Like many women I work with, A is normally is the one at the top of control in her professional life, and she was looking forward to an opportunity to experience something different. In this case, an expression of finding release and freedom through sensuality.
Read MoreA reached out to me about doing a session because her birthday was coming up, and though she had achieved a successful corporate career, she had never really dabbled in making art. So, we planned out a delightful shibari boudoir session. Read how it turned out.
Read MoreFor all my skill in helping others gain confidence in front of the camera, when it comes to myself, I feel like I need as much help as anyone else. Each of these photos took several outtakes, deep breaths, and giving myself permission to be seen, in a vulnerable way.
Read MoreWhen Anastasia reached out to me about doing a photo session, she expressed a particular interest in the shibari aspect of it. I had done similar work with a friend of hers, and she was eager to try it out. When I’m tying for a photo session, I typically do a handful of looks, starting with a classic torso box-tie with the arms behind the back, and this Diamond or Tortoise-shell dress type of pattern that is easily adaptable for a variety of looks such as over clothes or with a matching leg-tie. Towards the end of the session, I typically either do asymmetrical freeform tying without any predetermined pattern, or improvise something based on the client’s request.
Read MoreSHIBARI 縛り is the Japanese style of rope bondage, which is both an art form as well as a BDSM activity, and is derived from historical methods of tying up prisoners. For me, shibari is a mode of kinesthetic communication between two people. But what does that mean?
Read MoreThis is kind of a special one.
Read MoreNew work from my recent virtual boudoir session with Genesis. With this session, I felt inspired by the quickly fading winter light.
Read MoreLena and I have known each other since college, and though we’ve gone our separate paths, we reconnected last winter. Of course, with the pandemic we’re all cooped up, with nothing to do but read books, tend to our plants, and drink coffee. Well, almost…
Read MoreEarlier this month I had the pleasure of a virtual photo session with Marlena. For this session we decided to go with an intimate feeling, and in this set we made use of her lovely vanity for a through the looking-glass effect.
Read MoreDue to the Covid quarantine, I and others have found that it is possible to do beautiful boudoir photo sessions virtually, by means of video calls. For me, creating art through these sessions is a joy, like flying after being let out of a cage. It’s still quite a ways away from the experience of actually having a proper boudoir photo shoot in person, but it is also rewarding in its own unique way, with constraints and opportunities.
Read MoreMegan is an actress in Los Angeles, and we connected though some mutual friends on social media. This was one of those photo sessions that just demands to be in color, so of course I must obey. Its easy for me to get caught up in a dark mood and aesthetic sometimes, so it was refreshing to go for a lighter approach with this session.
Read MoreSomething I have been thinking about lately is heterosexual male sensuality/beauty, and how it is depicted (or more accurately, excluded) in our visual culture. Certain aspects of male anatomy are commonly referenced in pop culture as a source of humor, but never depicted outside pornography (aside from a few brief glimpses in HBO’s Game of Thrones). Women’s bodies are idealized & commercialized to a far greater degree than mens’, and in turn has generated pushback in the form of body-positivity and a focus on inclusiveness. Is the same true for men? Maybe in the gay male cultural ecosystem, but not really for straight men, at least as far as I can tell.
Read MoreI have been thinking about how little men are conditioned to being seen. While our society makes young girls aware of their appearances, reinforced by “Disney Princesses” and later makeup advertisements, boys and men are very rarely expected to be actively looked at. We are given expectations of how to dress depending on our work or local culture, but that is more of a uniform. Men are very rarely ever looked at as sensual, sexual beings in a way that isn’t about some fantasy about power…
Read MoreIt’s really easy to take time for granted. Even if the future is open, everything is finite. I may live to 110 or I may die tomorrow, but either way, there will be a finite number of photographs I create. A finite number of birthdays, a finite number of dinners with any particular friend. Cherish the moments you have, as you have them, because you never know when it may be the last.
Read MoreAfter a few years I'm still somewhat new to doing Shibari/rope sessions, and even though I feel like a total beginner, I can feel myself improving with each session. I'm finding better ways to continue ties, getting better at knots and managing tension, and working more efficiently. Sessions like this have some extra challenges as well: the model loses mobility so you have to plan or improvise poses that look good in photographs, likewise the placement that would make for good lighting. Of course, there's also the challenge of making something meaningful that communicates more than just "Look at this person's body!" That's always the most difficult part in photographing nudes, the mind and competency of the artist is revealed.
Read MoreBelinda is someone I’ve known for many years, and the last time we shot, I was still a beginner, using a film camera I had borrowed from a friend. Of course, I still feel like a beginner..
For this session we went with a shibari theme. Shibari is the Japanese art of rope bondage, which has been around for centuries. It started out as a set of techniques for binding and torturing prisoners, and over time became both a fetish and an art form. This was my first time trying a Pentacle/Star harness, and the lower waist/arms tie was improvised, as were the following ties. Still a beginner, of course.
It's almost Valentine's Day, so how about a moment of self-love? Last year I made the resolution to take more self portraits because I often don't like how I look. Last summer while traveling in Europe I decided to make use of some dramatic window light and take some nude self portraits as an exercise in accepting my self/body as it is.
The experience was a nerve-wracking reminder of how difficult it is to be vulnerable in front of the camera, but eventually I found my groove and made a few soulful and erotic photographs I'm proud of. Thanks for reading, and I hope you take a moment to love yourself as well.
Read MoreAn Allegory of the Garden of Eden with Meredith
Read More
