Test Shoot with Melissa Violet Orloff

I met Melissa at our shoot with HTR Images. I know how much she loves mermaids and I've been wanting to do a mermaid shoot. So I set up my own test shoot with her. 

 She's such a natural beauty.

Aren't those eyes mesmerizing?

Workshop with Photographer Isaac Alvarez

Shooting with Isaac is always fun! We met when I responded to his casting in January of 2014. He landed me my second cover and editorial. He's very relaxed and has a great sense of humor. So when he asked if I'd join and help with makeup for his workshop, I couldn't resist!

 Model: Teesa Houston

 Luke is one of my favorite male models. Quality male models are difficult to come by. When I was photographing Coren earlier in the day, I told him that Luke is a great model to look up to.

 Model: Luke Valen

Model: Julie Paige

Male grooming, hair and makeup: Ande Castaneda @OohAnde

Photos: Isaac Alvarez @iaunplug

https://www.facebook.com/isaacalvarezllc

Location: Pistola Studios @PistolaStudios

A Successful Photographer

When I first fell in love with boudoir photography in high school, it was because I appreciate a woman’s body, with or without the curves. I love how happy some women are in the nude, they are so natural and carefree. It doesn’t matter what size they are, every women is different when they are in the buff. A size zero friend of mine was so afraid to show off her body to the world, and another girl friend who is a size 20 loves showing off what she has. My idea when I first started boudoir was to capture that happy woman who is carefree. In the real world though, a surprising amount of women who aren’t comfortable with what they have still want photos of themselves. It’s during that photo shoot that I have to have her relax and become comfortable and trust me, all within a matter of minutes. Some of these ladies I’ve only met once, and the next time they are seeing me, they are baring sometimes everything to me. I never imagined that getting into boudoir photography would have some emotional challenges to it, on top of some lighting and posing challenges.
Every year, I do a boudoir photo shoot at a local newly renovated hotel. The hotel is beautiful. When the ladies walk into the room, they are amazed at how beautiful it is. I think it adds a little bit of fancy sexiness to their photo shoot.
Every woman is different during their shoot. Some of them just drop their clothes and are ready to have some nakie fun in front of the camera, others insist that they will never do topless, they just want some photos of them in their sexy lingerie. Coincidentally, they happen to bring an extra set of undies “just in case” they do topless (which they always do, lol).
Many of the ladies are very insecure about their bodies, which makes it difficult for about 15 minutes. They start off in a cute, reserved outfit like a cute shirt and boyshort undies. After that outfit change, they usually wear a cute lingerie set. It is usually around this time that they feel comfortable enough to be in the outfit, but they are still doubting of how they look.
“You look gorgeous, just trust me,” I tell them every time. I don’t tell it to them out of habit, but because I genuinely believe it. I tell it to women who have almost A cup breasts, a size 00 waist and legs as thick as my arms, to women who have stretchmarks covering every roll of their body.
“But my fat! My rolls! My lack of boobs! My stretchmarks! My lack of boobs and butt! My this, my that! It’s so ugly,” they always respond.
“Just trust me. Smile!”
It’s the reaction the ladies have when they see the photos that makes me so happy.  I went to drop off a disc of photos to one of the ladies, Andrea, who brought her computer along to look at them right away. I had my friend, Laurie with me.
Andrea popped in the disc and her jaw dropped. Laurie sat on the other side of her cooing at how beautiful Andrea looked in just a simple tee shirt and boy short undies. Andrea shrieked, “That’s meeee?!”
“Yeah, I didn’t even edit you either. I just adjusted the white balance. You’re naturally gorgeous,” I told Andrea.
Andrea couldn’t believe the photos in front of her were actually her. As she went through them, Andrea’s friend Lindsay watched over her shoulder, “You look amazing! You’re gorgeous!”
“I…I just…I can’t believe that’s me. How is that me?!” Andrea kept asking.
Laurie responded, “It’s you, and it’s hard to believe, huh? When Ande did my photos last year, I couldn’t believe that that was me either.”
“It’s just that I don’t have a very positive image of myself, and seeing these images of me…It’s how other people see me too. I never thought…”
“I know, Ande just has that magic touch. She makes you feel so comfortable in front of the camera, and it becomes something fun. By the time you’re done, you don’t want to be, but you have these gorgeous photos of yourself that are yours forever.”
“I was so scared at first, I was so nervous. Those lights were so bright!”
“Yeah, you thought that they would catch your every imperfection, huh?”
“Well, yeah, I mean, here I am presenting myself to a camera in lights brighter than I ever presented myself to my ex-husband. Those lights were so bright!”
“They show how gorgeous you naturally are,” I responded to Andrea.
“I want to send these to my ex-husband! Ha!”
“I know before Ande did my photos last year, I didn’t have a very high self esteem, and I never understood what my husband loved about my body, but after doing our shoot, I finally get it. It’s not that I’m conceited about it, it’s that I finally see the beauty my husband sees and my confidence is higher than ever. It’s amazing.”

I honestly never realized how much of an impact I make on some women with their boudoir photos. I know that mommies want photos of their families, and every once in a great while, I will get a big thank you for boudoir photos, but I never knew that I had that much of a profound impact on such naturally beautiful women. My friend, Monica told me that after her first boudoir shoot with me, she could see herself blossoming, since she finally saw what made her beautiful physically. I never imagined though, that so many ladies would be so in love with their photos. That makes me so happy. That is exactly what I love hearing from such beautiful women. I wish that all women could see themselves as being worth it, as beautiful with what they have or what they don’t have. I never would have imagined that my love for boudoir photos would turn into something so heartwarming.
When my high school teacher asked me what I wanted to do after high school, I told him, “I want to take classy photos of nude models. Not porn status. I don’t know what it’s called. But I can appreciate a woman’s body, and I want to capture it.”
“You’re a little perv is what you are,” the teacher responded playfully.
“No, really. It’s a type of photography. I’ve researched it. I want to be a successful photographer.”
The reaction I receive from these already beautiful women tells me that I successfully captured them. And that’s what makes me happy.

I can’t wait for the next shoot.