by Shelly | Mar 14, 2018 | special project, women |
My latest project came out of a lousy Post- Hurricane Harvey Funk several several months after the main event.
No real back story here.
No poor me because my house and studio backlot are all in a shambles or because my studio is basically shut down due to the eminent domain of our salvaged personal property.
No bashing of our mortgage company for their horrendous red-tape policies and very-poorly run insurance claims department — Not even though I’d like to.
Nope. None of that.
Anyway, I could feel my inner bad @$$ boiling to the surface. Okay, she exploded through a series of raging phone calls and near meltdowns. She wasn’t pretty, and in fact it was making me physically ill to hold her in so I decided to redeem her. Release her. Let her fly.
With the help of my Favorite Boyfriend, the one that I married 21 years ago, I set up a simple gray paper backdrop in a front room of our empty downstairs. Then we dug out lights from the studio-turned-storage room and dragged them downstairs only to remember that we had NO ELECTRICAL OUTLETS below four feet. RATS!
“NEVER FEAR — EXTENSION CORD MAN IS HERE!” shouted FBF as he strung a heavy-duty cord and power strip over the stair rail and through our entry hall.
My Hero!
~SWOON~
Then, nothing happened. Nothing at all until a few days later. That’s when I dressed in black, applied my Jet-Set-Red-Bad-Girl-Lipstick and a vampy eye then recruited FBF to help direct my poses and click the shutter.
When I shared these pictures on facebook and instagram, the response was amazing!
Maybe other women would like to capture their own super power in portraits too! SO… I put out a call to a few special friends.
First to respond, Michi! YOW, she showed up with a black latex catsuit, killer boots, and accessories. With her wicked-bad makeup skills she actually painted the black mask on her own face.
Of course we couldn’t possibly resist adding my black cat, Pearl to the mix. She TOTALLY ROCKED it! Don’t you agree?
Those who play with cats must expect to get scratched — Don Quixote
Next up, the beautiful mother-daughter duo of Maria and Maddie Grace came in.
Oh how I love these two.
All I had to say was black clothes, red lipstick, BRING IT! and they were at my doorstep.
Maria has transformed her life from ashes to beauty. — Well, actually she’s been beautiful all along, but this woman has definitely walked through fire in the last few years.
She makes broken look beautiful and strong look invincible.
She walked with the universe on her shoulders and made it look like a pair of wings.
– A. Dancu
Maddie Grace is the quiet one, the gentle one. She mysteriously appears, and when she does — things happen.
Never assume that loud is strong and quiet is weak.
She has the mindset of a queen and the heart of a warrior.
She is everything all at once and too much for anyone who doesn’t deserve her.
She is you.
–R.H. Sin
STAY TOONED for some more amazing and gorgeous Inner Superheroes Revealed in our next blog post.
Same Bat Time. Same Bat Channel.
Meanwhile —
Would you and your friends like to reveal YOUR inner SUPERHEROS? It’s fun and it’s empow-HER-ing.
I’m loving this project and hope that you are too. Let’s name your superpower and showcase it for the world to see! Contact me today.
by Shelly | Jun 30, 2017 | business, women |
Professional Networking — THIS is What it’s All About
Here’s what I remember from the first time I ever met Jennifer Boisvert. I had just started dipping my toes into whole concept of business networking activities. For the uninitiated, there’s a whole subculture of networking in the small business community and it is amazing. Events are usually centered around a meal or a happy hour where groups of people from different professions gather to share information about themselves and their businesses. Occasionally someone closes a sale with a new contact, but more often than not it’s the ongoing cultivation of relationships and connections that keep us coming back. These ever evolving relationships open doors and opportunities, but for an introvert like me, getting to that point is more than just a little bit out of our comfortable box.
Seriously, I think this was the first networking meeting of any sort that I EVER attended. Women Helping Women 2 Network was a brand new fledgling group at the time. I didn’t know a soul in the room. I didn’t know what to expect, but I had made up my mind to put myself out there with a goal of meeting just two or three people by the end of the luncheon.
Baby steps, right? What I really wanted was to quietly escape from the room, run for the safety of my car, and not have to worry about remembering names of people I had just met, presenting a memorable 30 second commercial, or (flash back to junior high) FIT IN.
But there was no escaping. I had already committed to stay.
And through the door flies this charismatic, ebullient red-headed tornado in the most perfect emerald green a-line dress I had ever seen. Her personality filled the room and busted out the windows, raining down on everyone present like super-powered glitter. I was in total awe. We started talking, and within minutes I felt comfortable in a room full of strangers — as if I could possibly actually make it through the meeting and even enjoy it.
Fast forward about two and a half years.
That fiery tornado of a woman chose MY studio for her personal branding portrait session. When she arrived along with Andrea, her childhood friend who was visiting from Canada, we carried in loads and loads and LOADS of clothes.
GLORIOUS clothes.
I wouldn’t have expected less. After all, Jennifer is a fabulous stylist and image consultant and also a managing partner with J. Hilburn, a luxury line of custom mens’ clothing. She has also been named one of the best Personal Stylists & Shoppers by CBS Houston.
We can all use a helping hand with our personal image, so CLICK HERE to learn more and start spiffing up YOUR image with Jennifer’s help.
An amazing anchor to many of our branding portrait sessions is Brandie Seifert, founder of Hollywood Hippie Cosmetics. The talented and oh-so-adorable Brandie always provides just je ne sais quois with her professional makeup application and hair styling in-studio. She makes everyone look great, and our time with Jennifer was one of the most fun EVER!
Another special friend and colleague, Suzanne Joffrion with esbe Designs met with Jennifer before our session to provide the gorgeous jewelry assortment you’ll see in these photographs.
And to think — I would not know any of these women if I had not become involved in the professional networking activities that are available in my community, specifically Women Helping Women 2 Network.
We wanted to capture Jennifer’s fun and outgoing spirit along with her elite professional brand, so we worked together as a team to create images using different outfits, poses, and expressions. Our consistent lighting style brought a cohesiveness to the overall portfolio, tying everything together beautifully.
One important part of the J. Hilburn brand incorporates the blue measuring tape, a critical tool in perfecting the custom wardrobe orders for her male clients, so we made a point to include that tape in several poses throughout our session.
Jennifer’s style is certainly varied — but always polished and sharp. LOVED this funky graphic tee paired with a traditional blue blazer and shorts almost as much as that gorgeous plum colored dress. Who would have thought to put something together like that? Jennifer did. That’s who.
Related Links:
Jennifer Boisvert Personal Shop and Style
Jennifer Boisvert J Hilburn Luxury Collection for Men
Brandie Seifert, HMUA Hollywood Hippie Cosmetics
Suzanne Joffrion Jewelry by Esbe Designs
Women Helping Women 2 Network
by Shelly | May 24, 2017 | senior gals, senior portraits |
No doubt about it, Demi has quite a presence in front of the camera. Is she not a gorgeous STUNNER?!
Well, look out world because here she comes. 
Demi and her classmates from Foster High School will cross the stage to receive their diplomas this Saturday in what is sure to be a celebration-filled evening.
I loved working with her, and had to laugh when we were designing her graduation announcement. Let me tell you, this young woman knows exactly what she wants and how to get it.
As most of you know, my graduation announcements are totally customized for each student. We choose colors, overall feel, fonts, images… EVERYTHING to reflect the student’s personal style. No cookie-cutter announcements over here!
Most of the time I get it right – straight out of the chute with maybe a minor tweak. Not this time! Well, the black background could stay… and the wording was good… and the image selections had already been decided. BUT, I totally missed the boat on everything else. That COULD have gone very wrong, but not with Demi. She sent back her change requests, right down to the exact type style that she wanted.
Really? Nobody’s ever done that before! BUT — we do offer a custom product, and that’s what we provide — satisfaction guaranteed.
We made the changes she asked for — type-style, adding glitter to the school color gold, changing the overall layout exactly as she specified, and then everything just fell into place. She loved the end result.
That’s what I like. Someone who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to ask for it.
I will admit that I had to swallow my pride a little bit, but it wasn’t too difficult at all because she was so very specific about how she wanted her announcement to appear.
After Graduation, Demi will attend Prairie View A&M where she plans to continue her studies and enter the field of nursing.
Congratulations on your graduation, Demi! Have a great time celebrating and reach for the stars. You’re already on target to achieve so very much.
by Shelly | May 10, 2017 | musician, senior guys, senior portraits |
Gamer, Guitar Player, Future Veterinarian.
This is Valen.
He’s a laid-back, casual easygoing sort of a guy who’s just about ready to walk the stage and collect his diploma from Bellaire High School.
I loved his easygoing attitude about our portrait session together. With an air of relaxed confidence, he was super personable and seemed very comfortable in his own skin, up for anything.
In his spare time, he enjoys listening to music and playing video games, but as a member of the Guitar Honors Orchestra at his school, Valen is quite a talented musician in his own right.
Guitar Honors Orchestra! I didn’t even know such an ensemble existed. How cool is that?
And on the weekends, he volunteers at Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists.
That place is super special to me and my family because they played a huge role in saving the life of our Grand Dane a few years back. Grand Dane… That’s what we call our Grand-dog who happens to be a Great Dane.
Through this work, Valen has become very comfortable working with all sorts of animals. This internship is setting a great road for him. After graduation he plans to study biomedical engineering as an undergrad, and then turn toward something in the veterinary field, possibly even specializing in exotic animals.
I was so glad that he brought his scrubs and his pup, Kaley, along to his session.
She is one of the cutest dogs I’ve seen in a long time and it’s obvious that she adores him.
Looks like the feeling is mutual too.
Congratulations, Valen on your graduation as a part of the outstanding Class of 2017. We’ll be watching for big things in the years to come.
by Shelly | Apr 3, 2017 | business, food, women |
WORD-NERD ALERT!
This girl learned something new the other day, so I’m going to share it with you.
Did you know that the art of reading tea leaves is called TASSEOGRAPHY? I didn’t, but it completely makes sense. After all, Tasse means “cup” in German, French, and probably about a bazillion other languages, and of course -graphy is the Greek word for writing.
So… I looked into my own cup after working with LaShan, and there it was, just as plain as day. The tea leaves said, “You will soon hear a whole lot more about this beautiful lady who is in your studio.”
Oh my goodness, what a time we had. The tea was fresh pressed; the laughter, heart-felt; and the spirit, sincere.
LaShan is the proprietress of a culinary treasure-trove called Three Lumps of Sugar. She mixes and markets fresh blends of loose-leaf tea, spices, and artisan sugars and salts for creative cooks and bartenders.
You can – and SHOULD – learn more about her business HERE
To kick things off, she needed a new headshot and we leveraged her session to the next level. While staying true to her personality and style, we created a lovely variety of story-telling images that she can use in her social media, website, marketing materials and more. And we had a great time doing it. 
Here’s what LaShan had to say —
“We’ve all heard the expression, “A picture is worth a thousand words”. As an entrepreneur, building a brand is crucial. Customers respond not only to your products, but also to you as the business owner. The business really is an extension of you and your imaging conveys a lot.
I was so pleased to work with Shelly. She managed to capture the true essence of who I am and what my company means to me. Both my company and I are fun, playful, and creative. I think my pictures say exactly that without any words at all. At Three Lumps of Sugar we create and sell teas, spices, and artisan sugars and salts for bartending. Our images need to appeal to those who would purchase our products.
I arrived for the day and had a consultation with the makeup artist and looked at possible backdrops. We even gave consideration to clothing choices. Shelly took the time and effort to try new things and incorporated my suggestions. I am not a makeup kinda girl, so I was unsure about the makeup. But, when I came to see the proofs – WOW!!! There were so many that I loved and it was hard to narrow it down to just 1 or 2, so I picked 5!! “
Thank you, LaShan, for trusting me with your image and for the very kind words. I can’t wait to sample the whole line of your yummy concoctions very soon.
