Voodoo Glamour Girl

This shoot showcases a technique I had not tried in a long while. Its called “high key” . I had not attempted this technique in quite sometime as I didn’t have the required equipment. This type of shoot requires a lot of light, and an all white background. After ordering the background and getting in my giant softbox from Paul C. Buff I decided to try it out. The first thing I did was go on Pinterest, which is my go to spot these days for photographic inspiration. After awhile I happened on a photo that would serve as a spring board for this shoot. The photo below is NOT my photograph, but the photo I found on Pinterest.

This photo is gorgeous right?!  It was taken by a Russian photographer Vladimir Sagadeev. I thought I would be able to recreate this photo almost exactly. I promptly put out a notice on Facebook looking for a model. Once I got her in the studio and started to experiment with this photo concept I started to run into challenges I hadn’t anticipated. The photo below with the model Desi Diver was the first attempt.

I loved the photo the way it came out, but as you can see its a bit different than what I set out to do. My biggest complaint was on the quality of the fabric, and that it was a bit wrinkled, something I didn’t notice until after I was in the edit process.

The entire studio portion was a basic three light set up. The key light was a large Paul C. Buff soft box, with two other alienbee strobes pointed directly at the background.

 The model for this evening is Desi Diver. She’s a simple girl. Prone to being a stage kitten at burlesque dancing events and bouts of cannibalism.

Unlike some of the models I’ve met here in San Diego, Desi was down to earth, funny, and had not an ounce of annoying divaness.

Desi also brought along her poor man to torture while on the shoot.

Beyond the fact that Desi loves hairless sphinx cats, she was a sadly, a mystery.

Just when you thought it was all serious, Desi takes it to another level.

Desi in her own words:

Her skin is white cloth
And she’s all sewn apart
And she has many colored pins
Sticking out of her heart.She has a beautiful set
Of hypno-disk eyes,
The ones that she uses
To hypnotize guys.
She has many different zombies
Who are deeply in her trance.
She even has a zombie
Who was originally from France.
But she knows she has a curse on her,
A curse she cannot win.
For if someone gets Too close to her, The pins stick farther in.

That’s all for this week! Become a fan on the Oni Studio boudoir facebook page. Follow Oni Studio on 500PX, Pinterest, and Model Mayhem!

Vampire Goddess

For as long as I can remember I’ve had a thing with vampires. I think my first vampire film was “Lost Boys” and to this day it’s still one of my favorites.

I think the vampire genre took a huge hit with Interview with a Vampire. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse Twilight turned one of my childhood heroes into a sparkling atrocity more geared for female fifth graders than a serious lurking horror for all of humanity.

Why am I talking about vampires?

Because the star of this entry, Chary, was the embodiment of the perfect vampire. She was old world, poised and strangely, had one of the most alluring mysterious scents about her. She was like an other worldly ethereal creature. At the risk of making myself seem creepy, I could smell her two hours after she left. I have no other way to describe the experience other than wonderful!

Speaking of wonderful, if you’re a lady looking for some great Pinup inspired outfits, check out Pinup Culture in Escondido, CA!

I woke up one early Sunday morning and saw a post on my Facebook newsfeed from fellow photographer Neil Van Niekerk who had written his own entry on a Boudoir photographer by the name of Petra Herrmann.

Petra recently was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Neil was showcasing her photography not only to promote her, but to let people know about the gofundme campaign. Which would help her with her medical bills.

The entry itself highlighted five of the top selling images Petra takes and how to take your own.

I decided to take Petra up on this challenge and put an ad out on Facebook.

If you click on the link to Petra’s work you’ll be able to compare and contrast the images Chary and I shot.

Did you all know Chary likes Cannibal Corpse?

Now I usually work exclusively with Alienbee strobes and Photoflex modifiers. This was one of the few shoots I’ve done in a long time that relied on natural light.

That’s all for this week! Become a fan on the Oni Studio boudoir facebook page. Follow Oni Studio on 500PX, and Model Mayhem!

Rhinestone Cowgirl

Introducing Eva. She’s a gorgeous model and burlesque dancer here in San Diego.

We originally met at the face of Temptress Fashion event over in Ocean Beach. I know I pimp their store a lot but i’ve met so many interesting people there. Also, the clothes they sell make for some absolutely great photos.

Back to Eva. I didn’t coordinate the shoot like a usually do. I do that through Model Mayhem. In fact both my last shoots have been coordinated solely through facebook.

In my opinion this is a superior method of coordinating. Model Mayhem has always gave me some serious heartburn. Most people only check their accounts every few days. This makes communication unreliable and sporadic. Its also anonymous. Anyone can make a profile. This is not safe for the model and photographer alike. What burns me up the new models. You seriously want to try and charge people when your portfolio looks like it was taken by pervo photographers and an Iphone? Idiots!

If you’re a photographers who’s giving these models money do everyone a favor and stop. Ok, i’ll get off my soapbox now, promise!

Back to Eva. Sorry to say ladies and gentleman she is taken! I’ll give you a second to digest this terrible news.

Have you all ever heard of burlesque dancing? Well thats what Eva does. I got the privilege of watching her dance at the Temptress event.

Eva and some of her fellow models are excellent dancers. Before you get dirty minded its not stripping. Although the dances they do have some erotic overtones its still classy.

Eva dances for the Drop Dead Dames Burlesque Revue. They have a host of lovely ladies that dance for them. If i’m lucky you’ll see them here at Oni Studio. Check out Eva dancing at one of their events.

If you have a quick minute become a fan of the Drop Dead Dames facebook page!

I’ll leave you with one of those odd moments that sometimes happen on a shoot. While we were in the parking lot a guy pulled up who knew Eva. He was carrying a pie and I asked him to present it to her. I gave no further instructions, and this is what happened. I was laughing my ass off but managed to get a decent shot.

That’s all for this week! Become a fan on the Oni Studio boudoir facebook page. Follow Oni Studio on 500PX, and Model Mayhem!

Retro Android Glamour

She closed the door to her cabin. The ship lazily rocked back and forth.

Her outfit for the evening lay out on the chair. For now she decided to lounge about in her underwear.

She made a Bloody Mary and turned on the old tube radio. A new band calling itself “Pink Floyd” softly entered the atmosphere.

She finished the drink and opened a silver cigarette case. She put one in her mouth and two hits of blotter underneath her tongue.

She’d need the effect of the blotter for her mission. She hoped Lucifer Sam would be playing then too.

She began to carefully apply her make up. No one must know, no one must suspect.

She was a highly trained operative in her majesties Secret Intelligence Service, or MI6 for short. She had a very special mission. Assassinate Lao She, a Shanghai crime lord and steal a talisman sacred to a book called the Necronomicon. Her name was Dr. Tittyana Jones.

She had never heard about the book and couldn’t care less about the talisman. But orders were orders.  She finished getting dressed. The first tinglings of the blotter began to creep on the edges of her consciousness.

She walked out of her room and toward the ships ballroom. Along the way she passed her silent partner, “short round”. He was a boy she had saved from starvation in Hong Kong. She entered the ballroom, spotted Lao and sat down.

Lao’s face swam, the blotter was in full effect. “Hello Dr. Jones, did you bring the idol Nurhachi?” Not only did she have the small statue, but she had inserted a small explosive charge inside of it. She placed the statue on the table. Lao picked it up and marveled at its beauty. “The talisman Lao, give it to me.” He placed a black box on the table. She opened it up.

The talisman lay inside, shining silver. It seemed to glow. She reached down to pick it up, fingers grasping the metal. An electric shock. Visions. Red sky cracking in half. A tentacle rising from the depth. An inhuman voice chanting….Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn. The whisperer in darkness had returned. She didn’t know if it was real or the effect of the blotter. A sweat had broken out on her for-head and she began to feel sick.

She looked up. Lao and his man were laughing at her. He was holding up a vial of blue liquid. “Whats that?” She asked. “Poison for the antidote you just drank Dr. Jones! Return the talisman and i’ll give it to you.” Instead of giving up the talisman she stuck a knife in the nearest of his guards. The commotion knocked the antidote out of his hands and she raced to retrieve it. Gunfire erupted and the club became pandemonium. At last she jumped out the window and fell down three floors onto a canopy and bounced into her car drove by short round. They quickly sped off towards the airport, talisman in hand.

After high speed chases and a shoot out they arrived. Boarding the plane she turned around to see Lao exit his car. The blotter had twisted her face half mad. She smiled at him and shut the door. The plane took off, next stop, Calcutta.

She had came off the blotter during the ride, sleep overtook her and short round both. Unknown to her the pilots were in the employ of Lao She. They had been waiting for this opportunity and took the only two parachutes along with emptying the fuel tanks. They jumped from the plane and left them to their fate.

She woke up in a start. Something was wrong. The pilot cabin was open and no one was inside. She immediately knew what had happened, it looks like Lao She was going to have the last word after all…or would he?

To be continued…

That’s all for this week! Become a fan on the Oni Studio boudoir facebook page. Follow Oni Studio on 500PX, and Model Mayhem!