Trash the dress, a new type of wedding photo-shoot that has recently gained more popularity, has taken the bridal world by storm. Many new brides are looking for something unique and different and something to add to that special day. 

When we think of wedding photography things like formal pictures of brides and groom and the family come to mind. Pretty pictures of the bride looking like a princess on her special day. The highlights of the event like the kiss, ring exchange, cake cutting, and the bouquet toss. All those shots are necessary, but wouldn’t it be great to have something a bit more original?

Some women book their trash the dress shoot a few days after their wedding. They add it to their wedding experience and never look back. Others keep their dress in the closet for years, forgetting all about it until the idea them. What’s the point of keeping it watching it yellow with age? It’s only a silent reminder of younger years, crazy experiences and pounds since gained. Would it not better serve its purpose by giving you one more memory? One more exciting experience to be had! A boost of self-confidence and most of all another day of crazy fun! 

To illustrate my interpretation of the trash the dress shoots I had Brandy in the studio had her bring her old wedding dress and borrowed another dress from my friend Jen.  I had been inspired by a few other really good trash the dress shoots by Lindsay Adler and Karen Loudon photography both of which are just amazingly talented ladies! 

Ladies before I forget I wanted to get a word in from Ashley of  Make-Up Your Mind artistry: In addition to working with Oni Studio, I also do a lot of bridal makeup. I originally started my business with the idea of bridal work as my main focus. However, upon meeting Victoria and Travis and working with so many of their awesome clients, I have switched my focus to a more boudoir and pin up style. Now that wedding season is upon us and is in full swing, I really wanted to show off my ability to rock and conquer the bridal world. Victoria and I have been talking for quite some time about a bridal shoot, so to see the finished product is beyond gratifying!

We started the shoot with a more natural look, something that would be perfect for a day time summer or spring wedding. Peach cheeks, a subtle lip and brown eyeliner smudged into the lash line just to enhance eye shape and lashes. Natural and fresh is perfect for day time weddings. We then moved into a more dramatic look, for evening, fall and winter weddings, also with our “trash the dress” shoot in mind. I smoked out her eyes with a little muted black and grey, followed up with wedged black eyeliner to make her eyes stand out and pop. Once we got out to the site for our dress trashing fun, I applied a darker lip color for more of an edgy look. Over all I couldn’t be happier with the way it all turned out! I shouldn’t be too surprised though, because everything Oni Studio does comes out amazing! -Thanks Ashley! 

So stop saving that dress hoping one day your daughter might wear it. Stop looking at it in longing, screw sentimental value! Get it out of the closet and let’s burn it! 

Like I posted in my last entry I purchased an awesome new background from Serendipity Backgrounds, as you can see from the shots I used here with the trash the dress shoot it looks amazing! Can’t wait to get another one! 

You all may have also noticed a slight change in the design of our blog, this is all thanks to The Album Cafe, our one stop shop for designs! if you have a quick minute stop on by and check out their wares! 

That’s it for now dear constant reader, we’ll be back soon with an exciting entry on how Oni Studio went to Greece and all the sexiness that followed! Until then, keep up with our new projects, ideas and fun photo shoots by becoming a fan on our Facebook page!

 We are also on Twitter, Pinterest and Google Plus!

Film Noir, the name brings to mind the romantic look and feel of the films of Yesteryear. The film noir look is mainly a term from the classic Hollywood cinema days depicting old crime dramas with plenty of sex, intrigue, murder, and many other elements that came from the depression era of the United States.

Ever since seeing Humphrey Bogart, Marlene Dietrich, and other classic famous actors and actresses in these classic noir films I have wanted to try and recreate the look. I still feel I have yet to come up with the perfect noir technique, but  as you all have seen from my previous blog entry here, it is fast becoming a favorite of mine! If your wondering about the background behind Miss D, it came from Serendipity Backgrounds, in fact it was my first order with them, it came very quickly, and was quick and simple to set up, and I love how it photographs, I highly recommend getting one of your own! 

I hope you all enjoy these images and make sure to share your love to the model, Miss D, who was kind enough to let me share these with you all, not only is she  multi-talented singer and photographer, but sexy as hell!!! 

Gotta admit, I love girls with tattoos! 

This was one of my absolute favorites of Miss D’s images, when it comes to projecting raw sexual power this girl can bring it!

Straight forward and to the point, well said Miss D!

The last bit I’d like to share is the publication of our images in issue nine, June edition of Cat’s Meow Magazine! I can’t think of a better way to start the day than to wake up, check my email and have a message from a magazine editor telling me they have published not one, but two of my images!! Thank you Bri and Miss A, I couldn’t have done it without you!

Keep up with our new projects, ideas and fun photo shoots by becoming a fan on our Facebook page.

 We are also on Twitter, Pinterest and Google Plus!

Legends and fairy tales. The appeal to this genre may seem strange to some, but for me this has been a theme I’ve visited many times with my art and photography. For me fairytales hold appeal because they represent a break from the hum-drum many of us experience with our daily lives. When we were young fairytales seemed to be within easy reach and becoming a princess or astronaut seemed as sure as our morning cereal. As we get older the reality sits in and those childhood dreams seem about as possible as pole vaulting to the moon. This is why I always seek to break away from traditional photography and use different techniques and products that will give my clients a piece of fairytale they can have forever. 

I draw inspiration for my fairytale images from many different places. The largest being the work of other great artist such as Natalie Shau in Lithuania, Dorian Cleavenger in Pennsylvania, Lindsay Adler, (with whom I just finished a very awesome class over at creativeLIVE) and many more I’d love to list, but don’t think I’d have the room!

Another reason for fairytale type photography was to set ourselves apart. When we first started Oni Studio we had no idea how many of other photographers there were in the area, and how much competition there was in this industry. Although at that time we were so amateur we couldn’t really call ourselves competition, lol! Once we really got to looking, we found seven other photographers in five mile radius of us. Many of these photographers had been in business for quite a while, were very established and producing very good quality images. It was an intimidating prospect and for a long time we just practiced with our camera trying to see if this was something we really wanted to get heavily invested in. We realized very early in the game that if we wanted to stand out amongst our peers and become successful in the photography industry we would have to produce not only high quality images, but images that would instantly be recognized as our style.  Since I had always been interested in dark fantasy and fairytales I wanted to incorporate it into my photography.  I want people to look at a photograph and right away recognize it and say, “that’s Oni Studio’s work!”.

One of the things I have always been interested in is incorporating fantastic props into our pictures. I didn’t want it to come across as tacky or gimmicky, I wanted the props to add to the image, not be the focus of it, and this is always tricky to pull off. One day while I was browsing Etsy I came across a seller named “Posh Fairytale Couture”, which featured some of the most beautiful photo props I have ever seen. I spent about thirty minutes on her page just in awe of her work. After talking with Rachel, the owner of the company, I discovered she was not only a talented creator, but a very beautiful and nice person, and she was also a military spouse like me!  I cannot recommend Rachel and her company enough. When I was buying the props from her she kept me updated throughout the construction and sent me instragrams of my head dress. Now I know where I’m getting my props from for the next couple of years!

It’s strange, but during the edit the piece began looking familiar to me, and then I realized what I was doing, making it look like “Lily” from the movie “Legend”, (at least subconsciously). I’m sure many of you have never seen this 1986 sleeper film starring Tom Cruise and directed by Ridley Scott, but if you have kids or you like fantasy film it’s a great one to pick up.

The inspiration for this piece were mighty warriors and sci-fi fiction movies. Gold is a very rich decadent color it says power, fame, ambition. I love how the black tones set off the golds! The skull is painted gold as a symbol of strength in humanity, our dominion over animals and respect to them for being a food source. I love to use recycled items in my pieces. It’s a re-birth of what used to be. -Posh Fairytale Couture

The last, (and maybe most exciting!) bit we would like to share with you is the publication of one of my favorite images I did in Essere Magazine! Although the image is one of our older ones it’s still one of my favorites.

Keep up with our new projects, ideas and fun photo shoots by becoming a fan on our Facebook page.

 We are also on Twitter, Pinterest and Google Plus!

Ever go into a Sherwin Williams and ask them if it were safe to throw latex paint on a naked girl? Welcome to my world! Now two years ago not only would have asking a total stranger such a question seemed strange to me, but these days I almost constantly find myself in some type of new and adventurous situation, but back to the story.  So while I was there I asked one of the guy employees, “What’s the best paint to get to throw on a naked body?”

The guy looked at me for a second and asked me to repeat “that last part”. I bet that was the first time he heard that kind of request at work! He regained his composure quickly and helped me select the appropriate brand of paint. To make his decision he asked me questions like “how the paint will be applied” and “how long it will stay on”. He was a big help and I walked out of the store a happy customer with a funny story to share with our fans on our Facebook page. Come to find out that one of our fans knows the guy from the store and had already heard the whole story!

If you’re wondering why I was in the Whidbey Island Sherwin Williams harassing poor innocent employees it’s because we had seen a post by Cat’s Meow magazine advertising that their upcoming issue had a latex and pasties theme and I thought I could kill two birds with one stone, and get to throw paint on someone!  For those that have never heard of Cat’s Meow it’s a very slick publication featuring new and upcoming models, photographers and others in the creative industry, very worth checking out!

This is a little backwards, but the first set we actually did that day was against our new brick Candy Stick Background from Backdrop Outlets. I wanted it to look like she was standing in a dark alley under a street light.  I positioned one of the Einstein lights with a standard 7 inch reflector on a boom right over the models face and an Alienbees with a softbox to the side of her to open up some of the shadows.

 The result was an evenly lit face and chest area, which is what I wanted the viewer to notice first. The rest of the body, though still visible, was in a deep shadow. It was one of the first times I had attempted low key lighting such as this, and while I’m still no expert I did capture the feeling I was trying to impart, and I’d love to hear your thoughts!

 The wardrobe was found when Miss C and I went shopping at Lover’s in Burlington, WA. I always love going there, and the fact that Cold Stone Creamery is right across the street has nothing to do with it! There are always really cute outfits to choose from and anything from leather to lace. We needed a pair of skin tight pants to go with the top that Miss C already had (bought from Lover’s earlier) and of course we found exactly what we were looking for.

Thats all for now dear constant reader, I have to thank Miss C for coming over and letting me splash her with paint, thanks so much! 

Keep up with our new projects, ideas and fun photo shoots by becoming a fan on our Facebook page.

 We are also on Twitter, Pinterest and Google Plus!

“They all float down here, and when you’re down here, you’ll float too!” To those of you who have never read Stephen King’s “It”, or saw the terrible made for TV movie, those words may not make much sense. To those who have seen the movie you will undoubtedly be reminded of the eight foot tall sewer clown.  This project was an obvious tribute to one of the scariest books I’ve ever read. We initially saw a still shot from Stephen King’s “It” and got inspired to recreate it in our own unique way. Stephen King has long been one of my favorite authors, and his book “It” was always my favorite of his. I had originally read it in the sixth grade and it scared me so bad I stayed up for weeks. When I saw we had a chance to pay a little tribute to my favorite book I jumped at the chance!

As explained in our first blog entry one of the ways we keep our creative juices flowing is to take on projects. These projects allow us to take our time and experiment and give us complete control over the final outcome. Since doing extensive experiments on paying clients isn’t ethically feasible for us as a business, these projects are essential for the training we have to do to always assure we are bringing you, the client, a superior product.

To begin a project like this we had to find a scary clown. For most people that would be a problem, but fortunately for us we get to meet some pretty interesting people in this business. Mr. Boyle, our scary clown, had thoroughly victimized us at the Haunted House at the Whidbey Roller Barn, and we knew he would be perfect for this!

Finding a model to fit this role was another matter entirely, in fact we searched for over a month before finally meeting Sharon, (AKA Opposable Model) not only was she eager to participate, but brought a lot of creative ideas to the project as well.

Ashley from “Make-Up Your Mind” brought it all together with her amazing skill, and with the team assembled we were set!

The following account was written by Opposable Model:

Victoria and I started planning, she got a wig from Gothic Lolita, I got some shoes, and it all began to come together. The day we settled on was a Friday and the night before that I was already going to be in Seattle for a shoot with Brady Hall so I stayed there for the night and drove up to Oak Harbor the next morning. When I got to her house, Victoria informed me that her faithful friend Ashley (the wizard behind Make-Up Your Mind) would be over soon with her adorable daughter in tow. She offered me coffee and brownies (both of which were amazing!) and we hit it off right away, chatting, laughing and sorting through the wardrobe items I had brought to figure out what would work out best.

Ashley arrived with the most extensive makeup kit I have ever seen and went to work right away doing all sorts of things to my face I don’t even know how to explain. One of them was an airbrush thing that made me look like I was made out of porcelain, and then there were the false eyelashes (top AND bottom!), lipstick, eyebrows and all sorts of other things that you may never even think of but are important in achieving the desired look.

The make-up looked fantastic, and the wig Victoria had bought just tied it all together. We packed up our bags, loaded everyone up and drove off to the location. On the way there we definitely caused a few heads to turn. Imagine, if you will, a procession of two cars, one of which has a porcelain doll in the front seat and a back seat filled with black and red balloons, and the second of which is being driven by a clown. Definitely one of the weirdest things people saw in Oak Harbor that day.

The location that Victoria had found was perfect for the shoot and even though the day was sunny, the house was so gloomy and old looking that it didn’t really matter. We trotted over to it and started getting set up. Now I’ve really got to hand it to Brian, because there is a huge difference between dressing up as a creepy clown and BEING a creepy clown and he took being a creepy clown to a whole new level. He ran, he jumped, he danced, he lurked, he slunk, he crept, he did everything possible to make himself as terrifying and photo worthy as he could.

Victoria started shooting and after a while gave up being angry at the sunlight and just started being delighted about how the shots were coming out. I remember at one point she looked at her camera and just started laughing and declared, “This is so %$#@^&* amazing!” That was when I knew it was going to turn out fine.

We shot in a couple different locations around the house, including an old outhouse behind the main building and a tree in the side yard. Originally we thought Brian the clown should climb the tree and be up there staring down at me, but it was slippery and the bark wasn’t easy to climb so we changed ideas and he boosted me up onto the limb where I had a ridiculously fun time clinging onto a tree branch for dear life while he jumped up and down on the ground underneath trying to tear my shoes off. Seriously, this is the part of modeling that I love more than the makeup and the beauty and all of that stuff. It’s being able to be lifted up into a tree looking like a doll and have a clown jumping up and down under me trying to grab at my legs knowing that the person behind the camera is going to capture something amazing and that in that moment I am a part of something so cool and so fun that people will see it and think, “I want to do a shoot like that!”

When it was all said and done everybody was happy with the way that it turned out and we parted ways after some hugging and letting our balloons float away into the sky (shhhh, don’t tell anyone we littered!). We drove back to Victoria’s house she took one last head shot of me with the wig and makeup and I changed back into my street clothes and headed back to Bellingham. I had kept the makeup on because it was just so pretty I couldn’t bear to take it off yet and on the way home I got a sudden craving for a sweet, icy coffee drink so I pulled off at a Starbucks and got one. I remember pulling back out onto the freeway; drink in hand, thinking to myself, “This is the life. My face looks fantastic. I’m drinking an expensive drink, driving down the highway (in my friend’s car) and I just got to be a part of one of the funnest shoots I’ve worked on to date.”

~Sharon a.k.a. Opposable Model

The low down on how Ashley did the make up:

I first want to say that I am so excited that I got to be apart of this shoot. I had originally told Victoria that I had a doctors appointment and couldn’t make it. I ended up canceling the appointment 2 hours before the shoot and came to the makeup rescue. (can you tell where my priorities lie?) Of course I had heard a little about the shoot idea, but I didn’t know much else about Victoria’s vision. I can honestly say out of all the shoots I have done with Oni, I was least prepared for this one. (As far as knowing what direction I’m headed in regards to the look and feel of the shoot.) So when I met Sharon I was still trying to piece everything together in my head. In the end, I just let go of trying to plan everything and let the creativity flow. I knew I wanted a dark eye, something exaggerated, beautiful, but verging a little on the creepy side. That is where the white eyeliner came into play on the bottom waterline. It gives the illusion of a larger eye. Then I topped that off by over exaggerating the black liner under the eye, and used a pair of eyelashes on the skin under the liner as well as a pair of upper lashes. The effect turned out amazing! I couldn’t have been happier! Sharon was so paitent and let me do whatever I wanted and took it like a champ! She even let my 2 year old sit in her lap while I was working and managed to keep her occupied while being so easy to work with. I loved everything about this shoot and am so happy with how it all turned out, and look forward to working with Sharon again someday!

~Ashley, Make-Up Your Mind

Thats all for now dear constant reader, I want to say thanks to everyone involved. Sharon for being so versatile and flexible. Brian for being the best damn creepy clown I have ever met. Ashley for being a master of your craft. And of course Johanna for handling that crazy clown and being my right hand at the shoot! 

Keep up with our new projects, ideas and fun photo shoots by becoming a fan on our Facebook page.

 We are also on Twitter, Pinterest and Google Plus!

This time I wanted to do a location shoot and after talking it over with Crystal we decided to meet at the railroad tracks in Burlington, WA.

I invited my friend Lola to come along and help out. She is not new to the scene either. Lola is also a model and has shot with us a few times. She also brings her fun personality and expertise to the table, and even though she does not know it yet, she is my new assistant =)

The day started out perfect. It was a little rainy and overcast, exactly what I had in mind, but when we got to Burlington, the sun came out! What are the chances of that here in Washington? Still, we got a lot of great shots. Some were planned…

And some just kind of happened…

Believe it or not, but in this picture Crystal is still wearing her dress! This is one of the reasons I love photography… the control you get to show whatever you want your viewer to see. Here are a few more of my favorite shots:

We also all hit it off as friends and she began helping us out with training and experimental shoots and hanging out. She helped us a lot by letting us practice on her, and many of the things we have learned we have in incorporated into our everyday shooting style, here is a sampling of some of our favorite shots with her over the last two or three years:

We even ended up shooting Bri’s wedding, which we were honored to do, the mosquitoes were a tad thick but it was great fun!

Bri and her husband are off to Colorado now, we’d love to wish them good luck and good fortune and thanks for the memories!

Washington Boudoir, Silverdale boudoir, Port Orchard boudoir, Banger boudoir, Orcas Island Boudoir, San Juan Island Boudoir, Lopez Island Boudoir, Bellingham Boudoir, Anacortes Boudoir, Skagit Boudoir, La Conner Boudoir, NAS Whidbey Boudoir, Camano Island Boudoir, Arlington Boudoir, Freeland Boudoir, Burlington Boudoir, Sedro Wooley Boudoir, Ferndale Boudoir, Mt. Vernon Boudoir, outdoor maternity photography, nude art photography, artistic nude photography, female nude photography, nude photography, nude glamour photography, nude models, nude photos, naked girls, pregnancy portraits, sex videos, boudoir photographer, pin up washington,implied nudes, Orcas Island pin up, San Juan Island pin up, Lopez Island pin up, Bellingham pin up, Anacortes pin up, Skagit pin up, La Conner pin up, NAS Whidbey pin up, Camano Island pin up, Arlington pin up, Freeland pin up, Burlington pin up, Sedro Wooley pin up, Ferndale pin up, Mt. Vernon pin up, Seattle pin up, Tacoma pin up, Seattle boudoir, Tacoma boudoir, things to do in washington, things to do in seattle, things to do in whidbey island, sexy gift ideas, valentines day gift ideas, modeling, glamour photography, boudoir photos, boudoir photographers, boudoir pictures, what does boudoir mean, boudoir wife, bridal boudoir, boudoir photography directory, tasteful pictures of women, photography FAQ, Oni Studio, Oni Studio blog, boudoir keywords, boudoir SEO, boudoir marketing

The first thing we do is scour the internet for a picture or idea we would either like to recreate or expand upon. Granted recreating another artist work isn’t the most original thing in the world but the process of studying how another artist created something in the absence of them telling you is a great educational experience. For the spider woman shoot I found the picture on the internet and instantly fell in love with it, it was created by a photographer named John Farrar, who is a most phenomenal photographer. Here is the original picture we found:

After saving the photograph the first phase of the project began, recruitment. Like usual the recruitment process began by posting the photograph on our Oni Studio facebook page and asking for volunteers, the photograph generated many responses, including a KISW rock girl, but for some reason or another I never picked out anyone.

One day while at work I saw a girl from the side and for just a second a picture of her in a skimpy super hero outfit flashed through my mind, (creepy I know) and I asked her if she was interested. Her name was Kat, and she readily agreed, stating she loved to have her picture taken and always wanted to try a professional shoot. Heres a pic of Kat similar to what I saw that day:

This phase has pitfalls as well though, once someone has been picked the wife and I move along with other parts of the shoot process such as deciding on lighting and background trusting the model is doing what she needs to do. Sometimes the model will have done nothing claiming she has no idea where to buy outfits, can’t afford outfits, or hasn’t had time, ect. This usually means we have to find a new model. However Kat seemed to take the assignment seriously and not long after our first discussion informed us she was in Burlington shopping for a new outfit, impressive!

In the meantime we were trying to get availability from Ashley our makeup artist, and I started to sympathize with my wife a bit more. Since this was the first time I had headed a project I was unaware of the challenges that came along with it. First I didn’t have anyone’s number, true I could have gotten it but I have a phobia about saving numbers in my phone, (weird I know) so relied on facebook as my communication tool, which in my opinion was ineffective as Kat and Ashley would message me, and I would lose it, or they would lose my message,

Anyway, finally after multiple schedule failures we all came together for the shoot, Kat got straight into makeup, here’s a few pics of the process:

Just sitting down, getting started!!

This was about an hour into it I think, Kat is finding out this is harder than she thought!

Last thing is the lips!

Finally after over two hours of Ashley applying the makeup we are done, in my opinion this is some of Ashley’s finest work, she was very self critical, but everyone in attendance was more than happy!

We then moved on to the shoot itself, Victoria and I had argued (errrr debated) over the light set up, we wanted to recreate the lighting we saw on the photo, you learn a lot trying to copy lighting, its very exploratory and you pick up new tricks and techniques you can use in paid shoots, however again it’s not very original. This was one of our first attempts:

Uh oh! Something we didn’t take into account, Kat being nervous in front of the camera! After a bit she really loosened up and started having fun! However, we like for the models to do a little more than have fun, for lack of a better term and especially to be invited back for more projects they have to be able to focus and “bring it” or emotionally connect with the camera and viewer. We think Kat pulled that off in these next few pics:

Hope you enjoyed our first major blog post, we hope they will get better and better, tune in next time for our next upcoming project, codenamed, “The Kiss” here is the concept photograph by Tanya Chalkin:

Our next upcoming project, if you’re interested in volunteering contact us for further information, volunteers will receive a high resolution printable disk of the shoot, a chance to work with us again, and our undying gratitude!

  Washington Boudoir, Orcas Island Boudoir, San Juan Island Boudoir, Lopez Island Boudoir, Bellingham Boudoir, Anacortes Boudoir, Skagit Boudoir, La Conner Boudoir, NAS Whidbey Boudoir, Camano Island Boudoir, Arlington Boudoir, Freeland Boudoir, Burlington Boudoir, Sedro Wooley Boudoir, Ferndale Boudoir, Mt. Vernon Boudoir, outdoor maternity photography, nude art photography, artistic nude photography, female nude photography, nude photography, nude glamour photography, nude models, nude photos, naked girls, pregnancy portraits, sex videos, boudoir photographer, pin up washington,implied nudes, Orcas Island pin up, San Juan Island pin up, Lopez Island pin up, Bellingham pin up, Anacortes pin up, Skagit pin up, La Conner pin up, NAS Whidbey pin up, Camano Island pin up, Arlington pin up, Freeland pin up, Burlington pin up, Sedro Wooley pin up, Ferndale pin up, Mt. Vernon pin up, Seattle pin up, Tacoma pin up, Seattle boudoir, Tacoma boudoir, things to do in washington, things to do in seattle, things to do in whidbey island, sexy gift ideas, valentines day gift ideas, modeling, glamour photography, boudoir photos, boudoir photographers, boudoir pictures, what does boudoir mean, boudoir wife, bridal boudoir, boudoir photography directory, tasteful pictures of women, photography FAQ, Oni Studio, Oni Studio blog, boudoir keywords, boudoir SEO, boudoir marketing,