How a boudoir session turned into so much more (feat Madmoizelle.com)

Scandals, we just had our first press publication. Buckle up because what's to follow is even better: it's a comic strip. Drawn by one of the coolest illustrator on the planet, from one of the best online women magazine. How cool is that?

During our trip back to France, we didn't only eat a lot of cheese and notices how many times French people are saying "oh hé oh hé ooooh" when they speak. No Mam', we worked.

We have been reading Madmoizelle since it opened, over 10 years ago. They target young women from 15 to late 20's. What we love about them is that they are not afraid to speak the truth, kill taboos loud and clear and share body positivity in every way they can. We naturally thought of reaching out to their office in Paris to offer a boudoir shoot to one of the writers.

The lovely Léa took on our offer and we had the best time with her. She's is the main illustrator and graphic designer there. Try putting 3 creative women in one room, we just made magic.

Enough talking, here is the strip, translated from French to English for YOU scandals!

Nota Bene: all facts Léa stated in this strip are.... true. Yes we make bad jokes, we laugh a lot, take odd positions.... That's part of the package you get with Scandaleuse. 100% accurate.

Thank you so much Léa for this. We were SUPER excited to see ourselves cartoony too, it is off the bucket list!

Now Photo time....

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Why having two shooters is the best

It is not a secret anymore, Juliette and I have been working together forever. Thanks to all of these years, we have developed an amazing team organization and creativity. We know each other very well, we work fast and in a total harmony. If you think a photographer working alone can give you great photographs, imagine what two photographers can do..

THE SECRET: DOUBLE EVERYTHING

• STRESS-FREE ENVIRONMENT AND GOOD SENSE OF HUMOR: REPORTING FOR DUTY

Getting ready for a photo shoot can be a lot of work and more stressful than you'd think: there is a lot going on. It is important for us to add great vibes and positivity during this special day of yours. Shooting as a team allows us to feel more relaxed and work more efficiently so you don't feel rushed and you still get everything covered. We also coach you, guide you and help you style your outfits. Our photo shoots are not "hello, clac clac, done", they are a full experience. We keep it professional but in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere..

• CREATIVITY AT ITS PEAK

When we work as a duo, we tend to be even more creative. We get a chance to use more props or do more complex lighting. Having two sets of eyes and brains also gives you a great variety in your final selection since you have not one but two creative spirits with you.

• Fast editing:

After your session, it is time for us to edit those awesome photographs of yours! The way we usually work is by doing a rough selection together and applying a soft edit. Once you chose your photographs, we split the editing by giving each other half of the photos selected. This means that our editing time is twice as less and thus, you get your photos a lot faster! Win-win for everyone!

• MORE PHOTOGRAPHS

More photographers means more pictures. You are maybe thinking right now that you do not need too many photographs but trust us, in 30 years from now you would love to remember and share with your partner every single details of your photo session, from how confident you were that day to the sexy lingerie you were wearing. Giving you quality is truly important for us but if we can also give you quantity on top of that, it is even better.

• EXTRA ATTENTION ON EVERYTHING YOU'VE WORKED HARD ON.

It's very likely that you are spending a lot of time in every single details of your photo shoot: taking time to pack up your bag with a lot of gorgeous outfits, hiring a professional for your makeup or becoming a ninja so your partner will not know the surprise you are planning for her/him. Might as well keep some good memories of it. By having two photographers, you will get everything captured the same way you planned everything: with extra care. There is also nothing better than a touch of french accent, two brains and four eyes to give you gorgeous photographs.

• BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY: BACK-UP

This is a little but very important detail that people don't think about (because you already have so many tings to take care off and this one should not be a stress factor). It is your photographer's job to make sure that every possible problem on his/her side will be covered: we are talking here of sickness, accident, car damage or any problem related to photography gear. Unfortunately, emergencies happened and working with two photographers decrease the risk of, for example , losing half of your photographs because something was wrong with the cards or because the camera got damaged. When we work as a duo, we double our photography gear and cards for extra-safety.

“As artists, we always need to create.
As photographers offering a service, we want to make you happy and make you feel like a queen or king.
As boudoir photographers, we want you to leave the shoot feeling like you’ve channeled your inner Beyonce and so for the rest of your life so you can keep kicking butts and being proud of yourself.”

 That's what Scandaleuse is about.

Work for me but for free - meet the artists

Sometimes I dream that I can take pictures of people for free everyday. Just for the beauty of helping them express their sexyness. All they have to do is take their clothes off and together, we create beauty and sensuality (I am still talking about boudoir photography - oh you naughty minds!)

But then reality comes back and reminds me it’s not possible yet.

A few weeks ago, the business women in us were explaining why we can’t work for free.

Today, it's time for the sequel and we decided to let our artistic side speaks.

Once upon a time…

In the wonderful world of Edith Piaf, the baguette and delicious cheese, two young ladies named Juliette & Fanny signed up in a photography school located on the north side of Paris in the dark forest who was full of trolls, gremlins and angry dragons. Fortunately, Juliette and Fanny surrounded themselves with lovely people who became good friends and all together they were able to study in a joyous and relaxed atmosphere (with some drama like in every fairy tales). For 3 years, they used their time and some gold coins to pay for their education and developed their creativity, knowledge and sense of humor.

It was time to leave the castle…

Our two lovely companions always wanted to discover the world and become international photographers. So they decided to get on board the Hogwarts Express with a first stop in London and a few other ones such as Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Rome, Prague...

Hand in hand they worked as photographers, they built their skills with different photography studios, had a good amount of mentors and worked on many projects and photoshoots to become better and better at their craft.

But something was missing, in their heart Fanny and Juliette were aiming for freedom. They knew they were the only ones who can make things change so they used their magic wands (and their brains) to create Scandaleuse Photography boudoir & weddings and finally made one of their dreams come true.

And they lived happily ever after...

There are a lot of pages to add to their story and trust me, getting married and having a lot of children is not the happy ending here.

It is all of these years of travel, people we have met and the time we invested in our profession that makes us the professionals we are today. You are not paying only for a photoshoot but investing for great quality, creativity, knowledge and the security of working with two serious ladies who can give you the photographs you are dreaming of.

Boudoir photography puts our vulnerability down and taking your clothes off in front of strangers can be a difficult exercise. Going with a photographer you trust and can reveal your personality to is a must. And this is what we have now been working on for over 8 years.

With love,

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How I Met My Business Partner - Episode 2

Episode 2 : From London to Toronto

In case you missed it, you can catch up on how two French girls ended up in London at the first place here. Grab a cookie, get comfy, here is the second episode of your Scandals-en-chef's story.

London, Wood Green, October 2012.

Our suitcases are heavy, so is the rain, but we don't care. We found a house. It looks cozy (turns out it wasn't), the rent is fairly cheap (for London), the landlord seems friendly (turns out she wasn't either) and the rooms were just re-painted (that was true. Our first night with the smell of the paint is a delirious and hilarious blur. Don't do drugs kids.)

First step was getting a job and quick. Knowing that our English was not that great, our first bet was to apply in bars & restaurants, hoping to get something fast. That's exactly what happened: we looked for 2 or 3 weeks before finding jobs as a barmaid and waitress. This is when the 17-hour shifts and the going home at 2 am started. I am not going to lie, little Scandals, it wasn't easy. But we were okay. We made enough money to pay for our basic needs. We didn't need much and we had each other. Our main activities were cooking, watching movies snuggled in one of the bedrooms (we didn't have heat for the longest time ever, told you it wasn't that cozy), and going window-shopping because with our wages, going real-shopping was out of the question. (They don't tip in the UK, guys!)

This is when you need to know one of the key element to our story: a 5"7 Canadian guy swept me off my feet and gave me the idea to start the paperwork and pack my bags to go over the Atlantic. After giving a lot of tears, time and dollars to the Canadian government, my paperwork went through and 6 months after our British arrival, I was about to leave again.

This situation was quite a bit of a pickle. See, we were kind of used to live together Fanny and I and we even started a wife/wife relationship there (our common shopping cart can be a witness of that).

Thinking of giving it up wasn't easy so Fanny decided… not to.

A blurry photo from when she took me to the airport in London

Fanny's second day in Toronto

Toronto, Yonge & Eglinton, February 2013

I will always remember when she told me "you know what, I'll come too". She applied for a working holiday visa, which she got a few days before I left, in February 2013. I landed in the Torontonian winter (during that ice storm we had back then, remember?) and I am not gonna lie, the months before Fanny's arrival were not a lot of fun. Getting accustomed to a new country, a new culture, a new job, while being away from my entire family was tough. Everything seemed just... so far. It was also the first time I was dealing with a time difference between my loved ones.

The minute Fanny landed in June 2013, everything felt like a little more like home. It was even better when she found a place literally across the street from mine. We were ready to conquer Toronto, one glass of wine at the time.

We have now been living for almost 5 years in Toronto, but trust me, it wasn't all pink and unicorns. But that will be the next episode…

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Let's talk about 2017

Well Scandals, we are living the last few weeks of 2017. We don't know about you, but this year was full of adventures for us (as I am currently writing this blog post in Prague, aka my big latest adventure of the year in 2017).

I absolutely love reading other people's feedback on their year and for the first time ever, Scandaleuse is doing it too.

Firstly, we opened.

Well yeah, it's kinda of the biggest one this year: we gathered our courage and opened Scandaleuse in April 2017. Fanny got her immigration paperwork done, I quit my full-time job and, from the Toronto Public Library, the website went live for the first time. A dream we worked so hard on finally came true. We collaborated with three awesome talents we can't thank enough: our illustrator Deanna Colosimo, our videographer James at Prcptn and our animator Jonathan Delgado.

We have successfully built amazing projects

Show Us Your Tats was our first photography project for tattooed people, in which we met, photographed & interviewed wonderful people. Thank you Mike, Betty, Liana, Kyle and Amber for getting on board.

We then worked on The Boudoir Circus with Jamie Holmes with 13 wonderful ladies who blew us away with their aerial abilities. We cannot wait to have another one in 2018!

The first Boudoir Bash was born and sold out in a matter of weeks, with 5 amazing women we are very thankful we met. We have another Boudoir Bash on January 20th and we are hoping for an even better turn out! (by the way, we have 4 spots left, contact us if you want one!)

We had a fantastic Model Call with two gorgeous women to immortalize a fantastic location in Hamilton at The 45 Wellington Project.

We spoke in public for the first time ever

Fanny and I stood in front of a group of strangers to talk about self confidence & boudoir photography, first at the Oasis and then at Good For Her. It was rocky, we stuttered, laughed, felt awkward and waaaaay out of our comfort zone but what an incredible experience that was! It made us grow in confidence 3000 faster than usual.

We opened to weddings

After working on so many weddings for other people, we opened our own wedding division with Scandaleuse! We now have a few amazing couples for 2018 and we can't wait to get more! (Pssst, our wedding instagram is here. Just saying!)

We got published

Again in Hamilton, with a team that took months to gather, we got published for a half lingerie, half bridal shoot in the mud by a waterfall!

We traveled to cities we've always wanted to see, and that for an entire month.

Airplanes hopping, walking so many kilometers we can even count, tried to speak 4 different languages, and are now back home with our loved ones in France. 

We saw 54 pairs of butts and counting, did five shoots around the world in Costa Rica, Lisbon, Rome, Prague, Bordeaux (and Paris will be the first 2018 shoot!), posted 257 times on Instagram (double that on Facebook) and wrote 37 blog posts.

And for that, we thank YOU. (And you. And youuuuuu. Love Actually reference.)

To more shoots, more boobs and butts and weddings!

What's your biggest accomplishment in 2017? We want to know everything. Sending you a lot of love for these last few weeks this year. Take care.

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Work for me but for free - Part 1

We all love to get things for free, right? Such a great feeling! And with Juliette, we hope (in a close future) we will have enough income to be able to accept no-budget projects, but in the meantime we do need to make a living out of photography.

Photography services can look pricey, especially when you are not aware of the amount of work and expenses involved in taking a simple picture. While we love when our clients don’t try to lower our rates, we can also understand when they do. Let us explain:

Photography gear is our biggest investment.

Camera, lenses and studio lights all together can cost the same price as a car:

Cameras = $3000 to $5000
Lense= $600 to $2000
External flash= $600 to $1000
Studio lights= $2000

This is just an average, you can find even more expensive material such as Hasselblad cameras who can be around $15000 (oh the ultimate goal!). You can also add more money for all of the other little accessories such as hard drives, memory cards, filters, tripods, extra batteries…

On top of this, you need to include the repair cost. I fixed my camera and two lenses 6 months ago and the total cost was over $1500.

Don't forget the computer stuff.

Computers are a very important investment for photographers. Except the photoshoot itself, everything happens digitally nowadays: editing, pictures delivery, payment and even customer service. Unfortunately you cannot be a professional photographer without a computer anymore. In order to provide a wonderful and artistic work, we have to invest in great equipment. Since Juliette and I travel a lot (Hello from Rome & Paris!), we needed to invest in a light laptop and each of us paid around $1300.

Let’s not forget about internet. It's a must in our industry and it needs to be fast, so boom, more $$$!

We have to get around.

As photographers, we love to shoot in different places so we need an easy way to travel. When we do not have to carry a lot of equipment and we are not going far, we use public transportation, otherwise we drive. It is more expenses to add on our side: cost of the car, gas, repairs, insurance + the time we spend on the road.

Where we shoot also needs $$$.

As you may already know, a part of our boudoir experience is to shoot in beautiful lofts in Toronto and GTA and we do not rend those places for free. The cost for those type of location can be expensive for us: $100/200 per hour. The price to pay to offer the variety and the quality we do.

Let's not forget...

There is a very simple fact that applies to any person who work for her/himself: if you don’t work you are not paid! Which means, we can’t afford to be sick or take a day off for example. We both work every single day because every little actions we make leads to find new customers and develop our businesses (did you know we do weddings too?), especially since we opened less than a year ago. This hard work also has a cost we need to cover in our pricing.

We are sparing you the taxes and insurance involved in this whole bill too, but yep, there are here too.

This is only the material side of our investment, see you in January for the creative one. Yes our awesomeness has a price too (big smiley face).

With Love.

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Circus Industry In Lingerie = The Boudoir Circus

You may have seen it several times over our social media, but we actually just did our third session for The Boudoir Circus. If you are not very familiar with this project, now is a good time to catch up!

A love for aerial silks

Fanny and I started practicing aerial silks 3 years ago, after seeing it done in South America. It was intriguing and beautiful. A few clicks later and we were signed up for our absolute beginner class with Jamie Holmes. Needless to say, we fell in love with it very quickly and decided to buy our own equipment and we kept practicing over the years.

Circus arts are just starting to get more and more popular, especially in Canada. They require determination, patience and preciseness. Even tough it could look easy to you, the minute you are off the ground, you can feel how heavy your body is. You cannot get cocky before starting any aerial apparatus!

Hi, it is I!

Why The Boudoir Circus?

A year ago, I had my own little shoot done while on the silks. I still have a print in my lacy bodysuit right in my living room. It made me so proud and I was so pleased with myself to have done it! When we opened Scandaleuse, we started thinking about partnerships with other businesses and Jamie just had opened her brand new studio: Studio Flux.

After a meeting, we all got excited about offering a mini boudoir session, on the silks. However, we wanted high quality and we noticed that this kind of silks photos were not really out there yet. Aerialist managed to get some solid photographs but most of the time, they all look the same. We definitely took advantage of it and brough studio lighting equipment, determined to get mind-blowing pictures, with a sexy touch (we add sexy to everything we can guys, you know that by now!)

We did a couple of tests before, blocked a 3-hour time slot, started with 4 people and then we scheduled the first event in July 2017.

We were sold out in one week.

Giving an excuse for a shoot

A lot of people need a solid excuse to get a boudoir shoot done. Being able to show your passion while shooting makes them automatically at ease. They feel good, they look good. They are at their best. They are also a little challenged, posing in front of a camera is already harder than you would think, but doing it in the air, holding a not-so comfortable position and make it look like it's the easiest thing on Earth is even worse!

Seeing the models being super excited at the end of the session, all dolled up, happy with themselves and ready to conquer the world is priceless. They could seem like everyday people, but yet, they are working on their superpowers!

Our next goal: MEN & get different apparatus

While we absolutely adore aerial silks, we are dying to get different apparatus. Rope, trapeze, lyra, the possibilities are endless! We are also opening the next sessions to contortion. It's amazing to see a human body perform and defy gravity!

Also, WHERE ARE THE MEN?

Many of you gentlemen perform in the circus industry. Oh we know. Now come get naked please!

While we don't have the next session available, you can still follow us on our Facebook and Instagram to be the first to know when the next TBC will happen. It is open to men & women, for all levels!

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Being best friend with another photographer

As you may know Juliette and I met in photography school in Paris in 2009 and we've never left each other since. And we now have two businesses together. Our friendship is strong and based on communication and trust. She is the cheese on my pasta and I am the sugar in her coffee… We complete each other.

Surprisingly, being both photographers has never been an issue in our friendship. Probably because we have rules that were set up naturally and we never break them.

2014 baby!

Here are the secrets for a healthy relationship with people you love and who are in the same field as you are:

Don’t sell your service to your friend’s contact

I will say this is the most important rule we have. Juliette and I have some friends in common but also our own ones and we never consider them as potential clients, without each other's approval.

A year ago one of Juliette’s friend contacted me to ask if I could give him a quote for portrait photography to promote his new music band. My ego was at a top level and it was of course a great opportunity to make money and develop my portfolio. But I would have never accepted it without talking to Juliette about it and see if she is ok with that, regarding the fact that he was a friend of hers. Of course she didn’t mind because as an artist you have to understand that sometimes people would prefer to go with another style than yours.

Think of your friend for a job you can’t do

If a client requires your services but for some reasons you are not available, always think about your friend. With Juliette we know each other professionalism & talent, and if one of us can’t take a photography job, we always ask the other if she can take it, even if we know plenty of other photographers.

We also try to give each other work by selling each other as a second shooter or assistant on different photoshoots.

Avoid jealousy to avoid competition

Sometime when I talk about my relationship with Juliette it seems to be all pink, happy and easy but we are both human and like every human, we can have negative emotions coming up to the surface. Truth is: it can be difficult to stay out the competition state of mind wehn your friend does the same job as you. Don’t let bitterness develops: don’t be jealous of your friend’ success, instead be happy and learn from it. Work on your own goals and if you are missing some knowledge on a topic to go further, don’t feel ashamed or stupid to ask people around you for some help.

If you let frustration growing in you, it will destroy everything in your life, starting with your relationship with others.

Being friend with another photographer is also lots of fun and the opportunity to create and work together on different shoots. We know how being a photographer can be tough sometimes, so we support each other and can complain about the same difficulties (we know that you know french people love to complain!)

We have been close friends for the past 8 years and of course having lots in common helps a lot, but there are no magical tricks. Like everything else if you want it to be successful, you need to work hard. Juliette and I have spent a lot of time together, we are there for each other even in the worst moments, we talked about everything, even when it's bad.

Now go hug your friends and built a stronger relationship with them!

Love,

Fanny & Juliette

Dealing with creative funk

This one is for any creative person that feels the need to create content constantly and/or is required to do so professionally. If you feel like you can't do anything right sometimes and you start doubting your work... Three words: we feel you.

The creativity juice

You know the thrill you get when you create something new that people appreciate? Your heart beats faster, you are full of energy, you are smiling from one ear to the other and you keep coming up with better ideas every day. Until one day.... Mic drop, curtain closed, no creativity juice left. Take a deep breath, it doesn't mean you suck.

Find the cause

What triggered this sudden block? Did you get a bad feedback? Are you dealing with personal problems? Do you think everyone is better than you? Did you sleep enough? Are you hungry? Did Tim Horton's stop your kind of Timbits ? (it's a problem in Canada, alright?). Whatever started this, if you identify it, you can start to fight it.

Putting things into perspective

People, we don't need drama, alright? We already have so many reason to stress out nowadays (see Timmie's horror story above). A creative funk is not the end of the world and will happen (again). We are not magical robots that can create ALL THE TIME. It's impossible. You will create things that will suck. But you will have some that will rock.

We asked other artists to give us their opinions about dealing with creative blocks and we have put together a little list of things you should try when you feel like you are stuck.

Take a break.

Have you even been out today or have you been staring at your laptop trying to invoke your muse? A change of scenery is usually the trick for small creative funks. Go for a walk, get some fresh air, talk to people. After you read this blog post please.

Luke, talented musician, says: "Remember you cannot cannot unless your mind, body & spirit are in alignment. Breathe in the fresh air and take a moment to acknowledge how good of a job you are doing. This will clear your negative blocks."

Be okay with failure.

Actually, stop seeing it as a failure, see it as a lesson. You did something, it didn't go right but now you know what to do to improve. Put a Hello Kitty bandaid on your ego and off you go. After all, you wouldn't have any successes without failures. So they are kind of necessary.

Get inspired.

A lot of creative funks come when we lack inspiration. A good way to get it back is to… look for it everywhere you go. Pinterest, books, blogs (eheh), artist in your field (or not) you love, podcasts… We have access to SO many sources. I personally have a weird obsession for Youtube videos of people accomplishing things and showing their routines for success.

Jason says: "You need to explore. Viewing different things will help spark your curiosity and give you that imagination back."

Let me crack my knuckles like a badass before I type this. STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHERS.

This is the first cause of creativity death. There is always someone better than you and the sooner you get that, the more at peace you will be. Funny enough, someone is probably comparing him/herself to you, thinking you're better. Endless cycle. Look to others for inspiration, not competition.

As Luke, yes again, it was good alright, said "Thrive off of other people's energy & stories. When I have no fuel to write music I may look at someone else's situation and get inspiration from them and tell their story through my music. "

Challenge yourself.

Some people need to force their imagination. Our dear friend Rai, fashion photographer extraordinaire, says: "Just walk around downtown and look at banner, ads, signs, then ask yourself: have you done something like that? Do you wanna do something similar? Start taking a few reference shots, upload to pinterest and then pin related contents. Just make sure to set a mood and tone first!"

Brainstorm with yourself. (preferably after taking that fresh air.)

Get a piece of paper and a pen (or a tablet for millenials) and write anything that comes to mind. Any rough ideas you want to do, any long term or short term goals. When I start freaking out, I also write the projects that I have coming up to prove to myself that I must be doing something right and that I have things to look forward to.

Mike, drummer and productivity master adds: "Just start writing... Then read that piece of trash and refer to your notebook of ideas... Realize you should've just started there. Seriously though, stock pile your ideas when you're in the zone."

Shake things up

When I start feeling unhappy about my creativity, it's usually because I don't manage my time properly to do everything that puts me in the right mind. It's a sign that I should probably change my routine. My last freakout involved my adding more workout and cooking time to daily routine because I enjoy that and I know it makes me feel content and thus productive. And the more productive you are, the more energy you will have for your next idea. Snowball effect.

Hopefully this has helped you to go all "FATALITY" on your creative funk. Remember, it is perfectly normal and you will get over it at some point. You have what it takes. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some youube videos to catch up on. Someone is cleaning up their entire apartment and it's bringing me joy.

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Makeup or not makeup?

We always tell our Scandals to put more makeup than usual for their boudoir shoot. The reason behind this is because, on our sensors, it doesn't look as intense as you would think. Lighting, lenses, angles and so on can change makeup very dramatically! The ideal goal would be to get a makeup artist and guess what... we have one for you. Let us introduce you to Nicola.

Hi, who are you?

Hi! I’m Nicola but everyone calls me Nic.  I’m relatively new to the makeup scene on a professional level but have tons of experience on and off camera, as a model and makeup/hair artist.  I studied makeup and hair styling at Sheridan College but looking back I always found myself getting involved in projects that required hair and makeup!  I love what I do and with every job comes a new and fun experience I get to share with the person in my chair!

How long have you been a makeup artist/hairstylist for?

I started out working in amateur theatre five years ago and over the past few years have started experimenting with different photographers and creative people to develop my style and techniques.

Why would you recommend our clients to have their makeup done professionally?

Having a makeup artist on board for your shoot adds all the more fun to the experience! It's one less thing to worry about and having someone who is experienced with all ethnicities, ages, and various looks, like myself, will help create your desired look with ease!  It adds a little something more to the photo too, because these aren't your typical day-to-day photos your makeup shouldn't be either! This is your time to relax and get pampered.

What makeup advice can you give to our next Scandal?

A flawless makeup application starts before you touch any makeup to the face.  Taking care of your skin not only helps you get the most out of your makeup but it will help delay wrinkles and other signs of aging! And the best products aren't always the most expensive ones; don’t be afraid to grab those drugstore products!

Is there anything a model should do before getting pampered by you?

For hair, it’s typically best if the hair hasn’t been washed in the past 24hrs.  Clean hair is stripped of all of its natural oils which actually help with the styling process! Skin prep is always appreciated but not necessary, the only thing I would recommend is washing and moisturizing your face the night before.

What about the gentlemen?

Same ways for guys! Hair is easier to style if it hasn’t been washed in the past 24hrs.  With that being said if you typically style your hair with product, wash it out the night before your shoot and try to come with no product in your hair.  Let your stylist know how you like to typically style your hair as well, we want to enhance who you are and bring any of your “must have products”! Don’t be scared of makeup! It washes off I promise and I always have makeup remover if you don’t feel comfortable leaving your shoot with makeup on. All the guys on fitness magazines and fashion magazines have tons of makeup on! It can look super natural and just enhance your best features!

Last word for the road?

Never be afraid to ask questions and ALWAYS let your artist know prior to the session if you have an allergies or sensitivities to products.  Lastly, it’s all about having fun & I’ll do everything I can to make sure both you and I are enjoying our time together and that you feel fantastic on camera!

You can book your pampering sesison with Nicola with any of our packages!

Boudoir Bash or meeting 5 wonderful human beings

We put together our first Boudoir Bash: 5 women, 5 sessions for one day only. A boudoir marathon. And a pretty successful one. We had the perfect combo between a gorgeous place and five amazing personalities.

To be completely honest, when we first started Scandaleuse, we weren't sure about booking multiple shoots a day. Since we are all about creating individual experiences, we were a little worried that it would lose authenticity and creativity. We first thought "how can you be 500% creative after 5 hours in the same space?"

Then, we had a little contest on our instagram and it made us realise that so many women who couldn't afford a VIP session were dying to try it still. And we had an opportunity to shoot in a very special location. Everything started getting together. It kinda looked like a sign so we decided to follow it. I am glad we did.

One house.

Before talking about the wonderful models, we need to talk about the location. We got extremely lucky to have access to a full house, recently renovated with modern touches and full of variety. We could never thank the owners enough. Thanks to them, our concern of potentially lose creativity during the process faded.

Two brains.

The fact that there are two of us made the entire day a lot easier. I took one shoot, Fanny took the other one, which gave us a chance to "recharge" between two people. We were also able to shoot the video below simultaneously while one of us was shooting.

Five models.

Within a few weeks, all the spots were taken. We knew practically nothing about our models. For our regular sessions, we always take our clients for a coffee to discuss location and vision, but in this case, since the location was set, we were ready to roll after sending them a few tips & tricks. Frankly, we expected our girls to bring similar outfits from one another. We were pleasantly surprised by the thoughts the girls put into their props and outfits.

We saw beautiful nightgowns, vintage bras, sophisticated bodysuits, gigantic feathers, delicate robes and so much more. Each of them have a very distinct personality which made the whole process even nicer. And the standard was already pretty high!

A challenge for all of us.

Usually, the challenge during a boudoir session is stronger towards the model, since she/he is likely the one not being familiar with it. Don't get me wrong, we do challenge ourselves by thinking outside the box for every shoot, but let's face it, the one getting naked is taking on a bigger step. This time however, we were seriously on the line too. Boudoir Bash forced us to adapt ourselves quickly and think 4 or 5 steps ahead so each of the girls would get something special. I am happy to say that the mission was accomplished.

Boudoir Bash gave us a chance to open our doors to models we wouldn't have necessarily met otherwise. It broadened our horizon and challenged us. I do believe that this little adventure made us better photographers and we are seriously considering doing it again. We are always so proud of each of our Scandals who have reached out to us to try this new experience.

How to Avoid NEGATIVE FEEDBACK

Here is the context: you managed to score a gig on a very nice project. You gathered all of your creativity, worked without counting your hours (for the greater good!), maybe ended up losing money rather than making some but you put your heart on the table and did not regret it. Until…

Until you received feedback. Negative feedback. This is when your client took your heart out of your chest and kicked it like it was just a piece of garbage.

I experienced this in the past and I would be lying if I said that I handled it okay and it did not affect me whatsoever.

This unfortunate scenario happens more than you would think and more importantly, hurts a lot more than you would expect. Because it is your craft. Because we are human. Because our visions are different. Because you were not prepared. Because there was a misunderstanding. Thankfully, learning the hard way can also force you to move forward quickly and efficiently.

Since this feeling is definitely something we would rather avoid, here are some leassons that I learnt from this experience:

Get your client's vision

Congratulations, you made the cut, your client believes you have the talent to accomplish their request and are ready to pay you for it! Now it is time to get down to business and understand what the hell they need you to do. Ask for inspiration photos or other examples. Ask as many questions as you need to, to make sure you understand exactly what they are looking for.

Educate your clients

Chances are that whoever will contact you for your services has no knowledge whatsoever on how to do your job. That is probably why they are reaching out at the first place. Now that you have a more precise idea of what they need from you, you MUST evaluate the time and budget allocated for this project and let them know exactly what they will get for this price/time. Is it very unlikely they will get 500 edited photos for one hour of coverage for their event. They probably won't get a very complicated studio lighting for their corporate shoot for $200.

Have a contract

Sounds simple but it actually isn't, at least for me. I got blinded by the excitement, agreed to work fast, didn't take the time to write everything down and have it signed. Bad, bad idea. This can only backfire. Write something that can protect you in case something out of your control was to happen the day of the shoot that would stop you from giving what you were asked.

Explain the final product.

While it does relate to the previous point, I believe it needs a different paragraph. People need to know prior to shoot what they will get at the end. Edited, RAWs, low res, high res, your watch, whatever. This needs to be set in stone. If you have delivering  RAW previews for your clients to choose, it is important to explain that this step is not the final product. Again, they might not know what a RAW photo looks like (and it looks pretty bad usually.). If I REALLY have to show some RAWs - which I try to avoid as much as possible - I like to give an edited example with it to show the before/after process. This also give you a chance to get approval for the editing style you went for.

Charge a fee for additional hours.

Make it worth your time. If after giving exactly what you were asked, you get additional requests, you need to charge for it. This will avoid wasting money on billable hours. And no one likes to waste money.

Let it go.

This is the hardest point for me. And this is still something I need to learn myself. Despite of all your efforts, sometimes it just doesn't work. It happens. If you feel like you gave your best and there is nothing else you can do to adjust the products, it is time to let that boat sail away. There is only so much you can do. It doesn't make you a terrible artist, it just means that people are different. Take what you can from it and move on.

That's it dearest Scandals. Now go work on new amazing projects and blow people's mind, we are right behind you.
Love,

How photography can change the way you see yourself

Today I wanted to write about me, myself and I. It can sound a bit pretentious but this is not the point of this article. I am going to share with you a part of my life that was pretty difficult with a life experience that happened 8 years ago. 

Believe it or not, it’s not because I have a Boudoir photography business that I always felt in harmony with my body. Let’s go back in time and see how photography helped me to feel more self-confident.

When you are 15 years old and you look like 11!

Middle school was rough

If there is a period of my life where I don’t want to go back, it is definitively middle school. I hated it, even if I met one of my best friend then, I don’t have lots of good memories. You are still young, but yet old enough to care about other people's opinions. It was pretty much when my self-esteem went "hasta la vista baby!".

When I was a teenager, I was very thin. Too thin. Some people told me I was anorexic (you know how children can be mean!). I come from a tiny little family and I took everything from my mom side: small boobies, not tall, thin bones. We could have been a lilliputian family (the only interloper is my butt, my mom got it too, I truly don’t know where it comes from!). I was and I am still a pretty short person but on the top of it I had buck teeth. Not because I was sucking my thumb, no I wanted more than that, I was sucking 3 of my fingers (at the same time!). Then of course I got braces at the age of 15.

When you are in your teenager phase, you are way more vulnerable and you take all of the negativity from others as if it was the truth. Even if I never felt ugly, I had no self-esteem for several years because of all of the tough teasing I got from others.

Apprenticeship, the beginning of freedom

Long story short, middle school sucked and I was happy it ended. What hapepned after? Well, before we start, just know that, in France, you have 3 options after middle school: you either go to high school, university or apprenticeship. I went for the last one because I wanted to learn a profession and get a paycheck. It works like this: first you need to find the field where you wanna work in, second you find a business ready to hire you and then a school who teaches the profession you choose.

I have done 7 years of apprenticeship (2 years of dog grooming, 2 years of sales and 3 years of photography) and every year was one more step towards freedom and self-development.

The time I won back my self-esteem

When I started my first year of photography school, I was still a bit shy. My arms were often crossed and my shoulders were tense. I remember my classmates telling me to relax and put my shoulders down.

When you learn photography, you also have to learn how to pose. It is very important to understand how modelling works if you want to be able to guide your model in a better way. The first times as a model was tough for me. I felt awkward, stupid. It was so not natural and I was afraid of smiling. Then there is a moment, you decide to take it as a game, an experience that happens few times in a life. After a few times, you start to relax, smile more naturally, pose by yourself and you take off your clothes more easily.

For me it was pure freedom, especially when I saw the results on the screen. I was like: “oh man, I look gorgeous, is that me?!”

The final step of my self-confidence goal, was to pose fully naked, which I did! Trust me, once you put down your vulnerability and your clothes, you feel ready to dance naked in the street!

As a photographer, it has been a while since I met someone who loves 100% of his/her body.  Even me, sometimes I catch myself thinking that I would like to change a physical part of my body. But what is the point of those thoughts?

Here is a good exercise

Find a mirror where you can see yourself, from your head to your feet. Go naked and look at every centimeters of your body, even your intimate parts. Start to think about what you like in yourself, don’t let negative thoughts coming through.

Then everyday you are facing a mirror, take 5/10 min to think about the parts of your body you don’t like and for each of those, start telling yourself out loud that you are beautiful, those parts are awesome, it is not a big deal to have something physically different, that it doesn’t change the fact you are strong, smart, sexy and pretty. It sounds silly and ridiculous but trust me it does work if you work on it daily. Telling yourself something positive everyday will help your brain to believe in it.

And you, what is your story?

With love,