The Princess Dress!

There comes a time in every girl's life that she gets to wear the dream dress. For me it was my wedding day...since I am almost 30 (eeek!) my teen years were spent before the age of mobile phones, internet, blogging and twitter...
...before the advent of High School Musical, The Jonas Brothers'...before our schools oooop North had American-esque year books and proms.
My cousin Chloe celebrates her sweet 16th in the Summer and, pefectly for her, it's timed just around her school prom.
She went searching for weeks before settling on her princess dress. Here she is, modelling it for me with a hair-do we were trying out for the big day.
She looks like a little movie star, I just want to squeeze her and then lock her in a cupboard for a few more years! Though I have to say, Kudos to you Clonks for picking a dress that matches my company colours...
...and yes, before her friends ask, she has retained my services to be her official prom/friends photographer on the night :-)

Turtle Soup...(just kidding!)

As soon as it hits Springtime our family gets a little addition...the pitter patter of little feet...
Toby the Tortoise comes out to play. My husband's aunt found Toby wandering around the streets almost 30 years ago and, since noone ever turned up to claim him, he has become a permanent member of the family.
He has his quirks, he sleeps for half the year, eats the most random foods and can be seen furtively wandering around the garden, taking in his surroundings (Toby, I mean..not my husband!)
Toby woke up from hibernation this week, he was in his little box, feet propped up with a look in his eye that screamed 'get me out of here!'
We have no idea how old he is, he's probably older than most of us put together, but he's always a quirky little addition to the family when he wakes up.
I love the expression on his face in the top picture and in this one he's waving at me...

I wish to point out that my husband is only PRETENDING to take a bite out of Toby...no tortoise's were harmed during the making of this blog entry...and I have to point out my bedraggled husband had just completed a 14-mile run at the time...

Dolly's Boudoir Magazine - Issue Two!

So here it is, issue two of Dolly's Magazine. Click on it for the full screen version to enjoy examples of Dolly's boudoir work, album design and rock star treatment finishing techniques!
Hope you like it!

Scarlett's Bar - A Different Style of Boudoir!

The thing I love about boudoir photography is its verstility - there are so many different routes you could take, and a lot of it depends on your location and client.
Nancy's fabulous outfit centred around a few key pieces, not least of which some vintage gloves that were her grandmas. For this portion of the shoot, we kept it a little retro.

And for luck, a smoky black and white that adds to that jazzy blues flavour...

Boudoir at Brooklands - Continued!

Brooklands Hotel in Barnsley has this fabulous venue called Scarlett's Bar. It's a corss between a retro jazz longue and a 50s diner! It has these fabulous red leather booths, with classy murals and trendy trimmings.
It's used as a bit of a party venue - and up until now has never been used for a boudoir shoot before!
Here we are actually ON Scarlett's Bar with Nancy working it...I love this as a fresh take on boudoir photography. It shows the sheer variety of shots you can get!

New: Dolly Magazine, issue one!

There are loads of excellent photographers out there, really talented creative types who I learn from and who inspire me. For Dolly Photography, I always strive to be different...to offer things other people don't; to be original and eyecatching and different.
So, I had this idea..what about if I make my clients famous? If I can create my own Dolly Magazine that features my best shots. A magazine they can share with their friends and family.
So here it is, issue one of the magazine, featuring Nancy. The online magazine will be offered FREE OF CHARGE to all boudoir clients who buy printed albums. I will design and create it for you and host it on my site (can be password protected so only your friends can view it) and - if you are feeling brave, I can even help you put it on your facebook site!
I hope you like it! Tip: if you want to view the full screen version then click on it!

What happens in Dolly's boudoir? The results...

So a few loyal blogstalkers may remember my post about what happens on a boudoir shoot. I posted some pictures of me testing the light, those who don't recall it click here: what happens?
Here are the results with Nancy - these are the 'real' photos taken on the day, with Dolly's extra special processing to make them pop! Hope you like them.
I have so many favourites in this series - the shadows cast by Nancy's legs on the shot above I adore; and speaking of legs...

She did a much better job of working the four poster than I did...

And finally, Nancy's favourite from the shoot:

Magazine inspiration!

Every now and again, I see things that inspire me. I keep a little inspiration book, and in there there is a whole manner of pencil sketches, magazine clippings and generally random musings that inspire me.
I have always loved the dark and dramatic nature of 50s photography, the smokiness of them appeals to me.
I once remember seeing an old Vanity Fair cover, from decades gone by, that was lit so prettily!
I tried to recreate this look on my shoot at the bridal suite in Brooklands Hotel, Barnsley - here are the results.

Good Golly, Miss Dolly - Nancy in the boudoir!

At Dolly, we always try to be different. There are lots of extremely talented photographers out there - and so we have to have that competitive edge.
Every image on a Good Golly, Miss Dolly shoot is given the Dolly Rock Star Treatment - a special formula I create to add a little pop and sparkle.
My clients don't need it - but they like the look it gives their photographs, a bit of an editorial, magazine style edge.
Here's Nancy - she is sickeningly gorgeous and an absolute pleasure to shoot. We had a blast on our bridal suite boudoir and I have so many favourite pictures, I can't even blog them all at once so watch this space.


Nancy's boudoir make-up was skillfully done by Dolly's number one make-up artist, Keeley. We had two make-up changes but I just love this pretty look that matches Nancy's lingerie.

Dolly's boudoir is super-flexible - we do home-shoots, studio shoots and we have some big news coming about a top-secret deal with a fabulous hotel!
So if you are thinking of a boudoir party, mail me because girls, it's gonna get hot!! :-)