St. Louis Photographer » A Journal by Holly McCaig

I have so much to blog this week and share with you! Can’t say life is boring right now!

I finally got permission from Elisabeth to show one of her boudoir images. Yes, the same Elisabeth that did makeup at our boudoir event a few weeks ago! She wanted to have these done as a surprise for her hubby, but he ended up finding out anyway. So, now you get to see one of my favorites. This is the VERY first image I did. As soon as she showed me her navy nightie, I knew we had to try something on one of my green walls in the front room. I love that I can incorporate different areas of the studio into my shoots. So much variety. The mystery of the image is so awesome.

We’re still working on planning our Fall Boudoir event so stay tuned for details!

Boudoir photography is such an intimate subject. I enjoy helping women feel good about themselves and having them trust me to give them the best images. Often times, the gift of boudoir photography is something they pass on to their significant other. Sometimes, it’s just for them – maybe after a weight loss, divorce, self-esteem boost. Whatever your reason, it’s always an honor when clients trust me with this type of photography purchase. I absolutely adored working with Elisabeth Cutshall for makeup and hair the other week and she did a great job on images for Sarah.

Due to the nature of boudoir photography, I don’t always get to share these – we respect the privacy of all our clients. Sarah gave permission to post one. We consulted with her on her images and she told us how her hubby (stationed overseas currently) loves a women in athletic wear. Immediately, I thought of the Reebok commercial of the EasyTone – so, we re-created that feel with this image:

I’m pretty wiped out. It was a long weekend with so much of me shooting. I’m now doing what I love and that’s editing and proofing images. This always makes me happy. Lots of emails to catch up too. It’s all good. I’m starting to visualize how my work week schedules and processes should be before it gets busy again this summer. These are the things that make me smile and drive me to wanting to do so much more.

This Saturday, I teamed up with the ever adorable, Elisabeth Cutshall – Makeup Extraordinaire! – and we did three boudoir shoots. We LOVED IT! It was a great learning experience when you try to figure out the best way to schedule these and not let our creative minds take over and take longer than we should. We are starting to prepare for our Christmas Boudoir Marathon and it will happen some time in the Fall. Keep watching for dates. We won’t schedule more than five ladies in one day, so spots will be limited if you’re interested!

I captured some images of Elisabeth putting on makeup on our clients. There may be some sneaks of the boudoir images to come later. Our clients have to give permission for this to be on the blog and tell us which image they don’t mind. We keep this very private for them so they always remain comfortable with the nature of their images. Go check out Elisabeth’s new website too!

Elisabeth and I are so excited to announce the winners of our contest for the Boudoir Marathon Photoshoot. We decided that we couldn’t pick just one, so we decided to offer a bigger discount to our second and third place winners.

First Place – Free is Sarah Scott:

I know that you are supposed to have someone nominate you but my special someone is far away. My husband is in the Navy and currently in the Persian Gulf. I think that it would be wonderful to be able to give him this for Valentine’s Day. I haven’t seen my husband since the end of August and is not expected back until mid April. To win this would be the best gift for both of us!

Second Place – 50% off is Maria:

I have been obsessed with pin-up style photos since i was a kid and have been looking for a photographer to take pin-up photos for me for a few years now. When i found the post on craigslist i was so excited but the price is a little out of my budget and its something i couldn’t afford to do on my own. I recently found out that my boyfriend is going to be gone this valentines day because he will be on tour with his band. I would love to be able to have this photoshoot and give him the pictures and him open them on valentines day so i will still be with him in a way. please pick me!!! thanks!

Third Place – 25% off is Kristin Pribyla:

Ok…I know the rules stated that someone needs to enter this for me, but I am entering myself. Probably because I think it would be totally cool to do this for my husband. After having 3 boys…yes, I said 3 boys (ages 5, 3 and 6 months), I think my husband would think I would never do something like this. I think he would be totally shocked out of his gourd. He usually only sees me in my PJ pants, sweat pants and his old college t-shirts, so I think he would absolutely faint if I presented him with something like this. Now, I do live in MS, but would honestly drive up to you to do this if I won.

Ladies, on January 16th, we’re hosting this Boudoir Marathon Day! We are excited to have you be a part of this. We’ll email you this post information and you can communicate with us this way. The day will start at 10 a.m. and we’ll continue booking clients as we fill up our spots. If you received a discount and can’t use it, please consider gifting it to a friend of yours! All sessions for this must take place this day and session fees and a signed contract are required prior to January 16th.

Remember, you can still book a session for our Boudoir Marathon Day, even if you didn’t win! It’s just $499 – normally $650! You get full makeup and hair by Makeup by Elisabeth as well as two outfit changes, 20 fully retouched prints and a small, 5 x 5 little black book of your 20 prints.

Just use this form to get in touch!

I will be posting more and more about these. Hey, biz is pretty dead in the winter, so I’m offering up some good deals. Here are two that might spark your interest!

1. Valentine Mini Sessions are going on again this year! This year, you get a 30 minute session for up to two people in our cute, Valentine setup. Includes 5 digital images and 25 Valentine’s cards and envelopes. Just $150. Two days only, January 22 and 23rd. Card templates will be available at the session for you to choose from. We have lots of cute props and tutus for the kids to wear. These are great surprises for daddy!

2. The Boudoir Marathon going on January 16th in the studio. It’s a HUGE savings. A full makeup and hair session with Makeup by Elisabeth, 20 fully retouched images of your choice, and them printed in a little black book for you to give away to your sweetie. It’s just $499, but spaces are VERY limited. We also have a giveaway for one of these spots. You, or your loved one can enter you into the contest. Just read more about it here. I’d suggest booking your session and entering too. This way, we can refund your money, but you still get your spot reserved!

Watch for more amazing winter specials!

To book yours, please email us via our contact sheet.