Hey Ladies! I know it’s only the beginning of January and feels crazy to start thinking about the next holiday coming up but Valentine’s Day is now only a little over a month away!!! We will be doing boudoir mini-sessions and the images make the PERFECT gift to give to your Lover. We will be in Jackson Hole, Wyoming the weekend of January 21st & 22nd and in Bozeman, Montana the weekend of January 28th & 29th.

Your 30 min. in studio mini-session will include having your lips & lashes done and a quick makeup touchup by my fabulous makeup artists (Tanya Crocker in Jackson & Ethereal Hair & Makeup in Bozeman)  to get you looking perfect. You bring in 1 outfit of your choice and you get to choose the studio setup that appeals to you the most. You will get to choose your 3 favorite images to take home as 4×6 mounted prints as well as the digitals for those 3. (You may also choose to purchase additional images or products.)

Get in touch via the website contact form or at info@arnicaspring.com for more info and to book your session time!
Looking forward to working with you!! xo
~Arnica~

Understandably, the thought of doing a boudoir or glamour session can be intimidating. I often do bridal fairs and wedding events and the responses that I get from women range vastly. Some are very excited and come rushing over to talk to me and others are completely put off by the thought of letting someone photograph them in their underwear or photograph them at all for that matter. I often hear from women that they don’t like photos of themselves or that they aren’t sexy and don’t know how to do any of the things that they see the other women in my images doing.

The general public has this terrible idea that if they were to walk into a photo studio to have their picture taken that they will be greeted by flashing lights, blowing fans and the expectation to work it like Tyra, Cindy, and Claudia. That idea couldn’t be further from the truth.

The reality is that a boudoir or glamour photo session is calm and relaxed. There are no flashes or big fans or photographers telling you to work it. In my studio, the lighting is all natural, we use a hair dryer for wind and I coach you into every pose telling you exactly what I want you to do with every part of your body. The truth is that a shoot for a birthday, Valentine’s or wedding gift often turns into a day of self-discovery, empowerment and self-acceptance. Women walk away from these shoots feeling proud, sexy, beautiful and strong.

Here are 4 reasons to book a photo shoot:

1. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL NOW…JUST AS YOU ARE. We all have issues with our bodies no matter what size we may be.  Never have I photographed a woman, that said to me “I absolutely love every single part of my body.” No matter if you are happy with the size that you are or if you believe you need to loose 150 pounds, we all have pieces and parts that we wish were a little bigger or a little smaller or a little less wrinkly or grey or more toned or longer or shorter. It seems to be part of our feminine nature to be dissatisfied with the body that we live in, but at some point it is important that we come to terms with the fact that we will never be perfect. 90% of the women that I photograph do not have 8% body fat, yet I constantly hear, “I’d love to do a shoot but I need to lose weight first.” The truth is that most of us will never lose those extra 10 pounds that we believe to be so offensive to the rest of the world and all of us are only getting older. Learning to accept that is a challenge and at some point we all need to make peace with ourselves. Having a photo session will help you to see yourself in a new and different light and give that extra boost of confidence that we could all use.

2. GOD DIDN’T MAKE A MISTAKE. As the incredible photographer, Sue Bryce, says: “You deserve to exist in photographs.” Women are natural givers because it is built into us to take care of children. We give and give and give and we often forget to give to ourselves.

Over the years I have photographed many family sessions. During those sessions I always take a few minutes to photograph each member of the family individually. Almost always, the mother will tell me that she doesn’t want photos of herself and that she just wants images of her kids and her husband. I tell her it’s not an option to not have them. At some point in time, we will all leave this world and when that day comes, the very first thing that your children and loved ones are going to want is photos of you. It is not a mistake or an accident that you are a daughter, a lover, a sister, a mother, a grandmother or a wife. The people in your life that you love deserve to have images of you. They do not care about your body size or if you had wrinkles or grey hair. They care that you exist. Your existence was not a mistake. Honor your existence.

3. YOU CAN LOOK LIKE “THEM” TOO. Over the years, the media has destroyed our perception of women and implanted in our brains what we “should” look like. We all have at least one or two photos of ourselves that we like. Those are the ones that we put as our profile picture or send out in our Christmas cards. But no iPhone photo can ever come close to making you look like what you see on TV and in magazines. The thing is that those women are normal-looking people and often when  seen without manicured hair and makeup, in their sweats with no wind in their hair, nobody would  guess that they could be celebrity material. Bring in a professional hair and makeup artist, a stylist and photographer and it’s makeover magic!

Well, I believe that every woman should get to have that experience and not just professional models. All of my photo shoots include hair, makeup and styling. It is such a cool thing to see a woman look in the mirror after they have been all done up and changed into a fantastic dress or sexy lingerie outfit. The response is almost always, “I didn’t know I could look like this!” We all have an amazing dress or neglige that we love but would never wear and a photo shoot is the perfect time to put it on! I believe that with the right team, every woman can have photographs that are magazine-worthy and that will make her feel as beautiful as any woman in the media.

4.CELEBRATE YOUR LIFE & RELATIONSHIPS. A photo session is also a great way to celebrate a milestone, an anniversary, a wedding, a holiday or any other life event that you want to be able to look back on and remember who you were and where you were at during that point in your life. What better way than to have beautiful images of yourself and your loved ones?

I love to photograph women one-on-one, but I love it even more when they come in with girlfriends, sisters, mothers, daughters and bridesmaids. There is no better ladies day out or way to celebrate your relationships than to visit the studio with the women you love, have a complete makeover, drink wine, eat chocolate, talk, laugh, love and have photographs taken of yourself (and a few with your clan) and then go out for a great dinner or night on the town. It’s always a whirlwind of laughter, love, smiles, beautiful clothes, fabulous shoes, things that sparkle and lot of loveliness.

In this space in time where everyone has a digital camera and we are used to being able to take 5000 photos and delete the “bad” ones, people are often surprised when I tell them that they will receive 30-40 images from their boudoir or glamour session to choose from. I have to admit that for the first few years of shooting digital, I too, took thousands of photos and that’s what my clients came to expect. It got to the point where I was overwhelming myself and my client with too many options. People didn’t know what to choose…they couldn’t decide between 2 (or 10) different images that were so similar that sometimes they couldn’t tell them apart.

I am one of those lucky photographers that was just old enough to have learned the beautiful art of photographing with film. We had either 24 or 36 images on a role. Needless to say as the photographer, one put a great deal more time and care into each shot. Making sure the lighting was perfect, the wardrobe and makeup flawless and the expression priceless. As a digital shooter I think it becomes easier to focus on these things once you understand the camera and why and how it works…so that it is just part of you and you and it are focused on the subject. This only comes with practice.

Well, I practiced and I finally came back to the idea that I get 36 shots to accomplish what I want to accomplish in a boudoir or glamour shoot. It’s the perfect number. An average shoot is 3-4 outfits giving an average of 10 final images per outfit. When I photograph you, rather then shoot tons of images and hope I got a good one, I do my very best to make each and every shot perfect.  Below is a full session with the final images that my (stunning) client got to choose from. She chose them all.

From Dr John De Martini

The greatest art form that exists on this planet is the human body – a magnificently structured temple of sacred architecture. Are you grateful for your body? Some people are but most people take this wonderful gift for granted.

Many people complain about the shape of their body – I’m too fat, too thin, too short or too tall. They spend a great deal of time in front of the mirror focusing on what they perceive as imperfections of their body rather than focusing on its magnificently balanced perfection. Being grateful for your body and for the multitude of its powerful gifts can make the difference between experiencing wellness or illness in your life. One of the reasons why some people beat themselves up about certain areas of their bodies is because they are comparing themselves to a fantasy of a magazine cover they think they are supposed to look like.

After working with thousands of people, I am convinced that for every part of our body we don’t like there is a part we admire. If we are putting ourselves down in one area I can guarantee we are proud of another area. We may not like our thighs, but we admire our eyes. We may not like our thin hair, but we admire our skin. We may not like the shape of our body, but we like the shape of our lips and our smile and so on. Begin to train yourself in becoming grateful for all parts of your physical body that you currently dislike. Think about your head – How can you be grateful for it? For your hair? Your scalp? Your eyes? Your skin, nose and lips? Ask yourself, ‘How does this serve me?’ When you are grateful for all parts of your head, work your way in your mind through your body from head to toe, identifying each and every part inside and outside of you. Keep asking yourself how that part of your body serves you until you are truly grateful for every part of it.

No matter what your physical body looks like, you have things you like and dislike, or even admire and despise, about yourself. Everyone practices the same math of fifty-fifty, right down the middle. Both things you like and dislike are going to serve you in your life and the wisdom is appreciating this balance and being grateful for it. When you do this and take the time to see all parts of your body are serving you in your life to appreciate it for what it is, you empower yourself. Recognize the magnificence of your physical body and find a way to look at it in a new way – with awe and gratitude.

Hello Lovely Ladies! It’s that time of year once again for love and romance! So here is the Valentine’s Day scoop!

1.In order to have a gift in hand by Valentine’s Day your shoot needs to be completed by Feb. 8th

2. I’m booking for Boudoir Shoots at both the Bozeman Studio or the Jackson Studio

3. Session’s are starting at $250 including hair & makeup

4. I will be doing a day of boudoir mini-sessions in Bozeman on Feb. 2nd & in Jackson on Feb. 4th

5. As Always, there is a 20% discount for Military Wives and  Cancer Survivors

Please get in touch with me for more info! Blessings!