Whitney's favorite moments in 2019
This was a year of huge growth for Red Stiletto Photography. We were able to accomplish a lot, and had some hilarious moments along the way. Read about them here!
If you’ve read previous blogs, you know that 2019 was a challenging year in some ways. But what I want to share with you today are all the things that went RIGHT last year. And, being me, a few things that brought me to tears of laughter.
We were so honored to win the Vision Award (an international photography competition) for two different photos—The Spirit of Courage and Goddess of the Thunder.
The Spirit of Courage actually wasn’t planned at all! We were in the middle of a model call, and the house we were shooting in had these amazing beams across the ceiling. We were talking about how cool it would be to photograph a model up in the beams, but who on earth would be willing to get up there??
If you believe in signs, here you go. The very next model who came in was an aerialist and was more than willing to climb up into the ceiling and hang from the beams! Not only did her photo win an award, but you can check it out RIGHT NOW as it’s currently featured in Shutter Magazine at Barnes & Noble.
Speaking of Shutter Magazine, we also had multiple photos featured in this world’s leading photography publication, including the Staff Pick in November, which was then featured on their website and Instagram.
We did a. lot. of. traveling and met some amazing people. Model calls in our home city, St. Louis, and Toronto, shooting dozens and dozens of women, including world-class professional models, in just a few days’ time!
We launched our luxury brand, Dream Couture, for clients who want the most high-end beauty photography experience available. During this time, I was honing in on my style, and I wanted my art to encompass more than just the boudoir style. I wanted to offer the highest level photography to all women, thus I expanded into the world of beauty photography.
As always, a lot of laughter and “typical Whitney” goof-ups took place.
One more than one occasion, the husbands or boyfriends of our clients would show up to the session alongside our client, just to make sure we weren’t crazy people they met on the internet or something (we might be a little crazy, but we’re certainly not dangerous!).
In June, I attended an intensive photography retreat, called Camp Do More, in Canada. I wrote about it here and here, but I did leave out a few details…
One of those details (or should I say tens of thousands of those details) was the mosquitos. They were everywhere. No, let me repeat. THEY WERE EVERYWHERE.
I forgot to bring my industrial strength bug spray, so I was getting eaten alive. We were out in the woods, so I couldn’t just run to Target and pick some up. My only option was to wrap a mosquito net around my head and wear it almost 24/7 (#sexy). Next time, I’m bringing the bug spray, and lots of it.
Another key item that slipped my mind to bring with me to Canada was a pillow. Not the end of the world, but I needed a solution. I’m fortunate enough to have been raised in a home with a very creative father, so I improvised in a way that would make him proud. I stuffed all my clothing into a shirt, and voilà, a pillow!
However, my genius plan had a pretty big hole in it. As the week went on, my pillow got smaller and smaller, and there was no way I was going to put my filthy clothes back into it to fluff it back up (remember, I was in the woods all day, every day). The crick in my neck got more and more painful, but, the show must go on, right?
And possibly one of the funniest moments of all of 2019…the air conditioning in the studio went out in the middle of the summer (not funny), and the ONLY day the repairmen could come fix it was a day we had a client session booked. I called the client and let her know what was going on and asked if she wanted to reschedule. She couldn’t reschedule due to other commitments, and told me that she’d happily keep her session, knowing that she might be bringing joy to someone’s life if the repairmen accidentally caught a peek!
From the bottom of my heart, thank you to all my amazing clients, colleagues, and people I’ve met along the way. Here’s to making 2020 our best year yet!
BEGIN YOUR 2020 WITH A BANG! FILL OUT THE FORM BELOW TO GET STARTED ON YOUR JOURNEY TOWARDS YOUR OWN LUXURY SHOOT.
