::DIY:: Easy & Elegant Braid

Today I created an easy, elegant braid on Gabrielle. I'm going to tell y'all in words - no step-by-step pictures - on on how to recreate this look for yourself, or on someone else. : )


1. To add some texture and slight body to the hair. Start off by curling the hair in loose curls. (You can add a little bit of stylish gel to the hair before you curl it with the curling iron. Heat protection too, if you have any on hand.)


2. After you are done curling all the hair. Let it set for about 5-10 minutes (leave it alone).


3. Starting on the side of the head with the most hair, start twisting the hair into a roll towards the other side (you will need a few bobby pins). Once you have rolled to about the point you want to start the braid, flip the hair up and clamp with a hair claw, or something like it to keep the hair up and out of the way.

 4. With the rest of the hair that is down, divide into two parts, as you would for a normal braid. With the piece closest to the front of the head, start twisting it, like in the picture (you won't need any pins). Keep twisting until you get closer to the rest of the hair in the back. 


5. Once you are close to the back. Start braiding all three pieces (the two twists & the normal piece). Go about 1/2 way down then secure with a hair elastic (try to pick one close to your hair color).


6. If you want to do the hair wrap around the hair elastic, do the following. Take a  smallish piece of hair from the middle. Wrap around the hair elastic a few times. Then poke it under the hair wrap and under one layer of the hair elastic. Doing your best to hid the ends. You want people to wonder, how on earth did she do that?!? ;-) And you are done! 


I hope y'all enjoyed this little hair tutorial. If you need any help, just ask me! If you would like more of these let me know. Also, would you like more pictures next time? 

Preparing for Your Boudoir Session - Hair & Nails

The next thing I wanted to write about in my little series about prepping for your boudoir photos is hair and nails.

Hair:
I highly recommend having your hair (and makeup) professionally done by my artist. She knows what looks great on camera and how to give you a sexy boudoir look. If you will be having your hair styled in my studio come with it clean and dry. It's tempting, but try not to pull it back into a ponytail. Elastics leave mark in your hair.

Don't have your hair cut drastically different from what you are used to right before your shoot. However, a trim to freshen up your style is a good idea. This will help your hair look it's healthiest (healthy = sexy). 
Freshening up your hair color is also a good idea. You don't want roots showing in your pictures. This is really hard to touch up digitally. Again, this isn't the time to try something new or drastically different, stick with what you know looks good on you.

If you are doing your hair yourself or having it done at your own salon remember that for pictures it generally looks good with a little more volume than normal. Curly, wavy and straight can all be sexy. Leaving it down and loose is usually prefered over formal up-dos. Remember that boudoir pictures are about a sexy bedroom look, not a fussy prom style. Take a look at Victoria's Secret catalogs for some inspiration.

Nails:
The best advice here is to just make sure they are neat with no chipping polish. Your hands and feet will show in the pictures so make sure your nails look nice. Getting a manicure and pedicure before your shoot will help you look great, but you can also do your nails yourself. Try to stick with neutral colors like pale pink, ivory, and even nude polishes look sexy. If you want a more dramatic look stick with a classic red that looks good with your skin tone. I don't recommend intricate designs or wild colors. Your hands aren't the focus of most of the shots and you don't want your nails distracting from the overall picture.

Remember not to stress out. There is not only one hairstyle or nail length/shape that is considered sexy. Choose what you like and what looks best on you. These pictures are all about celebrating you.

Feminine Fashion Week {Day 7} - 1960s Inspired

-What I'm Wearing-

Brown Polka-dot Sun Dress - Made by me for my HS Graduation {seen here}

Brown Sweater - Kohl's {Hand-me-down from Gabrielle}

Pink Tights - J.C. Penny {$4.99}

Brown T-Strap Kitten Heels - Naturalizers {Don't remember it was several years ago.}

Pearl Earrings - Gift

I love this dress! The sad thing is, I had a hard time putting on my dress this morning. I'm so worried about tonight. What if I can't get it off?!? I think this means I've grown out of my dress. :( Hopefully this isn't so. As it is my favorite dress ever!! {I think.} As this dress is sleeveless I add the sweater for a more winter look. I think it brings the outfit a more 60s flair. And my hair was fixed into a relaxed {more modern} flip, aka. Mary Tyler Moore. 

Now my dear readers, I'm excited to announce that my 1960s hair tutorial is now up on Vimeo {YouTube has a 10 minute limit and the tutorial is 15 minutes long}.

1960s Hair Tutorial from Bramblewood Fashion on Vimeo.

  

Today is also the last day of Natasha's fashion week. How fast this week has flown! Thank you, Natasha for hosting this wonderful Feminine Fashion Week! :)

~Ashley

New Stuff in the Shop

 

1. "Molly" hair clip ($5) {2 pairs}       2. "Lucy" - earrings ($8) {2 pairs}

3. "Emma Rose" reversible hobo-tote bag ($20) 

~Ashley

Polka Dotted Headband

I love headbands, but I also don't want to spend a lot of money on them either. So I have come up with a solution...make my own! This headband was made from fabric scraps (which I have way too many of!), a button from an old wool coat, and a piece of elastic. The flower was made from a tutorial I found on Marie-Madeline Studio.  This was so easy to make, that I don't think I will ever buy another headband. =)

~Ashley

Hair Has a Shape?

Please forgive me if you already knew this, but I thought it was really super cool. I was reading a very elementary level human body encyclopedia with my daughter the other day and I learned something interesting about hair. I always kinda wondered why some people have straight hair and some people have curly hair. I knew it was hereditary, but that's it.

Well, it turns out that it is determined by the shape of the hair shaft! If your hair is straight (like mine, actually make that "stick straight") then the hair shafts are round. If your hair is wavy (like I WISH mine were naturally) then the hair shaft is oval shaped. And curly hair is flat, which makes sense; it reminds me of curling ribbon.

I hope you found that nearly as interesting as I did. And if you want to enhance (or change) what mother nature gave you go visit my friends at Studio Enizio for a new style. They also carry the fabulous Kerastase products.

Studio Enizio

I took a minute today and ran over to visit Enizio's new studio - Studio Enizio
Cynthia gave me a tour. It has an amazingly gorgeous pampering feeling. They feature Kerastase products and have really great artists (I would know, I work with them).

They are located just around the point of the mountain in the very North end of Utah county. It's super convenient to get to from the freeway.

I hope Cynthia doesn't mind but I borrowed this image from her blog. I thought it would be helpful to post a picture. I got a little lost but that was mainly because I got caught in today's snow storm, which was the most inconvenient time to find out my window washer fluid was out.

FAQs: What if I don't look like a model?

I will let you in on a little secret - Even models don't look like models every day (of course you already knew that, but sometimes we forget). The women you see in the movies and in the magazines have a team consisting of makeup artists, hairstylists, photographers and editors that know how to make them look their absolute best.
At our studio you get the same treatment.
When getting boudoir portraits done you want someone with specific experience in this genre of photography. Posing and lighting are so important. You will also want someone who knows how to properly apply makeup for photography. Studio lighting requires different application of makeup than what you would normally wear.
Touchups on the finished photographs are also very important. There is nothing wrong with editing images to enhance them. It helps to realize that all the stars you see on the cover of magazines are airbrushed extensively. Photo editing is a skill. Poor quality editing can leave the image looking fake and plastic. Subtle touchups are usually all that is required to perfect an already sexy image.
With all the work we do on our end to help you look stunning, you have to realize that the true beauty lies within you already. Nothing is sexier than a confident woman who radiates with her own special brand of beauty.
Working in this field I have come to realize that every single woman is beautiful and sexy and should be confident enough to book a boudoir portrait session.

Why are we different?

What makes us different from the other photographers out there? Well, let me tell you :)

Besides being a female photographer, I work with an amazing female hair and makeup artist. Her artistry has been performed on some pretty high profile celebrities as well as for my own beautiful clients. She works on set to make sure every hair is in place and that your look stays flawless.

We have a studio dedicated to shooting boudoir photography. That means you don't have to pay for an expensive hotel. Although the hotel option is available, we think our studio is perfect. It's private and versatile.

I use glamour lighting techniques that are used for fashion and glamour magazines. This means you will look like a supermodel. I also have over 10 years experience with photo editing software (I don't want to tell exactly HOW many years, I prefer to pretend I am still 20). I do touchups on all images. You will see these touchups before you order your prints and books. If you prefer something changed I will be happy to do it. I don't charge extra for touching up because honestly I enjoy it and believe every image you see should be it's best.

The style we offer is a sexy fusion of glamour and boudoir photography. We are very experienced, professional (although expect to have a lot of giggly fun), and we LOVE what we do.