I’ll continue shooting Curves Boudoir sessions at luxury hotels on the weekends and am booking individual sessions at the home studio in Virginia Beach on Thursdays. These sessions include a makeup artist who also comes to my home and pampers clients with full makeup and simple hair. It’s a laid-back, low-key but beautiful way to pamper yourself and create photos that you’ll be proud of for years to come.

Biggest thanks to the first client who let me feature many photos from her session and to the other clients here who also let me give you a peek into their sessions so you can get an idea of what a session in the home studio looks like.

In the meantime: here’s the first page of an album I designed for a client recently – I love the beauty of including a Bible verse in the album – an unexpected but perfect surprise, especially considering the verse.

And a poem that a client added to her album – I adore this, too:

I love you
Not only for what you are,
But for what I am
When I am with you.

I love you,
Not only for what
You have made of yourself,
But for what
You are making of me.

I love you
For the part of me
That you bring out

-Roy Croft

So there’s no shame in any woman’s “before” photo, let’s be clear. Lately I’ve been shooting some of my home boudoir sessions au-natural, myself, and I must say, it’s liberating. I suppose the closer I get to 40, the more I embrace that a little moisturizer and light lipgloss go a long way. (And is sure a lot easier than breaking out the foundation, eye liner, et all.) I think that’s one of the things I love most about getting older. Yes, I think it’s a drag that my joints hurt and my hair insists on going grayer every year, but there are life lessons that make the aging process so worth it.

Anyway, I want to share a few before and after hair/makeup from the Curves Boudoir sessions. We’re visual, right ladies? And you need to SEE how this whole hair and makeup thing works! As you know, makeup and hair is included with every session and it’s not optional. Why? Because the power of makeup to smooth skin, hide blemishes, contour your cheekbones and make your eyes really pop is a a big part of getting the most out of a boudoir session. When you have professional photos taken, whether on your wedding day or for a portrait or boudoir session, you want to accentuate your best features and make sure your skin is camera ready.

Do you have to get tons of makeup put on? Absolutely not! You can get a beautiful natural look that highlights your best features without looking overly made up. So don’t be afraid of hair and makeup. (The first before/after below is a natural look and she rocks it out!) Besides, you know how you spill your soul to your hair stylist? The same happens when we get you in the makeup chair. We love getting to know you while you’re in makeup and hair!

Here are some before and afters – you take these beautiful women and add some makeup and boom, ready to knock some socks off in their Curves Boudoir session!

You can follow my Boudoir Wardrobe Ideas board on pinterest.com for lots more fun boudoir wardrobe and style ideas. I’m having a great time putting these together!

Start with some pin-up style makeup, complete with big curls and red lips!

And here’s the look we’re going for:

Let’s start with this ultra-cute black/white striped bathing suit, custom made to fit and available on Etsy for $72. There are A LOT of really cute bathing suits in this shop, so be sure to click the link and check them out.

Here’s another one from the same shop. Absolutely smashing in red.

And if you want to go a little more modern, here’s a set from Urban Outfitters. This one comes in several color choices for the top and bottoms.

And one more set from Etsy – a different store this time. The top and bottom are sold separately and made to order. Love the nautical feel.

You could easily do barefeet with this look, but you may want to wear some high-heel pumps to complete the look. I love these red-striped open-toed pumps from Charlotte Russe and they have lots of solids in similar styles and prices as well.

The cardigan pictured is expensive, so I set out to find one that’s similar that would work with the set. Here’s the inspiration for this Curves Boudoir style board:

Here’s the Stella McCartney bra and panty set pictured, available on Net a Porter for $190. This is a popular color combo and I know you could find very similar styles elsewhere for less money.

The sweater in the photo is crazy expensive, so I found something similar that’s a lot less money. This is the “Long and Lean Cardi Sweater” from Victoria’s Secret for $59.50.
And, bonus, you can wear this with your regular wardrobe as well!

And here are some cute pumps I found on the DSW Shoes website for $49.95.

I love them because they carry the nude theme through but the bright pop of color is a little something unexpected.
And they’re peep toe and nice and high, perfect for boudoir.

Here we go…All that glitters…is gold…and black!

I love this black sequin top because it’s sexy without showing the tummy, which I know is a section of the body that some of my clients prefer to downplay. I think it would be gorgeous with the black garter and thong set shown from Victoria’s Secret below (together the set is $38) along with black stockings. You could get the bra, too, and put that underneath for a quick wardrobe change option.

Now a great pair of heels goes great when you’re doing stockings and a garter. The shoes below are from JC Penney and for $40 you can’t beat the cuteness. They have them in several colors. I’ve shown them here in black, which would be more traditional, and rose gold, which I think would be fun with this outfit and the accessories shown.

I love this vintage-inspired gold necklace to contrast all the black in the outfit. It would stand out nicely at the neckline of the shirt. And, believe it or not, this is a Forever 21 necklace,
so it’s only $12.80. LOVE! (I’ll probably order one of these for myself, so let me know if you’re interested in using it for a session and I’ll bring it for you to borrow.)

And finally, round this outfit off with a beautiful hairpin. Again, you could go black for a more traditional take, or the rose-color to match the rose shoes and necklace if you so choose. Love these and again, they’re only $1.50 for TWO of them from Forever 21. If you need fun accessories for your session, definitely check out the Forever 21 website. Maybe not the highest quality stuff, but perfect for something like this where you may want something a little different for your session!

I still have a couple of boudoir sessions available in Virginia Beach on Sunday, March 11 in the afternoon. And, I’m offering home studio sessions in Virginia Beach on weekday afternoons. You can email me anytime for questions or to book – amy@amysandovalphotography.com. And as always, full package details and lots of photos are available at the Curves Boudoir website.

In the meantime, I’ll be off pulling together more fun wardrobe options!

I’ve been exploring other locations in hopes of finding a flipside look to the clean lines I’m used to – as I love finding new locations and pushing myself to take on new elments within my own style. The challenge was finding great light in combination with rich-looking traditional furnishings without it getting too stuffy. I recently shot at a new location in Richmond, Virginia, and fell in love. It’s historical, with gorgeous high ceilings, which I know I keep talking about, but honestly, you don’t see them at many places anymore. The fireplaces are grand with rich-looking large gold mirrors. The windows, oh, they are floor to ceiling as well, and then there’s the little sitting area window nook. Did I mention the original, refurbished hardwood floors? Yes, there’s that. So this location won my heart on all counts – fantastic light, beautiful bones and to top it off, a mix of antique and mid-century furniture.

I loved it so much that I’m going back in April. I rebooked it exactly two days after coming home and processing people in that room – those photos had something I knew I wanted to capture again! I have one session spot open on Friday, April 13 in the afternoon for that Richmond location, so if you’re interested, grab it! (Email me at amy@amysandovalphotography.com) Oh, and once again, I’m working with GoGo Gorgeous – Amanda and Kristen – for hair/makeup for the Richmond sessions. I swear to you, they do magical things!

I’ve got boudoir sessions coming up in Virginia Beach on March 11 at another gorgeous, historic bed and breakfast – more great light, more classic furnishings and another opportunity to bring tasteful and sexy right back into the same sentence with a Curves Boudoir session! Two spots left for those sessions. (As always, package details are available at www.curvesboudoir.com/pricing and you can use the contact form on that site to let me know you’d like to book a session!) And I’m super excited to have Theresa Little on board for hair and makeup for the Virginia Beach sessions. She is a joy to work with and makes my clients look absolutely amazing!

So here we go, I want to thank this client for allowing me to feature some of the photos from her session. My clients know that there’s never any pressure to share their photos on my websites, but when they do it’s awesome and gives those just like them who are nervous and not quite sure what to expect a lot more to go on and a greater sense of my style. So thank you to all my clients who give me the opportunity to share photos from their sessions and tell the Curves Boudoir story through their beautiful images.

I am so excited to be shooting here again! I just wish I could take this Richmond, VA, location and transport it closer to home! But it gets better! The artistry of GoGo Gorgeous girls Kristen and Amanda will be in full effect for hair/makeup. Without a doubt, they’re a big part of the magic that goes into transforming clients for their session.

Session times will be Friday afternoon and Saturday. All package prices will include an additional $30 location fee. The deposit for these sessions will be $300 with the remaining package balance due the day of the session. (Deposits are non-refundable but can be applied to future sessions within 6 months.) As always, my full package details are available at Curves Boudoir. I’m offering two new album options this year and clients are loving them. Clients now have the option of adding on a custom 5×5 leather album or custom 8×8 leather album (in the color of their choice) with 22 of their favorite images from the session.

Here are a few quick shots of the room I took last weekend:

I can’t wait to meet more clients and create some beautiful memories for them in 2012!

Here are some photos from recent shoots shot in the same location we’ll be using on February 5, 2012 – thank you to my clients for permission to share these photos from their session. The light and furnishings in this location are perfect for creating a beautiful session with the focus on your beauty!: