At a certain point we have had to come to terms that we cannot do it all, we must delegate – or we will surely fail. But this person that I have been dreaming about, I found, was not an easy person to find. It had to be someone we could trust with this business (the 3rd child), someone that understands our personality quirks, someone that would jump in, take the reins, and run with them. We dreamt that this person would bring their own expertise to the table, and help us find a better way to do things – to help take this business to another level.

Well…I am happy to say that we found her, and that person is one of my very best friends, Jill (I call her “Jilly Bean” or “Bean”…but you can call her Jill).

I have always loved my Jilly Bean, from the first day we were introduced at Southern, she was someone that just got me (not an easy feat). My unpredictable behavior, my irrational outbursts, my table dancing, my giddy all nighters before exams, my Starbucks addiction, and my obsession with then boyfriend, Eric (and cat, Ralphie). I can really say she has been there through most of our major life events and us for hers (click here to see her wedding images), I love that she quietly came into our room at Yale and held Avery the day she was born, she flew to Vegas to be in our wedding, and was an accomplice to so many of our shenanigans.

The best thing? She thinks Eric is the funniest person ever, and laughs out loudly at both of us, often. Many of you know that we have been seeking some help on the business front, some organization, and I have been on a serious mission searching for our “Queen of all Things” for quite some time.

Please welcome Jill everyone, she has changed our lives so much already, and you will love her – she’s exactly what Raw Photo Design has been missing!

Grab a cocktail, sit back and enjoy. This is a biggie. We have video, we have words, we have announcements, and we have some super sexy, hot NEW images posted below.

Tom Morlock of Vantage Point Films shot video at our last Boudoir Workshop, the goal was to help everyone understand a little more about us, and what is behind our process} The RAW approach to the art of boudoir photography.

Thank you to Sue of Naomi’s Studio for hair and makeup styling. Gummy Bear Tom, you are a keeper! Slammin’ work on this video! HUGE thanks to the amazing Josie of Beneath the Gown for providing the lingerie for this shoot. If you have not checked out her custom pieces and bridal lingerie it is a MUST.

Try to resist the temptation to go flying past my “monologue” down to the images (tough I know). I may be biased, but I think this explanation will make you appreciate our boudoir images just a little bit more…

A year ago we shot a boudoir session together. To me, the client was ideal (meaning that she was fun, had great shoes, good lingerie, and she was also beautiful). From my perspective (as second shooter that day), I thought the session rocked! So, we get in the car to leave, and I can see that Eric is really disappointed and frustrated. I automatically assumed that I must have done something to piss him off, but it turns out the reason that he was so bummed out was because he didn’t get the shots that he wanted. I was so confused, it seemed it would have been hard to take a bad picture. But when we pulled up the images and he showed me exactly what he meant, it was crystal clear that there is so much more to a really good image than pretty people in pretty clothes. My ah ha moment!

To this day, we are not satisfied until our client has connected with our camera. As photographers there are many different things that we do to facilitate that connection, and we are so fortunate to shoot real people. Nothing is more rewarding than that moment working with someone, when the switch flips, and they are transformed – instantly real, uninhibited and natural.

We encourage our boudoir clients, brides, actually anyone that we photograph to practice their facial expressions. A pose is virtually dead without that “look”, if you can close your eyes, imagine a thought, then open your eyes and sell that thought – you are on your way. The most expressive feature on a person’s face is their eyes, and they are seen as the “window to the soul” because they can give clues as to what another person is thinking. We all know that when people just smile with their mouths, the smile is probably fake, but when the smile includes the eyes, it is always genuine. Credit for makeup and styling of all the ladies below goes to Stacey Palancia of Blush Couture and Lindsey Gallagher of Like Flutter for Lashes.

Here is how our a few of our sophisticated, stunning, glamourous, clients get it DONE:

Our exciting announcement is that we {aka Amber & Eric} are going to start shooting boudoir sessions separately, which means we can shoot more. Depending on our availability {and your preference for a male or female photographer} you will be working with Amber or Eric, and will have the option. We wish that we could be in two places at once, but this time of year with weddings and engagements full throttle we have had to turn down quite a bit of boudoirs. This will allow us both to focus on what we really love doing, and provide better service to our clients. Yay! Huge thank you to everyone that participated in the workshop, the professionals that made everyone look so beautiful, and to our RAW clients…thank you is not enough for letting us post your gorgeous images! xoxo