The Look | Boudoir Glamour Photography | Pittsburgh

How do you get that "look"?? I get that question a lot. I mean...a lot. I get it from clients and other photographers as well. How do I get my clients to give me "that look"? Well...sometimes even I have no idea. First and foremost, my clients have to trust me. I've heard more than once from clients, while in the makeup chair, saying "I thought for sure you were just photographing models and putting them on your website as clients. But then I saw your before & after gallery on your website and I realized, nope...you're really photographing everyday women." Yes. Yes I am. Of course I have photographed young women trying to break into the modeling world and I'm sure I will continue (nice option when trying out new things) but I will tell you that 95% of what you see on my site is everyday women. Even the models are amateur and trying to get their chops, which means they are still moldable....and I need that.

My clients trust me. They know from what they've seen on my site that we are going to work together to get a sure-fire end product: gorgeous, beautiful photos of themselves. I go over a few things with my clients before we even get started and I show them what I want with my own face and my own body language. Giving them a visual of what I need is the easiest way to get across the look I want.

I pose my clients to the Nth degree though my goal is to make everything look natural. Most times I get them in a pose, have them close their eyes, relax their face, reset...and then open to give me magic. Oh my yes...some women find this very difficult and most times they try too hard, which usually ends up with a look like they just peed themselves...but I snap about 4 frames in and usually by that 4th frame, they've relaxed a bit and their face has settled. And of course, a mood can be instantly struck by not even looking at me. Chin this way, down, eyes to the floor. Chin up, cheekbone to the sky, let your lips naturally drop open, close your eyes....bam. I got it. I also show my clients most photos from every set. I know a lot of photographers feel like this is a faux pas but honestly it has helped me more times than not. EVERY single client says right back "Wow! I can't believe that's me! I'm doing it!" Once they see that they're nailing it, their confidence builds and before you know it, we're rolling along creating beauty. :)

The most important thing I relay to my clients is that it's all about the connection with the lens. There has to be some kind of emotion coming from those eyes in order to connect with the person looking at your photographs. Dead eyes will end in a dead response and misfire in terms of the viewer understanding what they're looking at. Be it happy, intense, sexy or flirtatious...your eyes must be telling me what you're feeling at the moment I fire my shutter. Anytime you have to explain a photograph, you missed it. There should be an instant understanding the minute you lay eyes on the eyes of the person in the photograph.

It's all in the eyes. No matter what your body type is, no matter what the clothes look like, if you can't emanate emotion, none of the rest matters. Now, hopefully I didn't just make you nervous. That's as much my job as it is my clients. My clients know I do not expect them to walk in ready to embody Gisele. ;-) But, on the flip side, I do expect you to walk in and give yourself permission to bring forth your sensuality and be in touch with your feminine side. That's what it's all about right?

You bring me those eyes, I'll sprinkle a bit of pixie dust and before you know it, we'll be making magic. ;-)