Want a fun and easy way to rid yourself of Boudoir Shoot butterflies? A Pillow-fight!  That’ll get the blood flowing and all the nerves will soon disappear. Who can take themselves so seriously after getting whacked in the head with a pillow?  🙂  These shots were taken at my most recent Boudoir Workshop in LA at The Mondrian Hotel… and on that note:

Workshop Announcement: **New Dates Added!… Paris Boudoir Workshop on September 27, 28, 29!  You can find more details at The Paris Boudoir Workshop or click on the photo below.

RSVP by email christa (at) christameola.com

Seating is limited to a very small group, so register soon!

Can’t wait to meet you!

Christa xoxo

ps. Thanks for checking in and checking out my work 🙂  Nice to have you stop by, and I love reading all the recent comments!

More coming soon…   xo, Christa

I love when people surprise me!… a couple of weeks ago, this sweet shy little girl, Kate, called me up to ask if she could model for my Boudoir Photography Workshop as a gift for her fiancee.  I said Sure! She was just so darned adorable – who could turn her down?  Fast-forward to this past weekend, and wow!— she let out all of those other wonderful personalities that women have inside them 🙂  which makes us all so awesome and mysterious…

Take a peek inside Suite #710 of The Mondrian Hotel at the first of Kate’s pics…

Classic and just plain Gorgeous!

My absolute favorite set… so playful and sensual…

(I usually lay around on a Sunday morning like this too.)

Getting feisty!

Boudoir photography is a damn good time, every time.

More of Kate, a pillow-fight, sexy studio pics, and exciting event announcements coming up!…

xxx!

Christa

Nothing like an All-American Girl who’s up for anything! Lisa is a photographer and was an attendee at my most recent Portrait Workshop…. while the Boudoir model was caught in LA Marathon traffic hell, I asked Lisa to jump into the hot seat!  And she happily obliged.  I give her so much respect and credit.  Most girls need to mentally prepare, but no… not Lisa.  We had a quick chat and made some wardrobe changes with what she was wearing:  we took her jeans and rolled them up, took off her shirt and kept the rocker vest on (for awhile!), took her underwear off (sorry is that TMI?)… then I added my high heels, turned the fan on and Lisa rocked it out! She is such a bold, fun, edgy, sexy and beautiful girl – on the inside and out.  Thank you Lisa! for helping me out with your openness and willingness to experiment.

Here are just a few sneak peeks from our awesome Boudoir photography shoot with Lisa…

More sexy pics on the blog soon… The Boudoir Workshop is Sold Out!… for this weekend, and we have talented photographers coming from all over… Massachusetts, Texas, Kansas, and more… and I couldn’t be more excited for the live shoots we have planned!  At the studio, at The Mondrian Hotel on Sunset, and at a residence in Malibu 🙂

Lots of models, lots of photographers, and one helluva good time!

I’ll keep you posted 🙂

xoxo,

Christa

Classic. Beautiful. Feminine. My latest Boudoir shoot at Casa Del Mar was all of those things and more!  When hunting for a Boudoir photographer online, Anna stumbled across one of my Boudoir pictures from my shoot with beautiful Jane… apparently, one of my pictures had won a Boudoir Contest online – without my even knowing or entering!  The web is funny.

So as I always do before a boudoir shoot, I spent time chatting with Anna about who she is, what she loves about her body, what she thinks is sexy/beautiful/sensual… Anna gave me a great run-down of things she loves: vintage lingerie, her legs, romantic photos, and more – all of which we incorporated into her shoot.  I also asked Anna what her husband loves about her and her body… and I LOVE that without hesitation, she said Everything!

There were so many amazing pics of Anna that I’m blogging her boudoir session in two parts 🙂   Note: not all of the images are blogged for privacy reasons 🙂 but these first 2 black & white’s are my absolute favorites!

So beautiful… doesn’t Anna remind you of Carrie Otis?!

How much fun is a girl in bed with a camera?!

Sexy.

Silly and free 🙂

I love shooting in a window… Casa is so great for this, and we’ll be shooting this set-up at my next Boudoir Workshop!

Anna had mentioned to me prior to the shoot that she “never photographs well”  – uh, huh… that’s what they all say 🙂  And nothing makes me happier than when a woman sees her photos and says not only are these the most beautiful photos ever taken of her, but also “You really captured me!” and that’s the part I love 🙂

xoxo,

Christa

ps. more of Anna’s boudoir shoot on the blog this weekend!

***Updated to add: How could I have forgotten to credit my fabulous make-up artist and hair stylist?!  Shannon Jankula is incredible at creating any look my heart desires and is such a dream to work and play with.  Shannon is a talented photographer as well, and is a Christa Meola Portrait Workshop grad.  Keep your eye out for her – she’s taking my Boudoir Workshop on April 10th and 11th, and I know her images will kick ass.  Also, if you mention you’re a big fan of Christa Meola Pictures, you’ll get a huge discount from Shannon for make-up and hair on your next photo shoot or just for a day when you want to feel pampered and extra pretty 🙂

Shooting Boudoir is addicting and a total party! I did a 15-minute boudoir demo shoot with my gorgeous friend Ximena at The Workshop this past weekend.  Ximena is a regular gal, had never done anything like this before, and was totally nervous… which made her the perfect model!  And for most of my 18 workshop attendees, it was their first time shooting boudoir….  ah, I love a good challenge!  They each got time in my studio, shooting one of two models, and by the end of the workshop, I believe 18 little boudoir addicts were born!

I started the demo by sharing my philosophy on what’s beautiful and sexy to me: a woman enjoying herself, having fun, being free and open… and expressing all the wonderfully different facets of being feminine.  It’s not about what you look like, it’s not about what you’re wearing or not wearing… it’s about letting that feminine energy out!  Wooooohooooo….

I talked about creating movement and giving direction (above pic)…

…that laughter is sexy…

…extreeeeeme poses (and a little help from the liquify tool)….

…capturing the beautiful “in-between” moments…

…the importance of sexy little details…

…and your artistic choices in post…

…and making sure to be energetic, keep the laughter going, and the camera clicking!…

I’ll talk more in the coming weeks about shooting Boudoir and being sexy and feminine.  In celebration of Valentine’s Day coming up, I’m giving you my Top 5 Things to do on a Boudoir Shoot, as well as my Favorite Things to Bring to a Boudoir Shoot.

On Monday, I’ll be opening registration for The Boudoir Workshop in LA on April 3^rd and 4^th, and The Boudoir Workshop in Paris! in June, details on that coming soon…

Have a sexy weekend 🙂

xoxo,

Christa

As I wrap up final Christmas Deliveries for clients today, I am so excited to have some time off in the next couple weeks to enjoy the holidays!… I’m almost done with my Christmas shopping, and here’s a little peek at some of the packages… the red & blue is so cheerful right?

PS. the lingerie is from Victoria’s Secret (you can’t go wrong there!)… and the red panties read “Half Nice, Half Naughty” cause you know you’ve been equal amounts of both this year!

Merry Christmas shopping!

xoxo,

Christa