £145. My advice - get to some outlet villages/centers that have Intimas, La Senza or similar and £££ will be a saved!

Early start tomorrow so I’d best get tucked up! Night all.

Longest post ever!

Mag update (for those who haven’t read the earlier postings) – Digital Photographer Magazine featuring some of my top tips on boudoir photography will be featured in Issue 80, out on the 28th Feb.

Just had a nice surprise, Acrylic Pictures (acrylic product supplier for photographers) will be featuring one of my images to promote their products at the SWPP Convention over the next few days and unfortunately I’m not attending so I won’t get to see. If any attending and willing sole walks past with a camera handy, please please photograph it and email it to me, I’d be over the moon to see it on a stand! :o)

I’ve been working with Mark Whitney from Spicer Hallfield over the past few months, they’re using my boudoir photography in their demo albums, possibly website and maybe some other bits and bats, enabling them to promote their ranges to other photographers. The Photees may be featuring in their demos at the SWPP Convention but if not, they’ll definitely be in there for Focus shindig down at the NEC. I was asked to be on their stand for a day but cannot at this present time. However, I may attend and have a scoot around if I get let off my work leash!

As most of you readers know by now, I don’t use this blog for promotion / offers to possible clients or spam it full of boudoir related keywords, I use it as a news / what’s happening / who’s ripping my text off / what’s narking me off as kind off release and there are a few narks to air –

I don’t know many other photographers, only 4 and all very different from each other and myself. I don’t go to seminars, classes, meetings, camera clubs or really participate in the social photography world, only the creating, undertaking and making of photography. For a few reasons really – I have no time to, I have little reason to, I don’t need to be shown what is “popular” and how to achieve “popular” because popular means standard and repetitive. I try to think outside of the ordinary, do the unordinary and dream of the unreachable (so some would say) while continually trying to reach it… and I will, it’s what I was made for.

This intro does actually lead somewhere. I have never really looked at photographers for inspiration, I’ve found photographers work that I have liked (admired even) but never really felt truly inspired by any; I’m not being mean, simply honest – there is time yet. I tend to find inspiration in everyday life. I may see a statue, a clip of a film, a texture on a fabric for example and instantly be inspired with an overload of ideas bursting into my head! This is what I work from – the ideas locked in my mind, not “popular” or any other style that’s in at the time. More importantly is my desire to be different and take on new and the unreachable as I mentioned earlier.

Photography isn’t a job, it’s an adventure. Treat it like one and you’ll see more in your pictures than a lifelong trip around the world and back!

Anyway, back to the point! The vintage style boudoir was very limited when I started out and knowing this (accounting for my genuine passion for anything 15th century to 1950’s) I decided that this was my destined route. I’d never tire of it due to my love for the many style, so why not?

Well now the vintage is popular, that horrid word! Some of it is done so hideously, bone chillingly, teeth clenchingly bad and some not so. But I’m not calling it a day on the vintage just yet, there are plenty more eras that people haven’t cottoned onto yet and I’m about to get into one. And when that becomes desirable to the masses I’ll move to a new one. Part of life is about leaving something behind and reinventing.

So having a little spare time while being ill, I’ve been having a browse around the social photography scene and at some photographer’s websites; seeing if my next era to tackle is already popular. Nope, not a sausage anywhere… brilliant!

When on my voyage of possible unpopular discovery, I noticed some bits of text on sites that were plain annoying, some ignorantly offensive (seriously narked at this one) and others seemingly desperate.

The plain annoying are “Book Now” written all over everything where a £ sign sits. Surely people know when they want to book, do photographers have to shout it at them?

The ignorantly offensive are comments like or similar to “With good hair and make-up styling, anyone can look good”. How awful, jaw dropping even! Styling doesn’t make people beautiful. Retouching doesn’t make people beautiful. Styling polishes. Styling adds to an already beautiful base, just like retouching. Beauty is not skin deep. Beauty comes from inside, from good, from mothers and fathers, from trust, with the rising and setting of every sun. Beauty is a difference that everyone is entitled to, being or seeing. It is born in one place only - in the eye of the beholder. People forgot this, it got ignored, and it got masked by huge companies selling products that apparently convey beauty. We try and and match up to this so called beauty and really it’s saddening, but what can one small person with a good heart in the fickle industry do? I try to make people happy with my photography, highlight their happy, excited expressions and bring out the inner beauty from under the styling. After all - what is the use of this external beauty if it is not echoed on the inside and flowing visibly to the viewer?

Now for the seemingly desperate comments - “unlike other boudoir photographers, we…” / “unlike other studios, we…” How fed up was I of coming across these jibes and as I like to call them “win me” phrases. I even saw one astonishing site refer to more established businesses as “these ‘other’ companies” before an onslaught of insults and even stating “I use the same equipment as these overpriced companies do.” This photographer obviously has 1oz of business knowledge and a crystal ball. And if he/she has, it must seriously lie or be faulty!

Next is spelling and grammar. Now I am no saint on this point, I often make complete errors, I’m not very good at writing (I apologies for any errors in this blog, it's 1:45am, I'm tired and have square eyes) and that is why I ended up with a visual career. But seriously, the standard of writing and spelling on some sites is dire. Use a spell check and please, capitals where needed!!!

Finally is the whole male V’s female photographer situation.

Question: Women, are they better suited to photographing boudoir in general and the female race?

Answer: Well it’s obvious… of course not! Both sexes have their pros and cons. And most human beings can decide which they are comfortable in front of themselves, without the added hassle of having to read the “win me” jibes. They don’t need, “I’m a female so you’ll be more comfortable, men just do glamour” or “I’m a male so you’ll have a mans take on it, women are too romantic”. All people need to do is see a photographers work that appeals to them, be assured that they are professional and not need read “win me’s”. Let the photography speak for itself and give the viewer a little more respect?

Ok that is my rant over and back on to inspiration.

I have a fair few enquiries that I cannot undertake because of their deadlines, it’s too last minute, I’m not accessible to some or I’m in the wrong country. I get asked to refer them to another photographer near to them, or via the style they are looking and usually, unfortunately, only to a female photographer.

I find this so very hard because I myself can only happily refer people to one photographer who I know will deliver properly and he is male. I admire his work, I admire the lack of words on his site and how much the photography talks. I admire the amount of personal creativity there is in each photograph and I admire that one of his photos would be recognisable in a library of 1,000! Is this inspiration? Have I actually found inspiration in another photographer's work? Maybe.

I don’t know this photographer and probably never will but I’m going to tell you who he is anyway, maybe you’ll have a look and see why I rate Nic Marchant above anyone else out there, including the overly hyped, unexciting photographic societies favourites (supposedly top boudoir photographers, lacking in style and bread for churning money).

So today was my first shoot back after a nice break, it was supposed to be set buildingly productive break, it wasn’t. If you read my last post you’ll know I’m creating a masterpiece in another room I have and I was hoping to get a serious move on with it over the past 2 weeks but the start of festive plague got a hold and sapped me!

I’m about 5 hours further on with it that I was – terrible, absolutely terrible. So now I’m back in the shooting swing, god only knows when it will be complete. I will work night and day to get it finished though and hopefully it won’t be too long off because the one masterpiece allows for 5 different sets, 1 of those sets being variable in 4 ways (I all goes to plan and I’m sure it will). I have so many ideas for sets and styles I’d like to create but nor the time or the funds to do it all, maybe in the future I will.

The one thing I have not missed over my break is the poorly, bruised and swollen knees I’m left with after a shoot. Because I am forever crouching, kneeling, crawling, sliding etc on a wooden floor it really doesn’t do the old caps any good. I’ve had 2 sets of cheap knee pads which were as much use as a soggy hanky and recently invested in a good set of carpenters knee pads which I am yet to wear (I’ve had a quick test, seem very good). My clients used to laugh at me, in a nice way, when I wore the old ones and so I am slightly reluctant to wear the new ones, good as they may claim to be they are a little bulky and I think the women will just fall about in hysterics with one glance in my direction. I’m just going to have to get on with it, looking like an American football player or not!

To celebrate the top tips coming out in the Digital Photographer mag in Feb, this can be one of my first on here:-

Top Tip No.1 – If you are kneeling on a hard surface for any amount of time, regardless of what you photograph, make sure you protect your knees with adequate gear! You’ll only pay for it in later life if you don’t, as I am finding out. My knees are technically ¼ of a century old, they feel and now look at least ½ century old due to 1.9 years of neglect.

There you have it, the longest blog post / blog moan ever known to man. Complete with info, news, raw emotion and feelings, rant, open opinions, admiration, knees and a top tip.

Bed time!

Lots of bits rolled into one!

So the festivities are over now and the beginning of another year is almost here! Personally I’m not a fan of Januaries, the decorations come down, the mood is sombre, it feels empty and I get some form of plague that’s doing its rounds! I am hoping the sore throat I have, the throbbing head and lethargic aches are the start and end of the plague I am about to get – I am already sick of hot drinks!

But strangely enough, for me January is always the month when big decisions are made or something changes (maybe that’s because subconsciously I need to spice them up?).

January 2007 was when I embarked upon the task of creating my first boudoir studio. January 2008 was the start of the second studio and January 2009 is the start of the 3rd (should have been December 2008 but that month was a write off due to being so busy)! This time I’m not transforming a shell into a room like the previous, I’m making something spectacular in that room and not bothering with the walls because the contents will be so amazing that it’s just pointless to try and match it – all eyes will be on The Set!

I resume shoots on the 14th Jan so have just over 2 weeks to get my DIY behind in gear – presuming I don’t get advanced plague and have to spend my preciously allocated time frantically trying to get better for my shoots. My shoot attendance record is 100% over the past 5 years and 7 months of doing this job and I have no plans to let that slip just yet!

So for now the set is a secret but I’m aching, absolutely aching to get it done, photographed and online! It’s the first of its kind, it has to be because I’ve not seen one purposefully created/built in a photographic studio anywhere else – maybe no one is crazy enough to attempt it! I just hope I can get this vision out of my head and into reality, it’s worked the previous times so why not this time ey?

Another new venture for Jan 2009 is “Miss Boudoir X” catering a little more for the adventurous, bordering on dangerously erotic and maybe a little risqué for some conservative eyes! So to keep the peace the risqué photography will be separate from the vintage boudoir photography… MissBoudoir-X.com is in the making and will be gracing us with its presence in the coming months!

Anyway, back to the festivities…. Santa brought me a graphics tablet which I now love but had to seriously adjust the way I mentally interact with the computers, it took me half a day to adjust but now it’s like part of my hand - thank you SantaColin!

I also got a USB cup warmer which is a little hotplate for a cup that was from myself to myself (I always wanted one) and it’s utterly useless, the warm air from the computers is hotter than the darn thing!

Santa snuck some seriously fluffy PJ’s through the door and under the tree too (obviously using his magic key) accompanied by pink slippers to keep me warm when I’m freezing my butt off in my office. I like to work in comfort so this is where I’m a little lazy and sit in my PJ’s, dressing gown, slippers and sometimes a hat for utter warmth, comfort and maximum work capacity! Oh I also have a blanket to throw around me on very cold days… what can I say, I get cold sat working on the computers!

I saw some very happy and shocked faces on Christmas day - I got my Totally Fabulous Daddy and Big Sis Melanie (AKA “Smelly”, she isn’t, just simply unlucky enough to have a annoying little sister that shortens her name to Melly and then comes up with a list of rhyming words) a much needed laptop each! I think the shock has gone now and it’s sunk in! My Miracle Worker Mum ™ wanted an all singing and dancing sewing machine which SantaEmzzy brought along with some other goodies and I think this year, it’s been an all round success!

A little more magazine news now – Feb edition of Digital Photographer will see some “Top Tips” from me and hopefully a Missy piccy! Will let you know when it’s definitely out as I’ve now learned that magazine features and articles aren’t always published in the month I am told they will be.

I’d best be off, I need to get dosed up, hot drinked up (grrr) and get an early-ish night!

The Latest Text Thieves!!!

Mary Alice Aguilar, photographer and infringing text thief based in Fort Worth, TX.

She’s casually stolen the all the text off my “about” page. I can’t believe these people, are they totally stupid???

The thief’s page -

www.photographybymariaalicia.com/aboutus.html

What Copyscape sees

Screen Shots (for when the infringer deletes all traces)

My page – www.missboudoir.com/the-team.html

Lawrence Larsen, another photographer and repeated text thief!

This infringing photographer actually had my text on his website a while back (shocking extent too) and I asked him to remove it which he did. However he failed to remove it from his Model Mayhem Page

What Copyscape sees

Screen Shot



“Lawrence Larsen is a well respected Photographer most noted for his Glamour, Boudoir and Erotic art he specializes in creating lasting beautiful images that you will treasure for a lifetime.” Quote taken from his site – I can tell you now, he is definitely not respected by me, no one who does this deserves any respect whatsoever. And, I wouldn’t be surprised if this text is ripped from another site!

I'll highlight more as they appear.

Em J

Seasons Greetings

Not long now until Santa comes down that chimney or pulls out his magic door key (as my Mum used to say, not having an open fire and accessible chimney).

Some lucky men will have their jaws dropping to the floor tomorrow morning and the lucky ladies will be covered in pink hearts and snowflakes upon opening their boudoir gift cards!

I hope the surprises last a lifetime and bring continuous joy into the lives of those giving and receiving!

Wishing you all a merry Christmas, a happy New Year and a prosperous 2009!

Emzzy J

Site Down

My site and blog images are temporarily down due to a server change. All should be restored nicely in a short while. Apologies for any inconvenience.

Emzzzzy

Another thief/deceiver for you to have a look at…

Yes I know, it’s unbelievable, this is the 4th thief in the last 7 days!

So the proud copyright infringing thief this time is Lisa Fleet Photography  www.lisafleetphotography.com and I was alerted by copysentry and copy alerts to a listing in a directory she had made and on her blog under “Boudoir Themed Pin Up Parties”- http://lisafleetphotography.blogspot.com/2008/12/boudoir-themed-pin-up-parties.html

Below is a screen shot in case she decides to remove it. (got the listing on the directory removed though :0) -



My page that the text is from (boudoir parties, half way down). And screen shot.

Hopefully blogs get indexed in Google so if someone searches for a particular thief, my blog will come up and higlight their true qualities… I hope!!!

So anyway, this leads me onto a project I’m working on to help tackle this massive problem – a site dedicated to helping photographers publish cases of infringement with evidence and a database for the general public to search before committing to booking a possibly untrustworthy individual. I hope it will be of use to people once it’s up and running! Put it this way, I have a nice long list of thieves to start it off!

And the address… FraudulentPhotographers.com and is in the process of being built.

My head needs to hit my pillow now! Ta ta.

Festive Boudoir Fun

For those of you who are bored at work right now or just generally bored, why not have a little play with my Christmas Boudoir Advent Page... it's all good fun!

Click HERE to access.

Enjoy!

Oh I am SO fed up of this now!

And another unbelievably stupid text thief - http://www.shaunmcmanus.com/thephotographer.htm

He even left my name in the second paragraph!!!!





When will these photographers realise they just look totally silly and people will lose all respect for them when they find out they are thieves not to be trusted!

Wooooooooooo… new galleries online!

Yes, yes it has actually happened! I have finally got around to updating my boudoir and vintage glamour galleries!

I’d like to say a HUUUUGE “thank you” to all my wonderful clients who have said “yes” to featuring on my website. I am totally overwhelmed at the responses I got back from every single client I asked and I’m so proud that you all love your images so much that you’re happy to appear online and in your smalls for little me!!

Below are a few images to tempt you to look…


Scoot off to the galleries here

Another Mag Article

Yup, as mentioned in my previous post "Untitled" but I do admit, I got the name of the mag wrong, it's Photo Pro Magazine, not DP Pro Magazine - meh, you can see the similarity!

Anyway, the article is all about the best photographers sharing their expertise and answering a specific question. The question put to me was:- 

"I want to offer tasteful boudoir photography as part of my service: what’s the best way for me to set up something like this?"

Quite a hard question really as there are so many different paths to choose from and it's definitely not a short answer. So if you fancy having a look, go snaffle the December issue of Photo Pro Magazine!

Again, I apologise for the scan quality!

Not much else to report apart from I have another room (!!!) it's supposed to be prop storage but I already have some very glitzy burlesque sets planned in my mind. I can't help it, if there's space to be had then I'll make it into something dazzling!

I've been working flat out for months now so I've planned some time off later in December which is when I'll make a start on the new sets.

Must dash, the coffee pot is almost empty and I need a refill! 

Updates Galore

So it’s been a while, the last time I wrote was on a lobby computer in Norway… well I’m back and even more tired than before I went away! Working for yourself and going on a holiday is like taking a three week step backwards!

Been hard at work and trying to update site with new content over the past few weeks and I have some good news, I’ve managed it (80% anyway).

The Team page - updated, The Regency Lounge page – added and with a slide show, The Making Of the Regency Lounge I’m working on tonight and tomorrow and the Boudoir Belle’s party Page is under construction. There are more updates but nothing anyone will notice, all behind the scenes stuff. The final update is my boudoir galleries, they’re long overdue and I have so many clients who have jumped at the chance of featuring, so I just need to find a window of time to get them done!

In the meantime, (if time allows) have a peek at the new and updated pages and hopefully you’ll like the Regency Lounge and all that has been done to it.

Link to the boudoir article online for those who had trouble reading my scanned version -

www.professionalphotographer.co.uk

And a nice little slideshow on the professional Photographer site -

www.professionalphotographer.co.uk/slide-shows (click Boudoir Photography)

That's it for now, I'll be back soon with some more updates!

Em J

Untitled...

Thank you for the recent comments Paul and Kathy under the magazine related post, very much appreciated. Will be in Digital Photo Pro again, not quite sure when but have a little bit of text and some images going in there on how to get into the boudoir photography industry, so will update you when I know.

I also must apologise for lack of communication recently, currently in Norway in a hotel lobby on the good old PC. Having a well deserved break (didn't think I'd get the chance). Started in Denmark on Tuesday, Norway since Friday and onto Sweeden today for a few days.

Regency Lounge is done and has been christened a fair few times now, even had some champers and a ribbon cutting so will do a mass website update with all the piccies once back and have replied to the mountains of emails.

Ok, off to airport now so ta ta!

Em J

Today I am a year older!

Yes, it comes around once every year and today is the day. I am just over 1/3 of the way through my existence.  To celebrate that fact I treated myself to a ticket to watch one of my favourite bands (Extreme) in November! Can't wait!

I am supposed to be spending my "year older day" decorating but had a mad influx of orders so tomorrow will be a longer decorating day to make up for it. 

I'm getting very near the completion of my Regency Lounge now! The hair and make-up room has been done and used a fair few times already (very much liked by my clients) and is a mix of vibrant pink, black and chrome to match my website colours.

I can't remember if I mentioned the colour scheme for the Lounge but it's cream/ivory, gold and now a turquoise/petrol blue! It's very luxurious, sparkly and features some 3.5ft candles! 

In addition to these changes I will be doing some alterations to my current studio as it needs a bit of a wallpaper change and due to the amount of prop buying gone on, a new built in storage system so all is on display and accessible!

I'm going to have sneak away now, I can't type much more as I'm shattered after a terrible nights sleep (the usual night really) due to a laundry factory some 300ft away from my residence that now makes continuous noise 24/7! I'd really like to curl up in a fluffy throw and hibernate for a month but noooooooooo chance! 

Hopefully back soon with some news, rantings, piccies or just good old text gibberish.

The text thieves are out in force again!

I am so fed up with other photographers stealing my copyrighted text from my sites and simply placing it on theirs like they wrote it themselves.

Why do these people do it? Are they really that lazy? Thoughtless? Disrespectful? Can’t think of anything true to write/have written about themselves and their service? And the most obvious of all - silly enough to think they will never be found? Well I found them using copyscape which I run every few weeks.

I would usually email the infringers/thieves requesting they remove my text from their sites but now I’ve had enough it’s name and shame time and hopefully this will deter others from doing it!

**I have edited this post since originally posting it as two of the culprits (including the worst one and  I wish you could still see the extent of it, well technically we probably can if using the waybackmachine) have removed my text so no point listing them now. Just shows that this does work! People would rather remove stolen text than be named, obviously.**

If I find any more I will pop them under this thread as comments for you to have a look at!

I'd advise other photographers to use copyspace on their sites (all pages) just to check that their wording isn't being falsely used by others to untruthfully sell themselves to clients, it's amazing what you find!

And here is a link to a useful tool that archives sites and changes, helps prove who wrote it first - archive.org

Boudoir Photography Article (as promised)

It’s out – the boudoir article in Professional Photographer mag - August 2008 edition!

The article looks at three different boudoir photographers/studios commenting on their different approaches, styles, opinions and more.

The three are - Laura Dodsworth who undertakes weddings and has just started in the boudoir field, myself an independent photographer who specialises in boudoir, burlesque and vintage glamour photography and For Your Eyes Only (FYEO), a well established chain that offers a contemporary style of boudoir photography.

If you are passing WH Smith, pop in and grab a copy as it’s a good read, (and fellow women photographers - there is an article on male glamour photography sporting some quite nice eye candy in there!) plus I am proud to say that all but one of the photos in the article are mine (the other being Laura’s)! Even the strip that is around the mag has my picky on it!

I must admit, initially I did have trouble reading it, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it so I got someone to read it aloud to me while I held my head in my hands! I really didn’t know what to expect! I’m not one for being talked about or talking in front of many people, I like to stay out of the way, behind my camera and computers where I’m safe and can get on with what I do best. But, the author Ailsa McWhinnie really did a fab job of it!

I’ve popped a couple of pics of the article below but you’ll have to excuse the quality, my scanner makes everything look like 3000 year old parchment!

Cover



Inside Page



Page 1-2



Page 3 (Laura's Image)



Page 4-5

Mill Collapses

Nothing at all to do with my photography etc but I'm still in shock at these pictures and needed to post them.

This is Carrhill Mill which is just in front of Woodend Mill that my studio is in (visible in the first photo on the right with the chimney). It's not quite as old as the 2 Woodend Mills but old enough. Part of it collapsed on Saturday night which is the same section that bizzarely collapsed on Christmas Day back in the year 1900.

Anyway, there you have it before I run off to my studio!

Hello hello helloooo!!!

Good news, good news - in the past 2 weeks I have somehow managed to work, sleep a little and continue with my room with such efficiency that it is nearly done. I have two main things left to do – wallpaper and varnish the floor plus a couple of niggly things like fit a heavy duty curtain rail and add some final finishing touches.

I’ve not given much away about my plans and progress so far as I thought it may be nice to simply put all the photos up when it’s done for total impact… but, I’ll at least mention a few things –

My hair and make-up room/dressing room really is fab! I wanted to maximise the size of the room with mirrors so that’s exactly what I have done.

I decided to tile an entire wall with mirror tiles and I’ll say now that I HATE mirror tiles and don’t recommend it to anyone!! They inflicted constant hassle, anger, pain, continuous shattering and then assaulted my hands and arms by embedding a few hundred shards of themselves in me. I endured, I struggled on and can happily say, I’d do it all again because it looks brilliant!

My hands and arms really have had a rough ride over the past few weeks, they are not ladylike or presentable anymore, (I would have taken a picture but the tips of my fingers were so swollen and sore that I kept their use to a minority due to pain) they tell a story of hard work, stress, lack of concentration *points to a blood blister and 4 split fingers* “oh that’s where I trapped my skin in the mastic gun and that’s where the skin split on my fingers from continued cementing that needed to be smoothed!” I’d like to point out that gloves were not an option for this task or the majority that have made my hands like 2 withered, worn pieces of scarred sandpaper!

I have four new wallpapers for the lounge, one for my current studio and it’s going to be a mega job due to how much wall space I’ve got to cover with backing paper and then the wallpapers! I’ll be calling in the troops to help with this one seems as though I had a fight with the backing paper the other day and almost pasted myself to the floor!

My fabric ceiling is up, so are the 3 large chandeliers and I must admit, they look totally stunning!

98% of my new furniture has arrived for the lounge and I can’t wait to dress the room with it. All my make-up room furniture is in, had that for a while now and is home to a few dust colonies!

I am officially the Queen of Green! I have spent what is the equivalent to a 7 day, 5* all-inclusive holiday in Rhodes on energy bulbs (I have SO many lights in there, the chandeliers are major culprits), I’m either totally mad or totally mad, or maybe I’m just doing my bit!! If I include the wallpapers, tiles and make-up room furniture then it’d be a 28 day cruise around Canada and Alaska on the P&O Aurora!

Speaking of holidays and oh so needed getaway’s, I was hoping this year would see my first holiday in 4 years but I seriously doubt that now – my luxury boudoir studio and Regency Lounge, really is luxury with a hefty price tag, BUT I already told myself “If I’m going to do it, then I’m going to do it properly!!!!”

Now I’ll take my broke (sniffle, sob!) self off to do some more work and then possibly some wallpapering later!!

Ta-raaa

Hello and something a little interesting for the saucy devils out there!!!

Well hello there… long time no speak!

Finally I have a comment on my blog – Hello Mike, lovely to hear from you and hope you are doing well!

Been mega, mega busy lately and I’m not about to get a break either. Had many fab boudoir clients this past few weeks, really enjoyable sessions, tried out some new sets, heard some interesting stories, shared a big box of Thorntons and bought a fabulous cooling machine! There will be a lovely summer breeze in my studio from now on, not hot, not cold, just purrrrfect!

Regency Lounge is coming along well, almost at decoration stage – yes it’s been slow I know but I’ve had lots of clients to photograph and lost and lost of images to retouch! I do promise I’ll update my photo progress page soon! Now I’m in the process of finding the ideally suited fabric (colour, weight, pattern and shimmer) for my floor to ceiling curtains. So tomorrow is a dedicated shopping day that will hopefully see me find the above and a whole other load of goodies on my list, including 3 very large chandeliers (I am going to be totally broke by the end of this renovation, I just know it!!!).

Okay time for some fun – I’ve been contacted by a very nice lady called Claire who’s making a show for Virgin 1 and though I maybe able to help either partaking or spreading the word! Personally not for me as I’m too busy to go having lots of saucy fun but maybe for one of you readers it might just tickle your fancy -

“It is a one-off, survey-based show, which is going to look into why Brits have a bad rep in the bedroom and whether Europeans actually do have a more adventurous sex lives. An intelligent but tongue-in-cheek type show, which should be great fun to be a part of! Wanted: Lovers that are bored in the bedroom! As a nation us Brits are supposedly the most sexually repressed in Europe but is this really true?

We will give 4 lucky couples the chance to live by a different sexual regime for one weekend only. Will you be swinging from the rafters 8 times a week like the Italians, or toe sucking before breakfast like the Germans? Be ready for a sexual revolution!

If you are a sexually adventurous couple or a couple that could do with some fun being injected back into the bedroom then this is the show for you.

We're looking for couples who are open to fun, adventure and experimentation. We want our couples to imitate the varied sex lives of those on the continent for one weekend - from the Greeks liking for bedroom discipline, to the Swede’s overt penchant for sex toys!

If you and your partner are interested in this unique and potentially life changing opportunity, please get in touch with the production team on team@twofour.co.uk, or telephone: 0800 031 9126

We are also looking for 4 people who claim to be 'Britain's Best Lover' and two European couples who have extreme/ outrageous sex lives, so contact the team if you feel you fit the bill!”

Click Flyer to download a bigger version!




So there you have it! And scidaddle time for little old me, no rest for the semi wicked!

Back to Work

Firstly, I must apologise for the lack of postings – the beginning of May saw my return to the boudoir photography so I’ve been very busy photographing, processing and retouching photos etc etc!

One of the first things I did notice on a marathon shoot in early May (apart from how much I’d missed photographing) was the sudden change in weather we’d had – it was hot! Not just outside but inside!! I’m used to working in a studio with the blinds drawn and my nice cool office with no windows therefore I don’t see the daylight very often or changes in weather!

So… when photographing people in their lingerie, you must have a warm environment so the client doesn’t get cold. This is very nice for the subject and just how it should be but for the photographer who is fully clothed and jumping around a studio getting the best angles possible, it’s like running a marathon on a treadmill in a sauna – shorts and sandals only from now on! But more of the sun please, that is a definite!

As for the Regency Lounge, work is still slooooooowly progressing because I am now back working all hours of the day AND night with little time to spare. But having said that, tomorrow and Wednesday will see me undertaking some painting, filling, sanding and hacking up destroyed floorboards with next week being an all hands on effort!

Will keep you updated when I can!

In Other News

I got asked to go on BBC Radio Manchester the other week to talk about retouching on a morning show… I said no and I don't think the presenter liked that one bit.

My reasons - It’s not really for me and I don’t want to get into an argument live on radio about the morals of retouching when I basically do what I’m told by my clients. That is what I image she wanted anyway – to pick apart people who do undertake retouching.

What I do find most amusing though is that I know people think I drastically change what my clients look like, when actually, I don’t. My work has been discussed on numerous forums over the past 2 years, the topic generally being “how do I get my images to be like this photographers?” by other people wanting to know how I get the results I do.

Well it’s simple, I’ll tell you - It’s not down to retouching or altering someone’s looks (which apparently I do – according to some other photographers who show their incompetence by presuming this), it’s down to listening to your clients requirements, putting your client at ease while you do what you do best, lighting your subject properly, using the correct poses to flatter that particular clients body shape and finally, one of the most important things - having a pure passion for what you do and not losing sight of that!

So, my conclusion - removing a few spots, fading some lines and correcting badly fitting lingerie doesn’t make a beautiful photograph, what does is making someone so comfortable in front of your camera that you can actually capture their true personality, their beauty and bring out their confidence, creating truly beautiful and emotion provoking images.

Okay, rant over and for some more news… but slightly late!

An image of mine was featured in Digital Photo Pro Magazine in the April 2008 edition. As some of you may have read on my site, I won “Digital Art Photographer of the Year 2007” with the SWPP & BPPA in Jan this year and it was the winning image that was featured, along with a quote of mine – modified in true magazine style.



Coming soon - an entire article about my boudoir photography service, which will be featured in Professional Photographer Magazine. I had the interview last week and am now in the process of sending images over so I’ll keep you updated on which issue it will be in.

Regency Lounge Update

It’s been a while since I’ve got around to writing in here, apologies!

Well, what can I say, the Regency Room is coming along slowly because of my lovely landlord and his lack of organisation skills so it won’t be ready for mid May, more like mid June now. I’ve been working in there the past few weeks, and it’s been hard and stressful but I am looking forward to it being finished.

The electrics are now done in the dressing/hair and make-up room and the ceiling panels and lights are on the “to do” list for Monday. Posts and beams are painted, windows sealed ready to be painted, the problem wall has been wire brushed and chiselled ready for a good soapy scrubbing and then I’ll seal the brick. Hopefully I’ll be able to have the shaft bricked up very soon as the wall is still drying but is getting there.

Then it’s mainly getting the industrial floor sander working, making a huge fabric sealing, putting curtain tracks up and some cosmetic decoration.

I’ll keep you posted!

Project on the mill corridors

Myself and another artist in the Mill called Gordon Clegg (utterly amazing artist), feel that the mills corridors could do with an injection of colour and light. Therefore we are embarking on a new project to offer local children from the nearby arts school, the opportunity to have their work permanently exhibited on our corridors. 

This will be a positive for both parties involved - we get to involve the community in art and the Mill's heritage (which we constantly do with Art Marches and open days), get some life into the corridors, give the kids a chance to do something a bit different and get it seen by all the Mill's visitors and a chance to be featured in the local press.

The artists taking part will be sponsoring the children themselves and each child will have a 4x4ft board to decorate as they wish with what they wish. There will also be a 102ft long graffiti wall up for decoration/stenciling!

The Mill's landlord is considering putting some money into the pot but 95% of the funding and labour will have to come from ourselves. 

It is most likely me and Gordon will be doing all the organising, planning, manual work and possibly incur most of the costs but it'll be worth it.

The lighting will be improved and each board will be lit individually - no point in having brilliant creations if it's not lit. Under the art works there will be a plaque stating the title, child's name and sponsor.

The estimated costs for the project are likely to be around £1,500 if we do some good negotiating with suppliers but need all the funding we can get.

The future aim is to get the Mill to be home to a well known artist network and a resource to the community offering workshops and open days, which we currently have but on a bigger scale. There are many projects that the Mill's occupants have ongoing involving the local towns, councils and organisations and some of them can be found on www.woodendartists.co.uk

Unfortunately not all the artists are featured on the site at the moment as some just prefer to stay illusive but we're working on it!

Productive Weekend

My Saturday was spent painting, sanding, filling holes, cleaning and about 8ft off the ground on a scaffolding tower. I don’t really like heights and 6ft up really is the edge of my comfort zone!

Whenever I undertake DIY, there are always some sorts of minor injuries involved; cuts, bruises, bumps, burns etc but none as of yet which is surprising. Unfortunately my mother seems to have had the bad luck this time around – she somehow found the only nail in the floor and it made its way through the sole of her boot and into her foot… ouch! She’s a tough cookie though and is fine and dandy now!

Today (Sunday) saw the undertaking of a bit more DIY and then the purchase of two gorgeous chaise longues for the lounge. Different shapes and colours for variation – not giving any more detail away just yet otherwise it won’t be a good surprise when it’s all done.

It’s been a tiring and expensive weekend but it’s definitely worth it to give my clients the complete look and feel of the boudoir… something out of the ordinary and a wee bit special (basically what the majority of us cannot achieve in our front rooms or bedrooms).

Now I'm practically falling asleep typing, so I’m guessing that's my queue to sign out and recharge the batteries ready for the next day of manual labour.

/waves

Renovation time again!

As some of you may have read on my website, I’m currently closed for April (apart from the odd session) to renovate the unit next to my studio, which will be my new Regency Lounge. While undertaking this project, I am also helping to renovate another unit for my father so he can continue with his woodwork/antique hobby. So, April is going to be busy busy busy!!!

At the moment I am waiting on a builder to fix a leaking roof above an old shaft that is on the outside of my new room but with water leaking out of the shaft and onto my wall. The entrance had been bricked up very badly so I knocked it through to see what the problem was behind.

What I found was a dark hole, it went down 3 floors was like a waterfall!! The good thing is that it’s now drying out and because there is such a good airflow coming through it, it’s drying even faster. I just hope the “fixing” will work this time as the resident “mill handyman” has tried 3 times previously. If not, I’ll have to go feather rustling!

Waiting for the wall to dry has given me some time to order the majority of what I need - lights, fixtures, fittings and textiles and ponder the design for the room which is 90% finalised!

If you’d like to visually follow the making of my Regency Lounge then you can do so by clicking HERE

Blog - Lets give it a try!

I have a few minutes to test this bloggy thing out, so why not!

I'm not a big fan of writing hence the visual career BUT... now and then it's good to get things out and for people to see that there is a real person behind that pink and black website.

I'll do my best to get on here and type a little bit as often as possible but it's not always do-able between shooting, developing, retouching, answering the phone, emails, admin, accounts, meetings, renovation and the odd bit of eating a sleeping.

Ta taaaa for now!