With the end of your Junior year upon you, it’s time to start looking for your perfect senior portrait experience. I am looking for a limited number of SpokesModels to promote portrait sessions while having fun, earning prizes and credits toward YOUR portrait session products.

If you are selected as a SpokesModel, you will receive a complimentary portrait session including hair, makeup and wardrobe styling, and three watermarked digital images for your social media pages, email and phone uploads.

Please email me at jillian (at) jilliantodd (dot) com with your name, school, a few activities and interests and a few words about why YOU would be the perfect senior SpokesModel for Jillian Todd Portrait Couture.

I look forward to hearing from you!

“The Conversation about women’s bodies exists largely outside of us, while it is also directed at (and marketed to) us, and used to define and control us. The Conversation about women happens everywhere, publicly and privately. We are described and detailed, our faces and bodies analyzed and picked apart, our worth ascertained and ascribed based on the reduction of personhood to simple physical objectification. Our voices, our personhood, our potential, and our accomplishments are regularly minimized and muted.”

While I don’t necessarily label myself a “feminist” in the same exact way she does, and I have a hard time convincing myself there is basically a type of conspiracy against us as women, I DO agree with her main point. We are, too often, controlled by what we THINK others THINK about us. About how they judge us. About how we measure up to whatever the current standard is.  The true sin, though, is how much we INTERNALIZE this abuse and do it to ourselves.

A few weeks ago, I was interviewed by a photography business coach for his website clients. Nigel was referring to my work at first as “boudoir”….I explained that, yes, while I use the term *very* loosely for marketing purposes, I involuntarily bristle at the label.  I am definitely NOT a  boudoir photographer in the general use of the term…

Now, before you say to yourself WTF?  I DID shoot “regular boudoir”.  For a reason I couldn’t put my finger on at first, I was very uncomfortable when I looked back on a session or was editing for my client.  I saw that I was shooting parts. Lips…bustlines…bums. Very little of a woman’s soul is sheltered there…. Not what I intended to do at all.

I realized what made me uncomfortable: I was giving a space for women to participate in SELF-OBJECTIFICATION.  Why was I perpetuating the notion that a woman needs to look SEXY, to feel good about herself?  Why can’t she evoke every aspect of female energy in her session?  What was I really shooting?  What did I really want to shoot?  BEAUTY. BEAUTY. BEAUTY. was the answer I received….the Universe conspired to open a new path.

I am, at my core, a healer. When I was an esthetician full time, I LOVED working on acne. Healing it. Healing self-image of the client who was riddled with doubt because of it. Living small because of her skin. Not pushing for promotions, worrying about how her boss “saw” her.  Limiting her social life based on a breakout…

My goal in healing the acne was to see her spine straighten when she walked out, the weight of her world left behind….a smile on her face.  Her eyes turned toward the future, toward dreams and aspirations, not inward to “oh, crap, I have another zit”.  I healed.  I just happened to use tools and ingredients and nutrition to do it.

I am, at my core, a healer.  My intention in every session is to heal the same internal blocks: self image, self doubt, criticism, living small. My goal is the same: her eyes turned toward her future, to her power, to her dreams….I just happen to use a camera now.

So today I ask you: Without the block of “am I _______________(pretty, smart, thin, perfect, white, dark, busty, slim, athletic) enough?” what can you do with your life to change your world?  How would you live a larger life?  What new, exciting things would you try?

I received this email after delivering an album to my client and her fiance, I was, and still am absolutely moved to tears…Thank you to my wonderful clients, you make my “job” as a  glamour and boudoir photographer so worthwhile!  I love what I do and am so blessed to help women see their own beauty~~

Jillian,

K received the album last night and was willing to show me the images without being charged per-picture. I have to say that I am aboslutely astounded by the quality of your work! I was floored as I flipped from one picture to the other.

Makeover Photography For K

After seeing the first B&W shot on your blog, I was at least prepared for the exquisite quality of each picture. I have never seen K in such a beautiful, warming light before. Needless to say, K was more than pleased with the finished product (as mentioned before). It was so nice of you to add the additional print to the package.

Again, I would like to give you my praise for such wonderful photography and many thanks for giving K the opportunity to see herself in a light I’ve been holding her up to for over four years. I hope that one day I can emulate your quality and vision in my own photographic works, putting my own spin on my vision of her beauty.

I wish you and your family nothing but the best…and hope more women can share your vision of seeing beauty within themselves.

J

Many women who ask me about makeup are usually under the impression that makeup application starts with foundation or concealer.  For perfect,  portrait-ready makeup every day, primer is imperative. Primer? Like paint primer? Well, sort of….

As a teen, I worked for Emporium Capwell, and was addicted to the Lancome counter when we weren’t busy. A friend introduced me to eye shadow primer.  It made a huge difference in the shadow application, how long it stayed on and how it stayed put.

I didn’t know about facial/foundation primers in esthetics/makeup school, but when I found out about it, I couldn’t wait to try something new.  It was awesome!  It worked almost the same as the shadow primer, but holy guacamole, it smoothed out lines, too.  Double win, baby!

Some of my faves are:

Benefit “That Gal” Brightening Facial Primer .  I love this one because of the light reflecting minerals.  I wear it under foundation, or sometimes alone for a bright, beautiful complexion.

Benefit "That Gal"

What it doesn’t have, though, is hyaluronic acid, one of my fave ingredients.  Yeah, nerdy, I know, fave ingredients… Hyaluronic Acid (HA) is one of the best ingredients you can have in your products. HA is a line filler, smoother and creates a perfect “spackle” for on-the-wider-looking ‘pores’.

Sephora Ultra Smoothing Primer is made with HA, vitamins A and E. It has no parabens  or synthetic fragrance. I tried this because I had Sephora points I needed to use and just picked it on a whim.  Sooooo happy I did.

Sephora Primer

The one I’m trying next is Korres Quercetin & Oak Age Reversing Primer. It is has no

- Parabens
- Sulfates
- Synthetic Fragrances
- Synthetic Dyes
- Petro-Chemicals
- Phthalates
- GMOs
- Triclosan

and DOES have HA and great reviews from Sephora shoppers–SCORE!

Korres Primer

Questions?  Post ‘em below and I’ll answer them in upcoming blogs.  Have you used primers?  What are your faves?  If you haven’t, are you going to give them a try?

Here it is again, Friday and I haven’t updated anything regarding luxe products I love. You know, if you see something YOU love and want to share, you can always send it on over and I’ll post it here, too. The more the merrier, I always say.

Lately I have been getting VERY into vintage lingerie.  I love it for portrait shoots and it makes the best boudoir photography, too. So timeless!

If you decide to purchase vintage for your boudoir or glamour photography shoot, be sure to check the lace. Some can be extremely scratchy. In some shops, I will go through fifteen or twenty pieces before finding one that is totally comfy.

My particular favorites are the fifties style–definitely Marilyn Monroe redux.  Some I’ve collected look more like Liz Taylor’s “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” slip.  Gorgeous.

In Studio Lingerie...Yumm!

I am constantly looking for new shops, so if you know of any, online or otherwise, please be sure to share with me!

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Remember the visual of a triangle, with ISO-SHUTTER SPEED-APERTURE as the three points. Today we will deal with ISO.  ISO stands for the Greek term “isos”, or “equal”. In camera speak, it means the International Organization for Standardization, which is only really interesting if you are a nerd like me and get excited about learning new words and their origins…ahem…

If you ever shot film, you may remember the numbers on the boxes you purchased, for example ISO 125-200-400-1600. Remember when you wanted to shoot indoors, your photography store clerk would point you to 400 or even 1600? You see, ISO indicates the sensitivity of the film–or in digital terms, the sensor–to light. The lower the number, the less sensitive. I used to use 200 or less for sunny days. By the way, we are not going into using flash/strobe yet.

You can input your preferred ISO into almost any camera, including your point and shoot. About 99% of the people I talk to have no idea how to do that.  Never fear, we will get to that, too. The main thing to remember right now is ISO=sensitivity to light.

See you next time, and be sure to leave any questions for me. I’ll be happy to answer them below! xo

 - Jean -Luc Godard

This is one of my all time favorite quotes about portrait photography, because it is so accurate. Eyes are the windows to the soul, they say, and it couldn’t be more true when  a woman is in the studio, most likely having hated being photographed before.

These are the best subjects to work with, because in their aversion to having a portrait made, they forget what part of them is really being captured. When she begins to relax, laugh and maybe shed a tear or two, I know I am opening that window.  Yes, her face, her decolletage, maybe a full body shot.  But what she doesn’t realize is I want her eyes to speak.  For without her eyes penetrating through the lens, the image means nothing at its core.

So my challenge to you this week is, whether with a camera or not, connect. Really look at the people around you. If you are shooting a portrait, see if you can get that connection through the lens. When you do, it’s palpable. It will not only move your subject; it will move your soul. 

Haha!  I talk a lot about exposure here, but this is the first in a series of photography tips regarding the term exposure.

Cameras today are no different than the pinhole camera I made in high school. They are light proof boxes designed to keep unwanted light away from your film, paper or sensor, while directing the “latent image” right where you want it.  Remember the foil with the little hole in it?  That would be the “aperture” but I’m getting ahead of myself.

When you bought your camera, did you ask a lot of questions on how to use it?  Did you take a class?  Maybe you saw “P”–no, it doesn’t mean “professional”– set your camera to that part of the dial and have been shooting (un)happily ever since.

A lot of my non-photographer friends are frustrated by their camera. The questions I get most often are about blurry photographs of kids playing indoor sports, people standing in front of a window—why do they look so dark—couldn’t my camera tell–why is everything so BRIGHT?  Why do I have this weird black bar across the top and/or bottom of my image?  Why would “P” not do the trick?

What you need to know about exposure is it’s made up of more than “P”—you can actually decide what you want to expose for. Wha….?  Yes, YOU can tell your camera what to do while shooting indoor sports or people in front of a window or any other situation. The point of photography is to convey a mood, right?

The three elements of controlling exposure are ISO, APERTURE and SHUTTER SPEED.  Think of them as a triangle.  Each week, I will be giving you a lot more information on how and why you should control exposure in your photography, when to make changes and what those changes mean for your images.

Ready?  Questions anyone?

Are you, like most people I know, am transfixed by before and afters?  Some of my favorite TV shows revolve around the concept: Candice Olsen’s Divine Design and Candice Tells All…What Not to Wear…Biggest Loser…Extreme Home Makeover…almost every other HGTV show, the list goes on and on. And I’m not too ashamed to admit it: I usually skip to the end.

The most powerful transformation, obviously, is the one that happens inside. So many people, at the end of these shows, talk about how the experience changed their perception of themselves, their lives, how even the space they live in impact their quality and enjoyment of their lives…I shared a little yesterday about throwing a bunch of crappy beliefs and “stories” out of my life. Today, I’d like to hear about how YOU have transformed yours: inside? Outside?  Attitude?  Clothes? Makeup?  Surgery? What makes you feel transformed? Have you overcome what seemed like insurmountable obstacles?  Please share with us (it can be anonymous, of course).  So much can be learned from each other…xo