New goodies and props are popping up in my prop collection and I simply could not be happier.
I've been browsing the shelves at our local dollar store as they begin to pull out the Valentine's Day and even some very early Easter items. This is when I can always find things like strings of huge chunky faux pearls to use for a finishing touch over a soft lingerie look for boudoir. I'm most proud of a collection of lace fans that I found a few days after Christmas as they were ditching the "last minute gifts" that did not sell. Score six for a dollar in different colors and no worries if they break or rip.
Soon I'll be going back, this time to look for items to use at my up-coming baby celebration and of course I'll be keeping an eye out for props. One of my all time favorites came from a friend's baby shower where she used flowers in clear crystal slides (made to look like flowers pressed in glass). Placing this just off center and shooting through it focused on a posing child or baby gives a lovely dual image without having to fuss with layers that may not line up in post process. This also lets me have a reminder of that party as a paper weight on my desk when meeting with clients or editing in the evenings.
Colors are a big deal for me this year. I've found that my tastes always seems to float to soft teals, greens, yellows and blues with toddlers and young kids, and deep jewel tones of burgundy, violet, and jade when it comes to adults. I love a classing pin-up girl touch of red for boudoir, but it has started to land in the overkill zone lately with Rockabilly influence seeming to forget that there are color choices beyond black, white and red. I'm a sucker for a bold blue because it does such good in the right light, making even simple images floaty and full of an ethereal sense of heavenly beauty.
I'm going to do some color study images soon for sharing, something to take my mind off how much the pregnancy is slowing down my desire to get out there and shoot. I also have another shoot in the works with a fellow boudoir photographer as part of celebrating my pregnancy and trying to reclaim some of the strength and drive this has sapped over the last month. I'm obsessed with doing a henna belly shoot, so I'll be having a ball with sharing those shots in the near future.
