Tag Archive: workshops

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Alison, No. 2

Hello and Happy Monday! It’s so great to be back to regular blogging – I’ve missed you guys! As you may know, I recently got a new book deal and have been working hard cranking out brand-new & seriously juicy training to make the Sept. 1st deadline. Tons of shoots are being lined up, my office walls are becoming plastered with a collage of book material, and I’m psyched to dive even deeper into how to photograph women. 

I’ll be sharing bits of this book writing journey with you, as well as posting pics from recent shoots – such as the beautiful and elegant Alison. We had a phenomenal shoot together and did such a wide variety of set-ups. If you missed Alison, No. 1 – you’ve got to check that out for some gorgeous nudes, booty shots, and lingerie focused boudoir.

For this set, we wanted to create slightly androgynous portraits with a fashion feel. Elegant yet strong. Beautiful and fun…


I challenged Alison to push way outside her comfort zone (can you believe she is actually quite shy?), and jump out into this luxury hotel hallway wearing nothing but a necklace, Jimmy Choos and a smile for this set of sepia-toned nudes…




Saucy, no?

Alison’s shoot was such tremendous fun and a transformation for both of us. I’m so honored that she trusted me to guide her in this amazing & sensual journey.

And for those who’ve asked: oh heck yeah! I’m super excited about the new book and will fill you in on the details as we get a bit further along.

In the meantime, feel free to send me good writing juju, and I’ll be seeing you here on the blog…

xoxo, 

Christa


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Monica

One of the coolest things I love about being a photographer is that I get to know people intimately. I’m the type of shooter who wants to know what makes you tick, what you love about yourself, your life, your marriage, your body, or whatever the reason that has you and I come together on both sides of the camera.

No matter how well I know my closest friends, I get such a deeper appreciation for and understanding of who they are when I take their pictures.

One of my favorite people in the world is the lovely Monica. She is such a brilliant person – smart, beautiful, gutsy and a truly fascinating woman. We met last year in Italy and immediately became fast friends. We lived on the same hillside in Florence a short walk from each other, and we’d often get together for apertivo hour in town, a long hike around the Tuscan hills, train rides to nearby cities together and always long chats about life, love and art.

At the end of my stay in Italy, we did a shoot for Monica. No particular occasion, except to celebrate her life at that moment in time.

A mosquito net and tanned skin signify summertime in Italy…

 Originally from Egypt, raised in the states, a year or two in Venice & Paris and now currently residing in a small Tuscan villa with a vineyard as her front yard….

Monica loves family heirlooms… I covet this bracelet – a gift from her mom and the purse was her grandmother’s…

Practically inseparable from her bike, Monica rides daily about an hour to and from work. She’s a fine art tour guide for the museums in Florence.

She FLIES down the hill, without a helmet. Our mutual friend, Federica, calls her “pazza!” (crazy!)

…just a little celebration of the simple daily rituals of a beautiful life in Italy – a walk in the fresh air around the landscape, a thrilling bike ride to work, lounging around in lingerie, a cup of tea in pretty cups with a friend…

…it’s the simple things!

Have a beautiful day,

xo Christa


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The Clothesline

What a fabulous week! It was packed with a wonderful variety of shoots… superstar entrepreneurs, family, boudoir and nudes. Whew! I love variety :)

Add to it the most gorgeous sunny weather in NYC lately, and I’ve been just skipping through the park. Literally.

Here are a few sunny nudes to match my mood today…


Have a gorgeous weekend!

(I know it’s only Thursday, but I’m getting started early :)

Lots of love,

Christa


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How to Flatter Every Woman

LOVED shooting Miss M at my recent creativeLIVE Boudoir Workshop! She is curvelicious and knows it. I get asked so often how to flatter curvy women, and it’s really the simplest thing ever – most curvy gals (especially the ones stepping in front of a camera) absolutely adore their body and dig their curves. Most men do too :)

We spent the entire first day of the workshop discussing how to work with women, flatter every size and shape, relax nervous clients and bring out the best in every woman. We covered essential posing, shooting & lighting techniques that every photographer can rely on to capture gorgeous photographs…


During the creativeLIVE workshop, we covered posing and how slight adjustments in posture can really enhance curves. For example, dropping her left elbow behind her body, putting her hand at the height of her hip, dropping her knee and working that extreme posture all work together to enhance this gorgeous gal’s hour-glass figure… (and let’s be honest: wearing a corset helps too :)

We also discussed crossing your subject’s arms in her lap when shooting a close-up. Again, creating lines that curve when they hit the end of the frame…

I also demonstrated how coaching actions is a simple way to create natural movement (instead of stiff poses), eliminate your subject’s nerves, and create photographs with some emotion and life!

A woman enjoying herself and her body, getting undressed, smiling and flirting is just too cute and so damn sexy… These were just a few of the actions I coached while shooting. (ps. and as I said throughout the workshop – make sure to add the FAN!)

Lastly, good posture is divine: straight back, relaxed shoulders, elongated neck, chin/hips/chest out… easy peasy.

These were just a few of the tips covered in my 3-day creativeLIVE Boudoir Workshop (more photos & tips coming soon!).

But the real secret sauce to flatter any woman regardless of your subject’s size, shape or age: focus on her personality, confidence, her favorite features / body parts, and her enjoying herself!

That’s it baby.

Because the sexiest trait in a woman is happiness, and confidence is the sexiest thing a woman can wear.

xo Christa

ps. I’m coming to you from Vegas baby – here for WPPI. If you’re attending, stop by and say hello! I’ll be judging the print competition in the Portrait category on Sat and Sun. And I’ll be teaching a MasterClass in Boudoir on Wed at 2:30p – since it’s a MasterClass, the seating is limited, so snag one by registering online for my class when registering for WPPI. If you’re already registered for the conference, sign-up for my class by calling 1.877.779.3127. See you there!


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creativeLIVE “After Dark” Fine Art Nude Sneak Peek

Wow, it’s been a jam-packed and amazing weekend teaching for creativeLIVE so far. Last night we shot their first ever “After Dark” segment with a focus on Fine Art Nudes. I shot with a gorgeous figure model for an hour and half with 3 different backgrounds and lighting set-ups, and I had such an incredible time!

Our in-studio participants said it was their favorite segment thus far as well, and saw a totally different part of me come alive. I am in the zone when shooting nudes. Many aspects are completely different from shooting boudoir with real women, and both are integral aspects of my brand and business, which was part of the discussion during this “After Dark” segment.

You can watch a sweet sneak peek trailer of the After Dark segment here.

I would love to share my passion for shooting Fine Art Nudes with you, and I hope that you get a chance to watch it via the download you can purchase.. You will see that my shooting style is different from the rest of the weekend’s shoots, in how I coach & pose my model, my rhythm of shooting, my energy and my focus. I think it’s a valuable and essential practice for the boudoir photographer, with skills you can bring into building a successful business.

Here’s a little sneak peek….

Nude model + sheer fabric + fan = one of my all-time favorite set-ups!…










Thanks so much for tuning in and sharing your love via comments, tweets and Facebook updates – I am so grateful for all the enthusiasm! It has been such a powerful and fun experience sharing my love for and experience in this industry with creativeLIVE’s worldwide audience.

Tune in to Day 3 today for one more surprise, a couple more shoots and discussion about building a successful business – sales, pricing and marketing.

Lots of love, nudity and inspiration!

xoxo Christa

ps. you are able to watch the “After Dark” shooting segment with purchase of the download  (which is a freaking steal at $99) when you buy it before end of day today!


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creativeLIVE Sneak Peek, Mercedes

Just flew into Seattle Monday night and had an awesome day with the creativeLIVE crew, met up with Chase Jarvis, and did a couple of pre-shoots for my upcoming creativeLIVE Boudoir Workshop. We’re busy preparing some hot and sexy fun for you all, but I wanted to give you a quick sneak peek of the sexy fun in store!…










If you’d like to watch me shoot and see behind the scenes of this shoot went down, get it in gear and get signed up for the FREE live event this weekend!

More soon :)

Christa

ps. Once you enroll now, you’ll receive timely reminders so you don’t miss a thing!


creativeLIVE Boudoir Workshop, Sneak Peek

Happy Saturday!

Less than a week til my creativeLIVE Boudoir Workshop and I’m getting EXCITED! We have lots of sexy surprises in store for you, so I thought I’d share a super quick run down of the hot & sassy weekend we have coming up real soon!

CLICK PLAY to get the juicy deets…

ENROLL NOW

See ya online from Seattle!

xoxo Christa


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Monet at Musee´ de l’Orangerie

Couldn’t you just get lost in these colors? I’m missing Paris, and thought I’d post some fine art inspiration for your weekday. I love when art & the environment it’s housed in is so perfectly suited for each other, and Monet at Musee´ de l’Orangerie is a sublime example. Take a peek…


…settles my soul, I tell ya.

To see another fine art space that is truly magical and lights my fire, check out one of my favorite posts: Passion at Musee´ Rodin.

Live inspired,

Christa xoxo


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Happy New Year!

Happy 2012 everyone! Hope you all had a blast ringing in the new year last night in whatever way you chose to celebrate. It was my first new year’s eve in NYC, and it was the most memorable one ever. I accompanied a photographer friend to the absolute BEST, most fun, out of control, off the hook, luxury uptown hotel wedding, and indulged in dance, lobster, wedding cake, cocktails, interesting characters, and new friends til it was well into morning and light outside.

And now, onto 2012!

Wishing you lots of amazing moments in the new year!

Christa



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Hotel Tryst + Podcast Interview

This band-groupie bad-girl Marilyn Monroe inspired shoot was so much fun. And even more so because it was with my good friend Claire, who loves dive bars, rockstars and black & white photographs. So here ya go love :)

MY INTERVIEW ON SHOOT TO KILL PODCAST
Good news: I’ve got even more great tips in store for you! Recently, the brilliant husband/wife team Phil & Mindy Thornton interviewed me for their hugely popular podcast Shoot to Kill. We covered a lot of FAQ’s and some even deeper questions and issues:

How I got started in photography and in business.
My Top 5 Tips for getting started and the equipment I’d recommend.
3 easy steps to getting that first client.
Special advice for male photographers wanting to get into boudoir.
How I avoid cheesy stereotypes of boudoir and create fine art images. 
The 4 places I draw inspiration from.
Easy tips and tricks for making clients feel comfortable.
What’s my sales process from A to Z.
Best tips for boosting sales. 

So check out my podcast episode and enjoy – it’s very entertaining – and fair warning: it contains EXPLICIT language and nudity – yeah I know it’s audio only, but use your imagination :)

Cheers to that and hotel trysts!

Christa