Boudoir interesting facts

It's so interesting to learn and observe people in my profession. Why? Many feel vulnerable. Most people feel exposed so they act different. Most of the time, they behave so differently than the way they do when in a regular setting, that the transformation is short of amazing.
But today I wanted to just make some notes on things I've observed:

• About 30% of my clientele are teachers.
• About 30% are nurses or in the medical field.
• Men are WAAAAY shyer than ladies. (mostly)
• Mature ladies tend to be more confident and usually edgier and more relaxed.
• Most people are extremely nervous when they arrive, but get relaxed by their second set/ outfit.
• No two people have the same thing in mind when they say the want sexy pictures. So I really don't have a clue what they mean if they ask me to do 'sexy' pictures for them.
• Almost every client asks me how does my wife handles my job. (I'd like to know that myself! I guess she's just awesome!)
• Nobody really believes it, but I'm really shy. I blush quite frequently.
• Bringing your own music playlist usually make a world of difference.
• I've used three make up artists since I started working at my new studio. One left me and I miss her so much (You know it Katia) The other two... oh well,  just vanished.
• About 65% of my clients seem to ignore the information I send them. This usually makes the session slower.so PLEASE read it. It makes your session so much better!
• I purposely avoid checking other local photographer's work. I'm the most isolated photographer. I like knowing that any idea I have, it's my own.
• There are about six other photographers in my building. I know two of them.
• About 50% of my clients order a book to present their pictures to their significant other.
• Although seems like nobody does, apparently a lot of people check my blog. (I'm sorry for the typos. I'm the artist, the wife is the words lady ) If you do find something interesting, It'll be nice to hear from you.
• About 80% of my clients wish they had done a couple of risque pictures, but didn't ask for them.
• The oldest client I had so far was 71 years old.
• I never intended to become a boudoir photographer. I was a wedding photographer, but somebody liked some model images I had lost in my website. The rest is history.
• Most Make up artists (in words of one of them) think they're divas. They certainly make more money than the photographer. Plus they get tips.
• I've done specials with Groupon, Dealsaver, Google deals and Living Social. 
• In the last 16 months, I've done 350 sessions.
• Apparently in Kansas City there's a HUGE community of bondage, swingers, hard core people and all sorts of fun things. Nobody likes to talk about that though. Weird, I thought Kansas City was more conservative. Luckily, is not.
• Almost every photographer I know does boudoir... Under the table :)
• Photographers have a weird sense of humor.
• My average schedule on a work day is 6am to 10pm. I work Monday to Sunday. I take two days off every month.
• An average boudoir session takes 90 minutes. Editing 25 images takes me anywhere from another 90 to 180 minutes. The time I spend reading and answering each customer's emails averages another 30 minutes. So it's fair to say that each client gets about 4 hours of my time.
• Last year I took about 150,000 pictures. 
• Yes, I have pictures of my wife on my site. Guess who she is and win a free 60 minute session!
• I'll keep writing things as I remember them.
• If anybody is there, reading, be nice and drop me a line. Seriously. Gets kind of lonely here!

Lovely gifts

 

What a better birthday gift for the Hubbie? It's been a while since I posted. I've had so many sessions lately that I'm barely catching up with other stuff, blog and editing. But this session stood up and summarizes what it's all about. The session was intended to produce a birthday album for the husband, who travels a lot. Since we where at it, we also made a video with the images and a customized message for him. I wish I had seen his face when he got the video while away traveling, in his cell phone.

As it happens, my customer turns out to be also a model, So her images will be in her new book. we managed to do very trendy, but also romantic and nostalgic images. Love it!

2009 Lenexa art festival

***UPDATE**** Just wanted to share with everybody, I did receive the honor of the first place in the 2009 Latino Art Bravisimo art contest. Of course, it wasn't the picture I thought had the best chance, but nevertheless, I'm so happy. This year's contest seemed to had better attendance, and the food was great! Thank you to the City of Lenexa and to El Centro, for making this possible. Now, here's the proof!




Getting ready for this year's Bravisimo Art Festival. Last year, I shared the first price with a very talented painter. My ghost town series was at display at the Lenexa town hall. This year, I wanted to do something more experimental.

I chose a mix of techniques. multiple exposure and light painting.
I wanted to do something at a bigger scale too, in a wooded setting. so after scouting for places, I settled for Shawnee mission park. A little side note, when going to the woods, make sure you have your bug spray at hand.


This is how it looked like to begin with:













Then, I went around the place, taking the same picture with a light source, around 30 times. the trick is to put them together. the final image is a mix of all of them, a "multiple exposure" of sorts. This is what a photographer does in the woods.













I'll post the image after I deliver it to the contest. I hope the judges like it!




Ok, these are the photographs entered into the contest.


Tho make this one, I took about 36 photographs, placing the lights at different places each time, and then put them all together into one single image. This is called a multiple exposure.
Takes lots of time and patience. in this particular case, bug repellent too. So the light in the picture comes from just two hand held flashes and available light.




This one is a cemetery in Chiapas, Mexico. what makes it special, is that this was taken with an Infra red modified camera. This is, what you see in the image is not visible light. was infra red radiation, (invisible to the eye). then, with software, that wavelenght is reapplied into the visible spectrum. this makes green foliage look white, and a very contrasty sky. Notice the little girl at the edge of the road on the left side.








This one, of course. Onions. lots of them. looks different because was lit by a headlamp, through a fifteen second exposure.
So that's it. Hope I have luck this year too!







Back to my website:

http://www.earthue.com/

Model photoshoot at the West bottoms

This is what photographers do when they are bored. They hang out with other photographers, and shoot models, if they show up. This is a clip of today's photo shoot at the West bottoms in KC.
Check out how there's groups, each one getting ready for a shoot, in different settings.

Here are some of the images of the session.

Yes, it was a pain to get that chair inflated, and yes, most other photographers thought I was crazy, hauling my box of props. Somebody even asked me where I left my sink! Nonetheless, I think adding an out-of-the-norm element to this setting worked really well.
Some models are just naturals. They understand the language of a photographer.
Of course, I had to try something for my next wedding!

As I was getting this picture set up, I couldn't help it but think of a good explanation in case the police showed up.

That's it. The West Bottoms is such a cool place to explore later, with more time. I'll be going back soon, to try other ideas. Thanks to my fellow photographers.

Back to my website: http://www.earthue.com/