Creating Bad Work on Purpose to Strengthen your Creativity

What the heck was I doing? This was a terrible idea. The sun was too bright across half of her face, the background looked hella weird and I'm pretty sure I took 200 pictures of the same pose. This was a bad idea and I can't believe I ever thought it would work.

I haven't seen the pictures from this morning's photo shoot yet but there's no way I could describe them as amazing. And yet, I'm so happy. I had an idea and I brought it to life. I hauled a table into the forest with my bare hands. I spend $10 on a kind-of -ugly kind-of-awesome bedsheet. I got a freshly cleaned pair of jean shorts covered in dirt. I'll probably wake up tomorrow with bug bites. So worth it.  

The beauty of the experiment is that it gives your imagination a chance to come to life. Daydreams and visions leave your mind and materialize into the world before you. Sometimes they look exactly how you envisioned. Sometimes they are the next best #pinterestfail - Either way, you are liberating your ideas and strengthening your creativity. One experiment at a time you are becoming better at your craft. An artist. An expert. (This is what I'm telling myself, anyway. lol)

This is the "behind the scenes" before photo.
I can't wait to dive into the edit of the actual photo shoot and see if there's anything good in there. ha!
Have a wonderful day experimenting :D
xoxo
Chamonix

The Purple Dress and Why Do I Want to Take Nude Portraits of Women

There is was... the most beautiful purple ball gown with sparkles I've ever seen. I paid $30 and took it home to my studio, hoping that one day I'd find the Cinderella who would actually fit into this tiny garment. Last summer, I photographed my friend Alena in this beautiful dress and I was amazed at how beautiful she looked. That bone structure is killer and just wearing the dress seemed to bring out a new side to her personality.

As much as I love beautiful dresses and all the wonderful things they do for the female figure (and confidence), I think that sometimes clothes get in the way of us actually seeing the woman inside them. We love dressing up but when the camera joins the party, dressing up seems to turn into a fashion photo shoot — women cross their fingers and hope they'll at least resemble the women in magazines, in the fancy clothes, in the broken doll poses. Frankly, I'm sick of the fashion. Our world has gone a bit overboard with how much importance we place on clothing.

Clothes say so much about who we are and what we like. That said, I also like that without clothes we are all on an equal playing field. I like the idea that when you see a photo of a naked woman, you can't make the same judgements about her that you could if she were wearing clothes. You don't know if she's preppy or grungy or hipster or retro. She's just naked. All you can look at is her face and the shape of her body and the texture of her skin. It's extremely vulnerable and I love that.

Most women aren't comfortable being seen naked, let alone being photographed that way.  I'm in that camp too. The idea of having my nude portrait taken makes me feel so shy and embarrassed. I think this is probably because I don't like how I look when I see myself naked in the mirror. I know I'm not alone with this. I also know that being photographed nude is a great way to overcome this fear and take one step closer to embracing your own body however it looks. So maybe one day soon I'll challenge myself to this experience.

What I can do right now though is offer my photography skills to other women who are ready to be photographed nude. I want to take photos that show a woman looking her most beautiful without the distraction of clothing. Photos that can't be dated by clothing. Photos that aren't all about the awesome dress. I want to take photos that are so simple and focused on a woman's body, her face and how she feels about herself. I want my photos to be honest. I want them to embrace the reality of how women look and what makes women beautiful (and the answer to that questions is not clothing).

Having said all of that, I do think that these photos of Alena in this purple dress are an incredible example of clothing at its best. Both Alena and the dress look gorgeous and Iw on't lie — I'm so proud of these photos. I feel like they may be my best work. Thank you beautiful purple dress for adding a little sparkle to this shoot. (So maybe sometimes I'll use clothing haha)

xoxo

Chamonix

Jenny's Black and White Beauty Portraits in the Trees

I'm so excited to share this third series of Jenny's beauty portraits at Waipuilani Park in Maui. We photographed her beauty portraits and then we took more beauty portraits. As we were walking through the park, Jenny asked if she could climb into the trees. Of course!! She climbed up into a tree that had a V shape for standing in. That series of portraits is in color and I'll share those next week - it's like the never ending photo shoot with 10 parts haha. But first, I want to share this black and white series (which is my favorite) where she climbed up onto a giant tree branch. So beautiful. Thank you again Jenny for being so fun to photograph!

Check out my last post: Jenny's Beauty Portraits in the Field of Long Grass!

Click here to book your photo shoot with Chamonix Thurston-Rattue.

More Beauty Portraits of Jenny in a Field of Long Grass

A few weeks ago, I photographed Jenny at Waipuilani Park. We explored all over the park doing lots of mini photo shoots in different locations. Check out our first series of her Beauty Portraits in the Buganvilla Bushes. For the second series of photos, we found a cozy spot in the middle of a field of long grass and I delighted in the gorgeous backlight that you can only find when you're closer to the equator. I flippin' love the light in Maui sometimes. It's so beautiful. Jenny and I had so much fun laughing in the grass, avoiding sitting on Kiewe torns, and trying not to flash each other and she posed and I rolled around with my camera looking for 'that perfect angle." haha Check back soon for her next series of photos that we took up in a tree! Woopdewoo! So fun. haha Have a wonderful day :)

Check out my last blog post about Dove's Beauty Is Campaign!

Maui Beauty Portraits in the Buganvilla Bushes

Jenny found me for her beauty portraits through a Craigslist ad that I put out to the island of Maui asking for women to volunteer for photo shoots. I have all these ideas for fun places to photograph women on the island and my #1 goal since the day I arrived in Hawaii was to get the buganvilla bushes involved. These gorgeous colorful flower bushes grow alongside all the roads all over the island. They come in pink and cream and orange but the vision brewing in my mind was alllll about the purple! Around the corner from our house is an entire wall of purple buganvilla bushes so when Jenny met me at the beach last Sunday, I had it all planned out. We curled her hair, drew on the eyeliner, pulled on a pretty white sweater (trying to not to mess up her hair) and slid on some golden bangles. All ready to go! (Eventually, the sweater came off and we wrapped her up in a white lace scarf.) We crossed the road and got out pose on in the bushes! We had a sweet old man walk by and offer to take our photo together. haha At the time I explained that it was a photo shoot so I didn't really feel the need to jump in front of the camera but in retrospect I totally wish I had just said yes because that would be a fun photo to have. That's definitely a life lesson I've been learning a lot recently - 99% of the time it's worth saying yes, even when you feel like saying no. Anywho, I'm super stoked about Jenny's portraits. She's such a beautiful woman (I loved her curly strawberry hair) and I finally get to check 'Buganvilla Bushes' off of my to-do list - woohoo!! :D

The fun didn't stop with the Buganvilla bushes — Jenny and I had more adventures together in the forest across the road. She was climbing up trees and posing inside palm trees. Check back later this week for the rest of her photos!

Want more? Check out my last blog post which was all about my wonderful daily commute in Maui that makes me smile :D hehe

The Best Thing About Being a Woman's Portrait Photographer

What I love most about being a portrait photographer for women is that the pictures I take have the power to help women realize how beautiful they are. I don't think women need to be transformed or have makeovers to be beautiful. I think the beauty is already there naturally - yes, even in those women that don't look beautiful at first glance. During my photo shoots with women, we use makeup and hairspray and fluffy ballgowns because most women enjoy playing dress up. This experience of getting all dolled-up magically seems to boost our confidence and we can't help but strut across the room. The same women who arrived hunched over like a little mouse with her pink tail between her legs, leaves with a little bounce in her step or sway in her hips. The confidence is beautiful. The photo shoot creates a safe-space where women are invited to explore how they feel about themselves. It's a full hour or two during which she is the center of attention and all the women around her are in awe of her beauty. She hears us repeatedly saying over and over... "You're so beautiful." "Oh my gosh, you look so pretty." "Wow, that pose is gorgeous." At first she shrugs it off but by the end of the photo shoot our words start to sink in and she starts to believe in her own beauty. Even if it's not obvious to her yet, she's now aware that it must exist because someone can see it. The best bit is that when we are telling her that she is beautiful, we mean it because our sole purpose and mission during that hour of OUR lives is to appreciate HER beauty. It's a way to honor other women and I love it. 

Karin's Maui Portraits at Lumeria

I met Karin in the parking lot at Lumeria, a gorgeous retreat center in Paia, Maui, where she teaches early morning meditation. She won me over instantly with her happy smile and laid back personality. We sat on the deck beneath a palm tree while I curled her hair and did her makeup. She was telling me stories about how she got into meditation and why she moved to Maui. Walking around the grounds of this gorgeous sanctuary was so peaceful. Everywhere I looked there were beautiful benches, landscaped gardens, hammocks, bamboo hedges, stunning decor inspired by Asian architecture. Karin guided me around and every few feet I would get all excited and have her pose here and there with all the beautiful backdrops. We had so much fun together and I am so grateful to have had this opportunity to explore one of the most beautiful spots in Maui. Thank you so much Karin! and THANK YOU Lumeria!!

I always love throwing in a 'before' photo and some behind the scenes of the action. AND I love putting hair into pin curls. If your hair refuses to hold a curl, try this. It's an amazing trick.

And I would like to extend a HUGE THANK YOU to Lumeria for giving us permission to shoot on their grounds. Just look at this beautiful place....

Ashley's Impromptu Maui Beach Shoot at Sugar Beach

I met Ashley and her mom Diane for their photo shoot at Sugar Beach in South Maui near Kihei. At the end of their mother-daughter photo shoot, Ashley asked me if we could splash around in the water and take some photos for her husband. Of course, I said YES! I am very quickly falling in love with taking pictures in the water. It feels amazing to have the water rush in around us. The sun was sinking behind the West Maui Mountains so we had a few minutes together. We came away completely drenched and weighed down by sand. I LOVE THIS! (See photo of me at the bottom of the page ...covered in sand haha). Thank you Ashley for such a fun photo shoot! I hope you had a wonderful vacation in Maui!

How I look after a beach photo shoot.... you can't keep me on my feet!
I love rollin' in the sand! ;) haha

Using Your Shadow in Block Bright Sunlight for Soft Light Portrait Photography

I was photographing Ellie at Baldwin Beach about about 5 minutes before the sunset and the harsh glow was turning her into a carrot! (see photo #1) I could have asked her to stand on the other side of the palm tree so she was in the shade BUT that would mean she would either be in too much darkness OR she would be backlit. I wanted the picture to be soft light — not glowy or shadowy. So I stood directly in front of her with my back to the sun. (see photo #2). The sun was still sneaking over my left shoulder so I held the camera in my right hand and held my left hand over my head to block that little sliver of cheeky light. There was lots of wiggling around on my part (and muscle strain in my right arm to hold the camera steady one-handed haha) trying to find the sweet spot but eventually I found it and snap! A perfectly soft portrait! (see photo #3) LOVE IT! Thank you Hawaii for giving me so many opportunities to learn how to shoot in bright sunlight! Try it and let me know if this works when you're shooting up north in places like Scotland! :)

How I Edit Photographs - My Three Step Post-Processing Workflow

Q: How do you edit your photos? Do you have a specific post-processing workflow? What programs do you use? 

I do have a very specific post-processing workflow. It includes three major stages. I use this same workflow and editing process for every single photo shoot. Here's how it goes:

1) Culling: I usually take about 300-500 images during a portrait session. I import my RAW files into Lightroom and zoom through the collection 3 times. The first time I flag any images that are "potentials." This usually cuts the collection down to about 120 images. The second time through, I give 5 stars to the images that I like the best. This takes it town to about 70. During the third cull, I look at the images in groups. If there are multiple shots of the same/similar pose, I choose the best one. The rest are demoted to 4 stars. This third stage is the most difficult because I'm weeding and pruning. I have to say goodbye to some good images but they aren't as good as the ones I keep. I forget about them. I use this third cull to take the collection down to the final 20-30 images.

2) Retouching: I take all of my images into Photoshop. I set the timer on my iPhone and race the clock. I give myself 2 minutes per image. I use the Portraiture plug-in that smooths skin. I erase the areas that I don't want to be smooth — I want sharp hair, eyes, nose and lips. I use the clone tool to soften skin and even tones. I use the healing tool to remove pimples, blemishes and spots on the background. I increase the brightness of mid-tones and I desaturate the entire image. I use the Liquify & Wrap tools to change body shapes.

3) Finishing Effects: I bring the images back into Lightroom and I use AlienSkin Exposure 4 software to add textures, color tones, borders etc... I usually get carried away at this stage —it's way too much fun and the presets all look so cool, it can be very challenging to decide on just one. I inevitably create new presets for each woman too. Sometimes I apply three different presets and then compare the images side by side. Sometimes I have to come back the next day with a fresh visual palette. I do my best to pick one final finish for each image but sometimes I just have to create one color version and one black & white version. Clearly, if any part of my workflow needs to be more efficient, it's this third segment. haha

Below, I've included sets of images that represent these three stages I've just mentioned. The first image is straight out of camera. The second image has been Photoshop-ed. The third image is the final version. Enjoy! :)

Oh, and Step 2 is absolutely essential (trust me I've tried skipping it but it's crucial). I get a little sick of it sometimes. I've been contemplating how lovely it would be to outsource this middle stage. Has anyone had any luck with outsourcing retouching (not general adjustments but fine detail retouching)?