Grace Valentine Lingerie Shoot x2!~
Hi guys! Now, don’t be jealous, but I have had the opportunity to shoot Grace Valentine in lingerie not once… But twice! I know, I am a lucky lady. ☺
The first time around was back in February. I KNOW. SO FAR BEHIND. It’s okay guys… I’m catching up. Grace was in town visiting me from New York and we were popping off a bunch of shoots left and right. This SUPER quick session lasted maybe about 15 minutes. We were going for sexy… But got the most adorable photos possible. How did that happen!
Model: Grace Valentine
Photo: Alexa Poletti Photography
Hair: Gothic Lolita Wigs
Lashes: Dolluxe
Awwwww! ♡♡ GRACE, Y U SO CUTE!?
Speaking of cute,
meowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeowmeow
Awwwww. And yes, Pipes and Grace are the same size. No trick camera angles here……. *shifty eyes*
SO… Let’s fast forward to June 2nd, when our lingerie do-over was scheduled. Another marathon shoot day with my NY buddies. We shot this lingerie set just before this FREAKING ADORABLE KIGURUMI set with Grace and her girlfriend, Kate. For this lingerie shoot, we wanted to stray from the cute and venture more toward sexy Grace. Meee-ow. Here goes nothing!
Nailed it!! I love it! It’s hard for me to pick which set I like better. I can’t choose! Ahhh!!! Which version do you prefer?
If you are interested in either of the wigs Grace is wearing above, they are both Gothic Lolita Wigs Lady Grace Collection. The first shoot is Lady Grace in Cinnamon Scoop and the second is Lady Grace in Chocolate Royale.
And surprisingly, both of these sets were shot with natural light & bounce boards. I never use natural light! Sometimes it just works. ☺
Before I decided to go the natural light route, I did catch this shot. I don’t feel like this blog post is complete without it. Teeeeeehehehehhee….
I LOVE YOU, GRACE!!~
Lingerie Photography
Boudoir Photography
Washington, DC
Christiana Vi: Cyborg Robot Inspired Fashion Shoot | Dramatic Futuristic Makeup Transformation
Hi friends! Today I am taking you back to April 14th to one of my favorite shoots of the year. This concept began after a late night eBay search for the word “shiny” led me to this dress.
I bid on the dress and won it for a measly $6.61 (New with tags & free shipping!). After patting myself on the back for a great find, I kicked it into brainstorm-mode. Shiny… shiny…. sexy…. futuristic… ROBOT!? Yes!
I had been talking back and forth for quite some time with makeup artist and face creation extraordinaire Mama Mia while waiting for the perfect collaboration shoot to maximize what we both bring to the table. Mama Mia makes these crazy elaborate mask-like pieces with makeup, fabric, and bedazzles. Real works of art. I knew our time had come to finally work together on my shiny robot shoot.
Perfect makeup artist. Perfect model (Hi Christiana!). Perfect dress. Perfect location.
Shoot day is upon us!! YES!
After all three of us had arrived, and after we had all finished fan-girling over each other, Mama Mia started the makeup transformation. The full transformation from blank face to cyborg took about an hour.
I love watching her work. So fascinating!
Mama Mia‘s boxes of bedazzles!
ALL DONE! Looks like Mama Mia is satisfied. 🙂
Also, I think it’s funny that photos from my previous blog post about Britni are displayed on my computer in the background of this photo. I must have been editing while they were getting their glam on. You can’t keep me from my craft! Mehehe..
Off to our amazing location!
weeEe-eeeEeEeE-oOoOoo
Christiana grabbed this cool shot of me setting up. Follow her on Instagram for the hottest feed you will ever see: @christiahna
and a little sneaky peeky & excitement building on Mama Mia‘s Instagram: @facecreationsbymamamia
Applying finishing touches….
Most epic Behind the Scenes photo ever, right?
Here we go!! AHHHH! All the build up, all the love, all the creative juices, and all the hard work, for these images right here. I hope they blow your mind out of this world. ♡
Model: Christiahna
Photo: Alexa Poletti Photography
MUA: FaceCreations by Mama Mia
*melts*
I love it. Just love it. So so so much. I love making stuff like this and I couldn’t do it without these two goofballs:
Hehehe…. ♡♡♡
Thank you both so so much.
Well, that’s it for now! What’d you think? More flashbacks coming soon!
Alternative Fashion Photography
Extreme Makeup Transformation
Makeup Photography
Concept Photography
Washington, DC
Japanese Punk Visual Kei and Camui Gakuen Inspired Fashion Shoot | Jake visits Washington, DC
Hey guys! Time for a time warp! Let’s swing back to February to cover a shoot I did on the 25th of the month. My good friend Jake came down to visit me from New York and to get some kickass photos taken. I was so excited to see him because we always have such a fun time together! He is super silly, as you will be able to tell from the outtakes that will make their debut in this very blog post.
Instagram: @alexapoletti
We decided to do two different looks. Jake’s style derives a lot of inspiration from Japanese fashion and basically looks like he fell right out of an really cool anime, so of course, I wanted to capture his presence the best I could. He has such a uniquely awesome style which is something that draws me to shooting him. We started with a dark theme at one of the coolest location in the DMV area.
Because we shot in such a cool location, I wanted to shoot in a bunch of different spots around the location, which means a bunch of really great outtakes since I had to light each area individually. Of course, let’s start with some interesting light test shots….
Awww, Jake is pouting! What’s wrong!? How can you pout when we made a final image that looks like this:
BAM!!! He is so cool.
Seriously, what a rockstar.
How about another light test? Heheh…
Haha! Take it offffff! I’m pretty sure he was stripping in this photo, swinging his sweater around. Can’t you feel the sexiness??
I should also mention that it was like 10 degrees and the poor boy was freezing. Taking his sweater off was not easy! Sorry Jake!
I love Jake’s hair color!
What’s that you say? You want another derpy test shot? Okay, okay, if you insist.
Hahaha, culling Jake’s photos is more fun than most because I run across little gems like these.
Okay! After playing all around this area, we were finally done at this location! After this, we went back to my place in the city to shoot a Camui Gakuen inspired shoot at Meridian Hill Park at sunset.
Because it was a sunset shoot, we had limited time, so not a lot of time to make silly faces at each other. UGHHH. Life sure is tough huh? Still, we came out with some amazing shots with great color in the sky. I love this style!! What a cute little school boy!
How amazing is this sunset?!
What an awesome (and LONG!!) day of shooting! Found memories of this day. 🙂 I hope to be able to continue to document the other shoots I missed in my blogging hiatus in the next few weeks. I really enjoy revisiting these little pieces of my life and career. Thanks for visiting me and allowing me to shoot your handsome face, Jake!! xx
Fashion Photography
Fashion Portraits
Washington, DC
The Godiva Collection by RockStar Wigs featuring Alt. Models Fate and Alexa Poletti
Hey guys! I had the pleasure of shooting RockStar Wigs‘ launch of their newest collection, the Godiva Collection. This collection is based off of the legendary Lady Godiva who rode through town naked on horseback in protest of taxation. The designer of RockStar Wigs wanted the photos to reflect the inspiration of the collection as much as possible by shooting all of the launch photos in the nude.
I teamed up with alternative model Fate and Sweet Trade Photography for a marathon shoot day in Clarksburg, Maryland. My plans for the day included shooting the Godiva in black plum, dark brown, and milk tea on Fate. So we headed out to our location. Oh my gosh. How was this the hottest day ever? Not only was the temperature about five million degrees, we had a heavy rain the night before. Cue humidity. And mud. Lots of mud.
Location scouting in pink shoes. Mistake.
Lesson learned.
Shortly after sinking ankle-deep in the mud, we found a great location to shoot the lovely Fate as Lady G. After hauling all of our gear and wardrobe (for other shoots we had planned), it was time to get ready to shoot these bad boys!
While Fate was shaving her legs (hahaha- way to be prepared!), Sarah from Sweet Trade Photography and I were being a bunch of weirdo goofballs and swinging the Godiva hair all around and making funny faces at each other. It was sooo hot out. That’s pretty much all I can remember about this shoot.
Next step: Getting Fate in her very complicated wardrobe. Check!
Long, long, long, amazing wigs! Here is Fate in our classy dressing room, getting ready to shoot!
Okay… looks like we are finally ready to get the ball rolling…
Quick lighting test…
Bingo! Let’s do this!
The Godiva Collection by RockStar Wigs
Model: Fate
Photo: Alexa Poletti Photography
Hair: RockStar Wigs
Godiva: Milk Tea
Godiva: Black Plum
Godiva: Dark Brown
Mission complete! Fate killed it as Lady Godiva!
While I was shooting this collection, I grabbed a few quick headshots of Fate in her new Dolluxe lashes. Dolluxe is the new AMAZING cosmetics line from the creator of Gothic Lolita Wigs and RockStar Wigs.
She is so incredibly stunning.
Anyway, back to Godiva. For some variety in the photos for the collection, I decided to shoot the other two colors, black and burgundy, on myself, in my home studio.
I often hear of photographers complaining because they don’t have a studio. Well ya know what? I don’t either. And I don’t have a spare room to make a studio in my apartment either. So I rearrange my living room and move my couches to different areas every time I need to make a studio setup. I hate when people make the excuse of not having enough space. I live in a tiny apartment in the city. There is always a way. /end rant
Model: Alexa Poletti
Photo: Alexa Poletti Photography (wrap your head around that!)
Hair: RockStar Wigs
Godiva: Black
Godiva: Burgundy
And that’s the Godiva Collection by RockStar Wigs. You can purchase them HERE for $58.00 each and see what the other muses, Anaol Fatale and Kassandra Leigh, did with their Godiva wigs!
I hope you enjoyed seeing this collection from the mastermind at RockStar Wigs! More posts coming soon! I promise I am trying to keep up with this blog! *faints*
Product Photography
Wig Photography
Fashion Photography
Washington, DC
Clarksburg, MD
Feeling like Summer with Jazzmin Jolly and her Flower Bikini!
So, everyone who knows Jazzmin Jolly knows that she is a weird little creature. She bounces and twirls and sings all day long. It is adorable to watch her freak out when she sees a microscopic spider or when she is terrified to do a bikini shoot even though she has the most amazing bod of anyone I know. Enter Jazzmin Jolly.
Jazzmin came down from Philly to join in the Hypnotic Sweet Treats launch that we were shooting over the weekend and wanted to shoot this summery side project. Jazzmin wanted to make an outfit entirely covered with flowers, but who wants to (or has time??) to make a full flowing dress of flowers?? Jazzmin decided to make a swimsuit covered in flowers instead (much less surface area!), which was an idea I LOVE. Nothing says summer like flowers, sunglasses, and a bikini! Ow ow!
Y’all. This girl was terrified to do a shoot showing this much skin but look how confident and amazing she looks? Can you even tell she was nervous? Go tell her how awesome she is right now!!! Facebook: Jazzmin Jolly
Abs, abs, and more abs. Damn girl!
Flower shoes! Look at her flower shoes!!! Oh my god!
I hope you all enjoy some summer fun this season! Get out there and do something awesome!
Conceptual Photography
Bikini Photography
Washington, DC
The Doll in White | Jazzmin Jolly for Essere Magazine
Oh my gosh. I am SO behind in blogging! Let’s time travel back in time together to January 12, 2013. WeeeooOoOooOooEeoooOooo. That’s my time travel noise.
*POOF*
Hi. Welcome to my January 12, 2013 blog post. Today, I was lucky enough to have a good friend of mine, Jazzmin Jolly, travel down from Philadelphia to come shoot with me! As if my friends weren’t all awesome and amazing as it is, they also all happen to be models. It’s the nature of the industry and one of the many perks of being a photographer. So when my friends come to hang out, we shoot! Yay!
Jazzmin and I started with a quick Ariel cosplay shoot before immediately being booted from National Harbor. Well. That is always fun. Not. But that’s neither here nor there. This post isn’t about that shoot. It’s about THIS shoot!
BA-BAM!
Jazzmin and I were featured in Essere Magazine for our The Doll in White photo set!
(Get the issue here!)
Since we are now pros in time travel, let’s go back even farther. The whole idea came to me while I was location scouting a few days prior to Jazzmin’s visit. I read about a cool place online, so I thought I’d check it out as a potential photo location. After checking it out, I walked around through some trees for a bit and stumbled upon this little gem, which is actually way cooler than the original location that I had gone to scout! Don’t you love that? What a win!
So after a quick failure in National Harbor, we scooted on over to this location to switch to our little lolita doll shoot. Our mutual friend and lolita extraordinaire, Grace Valentine, let Jazzmin borrow one of her lolita dresses which turned out to be PERFECT with the house, the white bunny, and the extreme fog. I love to blow out images as it it, but man… This made it too easy!
Here is Jazzy getting ready in the car. We’re fancy like that.
After Jazz was all dolled up, we raided the house, and left with these amazing photos.
She looks so amazing! I love it! And the weather and the lighting… Ah! It’s been a long time since I’ve shot any natural light stuff, but I really dig what we got on this day in January. She was a serious trooper for sitting out in the cold in that dress. Thanks Jazz!
For more Behind the Scenes and a time lapse set to the wonderful weirdness of Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, check out this video:
A few more Behind the Scenes. We might be a little out of control.
After we got home, we had a Pikachu party before Jazzy had to head back to Philly. Here is my darling assistant Pipes (looking very happy), and Jazzmin’s assistant Floppy Ears, sporting the Pikachu look.
And that’s it from my fun day with Jazzmin! Remember to check out her modeling page here: Jazzmin Jolly!
Come back and see me soon, you adorable little thing!
Like this post? Reblog this on Tumblr here: Tumblr!
See you soon for more time traveling until I am up to date! Whewwww!
Alexa Poletti Photography
Conceptual Photography
Washington, DC
Alexandria, VA
Alt. Model Fate for Rockstar Wigs
After a over a year of searching for a muse in DC, I think I’ve finally found her. Alt. model Fate inspires me with every photo and has a look that I never get sick of. That’s why when I received the Dynamite Collection from Rockstar Wigs, I knew Fate was the one who could pull this eccentric collection off. They are an incredibly poofy and fabulous set of wigs that photograph amazingly. Here is a quick shot of me wearing most of this collection from Rockstar Wigs:
So after I had modeled the wigs in an avant garde style for Rockstar Wigs’ site photos, I wanted to explore by taking the wigs in an edgier, sexier direction. I decided to use three of the wigs with Fate: red, teal, and platinum blonde.
For the red wig, I pictured an alt. circus with Fate as the ringleader who kicks some serious lion ass. Look look look!
The red version of the Dynamite Collection wig is called Cherry Bomb (Get it here: Cherry Bomb). I’ve had these bomb pasties (handcrafted by Jamie Poletti) laying around and I thought they were PERFECT! They match the theme AND it’s a total play on the name of the wig. Love it!
Next up, we decided to go with a rockstar theme for the platinum blonde Dynamite wig, the Platinum Blonde Blast (Get it here: Platinum Blonde Blast).
If you are wondering about these hot pink guitar-shaped pasties, these are another handcrafted creation from the fingertips of Jamie Poletti. Could they be any more perfect for a rockstar theme?
Check out this Behind the Scenes time lapse video of shooting this set “Name in Lights” with Fate.
I love time lapses! I am hoping to do more of these videos of the “behind the scenes” process, clips of the models, etc. What would you like to see in the videos?
Check out the full set on Zivity here: Name in Lights
After a pizza break, we got to the last set. Teal. We wanted to go a slightly different direction with this one. Less sexy. I had envisioned a creepy-cute, punked out, goth girl decked out in head-to-toe back and teal. And with our powers combined, we made that happen.
Fate in the Dynamite Collection’s Molotov Cock-teal (Get it here: Molotov Cock-teal).
Check out the full set on Zivity here: All Neon Like
And what is a wig shoot without a really whacky behind-the-scenes photo?
Wig caps and bangs are not compatible. Or are very compatible, depending on how you look at it. Hehehe. ❤
Thanks for a great day, Fate!
Fashion Photography
Product Photography
Washington, DC
My Twin Sister in the Autumn Leaves – New Updates!
Oh no… I’ve neglected this blog again. I’m so bad!! Lately I’ve been playing on TUMBLR a lot and I kind of forgot about this sweetheart blog that goes back further than any blog I’ve ever had. So, I apologize for the lack of updates. Honestly, I can’t say I’ve been shooting a lot anyway. I was working on a traveling television show for two months so that’s where a lot of my time went. Yeah.. I’m going to blame that for the lack of updates…. yeah…
Oh no. My first entry back and I’ve already started to ramble! I am so out of practice! I guess that’s what happens when you update in the middle of the night. Let me grab your attention back with some photos of my gorgeous sister Genna. Quick back story about what this photo set means to me, and then, as promised, photos of Genna’s freakishly pretty face.
I grew up in beautiful North Carolina. When that autumn air hits in North Carolina, there is nothing quite like it. The leaves change all kinds of colors and… to me… it’s home. This year, I was traveling in the desert during the time when the leaves turn these magical colors. After filming when I came back to DC, I was so sad because I felt like I missed the season all together. All the trees were dead and cold. Then, as Genna and I were walking home from the grocery store one day, we spotted color. And lots of it. One tree had waited until that week to turn bright yellow and drop all of it’s glowing leaves into a pile on the street. Because of that tree, I got my autumn.
Thank you, tree.
& Genna, I guess. 😉
Portrait Photography
Lifestyle Photography
Washington, DC
Hunger Games “Capitol Citizen” Themed Shoot
Hi guys! MAN! I have been so busy traveling lately that I have gotten so behind on my blog! I am so happy to have a day to relax and catch up!! Today’s entry comes from a lovely lady named Mari. She contacted me wanting a concept shoot which I was SO stoked about because those are just my favorite kind of shoots. We started emailing back and forth tossing ideas around and eventually settled on the idea of a Hunger Games styled shoot. Fun fact: Mari and I were both extras in the first Hunger Games movie!
Mari lives in Asheville, NC so planning and styling with her was quite a challenge seeing as that I am based in Washington, DC. Fortunately, the stars aligned and I was going to Charlotte for the Democratic National Convention and other photoshoots and was able to get a shoot in with her! We had an outline of a few outfits we wanted to maybe try out so we just both agreed to pile our cars high with clothes and accessories and have my rockstar sister Genna Poletti help us style the shoot on the day of.
These don’t even touch on the mess we made in her apartment… Sorry Genna! We ended up going for the bright pink and orange skirt outfit with a pink underbust corset topped off with a single ponytail from Gothic Lolita Wigs’ Atomic Love Affair (available here: Atomic Love Affair) wrapped into a mini top hat-esque bun on top of Mari’s blonde dreads.
I also had a momentary brian lapse and forgot to take pictures of Genna’s makeup magic. Sorry again! Basically Genna Poletti Makeup Artistry is the jam. Check it out.
Cake break.
So my vision for this shoot was to have a brightly colored Mari in a rockstar stance in front of the Charlotte skyline. Of course, do things ever go as planned? No. Never. First of all, it was pouring down rain. Okay, maybe I can work with that. So we drove to the location to either look for shelter or hope to wait out the rain. Second, my awesome location with the skyline view that I picked out via Google Maps Street View (….Long distance street scouting..) was all blocked off for the DNC!! UGH. How frustrating!
So we head back to Genna’s apartment building to start shooting in her parking deck. There are still ways to make parking decks look cool with lighting, so I figured we could give that a try while waiting out the rain. Totally dig what we got! Here is Mari, a fine citizen of the Capitol!
Time to move outside! We headed up to the roof. By this time, it was super dark outside. The skyline I had hoped for was unattainable due to clouds and DNC road blocks so instead I went for the bokeh of the street lights below. Photography 101 is being able to think on your feet!
Finally, as we were about to wrap it up, I had a thought. I don’t usually do composites in Photoshop for my concept shoots. I actually really hate them because they look manufactured. But I realized this was a perfect opportunity to grab that skyline shot I had initially envisioned for the Hunger Games concept. The whole idea of a “Capitol” is manufactured anyway. It’s all CGI cityscape. So why not make a composite for the concept shoot? I lined up Mari against the black sky to make these shots. I am SO picky about composites, but I really really love the way these turned out!! What do you think about photoshop composites?
Thanks again to Mari for coming down to Charlotte to hang out with me and knock out these rad photos. I had a blast!
Fashion Photography
Hunger Games Concept Photography
Charlotte, NC
From Fairy Princess to Super Sexy Femme Fatale
Hey guys! I have an exciting post for you today! Sweet Trade Photography invited me to shoot some latex outfits from Fetasia Latex and Scarlet Bliss (provided by Jade) with her earlier this week. I was so stoked to meet alternative model Fate and have the chance to shoot her. This girl can morph from fairy princess to sexy latex femme fatale in a matter of minutes. It was truly amazing to watch this girl work it. We decided to start off with more “normal” looks and progress to the latex shots at the end. Latex is a messy thing to shoot and if you’ve ever done it, you’ll know why we did it last. 😉
I LOVE working with Sarah from Sweet Trade Photography. We have only shot together one other time but I model for her quite frequently. Some of the best shots in my modeling portfolio are from this girl. She makes magic. But it’s so interesting to shoot alongside her because our styles are very different. We can shoot the same subject in the same setting and the same outfit and the images don’t look anything alike. I love that. We even have the same camera. I think that says a lot about artistic style and a photographers eye. Too cool. I also love shooting with Sarah because we get all of these cool Behind the Scenes pictures of us being goofy. Hehe!
Anyway, back to Fate. This first outfit is such a mashup of everyone’s things. Fate had this amazing flowy skirt that we paired with a Victorian-esque corset I brought, shoulder pieces from Amorous Cat’s Attic (provided by Jaded), and a dip into my magic bag of wigs.
Here I am adjusting Fate’s wig. The wig is from Cosplay Wigs USA (available here: CWUSA Curly Blonde). Also, I’d like to clarify that I am not a giant. Fate is just a munchkin. 🙂 xo
After pulling all of our resources together and getting everything all good to go, we went out to the woods in Sarah’s backyard. Time to make some princess magic happen.
Magic. I love it. It feels like she’s out in some far away world… Just a lost princess looking for her way home.
Next up, we stuck with the same kind of innocence of the first set. Fate switched into an adorable little dress, and we switched her into some dark brown long hair (Available here: CWUSA Long Straight Brown).
Haha!! Wig cap alert! Helping Fate get her wig on…. Always funny.
This time we went out to the front yard to grab some shots by some flowers. The sun was in an awesome spot for lens flare, and I am a HUGE sucker for flare if I can get it. So… here ya go!
Yesss! Sun flare love! And can I just point out how well Fate nails “innocent”? Very convincing… 😉
Another Behind the Scenes shot! This is Sarah shooting. She asked me to shake some flower pedals down onto Fate which led to this funny series….
On the way back into the house, the stairs jumped out at me as the perfect background against the dress and Fate’s beautiful pale skin contrasting with her hair and eyes. SO MUCH LOVE.
She is so beautiful!
After this, sweet and innocent time was over. Cue the latex. This black dress is by Scarlet Bliss.
In this Behind the Scenes shot, Sarah knocks out a few with Fate in Gothic Lolita Wigs’ Teal Bob (available here: GLW Teal Bob)
My turn! BAM.
See what I mean about this girl morphing? From super sweet and innocent to drop dead super sexy. Just wow. I am so impressed.
Time to switch into the last outfit. Latex takes some time to get into and get out of, so here is a picture of me and Sarah being silly in the mean time. La la la aaaa.
This latex is from Fetasia Latex (provided by Jaded). The wig is Gothic Lolita Wigs Red/White Split without the ponytails (available here: GLW Red/White Split). We decided to go for a more latex pinup look and I love the results!
Behind the scenes time!
My hair gets really psycho during shoots. There is nothing I can do!
The sun was so awesome that even the iPad (playing some really awesome Destiny’s Child… because who doesn’t love Destiny’s Child?) could catch it!
SO cute. Ah. This is just too much. To wrap up our marathon shoot, here is a lovely/goofy/what? shot of all of us together. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the photos and the behind-the-scenes look at a photoshoot with Alexa Poletti Photography and Sweet Trade Photography. That’s all for now! xo
Fashion Photography
Latex Photography
Maryland
Headshot Portraits in Rockville, MD
Hey guys! So over the weekend, I had the pleasure of shooting Ms. Rachel Kepnes! She is a model/actress based out of Maryland. Rachel first came across my work last year and we have been trying to get a shoot together since. Finally, the day has come! I headed out to Rockville to meet Rachel and knock out some portraits.
We got really lucky with the weather that day. It was a GORGEOUS day in the mid-80’s.. Nice to have some relief after shooting Sharmela the week before when it was nearly 100 degrees! I am a tiny girl and lugging equipment around in that kind of heat is not my friend!
We started in this nice open field with natural light & light cloud coverage. I love the way the greens compliment her blue outfit. Just love it!
Look how that green just really compliments her eyes! I love that!
And as much as my style reflects my love for bright colors and lighting that pops, I am a total sucker for a good black and white image as well. They are so much moodier and I dig that.
After shooting in the field, we moved on to our next location, which are these awesome rock stairs. This setup is also all natural light in a much shadier area.
Next location! Stone archway. This area is completely shaded and I wanted to grab some images that pop. I shot a single Canon 580exII speedlite into a 45″ white umbrella at 45* for the soft lighting in this upcoming set.
That’s it for Rachel’s portrait and headshot session! Best of luck in your acting and modeling career, Rachel! Keep me posted on your adventures!
Cheers!
Headshots
Portrait Photography
Rockville, MD
Washington, DC
My Facebook Fan Contest Winner – Beautiful Fantasy Fairy Cosplay Shoot
Hey everyone!! Back in June, I held a contest on my Facebook Fan Page to celebrate my page hitting one thousand fans (woohoo!). My contest was to win a free concept/fashion shoot and no one tried harder to win than Ms. Sharmela. I could not be happier that my contest brought this wonderful person into my life. She is the sweetest, most adorable, honorary Japanese girl (like me!) I have come across in a long time.
So after Sharmela kicked ass in my contest, the concept planning began. After ideas and ideas, emails, sketches, chats, and evaluation of my wig inventory, we finally settled on a fairy concept shoot. Executing a conceptual shoot from start to finish was the goal of my contest and I am happy to say that we nailed it.
We were joined by the fab Dwana Blaqstar Stover, who styled Sharmela from head to toe AND doubled as a rockstar makeup artist. Here are a few behind the scenes shots of the “getting ready” process with Sharmela and Dwana:
Makeup is done! Looking great!
Add a wig (Gothic Lolita Wigs White Curly Bob), headband, and earrings, and we are all done! Here is an adorable shot from Sharmela’s Instagram. Oh my god. Too precious.
You can follow me on Instagram @alexapoletti for Behind the Scenes shots, my modeling work, and photos of my cat. Mostly the cat.
So now that Sharmela is all fairy-ed out, it’s time to hit the gardens. I am pretty sure that all the kids in the surrounding area were convinced that she is actually a fairy princess.
Drum roll please!
1k Fan Contest Winner/Fantasy Fairy Shoot
Model: Sharmela Rivera
Photo: Alexa Poletti Photography
MUA/Stylist: Dwana Blaqstar Stover
Fun fact: This was actually a test shot, but I loved the complete innocence of this, so it made it into the final set.
She has the BEST smile ever ,right? It’s so contagious! At this point I decided I wanted to get a few natural light closeups and play with my 50mm f/1.4. It is my favorite lens for getting a super shallow depth of field. Since it’s a pretty cheap lens, it’s not much use until around f/2, but then it’s pretty sharp and great for the price. How adorable is this girl?
She has the best expressions… This is one of my favorite expression series that I have done! Also, how CUTE is that curly bob on her? I wish it looked like that on me! >.<
Here is a behind the scenes shot from our next location, taken by Dwana. By this point we were all disgusting and sweaty and hot and miserable, but still loving every minute of it. It’s all about loving what you do!
For photographers/those of you wondering, the only light used in this series was a Canon 580exII Speedlite with no light modifiers around 4pm.
This is all of the equipment that was used in this set:
Equipment Rundown:
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 580exII
Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L
Canon 50mm f/1.4
CyberSync Transmitter/Receiver
I hope you all enjoyed my journey with Sharmela.
Watch for more contests like this one on my Facebook Fan Page:
facebook.com/AlexaPolettiPhotography
Thanks guys!
Conceptual Fashion Shoot
Fairy Cosplay Photoshoot
Silver Spring, MD
DC Actor Headshots
Hey everyone! Meet Tyler! He is an aspiring actor from Virginia who contacted me looking to update his headshots. He came out to see me in DC and we did a quick mini-session this afternoon for some fantastic results!
I couldn’t help but grab a shot of Tyler looking all fly with his Vans on. Too cute!
Love it! Good luck with your casting this weekend, Tyler! 🙂 Don’t forget me when you’re famous!
Headshots
Washington, DC
Beautiful Natural Light Portraits
Hi everyone! I am back in DC (from my wedding getaway in North Carolina) and am very excited to bring you a new set of natural light portraits. Now I started talking to Eszter months and months ago about doing some really bangin’ portraits that were both classic and sexy without being too in-your-face. When I finally met her face to face, I was so pumped because this girl is hilarious and awesome. She brought her best friend and makeup artist, Laura, who was just as much of a pleasure as Eszter. Laura Dobi is the key makeup artist and creative director behind Green Revolution Artistry. Check her out for a super cool makeup mission.
We shot in a really amazing park off of the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Midday. On a weekend. On Memorial Day Weekend. Errrr…. In hindsight, that my have been a mistake. Haha, oh well, live and learn! It didn’t even cross my mind that there would probably be ten zillion very curious rugrats running around the park. But really, what is a photoshoot if something unexpected doesn’t happen?
Supermodel status? I think so!
Here is an adorable Behind The Scenes shot of Eszter and Laura. Fun fact: These best friends are both from Hungary. They met as kids in school in America when Laura transferred in and spoke no English. Eszter was the only other Hungarian in the school and had to translate for her. 21 years later, they are still best friends. How freaking perfect is that? Ugh! *melt*
When cruising to our next location, we ran straight into a tree-filled path with perfect lighting coming through the trees. Of course, we had to stop and knock out a few shots. Eszter looks like such a classic beauty in these black and white photos.
At our next location, we had the option to shoot exposed brick. Does anyone ever really turn down the opportunity to shoot exposed brick? (That is a real question.)
Keep in mind that there were dozens of kids all around us… Throwing footballs at us, yelling to us from the roof, and standing in front of the reflector… Looking back, I can’t believe we made it through the day so effortlessly, haha! I suppose that’s the power of good company! I had a blast with Eszter and Laura despite the challenges! She looks so gorgeous, natural, and relaxed in all of these shots. You’d never guess she had such an audience!
As we were heading to our next location, again we ran into a wonderful surprise. Tucked back off the path was a small clearing with a completely epic, and probably magical, tree.
Here is a Behind The Scenes look that Laura shot at the tree location. I am (of course, looking whacky) doing some weird balancing act in attempt to not slide down the practically vertical hill I had Eszter climb up. Have I mentioned what a trooper Eszter was?
And here are the killer shots from that spot. It probably would have taken half the time to shoot it if all of the kids in the park weren’t convinced that Eszter was Jennifer Lawrence, in her natural habitat of District 12. 🙂 Do you see the resemblance?
And finally, we were off to our final location! Ready to cool off with the breeze from the Potomac River.
For the photographers following, up until this point, Eszter’s entire shoot had been natural light portraits. Because of the shadows from the trees by the water, for these next few shots I shot an on-camera flash into a reflector to bounce some soft light onto Eszter.
Finally, I topped the shoot off with some super shallow closeups. For this, I used a 50mm at f/1.4-f/2 and I am so obsessed with the fall-off.
Alright, that’s it for Eszter’s portrait session! I have a feeling you may be seeing more of Eszter and Laura around here! Cross your fingers! I had the best time with them and really hope to see them both again soon!
Portrait Photography
Washington, DC
Mike & Johanna’s Wedding
Hi guys!! Last weekend I had the privilege of shooting Mike and Johanna’s wedding on May 5, 2012. It was SUCH a beautiful day. They got married aboard the “N 2 Deep” yacht (Championship Yacht Charters) on Lake Norman, NC. We were picked up from Travis Pointe in Mooresville, NC which is an AMAZING venue in itself. That property is just incredible, and a great option if you are looking to get married in the LKN area. While I am based out of Washington, DC, I have a special attachment to LKN and love it more than any place in the world.
Let’s start with the dress and the details of the day. The colors of the wedding were Carolina blue and white. This combo is so gorgeous and one of my favorites!
Check out this amazing dress! I love how casual yet completely elegant and beautiful it was. Just wait til you see it on Johanna… wow!
I am obsessed with these GUESS shoes!
How adorable are these flower girl baskets?
These flowers are SO beautiful. The florist really knocked it out of the park. I also love the touch of the bedazzles in the bouquet and boutonniere and the carolina blue bow to tie the flowers to the theme.
Drum roll, please! Ceremony time! Here are a few highlights from the ceremony.
Everyone loves flower girls and ring bearers! These are some of the cutest I’ve seen!
Cue Johanna! Mike sees his bride for the first time. Aww! Always my favorite part!
What a radiant smile!
Adorable flower girl picking up petals during the ceremony.. hehehe…
You may kiss the bride!
I now present Johanna and Mike Bohn!
Meet the wedding party!
Now it is time for our bride and groom to relax and enjoy some drinks together and for the reception to begin!
Meet DJ Bob! We have worked other weddings together so it was great to be reunited with another vendor! Always cool to see familiar faces.
Okay… I am going to give you fair warning to brace yourself for this next set. It is potentially the cutest thing ever to hit this earth. Flower girls eating strawberries and cupcakes. See if you can handle it…
Hahaha.. Oh man. I love those two.
Check out this killer sunset from the front of the boat!
A beautiful first dance!
Dancin’ machines!
Hahaha….
As I am writing this, I am laughing recalling this. This was definitely a fun bunch! And here are a few more dancing party people to top off the night.
And the clouds broke just enough for the Supermoon to light up the sky. An amazing end to an amazing night. Thanks so much to Mike and Johanna for letting me be a part of their special day. I really had a blast hanging with y’all! Best of luck to you both!
Lake Norman, NC
Wedding Photography
Kelly’s Fitness Shoot
Hi everyone!
Meet Kelly! She is an aspiring fitness model based out of DC. After seeing some of my dance photography, Kelly contacted me for her fitness shoot for a blend of lifestyle, fitness, action, and headshots, and I am so glad she did. She has a fantastic personality and I had SUCH a fun time shooting and hanging out with her!
Let’s back up and start with a little behind-the-scenes beauty prep. This creative team is so awesome, so I want to take a moment to spotlight them as well.
These beauty wizards are Liz and Melissa. Take a second to check out their amazing portfolios:
MUA: Melissa Michelle
Hair: Ms. Liz
Thanks to the creative team for an awesome look!
Now let’s check out how completely fabulous Kelly is! We wanted to start off with a casual studio look, with a little oil for a touch of fitness sheen.
Looking so stunning! Then we swapped into fitness mode:
And then to lifestyle:
Oh my gosh… Isn’t she the cutest freaking thing? I LOVE IT.
I am so in love with these photos. I don’t care if I am tooting my own horn… She looks amazing!
So then we went back into fitness shooting. I made this poor girl run so many laps while waiting for the sun to drop down where I wanted it. She was definitely a trooper and cut out to be a fitness model! Thanks for being such a good sport, Kelly!
This is what I was waiting for!!! Here we go~~
And that’s a wrap on Kelly’s fitness shoot! I hope you guys enjoyed the new material and keep a look out as I have a TON of new stuff that will be hitting the blog very soon. As always, thanks for viewing!
Fitness Photography
Yoga Photography
Lifestyle Photography
Headshots
Washington, DC
Shock T – Wearable, Stareable Art
Introducing….. *drum roll*…
SHOCK T: Wearable, Stareable Art!
Shock T is a really amazing clothing line featuring the coolest intricate hand drawings printed on top quality fabrics. These are just a few of the shots that I did for their website yesterday showcasing a few of the many designs and styles you can choose for your newest Shock T t-shirt or tank! Enjoy!
Models (L to R): Kristin Rachelle, CJ Lancione, Elle Prokhoda, Dana Molly
MUA: Melissa Michelle
Fashion Photography
Clarksville, MD
Teena’s Sunrise Shoot
Hey guys! Meet Teena! T came to me wanting some awesome bright fashion portraits. If you’ve ever seen my portfolio, you know that I LOVE doing bright colors and dramatic lighting. It’s my favorite! So, of course, I was so thrilled to have Teena for this sexy shoot. We met at sunrise for some really fantastic light and images. Enjoy!
I am such a sucker for lens flares… love em!
Fashion Photography
Washington, DC
Alexandria, VA
Jordan and the Cherry Blossoms
Hey guys! After a fashion-hiatus, I am back and stronger and more inspired than ever. Winter is over and I’m ready to kick spring into gear with shoot after shoot after shoot. The next few weeks are going to be crazy busy with shoots, so make sure you check this blog often! I wanted to kick off the madness with a shoot that I’ve been planning for weeks. Let me introduce Jordan Michelle!
Jordan and our team of hair/makeup and stylists killed it tonight! I’m so glad we got to rock the cherry blossoms in a fashion forward way. Enough chatter… Let’s get to the goods!
Alexa Poletti Photography
Model: Jordan Michelle
Hair/Makeup: Dinechka
Stylist: Farah Chami
So much fun! Thanks guys! You all killed it! Check out their links above to give them some love!
Fashion Photography
Washington, DC
Mary & Machelle’s Wedding
Hey guys! I have a very exciting and personal post for you all today!
Ever since I started doing wedding photography, I have wanted to shoot same-sex weddings. Gay marriage is an issue that is very close to my heart and something I care very deeply about. When I moved to DC from North Carolina, I was so happy to be moving to a place where all people are allowed to marry who they love. I can not stress enough how important equality is to me. I truly hope that these photos find struggling gay individuals/couples and give them hope and happiness for the future. We are on the right track.
ANYWAY, I could talk about gay marriage forever, but this post is about Mary and Machelle and their fabulous wedding day. This couple traveled up from North Carolina to make their promise to each other legal. I am so honored to have shot their wedding performed by Tiffany of MarriageDC in the Chelsea Gardens in Washington, DC. Meet Mary and Machelle!
Okay okay okay. Let’s start from the beginning. Here we are at Chelsea Gardens and the ceremony has begun!
:’D So happy!
(The above photo has been blacked out for blog purposes to protect the identity and privacy of my clients.)
So after the ceremony, we headed out to grab some portraits of the newlyweds! I wanted to take more of a lifestyle approach to capture this couples’ sincere joy. I love the way these girls laugh and their happiness was extremely contagious.
And finally… my favorite thing about Mary and Machelle was their sense of humor. How many couples will let you take photos like THIS on their wedding day?
Hahaha! Love it so much! Okay, that’s it guys. Hope everyone is having a great week so far! Thanks and CONGRATS again to Mary and Machelle!
Wedding Photography
Gay Marriage Photography
Washington, DC
Kaitlin Davin
Hey guys!! I am VERY, VERY excited to release to you the photos from my photoshoot last week with the incredibly talented Kaitlin Davin. She is an extremely beautiful person and an amazing dancer. I can’t rave about this girl enough! I had such a great time hanging out with her for this fun shoot, mixing in headshots, fashion, and dance.
Now, I’m not a huge fan of studio, so I figured we would just take a few headshots on a gray backdrop and then hit the streets. Kaitlin jumped right in and NAILED it on one of the very first shots. Doesn’t she look like a covergirl model?! Gorgeous.
Out to the streets! This girl loves Beyonce as much as I do, so I LOVED jamming to B on location. So great.
^Love that shot! One of my personal favorites of mine. ❤
Oh! I should also mention that it was near freezing that day! We had to stick close to the house so we could keep going in and warming up. Insanity. Kaitlin was a champ, though!
I just love how her body curves with the arch. I love shooting dancers!
LOVE THIS SHOT SO MUCH! Ugh.. I just love this whole session. I can’t pick a favorite shot!
Great attitude! So pumped on these! Isn’t her outfit perfect??
Allllright, I know this was a long post, but that’s a wrap on Ms. Kaitlin Davin. Keep an eye on this one… She’s got a bright future!
Washington, DC
Portrait Photography
Headshots
Dance Photography
Fashion Photography
Playdate with Amanda Flood
Meet Amanda!
Amanda is a Maryland-based model who came to DC to shoot with me and Sweet Trade Photography last week. I had a blast dressing her up in wigs and watching her morph from character to character. These sexy photos are featuring Gothic Lolita Wigs‘ Farrah Bombshell Wig.
Next she threw on Gothic Lolita Wigs‘ Classic Straight Black and took on a classic Old Hollywood glam look.
Totally love it!
Mixing it up next with Cosplay Wigs USA‘s 36″ Light Pink Wavy wig for another super sexy look.
After all the fun playing in wigs, we decided to hit the park and shoot a natural look. We were lucky to have such a beautiful day in January in Washington, DC. Great blue sky!
Switching over to some natural light to mix things up! She looks so awesome in black and white!
That’s it! Lots of new stuff coming your way soon. I look forward to digging the animal series back out and starting on it again with a fresh outlook and new take on the series. So excited to show you guys what I have planned!
Portrait Photography
Washington, DC
Frank Bliss
Hey guys!
Time to meet Frank Bliss, a kickass actor based out of the DC/MD area. Because of his sharp features and his mastery of evil, he usually plays villains in movies. You would never know from his IMDb page, where his face and body are drenched in blood, what a genuinely nice and sweet guy he is.
For his headshots, we wanted to do a few traditional type shots just to have some updated ones but focus mostly on the badass, bad guy shots. Here is a little bit of what we came up with! Enjoy!
Check out his site: www.frankbliss.info
Great classic headshots. Now on to the fun stuff!
So I stumbled upon this little alley the other day and while it’s not much to see in person, I thought it could be a great location to shoot. As you’ll see from this set, I LOVE this spot! I normally try to limit my posts from each location but I just think these all turned out great! I love the spot and I love Frank’s badass attitude!
Hey, let’s throw some glasses in for good measure.
I should mention that it was near freezing that day. And the wind… there’s always the wind…
I will leave you with one final image. The most contrasty, badassiest of them all. He almost reminds me of my personal favorite badass, Walter White (Bryan Cranston) in AMC’s Breaking Bad. Thoughts?
Headshots
Portrait Photography
Washington, DC
Miss Abby Bolin
Hey y’all! As you may know, I’ve spent the last week in Wilmington, NC to film my little role on One Tree Hill. So many great things have happened this week, one of which includes meeting the fabulously beautiful Abby Bolin. We hung out all day on set on Tuesday and decided that we needed to shoot some fun costume shots supplied by Halloween & More. So we narrowed it down to a hot pirate outfit and a fun little doll outfit!
Here is Ms. Abby Bolin as Darling Dollie!
I just adore these photos so much!! Oh my gosh. The location was just so perfect and has been screaming for me to shoot there for years. Just never had the perfect opportunity…. I think this theme was just about perfect for it. 🙂
Now, I give you Abby as a super sexy pirate!
Toooooo much fun!!!
Thank you sooo much to Abby Bolin and to Halloween & More. What a wonderful day! I hope next time I am in NC that I get to shoot with her again! Eeep!
Costume Photography
Wilmington, NC
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