This captivating lady came up from Brighton for her shoot and she was a dream to photograph. Roz said she'd recently lost some weight, but even though the idea of this can make us - women and men - feel like we should suddenly be confident, it doesn't always work that way. I think it can be really hard to appreciate yourself after your body has changed, whether it's because you don't fully see the difference yet, or because your previous insecurities are so deeply ingrained you can't shake them off as quickly. So I hoped that the shoot would help bring that confidence in Roz to the surface; show her just how fabulous she is. I'm going to shamelessly share the lovely review Roz left me as well, because how she felt about it is exactly why I wanted to start shooting boudoir in the first place:
"I recently did a boudoir shoot with Jo and I absolutely loved it! From the moment I met her I was instantly comfortable, she was so friendly and easy going. Getting my kit off was nerve-wracking for about 5 minutes but then I was so relaxed by her attitude and guidance I completely forgot I was half dressed! She made me feel so good about myself and I didn't feel awkward at all. When I saw the photos a few days later (she was super speedy) I was absolutely blown away, they were so so, sooooo good!! Jo has such a great photography style and all of them were beautiful. I want to show everybody!!!"
During the shoot, I could NOT stop looking at her eyes; they were a wonderful shade of bright aquamarine blue - the kind of colour you might pay for in the form of contact lenses. I have a real thing for eyes...when I was younger I would spend my life drawing them everywhere; my school diary was absolutely covered and they're always the first bit I do when I'm painting. And I'm the same with photography. I mean, it's hardly surprising or interesting that I'm drawn to eyes, and I'm sure lots of other photographers and artists are as well, but I'll never tire of nailing a shot where a person's eyes are the focus (no pun intended). There's something about connecting perfectly with someone's gaze in an image and feeling like you can really see them, really understand their beauty. I think they're a really powerful tool in boudoir, especially if the direct eye-contact is only in a handful of photos. Obviously it helped that Roz has such magnificent eyes, but still, it's one of those things that I (and I suspect most people) find universally beautiful. I mean, when was the last time you heard someone say "yeah that person has horrible eyes..."
Obviously now would be the perfect time to ask you to "feast YOUR eyes" on Roz's shoot, but that would be cheesy, so I won't.
(Sorry).