Beautiful Women Come in all Shapes and Sizes {New Braunfels boudoir photographer}

I had my annual Boudoir Day the other day! If you read my blog on a regular basis, you know that once a year I rent a nice hotel room -- this year it was the Faust Hotel. I hire a makeup artist (Lauren at Hint of Shimmer is amazing) and do a day of boudoir mini-sessions. Each lady gets a makeover courtesy of Lauren and then half an hour with me to photograph them in their favorite slinky things. At the end of each boudoir day I like to have a professional model come in to work with me to create some images for my ad campaigns. I never use my client images (unless they specifically ask me to) for my portfolio or albums because I believe it is that lady's right to keep her images private. All the images you see here are of that model, Rachel.

When Rachel arrived she pulled out a suitcase full of slinky things. She pulled out a very lovely corset and said, "I don't recommend this one because it doesn't look good on me." I found that hard to believe. She was quite stunning. But because I wanted her to feel sexy, I chose some of the other outfits and we got started. Rachel was an amazing model. She needed little coaching from me and she exhibited a confidence in her body that conveyed very well through the camera, so I was stunned to hear her confess to me that other photographers have had problems with her hips. It's the reason she didn't want to wear the other outfit. "Excuse me?" I said. "Problems with your hips?"

"They're too round," she said.

I had just spent the day photographing women of all shapes and sizes, from petite to plus size, and all of them were beautiful. To hear this gorgeous model tell me that anyone had issue with any part of her body was disheartening to say the least. "Well I think they're perfect," I told her. Any photographer that has issues with round hips can give me a call right now because I'd like to give them a proper chewing out. It's our job as the photographer to work with the body before us and make it look good using the right lighting and the right posing. I decided to demonstrate how gorgeous her "imperfect" hips were by setting up a back-lit silhouette. Take a look above and tell me if you have issues with those hips. My cell number is on my site. Go ahead, give me a call.


When I started advertising for my boudoir day on my Facebook page a few months ago I got a few comments from some of my clients, "When I lose a few pounds," they'd say. "I'm just too big," they'd say. One of my boudoir clients from last year e-mailed me. She was proud to admit that she was "5'8" and 300 pounds of diva-ness," and wanted me to share her images with potential clients who may be nervous about their weight. "If there are any of your plus-size gals that want to see a big girl in action, I don't mind you showing them my photos." Just not online, she said. She was in training to be a minister and discretion was important. Her session was awesome. Her images are amazing. She's beautiful.


As I continue to edit these sessions, I'm doing my best to leave mother nature alone. Of course, I'm smoothing out the skin to give them that magazine glossy shine. I'm tucking a few little skin pinches here and there. Covering up bruises, blemishes and scars. But for the most part I don't have to spend too much time. These women are beautiful without much help from me. And Rachel's hips are perfect. Rachel, if another photographer has issues with your hips, give them my number. Please. Seriously.

Lisa On Location Photography

New Orleans or Bust {New Braunfels photographer}

It's been a bit of a whirlwind week for Lisa on Location. Today is my daughter's birthday and it always seems to hit me at a bad time. I'm coming down from the Christmas rush a little bit heavier around the middle and thinner in the wallet. My party planning energies are low and to top it all off, this is the month of the big PPA annual convention, Imaging USA. This year took us to New Orleans. I'm finally catching up on the laundry and getting ready for a houseful of 10- and 11-year-old girls to invade but I thought I'd take a break and recap some of my New Orleans experiences.

To set the scene here let me just describe my usual trip-going prep work. I usually painstakingly map our way--if we're flying I have the arrival and departure times memorized, I know how to get from the airport to the rental car place or whether or not there are shuttles to our hotel. I know exactly which sites we'll see which days and their hours of operation and ticket prices (which are usually pre-purchased online). If we're driving I know where we'll be at each moment calculating how fast we're going and stops for bathrooms. I have a Roadside America app on my phone and I have each of those silly stops mapped out. It's only two hours out of our way to see the second-largest ball of twine in the country--well, why not? I'll just include that in the itinerary. This time, however, was a total wing it. I knew we were going. I scheduled it back in June. I just failed to make the time to plan it out.


We hit the road and went. I did use my app to see the sites along the way. We found the third-largest fire hydrant in the world just a half mile from the interstate (it used to be the first until those darn Canadians went and made one bigger). We stopped to pose in the Frog Capital of the World. We had our fun on the way. We arrived at the hotel starving and ready for some good old jazz on Bourbon Street. Imagine our surprise when we hit Bourbon Street on Saturday night and were greeted by a group of drunk women in sparkly dresses and super high heels. I believe one vomited in the gutter and another fell down in front of a street band, giving a peep show to the trombonist. We ventured a bit further and saw the Hustler Club, a few prostitutes and drunk college guys. Lots and lots of drunk college guys. It didn't help the overall mood when the Saints lost to the 49ers in the playoffs. "Where are the jazz clubs?" we asked each other.


Apparently not on Bourbon Street, we were told. I finally met up with a New Orleans local on the second day of the conference and learned that most of the decent jazz clubs were a few blocks away from the French Quarter on Frenchman Street. I see. So my sudden failure in not planning our trip per my usual anal--er, I mean--thorough measures failed me this time. No worries, however. We saw a side of New Orleans that was not in the brochures. They don't tell you about the stench of urine and vomit that permeates Bourbon Street. "There's a reason it smells that way," my new local friend told me.

We had a great time at the photography convention. I learned a lot and made lots of new photographer friends. We even got to boogie to 50 Amp Fuse, "the world's greatest cover band" at Canon's big party on opening night. Performing with 50 Amp Fuse was Mark Rivera, Billy Joel's long-time sax player who has also toured with Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band and did the incredible arrangements of the horn section on Peter Gabriel's hits "Slegehammer" and "Big Time." Billy Joel's guitarist, Tommy Byrnes, was also in the band. For Jayme, a huge Billy Joel fan who's seen these guys several times in concert (from the nosebleed seats) getting right up there next to the stage was a very cool experience.

We did return to Bourbon Street on Monday night with some of our best friends who moved to Slidell a few years ago. We were a little wary about it after our Saturday experience, but we wanted to try the Acme Oyster House. After an excellent meal and some great conversation we went for a walk down Bourbon with our friends and found the atmosphere much improved. Not so much drunken debauchery and there was an amazing jazz band playing at Maison Bourbon, led by fantastic trumpeter Jamil Sharif. So, I guess it depends on the time of week and perhaps time of year that you make that trip. I can't wait to return to New Orleans. I totally missed Jackson Square and we never even saw the river even though we were right next to it while in the convention center.


Now back to party planning of a different kind. I have a little girl who's going to be very disappointed if I can't get these candles to look just right.

Lisa On Location Photography

And Here We Go Again! 2012 is in swing! {New Braunfels Wedding Phototgraphy}

November just about killed me. And December kicked me while I was down. I loved every minute of them, but I was exhausted most of the time. You see, just like there's a football season, and a hunting season and a Christmas season, we photographers have out own seasons.

January and February is photography conference and seminar season. We'll be hitting New Orleans shortly to take care of that! Spring is wedding season number 1. Then there's late spring when it's Senior season. Then comes summer where there's a few more weddings (in Texas it's not as popular a wedding season as the rest of the world because it's so damn hot) but there's a little bit of a lull. Then fall hits and it's major wedding season for us. I think I've told you that October is the biggest wedding month of the year for Texas and a lot of weddings sort of build up to that month and then die down at the end of November. Then hits Christmas card season where I'm swamped with families and card orders. Then Christmas comes and I see a little peace. The week after Christmas my phone doesn't ring much and I don't get many e-mails. I don't like if for long, but I love it for short. I spend all day in my jammies. I play Wii with my kids. I eat too much junk food, drink too much wine, stay in bed too long every day and watch movies that I've seen a dozen times already. I get a year's worth of lazy weekends slammed into one or two weeks.

This past week saw the end of my lazy post-Christmas break with the flood of wedding inquiries (lots of engagement rings under the tree this year), a couple of senior sessions and then finally the first wedding of 2012 today. And it was a beauty! The setting was Landa Park. An outdoor wedding on January 7 was a gamble for this couple. Would it be nasty and cold and wet or not? It was not. It was gorgeous. And this couple deserved a day like today. Jessica and James were so sweet and so young and so genuinely in love. It was a joy to spend this beautiful Saturday afternoon in their company.

The wedding followed with a dinner and dance at the beautiful and historic Faust Hotel in New Braunfels. I love the Faust and the people who work there so I was thrilled when they called me a few months ago.

This was a great way to start off 2012 for Lisa on Location. Then I returned home to a child that was throwing up. So I guess my lazy break is over. It's time to get back to the work that I love so much. Not the throwing up part--the photography part. The throwing up part just comes with the territory.



Lisa On Location Photography

It's Boudoir Season! {New Braunfels Boudoir Photography}

It never fails in retail. The day after Christmas as I peruse the aisles of my favorite HEB searching for clearance priced Christmas peanut butter cups (because really, does it matter that they're wrapped in red and green foil? They're still so peanut buttery precious any time of year), I trip over stacks of Valentines chocolates. The piles of unsold Christmas cookie tins and dented up popcorn cans featuring photos of kittens in red bows have been moved to the clearance aisle to make room for the singing monkeys with heart-spotted underpants and boxes of chalky hearts that say "text me."

It seems the same would be so with Lisa on Location. Moments after fulfilling my last holiday card order, I turned around and began work on one of my favorite annual Valentine's Traditions -- The Lisa on Location Boudoir Ball. I can't think of a more perfect gift for husbands and boyfriends than a collection of photographs of the woman they love in glorious, sensual attire. Of course the men in their lives love it, but want to know a secret? I've been told by many past clients that the women enjoy it just as much as the men!

Who wouldn't enjoy a little pamper session with a professional make-up artist, then their own private photo session? Who wouldn't like enjoying a glamorous photo shoot in a romantic bed and breakfast, sipping wine and eating dark chocolate and giggling about men, love and "I can't believe I'm doing this"? Afterwards I'll present you with a private gallery of your edited images and you'll get to choose your favorites (and you can even let him take a peek if you'd like).

Give me a call when you're ready to make that special gift for your man -- or for yourself. Spaces are limited! Can't wait to hear from you!

Lisa On Location Photography

New year, new floors {New Braunfels Photography}

I sit here typing with puke brown paint on my fingers. It has a tint of green to it mimicking the color of snot-puke brown to be more specific. It's not a color I would have chosen to paint the walls of my room, but then again, I'm not a 13-year-old girl with a fascination for zombies. I have just finished painting over the "banana pudding yellow" walls that I remember so lovingly painting just 8 short years ago for my then 5-year-old daughter who loved fairies and kittens.

Wow, those 8 years have flown by. I'm beginning to realize what my parents were talking about when they said "time flies." As a kid I would hear that and think "what are you crazy? Time drags like a snail with a hernia." And I guess it did for me as a child. Just like my own children think the time between one Christmas and the next is a painful lifetime that takes forever. A lifetime in which all the toys they failed to get this year will suddenly cease to exist between one December and the next.

This year's Christmas was a whirlwind of chaos as usual. But throw into that the ordeal of getting new floors throughout the house and it spells one mega-holiday nightmare. At first we were told the floors would be in on the 10th and installed within two days of that. We decided to hold off until after then to decorate -- who wants to put up a tree only to have to take it down for a few days then put it back up again.

But shortly before the 10th we were told our floor was on backorder until the 20th. So we decided to decorate, but in modest amounts. We didn't get out the big bouncing Christmas Tigger who says "The wonderful thing about Christmas is, well, Christmas" among other things. And the hamster than sings "Ice Ice Baby" had to stay packed, as did the dancing chicken with a Santa hat. It was a subdued holiday for us. Christmas eve was spent pulling up carpet and getting splintered hands from the horrid boarded nails around the edge. Who's bright idea was it to use nails pointing up to keep carpet in place?

The floors were delivered at 8 a.m. the morning after Christmas along with a nasty headache and stomach ache from the overindulgence of mashed potatoes, giblet gravy, pumpkin pie and chocolate peanut butter cups. They sit now waiting for their installation as I hurriedly paint while there's no carpet or flooring down.

As I throw out the old carpet I can't help but remember all the fun we had on it. All the impromptu tickle sessions. Cuddling up on it with sleeping bags and blankets to watch movies in the dark. I remember how pretty it was when it was new and shiny. Before all the years of spilled juice, potty training accidents, sudden vomiting spells, and that little mishap with The Boy and the acrylic paints. It's okay to let go of the old sometimes. Carpets aren't made to last forever. I'm excited about our new floors. And I'll tolerate my daughter's new puke-brown walls. But I'm keeping a small patch of banana-pudding yellow. And I'll look on it lovingly when she's playing her music too loud or slamming the door to her room of the puke-brown walls. And I'll remember the girl who loved fairies and kittens and ponder how fast time flies.
Lisa On Location Photography

Lessons from the School of Hard Knocks for Brides {New Braunfels Wedding Photography}

Hindsight is 20/20, they say. Regret is a huge burden for a lot of people. Regret is painful and it's so sad when that regret can hurt something as important as your wedding memories. In the past few years I've gotten to know a lot of brides and I've heard plenty of horror stories about wedding photography. I've gotten several heartbreaking calls from tearful brides who got their wedding photos back from a mediocre photographer and were horrified that they were awful. "Can you fix them in Photoshop for me?" they'll ask. I was heartbroken by the call I got a few months ago from the bride who didn't get a single image of her and her new husband alone on their wedding day. Just the two of them. She wanted to schedule a post-wedding session with me but ended up deciding not to spend the money -- she still had to pay off the wedding photographer who didn't do his job.

I've perused the wedding forums and seen the sob stories from brides who were so disappointed that they allowed a family friend to photograph their wedding for free to save them the money of hiring a professional. Here's a sample post: "After waiting almost a month, I finally got to view my pics. I was so sad that they did not come out as nice as I'd hoped. I can't complain as they were done by my brother-in-law's friend and it was his first wedding and he didn't charge us anything but now I wish we had said thanks but no thanks. This will definitely be my advice to future brides - as much as you like the photography of a friend or relative, if they've never done a wedding, don't use them. Get a pro! Wish someone had warned me." --disappointed bride on The Knot forum.


Then there are those who try to save money by hiring a semi-pro or budget wedding photographer: "So I finally saw our wedding photos but I'm not going to share them because they suck. We went with the photographer who did my son's T-ball photos because his prices were the lowest. Big mistake." --disappointed bride on the Wedding Wire forum.

A few months ago I marveled at the amazing decor of a wedding at one of my favorite venues. While talking to the venue manager I learned that the wedding was being photographed by a family friend who just got a really nice camera and wants to photograph it as a gift for them. The family had spent at least a hundred thousand dollars on the most amazing decor I've ever seen at a wedding yet they were trusting the photography to a young photo hobbiest with "a really nice camera." Some of life's lessons are really expensive and painful.

Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras have exploded in popularity in the past few years. For about $600-$1,000 anyone can own a camera that takes decent photos. My photography class with the New Braunfels ISD community education is always full each session and sometimes has a waiting list -- full of people who got these cool toys but don't know how to use them. This Christmas, thousands of people will get one under the tree and be hooked on photography. Unfortunately, many of them will hang out a shingle -- or set up a website -- and start charging (or not charging in a lot of cases) to take photos. All kinds of photos -- families, seniors, children, engagements, and weddings. Half an hour and all images on disc for only $50! Wow! What a bargain!


The truth is, it's not really such a bargain, especially for the brides who hire them. If you're not happy with your family photos, you can always try again. Get the kids dressed up again, find another photographer and try again. But if you're not happy with your wedding photographs, there are no do-overs.

Real professional photographers are kind of expensive (although pay does not always indicate quality as I've seen plenty of photographers who charge more than others without the skill to back it up). Real professional photographers have to be pricier because they've invested a lot in their craft. A lot for education, a lot for equipment, insurance and many years of scraping by to practice and perfect their art.


Before hiring a photographer for your wedding, look at their past wedding work. Meet with them. Look through their albums and even talk to other brides who've worked with them in the past if possible. Hiring a professional wedding photographer is one of the best investments you can make for your wedding. The food will get eaten. The decorations will be thrown away, and the flowers will die. But you'll have your photos for the rest of your life as a reminder of all the joy and beauty of your day.


And if you're one of the unlucky brides who could have written this blog yourself, call me. Because I know there's no recreating that day, but we can pull that dress our of storage and grab your new husband for a little photo fun that will fill that album!

Lisa On Location Photography

And on the 13th day of Christmas, Lisa gets to breathe.

Wow, what a whirlwind! I sat down to take a look at my blog and was shocked to see that it's been 12 days since I last blogged. Bad Lisa! This first half of the month has really flown by. For the past few weeks my to-do list has been multiple pages and I've been forced to prioritize based on who will or who will not chunk mudpies at my house if I'm a little bit late on their project. But I'm happy to say that I made my deadlines, most of the time and that my to-do list is finally back down to one page with just a few projects on it. And no mudpies yet! Yeah!

I have just a few short days of uninterrupted work time left. This Friday marks the end of school for the year and then I'll have a house full of darlings for two weeks. Tis the season to bicker and squabble and tattle to mom that "he's kicking me" and "I was here first" and "she took my seat." Tis the season for speed-dial calls to Santa and "you get that candy cane out of your mouth young man until you eat your peas!"

But I'll be ready for them. I've got my workflow down to a science and the midnight hour is my friend -- that's when I whip those editing jobs out the fastest. I can take the next two weeks, whatever the youngins throw at me. There are still a few sessions on the calendar for the year and one final New Year's Eve wedding. But there's also time to sit down and breathe every now and then. I've got cookies to bake and presents to wrap as well. And those bonbons aren't going to eat themselves!

Here's to peaceful holiday family time. Here's to National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and It's a Wonderful Life. Here's to sugary cookies and Reese's peanut butter trees (because they're so much yummier than the regular kind). Here's to wassail in the crock pot and holiday wreaths made out of paper plates and macaroni. Here's to secret santa gifts and potluck dinners. Here's to green bean casserole and silly Christmas songs about hippopatamuses. Enjoy your season! And take a few minutes to breathe every now and then. Merry Christmas!
Lisa On Location Photography