Rachelred as Harley Quinn 2.0

I have a desire to create art in as many forms as possible. Having a favorite comic book character as inspiration lets me create props and costumes that have no business in the real world but play really well through the comic book universe. Harley Quinn has recently become my favorite femme fatale in comics. I have invested in several versions of her costumes from film, comics, and cartoons to utilize in various photo sessions. I also hand-made a variety of props for these sessions including the mallet shown above which was shown briefly in the suicide squad movie. I made a ridiculously over-sized mallet inspired by various comic books, a two-toned corset/bustier, a joker-esque mask, and a prop gun with an over-sized barrel corked with a dead-batman face. You can find images from that session here. For this session, I wanted a simple costume so we made use of this harlequin-design t-shirt and threw in the boots and played with the mallet in a variety of poses.

Happy Halloween :: Scarecrow Pinup

Celebrating Halloween by dressing up in a scarecrow mask and corset. Being both sexy and horrific at the same time. The mask is a custom hand-made prop and is modeled beautifully here. It was a lot of fun doing this shoot playing with the horror genre and applying different lighting setups to play with light and shadow both showing and hiding different aspects of the model and the mask.

The Corset as Art ft. Dame d'Voltaire vol. 2

How do you dress up a corset?
Add a bow tie!

How do you make it even sexier?
Untie it...

The Corset as Art ft. Dame d'Voltaire vol. 1

Exploring dramatic lighting in the studio with new model, Dame d'Voltaire.

Black Lace with Dame d'Voltaire

Boudoir in the studio with Dame d'Voltaire. The lace lingerie is part of my wardrobe kit and fit her perfectly. We worked in the studio together for hours playing with different props, wardrobe, and lighting and created a wide array of looks for us both to develop our portfolios. I love working with new people and collaborating to create images I wouldn't be able to create with anyone else.

Rachelred as Harley Quinn

Halloween is coming and I have begun a new hobby of costume and prop building for cosplay. I hand-built the prop gun, the mallet, the mask, and even the corset body armor she's wearing. I designed and built each of the parts without any reference beyond a passing glance at previous comic book art. While they are all based on Harley Quinn from the comics they are not copying any one design but instead are inspired by all of them. And a huge Thank You goes to Rachelred for modeling my designs for me.

Halloween is Coming ft. Dame d'Voltaire

In anticipation of Halloween I love including skulls with boudoir sessions. Using forced perspective to give a creepy vibe to the poses, here is Dame d'Voltaire playing with my favorite skull.

Boudoir in Blue ft. Rachelred vol. 2

Studio boudoir with Rachelred. The blue lingerie was purchased specifically for this session, and the sheer white robe is part of my existing kit that layered beautifully. The robe is cut below the bust-line and hangs open naturally. It gave her something to play with and she used it to perfection.

Boudoir in Blue ft. Rachelred vol. 1

Boudoir photography is a beautiful and sensual art form. It allows the model to play a role in the studio that is usually kept hidden behind closed doors. Everyone has a different comfort level and their own idea of what boudoir means to them.

Rachelred is a talented model and very comfortable with herself and posing for the camera. During our initial conversations about our next collaboration, we discussed doing boudoir but she had very little of her own lingerie that would work for a photo shoot. I arranged for her to try out several sets of lingerie from a local store and added those pieces to my wardrobe kit specifically for her to wear during her session. The models I work with usually bring their own wardrobe or browse through my existing kit to add diversity to their session. I keep a variety of sizes and styles of lingerie, accessories, and props for different themes in the studio.

Boudoir: Corset & Lace ft. Rachelred vol.2

Continuing my boudoir corset series with Rachelred

Boudoir: Corset & Lace ft. Rachelred vol.1

Exploring the corset as art. It is still one of my all-time favorite pieces of lingerie for boudoir photography.

The Red Dress ft. Rachelred

I had the opportunity to work with Rachelred again recently. Her energy is so amazing when she gets in the studio, she is able to connect with the camera in a way that makes you feel like she's looking in to you personally. Its an amazing talent and the resulting images tell a beautiful story.

Halloween Is Coming ft. Kahlan - TBT

Halloween is my favorite time of year, and as July comes to a close, it becomes a countdown for me. Here we have a series from a past session with Kahlan playing with one of my many skulls. I have so much fun playing in the studio with talented models and capturing how expressive they are in different scenarios. The images within contain nudity and are Not Safe For Work.

Boudoir: Corset and Lace ft. Kat

The corset is such a sexy wardrobe piece. It covers more than most lingerie, while it seems to show something forbidden. The laces down the back have a beautiful symmetry and in the right lighting becomes a piece of art in itself.

Armed: Un-Concealed Carry - TBT

Tattoos, Guns, and Attitude. I've worked with Roxie several times and I haven't had the chance to share all her photos. So here I have an addition to my Throw Back Thursday posts. All the guns belong to her, are unloaded, and safe to pose with in the studio. No ammunition was even brought into the building to ensure safety for both of us. The series was a lot of fun to shoot and includes a lot of her favorite firearms and masks. The images below contain nudity and are NSFW

Curtain Call ft. Kat

Studio photography has the potential to get repetitive and stale. How do you avoid that? You have to find a way to reinvent and renew your small space. Props are a great way to add a little variety to each pose and it gives the model something to interact with as well. In this instance, my prop of choice wa a set of sheer, white curtains I have hung in my studio. I didn't have to give much direction here. My main instruction was to wrap yourself in the fabric and play a sexy peek-a-boo game with the camera. Its one of those series where you want to keep looking to see if there's more to see.

Day of the Dead - Life & Death

Welcome to the next installment of my mask series. In this instance, I layered a second mask designed to look like an aged skull and affixed it with strong magnets to eliminate additional straps or attachments. I wanted to have a juxtaposition of beauty & horror with a life & death mask. I painted the skull piece to completion before beginning the beauty design in blue. By doing this, I was able to align the nose and teeth more accurately between the two layers. Having two complete and separate masks, I can easily use them together or separately and still maintain a complete look. The beauty mask stands on its own and doesn't need to make use of the skull appliance. My technique for applying the magnets to the skull piece also allows it to be used independently if my model chose to adhere magnets to her skin using a makeup glue. This has not yet been a chosen method but perhaps in the future, I will find a model willing to experiment with that look.

No Evil

Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil

I love this series. There are so many ways to interpret each pose. The images I composited all seemed a good match with each other, but I will also include some outtakes below. A huge thank you goes out to Kat for bringing her own spin on this set.

Day of the Dead - Blood Lust

This is the next installment in my mask-making series. I have been creating masks as a hobby to build on my creative impulses. This is a continuation of my first tear-away Day of the Dead mask with this one being much more graphic with drips and blood stains across the entire face of the mask. All the blood details between the masks are hand-sculpted and are 3-D with hand-painted detail in varying shades of red to simulate blood and muscle beneath the surface. The smaller mask attaches with magnets embedded within the sculpture so no strings or fasteners are visible. The eye sockets are filled with black and red lace in order to separate the model's eyes from the mask. Black silk roses are splattered with red paint to mimic blood splatter and matches the other details on the masks. The juxtaposition of the horror of the mask and the beauty of the model is my new favorite technique.

The Fan as Art ft. Kat

My all-time favorite prop is definitely the folding, fabric fan. Fans offer a barrier to the model as a way to hide themselves from the viewer, in whole or in part. It lets her show only what she wants you to see, whether she is hiding her face or her body, you only get to see what she allows.

Card Guard - The Ace of Spades

As a continuation of my mask-making  hobby, here is the next edition. These are based on the idea of the card guard from the Alice madness video game. The suit of the card is embedded in the face of the skull making the eyes disappear within the design. The skull bikini is another of my creative builds for this session. I used two Halloween skull decorations with some creative manipulation and a special paint job to match them to the skull mask. I love the juxtaposition of the horror mask on a beautiful model. Thanks to Kat for helping me showcase this design.