"No Artist Tolerates Reality"
My heart melted when I found this quote by Friedrich Nietzsche.
One side of the brain has been fighting the other side about what I should create and how it should be done and presented. I will be honest. I just want to create magical and fairytale shit. I need what I make to look fantastic. Something no one has ever seen before...
...but then the business side of my brain says, "Girl, just keep it simple. That's what the customers want".
So here I am, in a circle, about what I should create. At odds with only myself. I'm concerned about being too artistic in my work. As a photographer, you are often inundated with all these business rules about what you should and should not show on your Instagram page.
I want my work to speak to everyone, but I don't want it to look like everyones.
As I'm writing this it brings me back to this beautiful boudoir session that I shot in Mexico that I never posted. Y'all, let me be VERY clear, there is a ton of work for the last year and a half that I haven't posted that will be showing up within the next 6 months. This blog is going to be busy AF.
I shot this gorgeous boudoir set the last time I was in Playa del Carmen. Playa del Carmen is one of my favorite places in the world to visit. It's located about 45 minutes south of Cancun.
Cancun is where American's go to parlay, and Playa del Carmen is where the Europeans and Canadians tend to party. Playa is not as commercial as Cancun and so much cheaper. One of my friends lived there for a while so another friend and I would take an annual trip to see her.
We haven't been back to Playa del Carmen since 2018 (which is when these were taken) but it reminds me of the last time I just got creative and worked with what I had.
I came across this beautiful model from France on Instagram that happened to be in Playa del Carmen. We agreed to meet and turned out she was just as nice and she was beautiful. When I look at these photos of Stephanie I think about what it felt like in this moment. I was creating without boundaries.
The thoughts of what is right and what is wrong in the world of photography didn't enter my mind once. My only concern was creating some badass shit with a badass person.
We created in the jungles of Playacar and took shots in the ruins of the Mayans. We played on the beach. We just had fun. No rules. No ego. Just each in our element creating some of my favorite photos of all time.
When I look at this work I think about how I pushed every negative thought out of my own head. My inner child came back to me, and we laughed and played. We created with no limit. The world was a sandbox and we were making castles.
To me, this is the perfect mix of creating what the people want and what I want to create. People want THIS feeking that Stephanie exudes. She's expelling strength, sexy, fun, and confidence. When clients and people look at my work... this is what I want them to see. This is how I want them to feel. This is the state of mind I want to be in when I shoot them.
I am a boudoir photographer based in Los Angeles, California. However, I did travel worldwide. If you want to book me, use the form below so we can connect and create beautiful photos. I'm all about going back to Playa to create more magic.
