Vintage Take on Modern Boudoir | Wonderland Boudoir | Arlo Nomad Hotel
Wonderland Boudoir is based out of Dallas, Texas. However, we do like to travel a bit for our work. In 2017 I had the pleasure to make it out to New York and shoot some incredible women.
One of those women ended up being Izzy. Izzy brought with her an amazing makeup artist named Nicky. Together we all made magic that ended up going pretty viral!
I had a model call for New York and Izzy replied back to me with some inspiration that she wanted to shoot. It was classic images from glamourous black women from decades past. We decided to pay homage to these pioneers of black female entertainment while still keeping a modern feel to the looks. I promise you, these photos couldn't have turned out any better.
Izzy came with her beautiful full 4c afro. What I loved most is that her hair had a tint of purple in it that made the photos pop!
For makeup, Nicky decided to go for a natural glam look. She kept the skin and lips pretty natural but really glammed the eyes up to match with the hair. Not too often do makeup artist add glitter eyeshadow looks to editorials shoots, but Nicky did and I just died over how amazing the payoff was.
We did this photoshoot in the Arlo NoMad Hotel located in Midtown New York. I have to say that I LOVED that hotel. There is so much this hotel got right. Just so you know, the Arlo Nomad Hotel is a micro room hotel. Those hotel rooms are soooooo damn small, but the tradeoff is that you're not spending $400 a night in Manhattan. The hotel was brand new, SMELLED LIKE HEAVEN, had awesome food, great decor, TONS of young travelers, and the BEST ROOFTOP BAR IN NEW YORK! This bar has an unobstructed view of the Empire State building. Next time I'm in New York I will do a FULL review of the hotel.
Like I said, one of the best parts of this incredible hotel was the decor. In fact, we used the hotel as our playground. One thing that I learned in 2016 was not to be shy shooting boudoir. I once did a boudoir session with a mom watching. If I can shoot boudoir while moms is looking over my shoulder, you can pretty much do boudoir in any circumstance.
Boudoir in a Hotel Business Center
The reason why I love the women I work with is because they are fearless. I love working with ladies who are open to my ideas and locations. In fact, most women are already aware of that because they booked me for my eye. I spend a lot of time exploring locations and finding the best spots. My first evening in New York I explored the entire hotel and came across their beautiful business center. During my exploration, no one was using the business center. I just thought this was par for the course at the hotel. Yeah, that was a lie.
Of course on the day and time we need to shoot there was a gang load of people in this room ACTUALLY working. So I did the annoying photographer thing and asked people to move. Yeah, nothing is going to stop me from getting a good shot. I was blessed not to have any pushback and promised to be quick.
I have to say that this business center was wonderful. I would have done more but I didn't want to be a total inconvenience to the people that were there before me.
Since we were in the business center I decided that we shouldn't get too wild with the wardrobe. So we decided on a sexy black body suit. The leopard print robe was only with us because we wanted to be modest when coming down to the business center. However, the robe worked wonders as a layering piece. I love how it effortlessly hangs off Izzy's body in these shots.
I am also a natural light shooter. I love how the light worked so well against her melinated complexion. The decor, setting, and styling all worked together to create something so breathtakingly beautiful.
The second look was really for Nicky's portfolio. She needed to get some good headshots of Izzy. Therefore I set that up. These shots are some the ones that went viral all over the Gram. I adore these shots because of the confidence, love, and pride displayed in her eyes. Her subtle movements were on point. Because she was so comfortable, her photos created a lot of strength with a pinch of desire in the eyes. Izzy nailed it.
The last session we did was in my hotel room. We decided to keep it really casual. The robe she's wearing is a piece I picked up in Playa del Carmen February of 2016. I actually purchased this piece from H&M. If I'm going to be honest, I originally bought it for me, but it has been such an incredible stable in my boudoir shoots that I keep it.
The color of the robe perfectly matches my personal aesthetic for the brand. As you guys know, I dig burnt earthy pastel colors. This robe delivers on that. Due to the fact that this is a beach robe built to have a lot of room for movement.
Izzy let the piece fall dramatically off her while still maintaining the emotion of alluring and innocent.
We did a brief interview with Izzy about her session. This is what she had to say:
Why did you decide to do a session?
I had no experience in it, so I thought to try it.
Before your session what were you expecting? How was that different once you finished your session?
I expected not to perform as well, however with the right direction from Korin I started to feel empowered and confident.
What was your favorite part of the whole process?
My favorite part was how Korin made me feel really confident while shooting.
What would you say to women who are on the fence about doing boudoir? How as the session impacted your ideas of boudoir?
I believe everyone should feel as confident and empowered as I did while shooting boudoir: I believe every woman should do a boudoir shoot, it truly made me feel like the goddess I am.
I want to cosign on something that Izzy said. When you shoot with us at Wonderland Boudoir you don't need to know how to pose. We will help you 100% with that. I just wanted you to show up and feel relaxed. We got you.
If you're considering a boudoir session please hit us up on the contact page. If you feel like you need more convincing as to why Wonderland Boudoir is the best choice for you check out our testimonial page!