Christa Meola Pictures Inc.

How to Flatter Every Woman

Christa Meola — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 13:41:18 +0000

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!

Lovers at the Louvre

Christa Meola — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:13:55 +0000

For Valentine’s Day, in honor of Lovers and Fine Art…

(Both completely rock my world and give me passion for every day.)

Lots of love, nudity and inspiration…

xoxo, Christa

creativeLIVE “After Dark” Fine Art Nude Sneak Peek

Christa Meola — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 10:46:21 +0000

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!

creativeLIVE Sneak Peek, Mercedes

Christa Meola — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:23:21 +0000

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

Christa Meola — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:36:31 +0000

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…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAZH8UjAC2k

ENROLL NOW

See ya online from Seattle!

xoxo Christa

A Romp Around the Vineyard

Christa Meola — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:15:33 +0000

A little sunshine from Italy for a rainy day…

This is what happens when I ask a model to RUN! towards me and she’s not wearing a bra… a total outtake but it cracks me up :)

This is kinda what I feel like doing today…

This set is No. 11 of 12 taken during my Workshop & Retreat in Italy this last summer. I’m planning on topping it with a Fine Art Nude & Boudoir Photography Retreat in PARIS this Spring! Already halfway sold out, you can grab your spot to romp around the City of Lights with me and get the details here.

Hope to meet you soon!

xoxo Christa

ps. You don’t have to go all the way to Paris to watch me shoot and take one of my workshops… Join me next weekend, Feb 10-12, for my FREE creativeLIVE Boudoir Workshop streaming LIVE online, worldwide. We are going to heat things up in creativeLIVE’s Seattle studio, with lots of sexiness and surprises in store (hee hee – it’s all very hush hush right now :) So you’ll have to enroll now & tune in to catch all the fun!

Hot Contrast

Christa Meola — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:34:45 +0000

Happy Friday boudies! If you have time to play with gear on the weekend, I am digging this new light modifier – the Westcott 43′ Apollo Orb. The inside of the orb is silver so it’s higher contrast than my usual medium softbox. Since it’s round, I also thought the catchlights would be sexier…

I love experimenting! Check out the results…

Even though I pushed myself to shoot higher contrast, I found myself softening things up a bit on a few of them in post – lol! That’s my style, what can I say?

Let me know what you think about the results in the comments below.
And since I’m playing a lot with gear lately – tell me what light modifier you LOVE…

Happy experimenting,

Christa xoxo

Monet at Musee´ de l’Orangerie

Christa Meola — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:00:11 +0000

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

Smoking and Swinging, No. 2

Christa Meola — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:10:28 +0000

A swing in Tuscany…

…and if you missed Smoking and Swinging, No. 1, you most definitely want to check it out – it’s been a very popular post.

Two quick bits of news for your Monday…

MODEL CASTING CALL
We’re looking for models and non-models of all ages, body types and sizes for my creativeLIVE workshop in Seattle on Feb 10-12! If you’re in the area and want to be photographed by your’s truly, send a quick note about yourself and a few pics to kate @ creativeLIVE.

PINTEREST
Oh I’ve avoided adding another online addiction like the plague, but I caved and recently started pinning photos to Pinterest. So if you’d like to check out Lighting I Love, Props I Covet, Rocking Pose Ideas, and other fine art boudoir photography inspiration, come check it out and follow me on Pinterest!

Happy Swinging,

Christa

The 6 creativeLIVE Boudoir Workshop Participants!

Christa Meola — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:15:15 +0000

I’ve been watching all the wonderful video submissions (56 total!) to attend my creativeLIVE Boudoir Workshop for weeks, and it’s been the most difficult decision trying to narrow you all down to just six. I LOVED all your videos. You all made me laugh and smile, and even get choked up.

You are a creative bunch that will go far, and I just want to thank every single one of you (which I did personally on twitter :) for having the courage to step in front of the camera, take action, take a risk, and put yourself out there. Believe me, I know how hard it was to shoot my video, lol, and I’m so grateful and honored that you all took the time to send me a message about your passion and desires. I truly wish I could have you all there, but dang, the producers at creativeLIVE insisted on an intimate group of six.

So, here they are!…

Nicole Gravatt – Kansas City, KS
Carlo Nicora - London, England
Brandy Medina – Charlotte, NC
Michelle Coppini – Fort Walton Beach, FL
B. Allan Stewart - Melbourne, AR
Jen Mcken – Blairsville, PA

Congratulations! I am so looking forward to seeing you all in Seattle, geeking out together for 3-days (of “Awesomeness!”), and helping you bring your business, creativity, and brand to whole ‘nother level baby!

I hope everyone will join us live online on Feb. 10-12. To grab your ringside seat to the action, enroll now for free.

Lots of love and inspiration,

Christa