beauty photographs, my turn!

It's been a couple months since i've done some photos of me or my family, so it was about time again! :) I usually love to capture moments of my family, but with brandon gone it's been about trying new poses, light, and  new ideas. If you follow me, you might know i do boudoir and some women might be skeptical to jump into that type of photography but there is another option... beauty photos. Ya know that old glamour shots you had? you might have had fluffy hair, huge earings, and a jean jacket. well gorgeous, these are the updated, modern version! It's becoming more and more popular among women again to get these done so to show you a quick 20 minute session, i photographed.. myself. I'm also going to show a before and after!

So why should you do beauty photos? There are so many reasons women are jumping into this type, i did some a little more casual, a gorgeous flowing dress always works too, or even jeans! one reason for me was i'm finally getting back into working out and eating clean (for the most part) my body is just starting to change and i wanted to show some progress! but even if that's not the case for you, i think about if i have kids someday; they'll be the ones to hold on to photographs and everyone always treasures photos of their mom. so ladies, i know a lot of you don't want your photos taken.. but your kids do! one of my favorite photos of my mom is when she had these tiny little shorts on a top that showed her stomach when she was about 19, she's adorable. 

in these, i decided to be real. i did a few serious, but my personality is just a LITTLE outgoing, so i wanted to show who i am and yes kept the crazy ones too. my set up was my camera on a tripod going off every 5 seconds, and a blow dryer sitting on a pillow and a box, that simple with my white walls. i ended up with about 9 favorites, and am SO happy i'm going to have them printed (and pretty big sizes!) for wall art when we move. i have some photos of just brandon, so why not me! :) 

as a woman, i could pick a part these photos. i've been working hard to eat clean and lift, but i still have days where those flaws just pop out at me. i know most women feel this way, but when i take photos of myself i try to see a woman with lots of personality, who's happy and loving life. i also try to always look at photographs of me from a perspective of my husband or my best friend, and what they see is a beautiful woman.  

i didn't want to touch up, liquify, or change too much in these because i wanted to show you that by a cute outfit, light, and posing can make the photograph, not changing how you look. so here's a before and after. the only thing i changed before any of these, is i cloned out the light switch. what i did to this photograph is lighten and add warmth in lightroom. In photoshop i used two of my favorite actions and then changed how i wanted them. i also touched up my skin but only on 20 percent. did i want to do a lot more to make me look perfect? absolutely. but the best part is i look happy, and i look like me.. i love it! 

So, if you've been interested in photographs but aren't sure about doing boudoir, beauty could be perfect for you. get your hair and makeup done and let's get some fabulous photos! 

another great part? you can hang these anywhere in your home, where boudoir usually is a little more kept away. so show off your gorgeous self!