MayDay Boudoir Day Reflection - 5/1/16

Well, it's the last Tuesday in May which means the MayDay Boudoir Day was a month ago already (WOW)! All of the editing is done, all orders that have been placed are in, and I'm a little sad it's over! However, this particular boudoir event was special, and a bit of a landmark in terms of my artistic career. With one (actually...two....no, three....) so far scheduled ahead in the near future, I do have stuff to look forward to.

I had last done a Boudoir Day in April 2014, and it was one of my favorite things I had ever done. It was so rewarding, and while I like other forms of photography, I felt a belonging and meaning for my work through Boudoir. It was a random thought on a random day in march where I didn't even tell Toby about my idea. I just thought to myself I've gotta do this again. So I made a quick little photo graphic, emailed some people to gather a team, and ran with it. I was spamming so crazy with social media feeds, wanting it so badly to happen. We ended up booking four lovely ladies for this event!

Everything went SO well! Hotel Ruby Marie gave us their most beautiful suite from last time with plenty of space and beautiful vintage, Victorian era furniture with sunlight dripping through. This historical Madison landmark provided us with plenty of space and amenities to shoot in, get hair and makeup done, set up the champagne and other refreshments with the gift bags and product samples, as well as for the clients to feel comfortable and change in. I don't have enough good things to say about this place.

Our team included myself, Kerry Conway from Hybrid Salon working her hair and makeup magic, and a couple of dear friends that helped host as well as assist with lighting, donate to the gift bags, and hang out with our clients and make them feel happy and comfortable. We had so much fun this entire day! We had a group of very different, very awesome ladies. We had two brides-to-be: one a fitness instructor and massage therapist, the other a pure romance consultant who also works at a local news station in her town. One lady was single, back to school for Psychology, and on her way to Spain for the Summer. Another was another fitness instructor and part time barista in a relationship doing this for herself and her personal training business.

Whenever I wrapped up a shoot, I would tell the client that the shoot was over unless they needed anything else. Each time, without fail, the client would proclaim something along the lines of: "Oh my god that was so much fun!" They didn't even see their photos yet. After we finished our work for the day, we did ourselves a favor by toasting with the remaining bit of champagne we had left over from the event.

Afterward, I immediately went home and uploaded them to my computer and began the long editing process. I shared and blogged images in the meantime, and I was floored by the feedback I received on the images. I loved reading through the comments from friends and family of the clients saying how beautiful and amazing their loved one was. This brought tears to my eyes.

xx emily

PS: Below are some images from Instagram as I always share some behind-the-scenes of every event and photoshoot I can. This way followers can get a taste of what the day is like, and maybe they'll see it for themselves someday. For future Boudoir Day events, or to book your own, please visit emilybartos.com for more information.

Product samples and refreshments for all.

Each client got their own "Unicorn Gift Bag" full of awesome goodies.

Kerry working her magic.

More makeup magic.

The crew!

Cheers to a successful day!

Check out our amazing room we got for #BoudoirDay 📷💋🦄 #hotelrubymarie #boudoirphotography

A video posted by Emily Bartos (@emily_bartos) on May 1, 2016 at 10:44am PDT

Spontaneous Portraits (Summer 2015)

Sometimes you just need to ask to take pictures of people to stay inspired. It helps when your friends are these people. Here's a look back to that impromptu photoshoot from Late July.

Of course, we ended our day with pizza.

Favorites from Summer 2015

Not everyone values photography with the same intensity as a person in the field may.  Regardless, I discover the importance of capturing memories in this manner when it's an icy, rainy, gray November day and I'm huddled in my sweatshirt nasty and congested. I think back to summer, taking my camera everywhere from sun-up to sun-down, capturing whatever caught my eye. I miss that presence of sunshine that goes away so early this time of year.

Here are just a few of my favorites I took from this summer.

Forest Hill Cemetery (11/6/15)

There is a large cemetery just down the road a ways from where I live. I've walked by it hundreds of times and acknowledged its presence, but I overlooked it as a simple landscape with rows of granite slabs.

The city of Madison purchased the land for Forest Hill Cemetery in 1857 around the time of the Civil War. Given the fact that this occured during the Civil War, the cemetery is rich with civil war history--including a Union soldier plot, a Confederate plot (held prisoner at Camp Randall), and there are several Native American burial mounds on the land as well.

There are tales of ghosts being present here. We did not see any that day, if you are curious...but the trip provided interesting history, a splendid fall hike, as well as an opportunity to photograph some hauntingly beautiful and  interesting subject matter.