Everything Bloom

I am so excited to share Bloom Forum member Desiree Haye’s interview with you today. She is the first boudoir photographer we have interviewed, so we had a lot of fun questions for her!

Tell us about yourself. I’m 31 year old mama to two kiddos, Jevin, 9, and Daphne, 6. Hubby is Jon and we’ve been married for almost 13 years (yep, we were 18 when we got married. LOL) We live in Southern CA and have a boxer dog named Zoe, who has possibly the longest tongue in the world. I love going to the public library, LOVE reading. Love yoga. Went vegan about 5 months ago after watching Forks Over Knives. LOVE documentaries. I sit there and watch them while editing. I love birth stuff, had a homebirth with my daughter. Did pics of a birth this year and would love to try that again! I have a new obsession with coconut oil. I cook with it, use it as moisturizer, shave with it. Everyone who knows me well is so sick of hearing about the wonders of coconut oil. Ha! I love hanging with my friends, particularly at Happy Hour. Love to travel but that is pretty obvious, who doesn’t?! Love going to country concerts with my husband, even if we have to pay $11 for each disgusting Budlight!

What was your defining moment that made you want to do boudoir full time? Probably the first time I shot it. It is so fun and you can just be you and you don’t have to change your words for little ears like when I did kid and family photography. Haha!

I am sure getting undressed for a photographer can be nerve wracking, what do you do to help your clients get comfortable? I think just being yourself helps, jokes and small talk. I show them my own flaws (like my horrendous stretchmarks that are the worst most people have ever seen) to detract from whatever they are nervous about showing, haha. Champagne helps too. I really love most people and am pretty outgoing, I can make friends at a grocery store check out line, so the people connection thing comes pretty easily. I think being chatty helps. Silence is awkward for everybody.

As women, we all have flaws that we hate about our bodies. I often have clients joke with me about making them look skinny in their pictures. How do you feel about the liquefy tool? If you use it do your clients know ahead of time you will be using it? I do use it. Good posing is important but if, for example, the arm is up against the couch and looks bigger than it usually does, then yes, I totally use it. Or if the top of a thigh high is pushing out leg bulges, I liquify that too. I’ve had to do that on 98 pound clients, it’s not them, it’s the rubber on the inside of the thigh high that is squishing their leg and making it bulge. Or if a bra is too tight and it pushes fat or skin above or below, I fix that too because without the bra, that wouldn’t be there anyways. I edit how I would want for myself. In my FAQ I do tell them that I retouch and if they would like me NOT to, to let me know. I’ve never once had someone ask me not to.

I am sure you are dying to read more of Desiree’s interview, so head over to the forum to see it in full and see more amazing pictures.

If you want to find more of Desiree’s work.
Website
Blog
Facebook

Thanks to everyone who participated in the awesome Wordsmith $500 value giveaway. The winner is lucky #16, Cayce Wegman, who said “I liked the facebook page and would love to win this wealth of information!” Congrats Cayce, please email me at stephanie@everythingbloom.com to claim your awesome prize!
And everyone is a winner today, enjoy a discount for one week following the contest of 15% off any WordSmith purchase. Just use code BLOOM when you purchase.

Any photographer would be hard pressed to deny that practicing self portraits makes you a better photographer. A self-portrait not only shares how an artist sees themselves but also how they see the vast world around them. It is their own unique story told through the very medium they know best.

It has now become a tradition here on The Bloom Forum to start the new year of with The Self Portrait Challenge. Looking over these images in my Inbox, I couldn’t help but put them together here for all of you to see. Although not all of us can take home the beloved Ketti Handbag, we do all walk away with a little self discovery and a true image to remember it by. Thank you to all of you for sharing YOU.

I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best.
- Frida Kahlo

Last but certainly not least, a very special congratulations to our winner of The Bloom “Who are YOU?” Contest, Julyssa Schenk!

* Please contact brenda@everythingbloom.com to collect your choice of beautiful handbag from Ketti Handbags *

The Bloom Forum’s Instagram sections has been so much fun to watch over the last few weeks! Here are just a few of our member’s highlights from January. Many of you are well on your way to completing a Project 366 by following the monthly prompts #febphotoskill or #febphotoaday. Maybe you’re just shooting whatever catches your eye. Either way, were glad to follow along with you and see it all unfold before us.

In order to keep us in the loop, please remember to use the hash tag “#thebloomforum” in the comments section under your photo. We cant wait to see more!

On to February..!

 Instagram Usernames in order of appearance:

amimp, christinaanglum, hmayophoto, joiles, brendaleann, jtrandem, kjhnsn, nicunurse, rebeccaconway, rmcphillips, sara_jo, alicrane, gretchendavis, daniantonucci, shannonharrison