Eliza's goddess photoshoot
Eliza's Goddess Photoshoot captured in a video and photos of her transformation.
Eliza is an aspiring ballet dancer, yogi, a student of alternative medicine and she exudes peace and calmness with the way she talks and the way she moves. When she contacted me about doing a Goddess Photoshoot, I asked my talented stylist/makeup artist friend Sasha Belova to jump on board with us along with her sister Nastya Mosh, who created a video of our photoshoot.
"I can't believe it is me in these photos," she says softly, as she is holding the final prints in her hands, a large black box in her lap, when we meet in Starbucks five days after her photoshoot.
"I rarely wear my hair down, but I will do it more often after this. And I don't usually wear rompers, and this one looks gorgeous."
A Goddess Photoshoot is more than just a portrait photography session.
It is an opportunity to observe yourself from the side, to see yourself in a different light. It is a chance to play and experiment and step into a role that is slightly outside of your usual comfort zone, a chance to try on something a little bolder, more dramatic. It is an opportunity to connect to and claim that power that is already within you, to allow yourself to be free, to be you, and to be beautiful.
Eliza's transformation was truly remarkable. I did not catch a "before" photo of Eliza's photo session, but you can certainly see what she looked "after" - with the makeup and outfits and being truly connected to her divine power.
personal branding photoshoot for a new yoga teacher
"Please don't mention anything to them about our photographing in the gardens", I caution my model and client, Denise, before we enter Morikami Museum and Gardens.
"Of course", she nods in agreement as we open the heavy doors.
"We are just ordinary park visitors going for a stroll", I mumble to myself as we approach the cashier, an elderly gentleman named Joe.
“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.”
"Please don't mention anything to them about our photographing in the gardens", I caution my model and client, Denise, before we enter Morikami Museum and Gardens.
"Of course", she nods in agreement as we open the heavy doors.
"We are just ordinary park visitors going for a stroll", I mumble to myself as we approach the cashier, an elderly gentleman named Joe.
"That will be $15 per person and you cannot bring a bag of clothes with you into the park, ma'am, though your camera bag is ok," as he sternly gives me a look over.
"How did he know?" we both laugh as we head back out for Denise to change in the car. "I thought we were so discreet about it! These guys are experts at spotting photographers." My camera bag, by the way, doesn't look like a traditional camera bag. Once, when attending a photography workshop, as several of us, students, were going down in a elevator together, one lady pointed at my hot pink Cheeky Lime camera bag and asked, "Is that your lunch bag?" How dare she? I LOVE my camera bag for its extra-ordinarity. Anyway, thankfully, we were granted the permission to photograph in the park and we decided to do outfit changes in the car.
One of our most favorite images from the photoshoot is the one above. When I saw it through the viewfinder as I was taking it, I knew it would be one of the best shots. She is such a Goddess!
Even though the gardens had just opened, the serene place was already full of people being photographed and photographing. The heat index was rising so we got to business right away, deciding to play by the water first.
"Do you want me to splash the water around?"
"Great idea!" I say, and as she starts splashing the water toward me, we both giggle, but I am afraid to get water on my camera, so I suggest she try throwing the water towards the sky. This is what came out of it:
It is worth mentioning that Denise first contacted me when I was on vacation in Turkey. Even though she was eager to get her photographs taken right away, when I told her that I would be back in two weeks, she agreed to wait for me. And once I came back and we talked on the phone about her photoshoot,
I found out that Denise loves to travel and the country that she is especially drawn to is Italy. I had an obsession with Italy myself so I can completely understand why.
She also told me about how her fledgling yoga business is geared more toward children, and when I met her in person she struck me as a kid herself. This woman with a successful corporate career where she gets to travel worldwide has a contagious laughter and playful attitude of a cheerful kid!
During our photoshoot, whenever I asked Denise to give me a non-smiling expression, she would comply for a few seconds and then burst out laughing. After a few more tries I realized that it was her personality and after having taken a couple shots with a contemplative, introspective expression on her face, I decided not to persist anymore and just photographer this goddess the way she was naturally, smiling, bursting with joy, and happiness.
A contemplative expression on her face…
Until she burst into laughter seconds later!
"Look up! What is that? Is that an eagle?" she points to the top of a pine tree towering over us.
"It is!", I say as I continue to photograph her. In addition to the eagle, we also encountered a bright green lizard that I made friends with while I was waiting for Denise to change in her car. We also saw one of those long-necked black birds that spread their wings to soak up the sun. And lots of humans, of course, with many of whom Denise would casually start chatting and laughing.
We played by the water, on a giant rock, and Denise danced between tall trees. We didn't explore the entire park and I wanted to keep photographing, but we were both exhausted from the heat AND working (modeling is serious business, ask anyone who was photographed for two hours!) I think it just means that there will be a sequel to this photoshoot :)
This picture above sums up Denise's essence and personality :)
As Fyodor Dostoevsky said, “If you wish to glimpse inside a human soul and get to know a man, don't bother analyzing his ways of being silent, of talking, of weeping, of seeing how much he is moved by noble ideas; you will get better results if you just watch him laugh. If he laughs well, he's a good man.”
I would definitely want this gentle and lighthearted woman to teach yoga to my daughters.
Another absolute favorite of both Denise and mine.
Want to join the Goddess party? Call/text me to 561-465-4857 or send me an email and let's talk about making YOUR Goddess Photoshoot a reality!
powerful and gentle (Goddess Photoshoot report)
This Goddess did not need a confirmation that she was a Goddess and gently opted out of the goddess reading. (A goddess reading, which is included with the Goddess Photoshoot, suggests which goddess' energy you embody and is typically done over the phone by an intuitive goddess-friend of mine). I had met Jennifer Nicole at an event the year before, when hungry for artistic work, I volunteered to photograph a Marry Yourself Ceremony (by Lourdes Starshower).
This Goddess did not need a confirmation that she was a Goddess and gently opted out of the goddess reading. (A goddess reading, which is included with the Goddess Photoshoot, suggests which goddess' energy you embody and is typically done over the phone by an intuitive goddess-friend of mine). I had met Jennifer Nicole at an event the year before, when hungry for artistic work, I volunteered to photograph a Marry Yourself Ceremony (by Lourdes Starshower). The idea of Marry Yourself Ceremony was to vow to love and cherish that wonderful, most important person in YOUR life - YOU. Aside from being a photographer at that event (and I don't ever photograph events - not my cup of coffee!), I was supposed to give vows and marry myself too, but I got cold feet... Jennifer Nicole was gorgeous at that wedding - wearing a cream-color dress and a tiara and she immediately struck me as a Queen. Gentle and feminine, but at the same time knowing what she wants and very powerful.
When she finally decided to splurge on a Goddess Photoshoot, before I even read the results of her Design my Goddess Photoshoot, I had a vision of her with very bright, vibrant colors, in a dark, about-to-swallow-you, fairy-tale-like forest. My goddess then confirmed to me that to match her spirit we would photograph in a woodsy area that also had access to the water so we chose to do it in the Spanish River Park in Boca.
Jennifer Nicole chose three outfits for the shoot - a long purple gown, a mystical black hooded dress, and a flowery short dress, that, unfortunately, never made it into the photos because we got so caught up in photographing the first two. My model also picked out lots of jewelry, including her crown.
The first part of the shoot we experimented in the woods - first on a giant fallen log and then on a path in the forest.
A little photographer's trick:
If you are not an experienced model, it is always easier to pose when you have a prop. When you have something in your hands that you need to interact with, you are more natural, because you are not thinking about the camera and posing. So we found this enormous green leaf, that took part in our shoot. The images from the leaf series are my favorite, including the million dollar shot (can you guess which one it is?).
On the technical side of things, for my photographer friends who might be reading this, the lens that I used for these images was Lensbaby Spark. ("Baby, I love Lensbaby", I said to my husband) This very inexpensive lens that looks more like a toy gives your images one in-focus sweet spot while the rest of the image is soft and blurry. This year I am on the path of experimenting with photography and getting away from the prescriptive rigidity of what I was taught (how can you prescribe ART?) by taking a bunch of out of focus pictures. The slogan on the Lensbaby gave me goose bumps when I first read it:
"Discover how the aim of photography isn't precision or perfection. It's wonder."
So wonder we created and the images came out wonder-ful :)
Then we decided to take some photos on the path in the woods. After giving my model some general posing guidance, I captured these images below. "I was channeling a Disney princess", she said with a huge smile.
She even sang for me and the birds chirping in the tress, just like the real Snow White! And I got it on camera, in one of these behind-the-scenes shots:
For the second part of the shoot, to translate the vibrant, abundant, gentle, loving and fun-loving spirit that I saw in Jennifer Nicole, I though a sea of flowers would help. (Well, a sea I did not quite muster, but a pond it was. We will try the sea version next time:)) We scouted a patch of green grass, further away from the action of beach-goers, who were washing sand off their happy and tired canine babies on the way back to their cars. My goddess sat on the bright green grass, surrounded by white, pink and purple-hued flowers that matched her dress, behind her ... a parking lot.
"Are you sure the parking lot will not show?", she looked around.
"Trust me, I am an engineer", I thought, and reassured her, "No, it won't, don't worry".
The flower shots came out beautifully, showing off her gentleness, femininity and symbolizing her being a beautiful blooming flower herself and her abundance and bright outlook on life.
"Red roses are my favorite", she says, when I pull out a giant red rose that I envisioned as a prop for the black dress and the third, final part of our session. Though my vision for that dress was to be photographed on the beach, Jennifer Nicole convinced me that it would look better in the woods, since it had a more magical feel to it. By then it was twilight, and the photos came out capturing that mystical spirit of the Goddess.
"What time is it?" I wondered, when I realized that we were the only ones left in the park. (Because I totally lose track of time when I photograph, that day, I had prepared a watch to put on before the shoot, but forgot it anyway.) When I looked at the time, it was 7:45 pm - we photographed for close to three hours! That moment, when I get yanked out of my fantasy world and back to reality, I start panicking that my baby might have gone through all the pumped milk and may be hungry (which is rarely the case), and we throw everything back into the car and head out, back to the real world. But this fantasy-like evening in the forest and the reminder of her divinity will stay forever, in beautiful photos.
I delivered the final photos to Jennifer Nicole in person. We met at a Dunkin Donuts, where I presented her with the beautiful black box with the photos inside. I loved the photos we created together and was curious to know her opinion about them. "You will be blown away by how beautiful you are", is my promise for the Goddess Photoshoot experience. "Will she be blown away?" I wondered as I was opening the door for the giant jogging stroller in which my daughter accompanied me.
"Guess what the client said about the photos?" I ask my husband (the game that he is thrown into playing whether he likes it or not :))
"She loved them"
"Yes, she loved them! She was totally blown away!", I exclaim joyfully and braggingly.
Her exact words after seeing the photos were "I am so happy right now!" and that is the best praise I can get. She also added, "This is the best work you've ever done and I've seen your work. And I have to say I have the best and I love them!"
Those words gave me a high that lasted the whole day, and then some. That must have been one of the few times when I did not seek validation on Facebook as I often do.
After posting a photo or a piece of digital art that I am proud of and then not getting as many likes as some perceived notion of how many likes it deserves, I would then get depressed over not getting that validation. And that day I did not need any validation because I KNEW the photos WE created together were AWESOME. I couldn't care less about social media, because I saw the value that this woman placed on these photos, and I myself felt the value of what I produced for her, and for myself. And then coincidentally (yeah, right. No, seriously, however you want to interpret it), I came across this article about photographers seeking validation on social media.
Back to the main point now.
Loving yourself because you look amazing is superficial, some might say, but that love for self must start somewhere. Focusing on the positive, noticing the beautiful, and praising yourself for the good qualities you posses will surely raise your vibration and take you on a path to loving yourself more. I hope this Goddess now falls MADLY IN LOVE with herself because she looks magnificent!
P.S. The cool thing was that I captured Jennifer Nicole's healing energy on camera :)
“I recommend Francesca Bliss because she is amazing at capturing the essence of a woman, the soul of who you are and the power you represent in a way no other photographer can. Before hiring her, or any photographer for that matter, my biggest fear was that I would not look good in the pictures. In the final photos I looked amazing and I appreciated myself more when I saw how beautiful I looked and how it made me feel special about myself. My favorite part of the photo shoot was being on site where I loved the scenery and was able to wear what I wanted and to be free, to be who I am. Francesca Bliss captures the magic in people and there’s no other art like that. ”
Curious about what it would be like to have your own Goddess Photoshoot? Send me a message and let's talk about what kind of photos you desire.
the twirling leaf, or creative photography for a spiritual entrepreneur
Dry leaves are rustling under my feet as I make my way deeper off the paved path, where sunlight does not reach the ground because of the thick foliage above. It looks like someone spilled a giant bucket of sepia to cover this part of the park canvas, with the exception of a few resilient greens that are making their way to the skies. A good way to ensure not getting a spider web on your face is to extend your arm in front of you and wave it in the direction in which you are going ...
Dry leaves are rustling under my feet as I make my way deeper off the paved path, where sunlight does not reach the ground because of the thick foliage above. It looks like someone spilled a giant bucket of sepia to cover this part of the park canvas, with the exception of a few resilient greens that are making their way to the skies. A good way to ensure not getting a spider web on your face is to extend your arm in front of you and wave it in the direction in which you are going, and that is precisely what I am doing.
"Why don't you sit right over here?" I suggest, pointing to a spot in the middle of dry leaves and branches. Marcelo trustingly follows my instructions and sits cross legged on a dry branch that cracks under his weight. He puts his right palm facing up and notices a bright green leaf dotted with yellow hanging on a thread of spider web. The leaf had caught my eye and I instinctively guided Marcelo to it so that it can become an element of our photo shoot. As Marcelo sits there, just focused on that leaf, it starts spinning, faster and faster, unwinding the problems and worries from our minds. And as it twirls and twirls, my shutter clicks and clicks, and both Marcelo and I are silent. He is meditating on the leaf and I am holding my breath to capture this intimate moment.
This little meditation sets our photoshoot to a great start. We squeeze ourselves from the murk under the banyan tree that had originally lured us into that section of the park with its intricately intertwining long slender roots.
Meet Marcelo. a kind soul from Peru, a yogi, a tree whisperer, a Thai massage expert, an advocate of yoga as a way to quiet your mind and find inner peace.
I lead Marcelo to another tree with which I became acquainted on my previous photoshoot in this park. "How would you feel about climbing this tree?" I ask, and in two seconds Marcelo is already up on the tree, beaming with a smile of a mischievous kid. I take several photos of him up in the tree, while he gets to indulge the little boy in him, climbing the giant branch higher and higher. And then the wise Marcelo returns - he closes his eyes in a pensive embrace of the thick branch.
After the tree climbing we find another leaf that begs to be a part of Marcelo's photos. This one is a huge round one, more wide than it is long, almost heart shaped, bright orange and red. It looks a little bit like a heart and has an outline of a beautiful tree.
We conclude our photoshoot on the beach where Marcelo works his Thai massage magic on a futon and with assistance of his friend Tasia who volunteered to help. It was a wonderful session, peaceful, infused with good energy.
The images I love the most are of Marcelo meditating in a tree, and the one with the twirling leaf. And when my mind starts doing just that - twirling - I will take myself back to the peacefulness of that afternoon.
To get to know Marcelo even better, connect with him on Facebook and visit one of his yoga on the beach classes.
mother and daughter photoshoot
As if it was yesterday, you remember the day your precious little girl was born. It seems not so long ago you cuddled her in your arms and now she is five years old. And now she is a teenager. And in another blink of an eye you are wiping a tear from your eye the day of her wedding. Where did the time go
As if it was yesterday, you remember the day your precious little girl was born. It seems not so long ago you cuddled her in your arms and now she is five years old. And now she is a teenager. And in another blink of an eye you are wiping a tear from your eye the day of her wedding. Where did the time go?
My daughter is five months old now and I cannot believe how quickly the time passed since this tiny human, with whom I am deeply and madly in love, entered this world.
You can't stop time, but you can freeze precious moments in photos.
Most of the photos that I have of my beautiful daughter are on my cell phone, just of her, though we do manage to get some good selfies of both of us from time to time :)
What a timeless gift is photos of mother and daughter! The beautiful connection of the two souls, the love for one another, the physical resemblance, and the precious memories of being together - photographs capturing all these things will grow to be cherished even more with passing of time.
The photos of my dear Emily and her at the time five-year-old daughter Grace were taken on the beach. We actually got rained on in the beginning, and I got some playful shots of Grace playing with rain drops. It was fun photographing the connection that mom and daughter had, though, I must admit, working with young kids can be challenging at times. To capture the beauty of this strong and beautiful woman who helps transform the lives of many young women through the work that she does in the community, I took several pictures of Emily alone. My favorite shot is the portrait above in which her beautiful blue eyes match the blue of the ocean and the clouds in the background!
It's been a year since I saw Emily and we are meeting up for coffee this week - I can only imagine how much her daughter has grown and changed since then!
One day they will be able to sit down together and remember these playful days of Grace's childhood. I am glad to have been there to record a fleeting glimpse of it...
artistic self-portrait
After I created this self-portrait I realized that the inspiration for the idea came from my daughter! On the conscious level I was experiencing what I call artistic hunger - not having an outlet for my creativity due to not having shot in over a month. My husband had given me a dozen red roses for our fourth-year anniversary and I made up my mind to photograph them. Since I am not as keen on photographing objects as opposed to people, it struck me as a brilliant idea to do a self-portrait. No makeup, but luckily, freshly washed hair, a nursing bra stained with breastmilk, I set up a tripod while my daughter was napping in a swing. I threw
My eight-week-old daughter has a pacifier with a pink flower on it. When I look at her angelic face as she sleeps peacefully with this flowered pacifier in her mouth, the whole world stops.
After I created this self-portrait I realized that the inspiration for the idea came from my daughter! On the conscious level I was experiencing what I call artistic hunger - not having an outlet for my creativity due to not having shot in over a month. My husband had given me a dozen red roses for our fourth-year anniversary and I made up my mind to photograph them. Since I am not as keen on photographing objects as opposed to people, it struck me as a brilliant idea to do a self-portrait. No makeup, but luckily, freshly washed hair, a nursing bra stained with breastmilk, I set up a tripod while my daughter was napping in a swing. I threw wide open the blinds of the window and set up the camera to shoot in natural light as the sun was slowly making its way toward the horizon. To be honest, I hate doing self-portraits because a). it is hard to be the model and photographer at the same time; b). modeling is really hard despite all the confident posing instructions I give when shooting; c). my face is extremely asymmetrical and even though I find its reflection in the mirror to be pleasing, I become highly aware of this asymmetry when looking at photos of myself. Despite all of these obstacles, I was resolute on getting a shot with which I could further play around in post-editing and create into something magical. That was the goal. I used a 50 mm lens, my go-to lens for portraiture. Taking a self-portrait is hard not only in terms of getting the right expression on your face since you cannot see yourself (some recommend using a mirror for that), but also from the technical standpoint - getting a sharp, focused image. I set up the chair on which I would be sitting, placed a floor lamp at the level and distance from the camera where my face would be, auto focused on it and then switched to manual focus. Despite the fact that I did not have a lot of natural light available, in order to make my face and the rose look in focus, I had to use a higher depth of field, so I set my aperture at f7.1, and to compensate for small aperture I set my shutter speed at 1/40 and ISO at 1600. It took a lot of running back and forth from my "stage" to the camera and minor adjustments in where I sat to get a clear focused shot. After experimenting with different positions of the rose (the original idea was to have two roses instead of the eyes) and adjustments in the camera, I came up with this shot. Then some Photoshop magic and, voila, here you have it.
The more I look at my portrait, the more I like it. First of all, I like it because I look good :) Though I am not perfect: the asymmetry of my face is quite evident in this photograph (even though I made my left eye longer (l ♥ Photoshop), it is still shorter than the right one); the crease on my right eyelid is the result of sleep deprivation (how much sleep can you get with a new baby?); and my nose is not symmetrical either but the rose partially hides it. Someone told me once that when a person dies, his face becomes completely symmetrical. I don't even know if it true, but if it is, I have a very long life ahead of me! In any case, I did not make my face look perfect in Photoshop because I don't believe in making people look like perfect dolls, but prefer to preserve the natural imperfections that make each and every one of us unique.
Now, the coolest part about this self-portrait is how meaningful it is to me. First, it was inspired by those I love deeply and my love for them defines, in part, who I am. A vibrant red rose in place of my mouth symbolizes communicating not by means of words, but by means of imagery. My eyes closed yet I can see - I am witness to a beautiful dream that I myself create. No makeup, no fancy hair or clothes - simplicity - just the essential. And like my daughter, sucking on her pacifier for the calming and soothing it provides, I am tranquil and at peace with all. This is who I am. This is MY dream. My life is a DREAM...
Originally published on June 4, 2015
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tough stuff
"Give me some time to get into better shape and we will do a photoshoot", were his words before I left for a long vacation spanning two countries. Having come back hungry for work (photographing places and things does not give me the same high as a photo session with a person, a photo session with objectives to capture a certain mood, or something special about that person), so I was very psyched to have an opportunity to photograph Kerem.
"Give me some time to get into better shape and we will do a photoshoot", were his words before I left for a long vacation spanning two countries. Having come back hungry for work (photographing places and things does not give me the same high as a photo session with a person, a photo session with objectives to capture a certain mood, or something special about that person), so I was very psyched to have an opportunity to photograph Kerem.
It was an indoor photo session with one light, tons of coconut oil (to enhance form and give the skin a glistening look), and lots of fun, as always. As many other clients that I work with, Kerem was concerned about how to pose himself in front of the camera for a natural look. To alleviate this anxiety for him, I suggested some poses which he openly tried and we also improvised a little.
Side by side comparison of the photo straight out of camera and the final edit. As you can see, the abs are really his :)
Originally I had planned Kerem's final photos as high contrast black and white images, but when I started editing them, I decided to try a brownish/golden tonality and am very pleased with the results. As you can see from the side by side comparison of the two photos below, the only things that I changed in Photoshop were color and contrast and no alterations were made to the actual body of the model. By the way, the response to my request to provide some insight on how to get a body like that was simple: work out and watch what you eat, especially eliminate carbs. Sounds easy enough, right? ;)
These are the final images from our photo session. Hope you enjoy them!
how I became Francesca Bliss
My parents named me Masha, or Maria, which are the same name in Russian. My given name was something that I lived with for many years, never hating or loving my name, just being ok with it, I suppose. I was also ok with who I was, but not in total acceptance of myself and full of fears and limitations. One day, when I was working at a language school where I got to meet a lot of people from different countries, I met a young woman from Argentina. She came in with her boyfriend ...
My parents named me Masha, or Maria, which are the same name in Russian. My given name was something that I lived with for many years, never hating or loving my name, just being ok with it, I suppose. I was also ok with who I was, but not in total acceptance of myself and full of fears and limitations. One day, when I was working at a language school where I got to meet a lot of people from different countries, I met a young woman from Argentina. She came in with her boyfriend to inquire about learning English and getting a student visa as a way to stay in the country. The woman must have been in her early thirties - tall, well-built, thin, long thick black hair, and an aquiline nose which did not spoil her looks, but, on the contrary, gave her that je ne sais quoi. She was impeccably dressed, simple yet tasteful jewelry adorning her fingers and wrists. I was fascinated by how she looked. I was fascinated with how she spoke - not rushed, taking her time, confidently, basking in her glory with each word she uttered. When she was impressed or surprised by something, she would say "increíble", in a sing-songy way (mind you, the entire conversation was in English, and "increíble" means incredible in Spanish). I wanted to be this woman. I wanted to be as confident as she, I wanted to take my time when expressing my thoughts and have the whole roomful of people looking at my mouth waiting to catch the next word. This woman's name was Francesca, and that day I decided that my alter ego would be named Francesca and that I would be just like her. Limitless, confident, extraordinary.
Several years had passed before I remembered about my Francesca. Then one day, when looking for inspiration about what to write for my Spanish classes, I started writing about her in my not yet perfect Spanish. My wonderful teacher Rosario would painstakingly correct my mistakes and encourage me to continue writing as Francesca's story and adventures seemed to amuse her. I kept writing and as stories emerged, Francesca became more real to me, even though she was just a personage in my homework assignments.
When I delved into photography and a couple of years later was faced with a question of choosing a name for my photography business, I did not want it to be my given name because it seemed too prosaic. So I came up with a whole list of names such as soulful photography, eye of the beholder, soul reflections, inner light photography, etc. I wanted the name to reflect that my photography went beyond the skin-deep, but glimpsed at the subject's soul and revealed her or his essence (and mine, essentially). After googling all the names that I came up with, it turned that all of them already belonged to some other photographer and it left me no other choice but to continue searching for THE name.
After a photoshoot with Paul Anthony II, a South Florida reggae artist, we sat down in a Starbucks and I asked for his ideas for my photography business name. I told him about Francesca, and he suggested that I name my business Francesca Something, so it would be a name, a pseudonym. Then a few weeks later I was visiting my beautiful friend Victoria aka Tara White - an artist, a loving soul, and a dear friend. I told her the story and added that I want the word "bliss" to be a part of the name because bliss is what I felt when I was doing photography. "Francesca Bliss", she said. "The name it Francesca Bliss. YOU ARE Francesca Bliss".
I was blown away. That was it! That was THE NAME, though it would take some getting used to the idea of having a pseudonym, and practice telling people that my artistic name was Francesca Bliss, and not worry that they would think I was crazy. Some still do, but it all comes from within. And I stand firm in my truth that I am an artist and my name is Francesca Bliss.
more about my photography journey and life:
from the goddess store:
fun couple shoot
Always experimenting and pushing outside of your comfort zone is a great way to stay inspired and to grow as an artist. I was fortunate enough to come across a couple who was willing to be experimented upon and trusted me in choice of poses for them. While doing my research in preparation for their session, I came across photos of Adam Levine and his Russian supermodel girlfriend Anna Vyalitsina for a recent issue of Vogue. Kerem and Elia, my models, ...
Always experimenting and pushing outside of your comfort zone is a great way to stay inspired and to grow as an artist. I was fortunate enough to come across a couple who was willing to be experimented upon and trusted me in choice of poses for them. While doing my research in preparation for their session, I came across photos of Adam Levine and his Russian supermodel girlfriend Anna Vyalitsina for a recent issue of Vogue. Kerem and Elia, my models, recreated two of the poses, the side by side comparison of which is presented here. I know, I know, my angles are wrong, and I didn't edit the cropped backdrop, and my models are not ten feet tall, but, nevertheless, it was so much, and next time I will do better. We must try and fail many times before we perfection is born, and I will not relent :)
My angle is not as low as in the Vogue photo, (don't even get me started about my backdrop), and the pose might not be exactly like the celebrity couple's, but it's close enough and it was so much fun to create!
And this is my favorite shot of Elia from our session:
introducing Laura as Inari, the goddess of abundance
Laura is the embodiment of playful, creative energy. Her passion and exuberance for life are as evident in her brightly colored hair as they are in her smile, her writing, and her bright personality. Laura is a graduate student in the English program at Florida Atlantic University, and has an extensive background in gender studies. She is also a writer of graphic novels and a cosplayer when she can find the time. Creative energy is Laura’s inner fire, and for this shoot...
“The trickstress ‘imagines a new reality and then finds a way to bring it into being, often through deception because the old order will not give in without a fight’ ”
About Laura
Laura is the embodiment of playful, creative energy. Her passion and exuberance for life are as evident in her brightly colored hair as they are in her smile, her writing, and her bright personality. Laura is a graduate student in the English program at Florida Atlantic University, and has an extensive background in gender studies. She is also a writer of graphic novels and a cosplayer when she can find the time. Creative energy is Laura’s inner fire, and for this shoot, we chose a goddess that embodied Laura’s playful creativity and courage to confront social stereotypes through her scholarship and creative writing. Laura’s “Splitting Seams” (www.splittingseams.com) graphic novels explore the challenges and gifts of a set of twins who are sewn together at birth in an attempt to save their life. This series addresses themes such as mental and social differences, stereotypes, and the triumph of the human spirit through difficulty.
Laura embraced the theme of her photo shoot with enthusiasm, and we loved the way her playful and powerful spirit came through in these photographs. The interplay between her lavender ombre hair, her fair skin, and the purple kimono were just magical! Makeup artist Luciana Portes did an incredible job as well! I love the tiny jewels at the corners of Laura’s eye, which express a literal mischievous twinkle!
About the Goddess
The Goddess Inari is the Japanese goddess of fertility and abundance. She is often depicted carrying rice or armfuls of food/produce, or even eating. She is portrayed as male/female and androgenous. Many Trickster God/desses are often gender non-normative, and for this reason, have served as deities for the transgender and alternative lifestyle communities. In literature and folklore, Trickster/ess figures were often court jesters, clowns, circus creatures, or fools (Shakespeare used this trope frequently). Trickster deities were also quite frequently shapeshifters and took animal form to teach mortals a lesson or two. Uncle Remus’ tales of the fox and Native American tales of foxes, Coyote, Raven, and Grandmother Spider who sits at the center of all creation are some well-known examples of this theme. Many Native traditions considered clowns and tricksters as essential to a connection with the divine. It is only in recent modern culture that the sacred has been so cruelly divided from the profane. For more info on Native American Mythology, read anything by Paula Gunn Allen, poet and memorist (I recommend “The Sacred Hoop”)
Kate Bornstein writes of the importance of challenging gender norms and the powerful role of tricksters, drag queens and all those that reveal the fluidity of cultural norms (“Send in the Clowns”). The Goddess Inari often embodied the form a fox that shapeshifted into women. She was also associated with the kitsune, or nine-tailed fox. The more tails a fox has, the wiser and more powerful it was considered. Jewels and pearls are also a common symbol of Inari. Other common elements in depictions of Inari include a sickle, a sheaf or sack of rice, and a sword. Another belonging was their whip—although they were hardly known to use it, it was a powerful weapon that was used to burn people's crops of rice. In Laura’s photos, you can see the symbols of the pearls and jewels, as well as the red and white flowers with pearl centers that symbolize Inari’s colors.
Written by and Goddess Consultation provided by Mary Reid Bogue, mrboguewrites@gmail.com
Curious about what it would be like to have your own Goddess Photoshoot? Send me a message and let's talk about what kind of photos we can create for you.
why I chose to do a Goddess Photoshoot - Christina's story
When Francesca Bliss first mentioned the ‘Goddess photo shoot’ concept, my sensible self replied, “How silly!” And within a nanosecond, my adventure-seeking self said, “I’m in! When can we start?”
You see, I’m at that stage of life where being sensible and responsible are not only goals, but necessary qualities. Yet, I can’t deny it. My appetite for adventure has never diminished.
When Francesca Bliss first mentioned the ‘Goddess photoshoot’ concept, my sensible self replied, “How silly!” And within a nanosecond, my adventure-seeking self said, “I’m in! When can we start?”
You see, I’m at that stage of life where being sensible and responsible are not only goals, but necessary qualities. Yet, I can’t deny it. My appetite for adventure has never diminished. When Francesca suggested a journey into the territory of goddesses (just a stone’s throw away in Boca Raton, Florida), how could I say ‘no’?
Here is what I learned from the Goddess of Change - in her own words:
“Everything happens in its own good time. And there is no time like the present to allow change to replenish your soul with light and joy.”
I had been feeling sluggish and lost in a mire of details while trying to juggle many facets of a life suddenly filled with complexities. At every turn, I felt I was losing ground. Losing a part of my very essence. At times, I’ve felt like a slave, both to my emotions and to my body that have dragged me through treacherous straits.
Although my highest aspiration has always been to heal wounded spirits, no matter how much I’ve tried, my actions have so often fallen short. My healing arrows have missed their target.
“Sometimes the necessary change is as subtle as a slight shift in weight or stance, a dropping of the shoulder, an almost imperceptible smile, and suddenly, one’s target hits home!”
In my case, the readjustment to life in the bloodless third stage of a woman’s life has been nothing short of an explosion. It’s as if half of my being has been asleep and is, only now, waking up. For most of my adult life, I’ve been following in the footsteps of the male hunters - totally shunning my female nature. In spite of being born at the brink of the ‘Age of Aquarius’, I have never truly been convinced of feminine power. The louder the battle cry for ‘liberation’, the more I became a confirmed skeptic.
"And so, after living a lifetime of basking in the moonlight of my ‘sun god’, it is time to SPARKLE! At dawn, I awaken to greet my sun where water meets land. Our embrace generates heat and light to all who attend. These are the rituals continued from time immemorial. We gather the nutrients from the soil that feed our bodies and the fire from the sky that light the flames of our soul. In our unity, we are complete. As long as the sun shines and the oceans bathe our shores, as long as we remember to open our arms to the skies and plant our feet firmly on the earth, we are whole - and powerful!”
These are the words of Changing Woman.
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Curious about what it would be like to have your own Goddess Photoshoot? Send me a message and let's talk about what kind of photos we can create for you.
fascination with hats
I have always been drawn to hats and lately had a chance to photograph many women wearing them. There is something about hats that just transforms you into an elegant classy lady or a playful sassy girl. My friend Claire (in the first two portraits) has tons of hats, from fancy to cowboy and beach hats, and after our photo shoot she said that she might transform her style and start wearing hats all the time and become known as That Lady Who Always Wears Hats. Why not? And the Russian beauties...
I have always been drawn to hats and lately had a chance to photograph many women wearing them. There is something about hats that just transforms you into an elegant classy lady or a playful sassy girl. My friend Claire (in the first two portraits) has tons of hats, from fancy to cowboy and beach hats, and after our photo shoot she said that she might transform her style and start wearing hats all the time and become known as That Lady Who Always Wears Hats. Why not? And the Russian beauties in the third and fourth portrait brought their hats to the shoot and felt so liberated by being able to wear them in a judge-free zone of public opinion. How feminine and sultry they look! Here is to ladies wearing hats and to looking fabulous!
Which hat reflects your style? Or which hat would you want to wear for your dream photo shoot? Tell me in the comments!
the queen of fairies (Goddess Photoshoot report)
I met Teri at the New Moon Circles that are regularly held at the Red Tent and are lead by the radiant Elaina Beam. I admired this woman from afar - her statuesque posture, huge smile, eyes radiating kindness, and a sparkle of tinsel strands in her blond hair. I remember one time "the homework assignment" for the circle was to bring a poem and Teri and I happened to bring the same poem, The Guest House, by Rumi. When I was eight months pregnant and revisited the women's circle after a...
I met Teri at the New Moon Circles that are regularly held at the Red Tent and are lead by the radiant Elaina Beam. I admired this woman from afar - her statuesque posture, huge smile, eyes radiating kindness, and a sparkle of tinsel strands in her blond hair. I remember one time "the homework assignment" for the circle was to bring a poem and Teri and I happened to bring the same poem, The Guest House, by Rumi. When I was eight months pregnant and revisited the women's circle after a long break, Teri, who was sitting next to me, asked, "Do you have a pediatrician?" That's how my daughter and I got ourselves an amazing doctor :)
Goddess Photoshoot was Teri's gift from her boyfriend, who had heard about it through the grapevine. (What a fabulous and unique present for your beloved friend or partner... hint, hint!) The goddess consultation revealed that Teri embodied Goddess Oonagh (pronounced OO-NAH), the queen of fairies. Now that this first step of Goddess Photoshoot was done, several things had to be carefully planned in order to bring the Goddess through in images.
Oonagh is said to have golden sparkly hair (just like Teri's, but longer), she is the goddess of love and is considered a protectress of young animals (have you seen Teri's Facebook page? It is all filled with photos of dogs!) Oonagh is also the Queen of Fairies, which perfectly matches Teri's life's devotion to being a pediatrician - caring for children with her magic touch (as well as guiding new moms through the first months of motherhood!). "Oonagh arrives in your life to bless your relationships, bring happiness and joy, awaken your inner child and help you reach your dreams. Your strong resonances with Oonagh suggest that you also serve the role of blessing, bringer of dreams and mentor to others. Oonagh is also a goddess of exercise and sacred dance, so every time you dance you are invoking her in your life!" (from the Personal Goddess Archetype Map, prepared by Mary Reid Bogue).
Oonagh is the goddess that is associated with nature, so from the very beginning I knew that the perfect spot for this shoot would be the Yamato Natural Scrubs area, which has my favorite Spanish moss, and offers much versatility in terms of vegetation and places to shoot.
Teri didn't have clothes that matched the theme of our shoot, so I set out to either create the perfect dress, or find it. Having watched Sue Bryce (love her!) make beautiful dresses with big tulle skirts, I decided to make one myself. I bought dark green tulle and beautiful emerald stretch knit fabric with a vision of a grandiose dress that I would make, until I got home and started playing with the fabric to discover that I hadn't bought enough of it. So instead of the huge dress, I made a small dress, which you can see in the images below - I simply wrapped Teri in the two layers of fabric, and adorned her head with a flower crown, which I also made myself. The headdress idea came to me when I was playing around on Pinterest. I bought a bunch of artificial flowers at Michael's and gun-glued all the pieces together. It turned out pretty amazing, in my opinion. The green "dress" and floral headpiece were more along the lines of nature/forest nymph, but I thought that it fit our theme. I also made a small crown out of yellow/gold flowers.
Since the epic green dress didn't quite work out as I planned, I continued my quest for the perfect dress, especially since the original vision was for a sparkly gold or silver dress, something very fairy-like. My favorite place to do treasure hunting is thrift stores, so I headed to the local shop and after having searched through a bunch of dresses (many of which would have been perfect for other goddess or simply dress up shoots - that's why I must pace myself when I go thrift shopping!), I found THE DRESS. The golden dress with sparkly beads was the perfect match for our shoot! It was size 4 and I sent Teri a photo of it, asking her opinion. She loved it and the only concern that remained was whether we would be able to squeeze Teri into it the day of the shoot. Guess what? It fit like a glove! It was the "meant to be dress" so, of course, it fit! The dress was beautifully complemented by Teri's own jewelry, which she had carefully picked out for the occasion.
In post processing, to give the photos that golden hue, I ran an Alien Skin filter on the photos, as well as added a texture, which was a photo of the dress that I took, shooting wide open for bokeh effect. The texture lent its golden tint and dreamy bokeh circles to the final images, adding more magic.
Another trick that I used in this photoshoot was something that I learned from Lara Jade and her Creative Live (LOVE them!) workshop with Sue Bryce titled "Experimental Portraits". To get that whimsical dreamy accent to photos, Lara shoots through a crystal. I was holding the crystal off to the side of the lens (the second photo in the gallery below) and focused on Teri's face, and the crystal added this rainbow-like reflection/cast, that I really like. I thought that it was a pretty neat trick, and I shall employ it in my further photography experiments.
I am VERY HAPPY with how Teri's fairy goddess photos came out! I couldn't have done it alone, of course. Special thanks to Mary Reid Bogue, who did Teri's Goddess Reading, and to my wonderful friend Inna, who was my lighting/wardrobe assistant the day of the shoot! And to Teri, for her beautiful and radiant self and for allowing us a glimpse of her magic side.
Curious about what it would be like to have your own Goddess Photoshoot? Send me a message and let's talk about what kind of photos we can create for you.
Snow Queen - the story behind the image
The idea to create this image of Snow Queen came about at the end of September when, pondering about upcoming Halloween, I realized that have never done a photo shoot in a really exaggerated disguise. Having conceived that notion, I immediately contacted a professional makeup artist Aradia Vive whom I had met just weeks before. Aradia of Bridal Makeovers by Aradia (www.bridalmakeovers.com) told me she would be interested in working on a project after having...
The idea to create this image of Snow Queen came about at the end of September when, pondering about upcoming Halloween, I realized that have never done a photo shoot in a really exaggerated disguise. Having conceived that notion, I immediately contacted a professional makeup artist Aradia Vive whom I had met just weeks before. Aradia of Bridal Makeovers by Aradia (www.bridalmakeovers.com) told me she would be interested in working on a project after having seen a few screenshots that I dug up in Google images. My next step was to find a model for the role and I immediately texted Nelly, who has been my contributor and friend and who is always willing to partake in my photographic experiments. After scheduling an appointment for the makeup to be done, Nelly and I set off on our quest to obtain all the materials to bring the image to life and it just happened so that in the car, on the way to the local arts and crafts store, I casually suggested the idea of a snow queen as a theme. I guess it struck a chord with Nelly so it was determined that snow queen is what she would to materialize into. Having narrowed it down to a theme made purchasing supplies so much easier - we bought rhinestones of assorted sizes, a jar of glitter, white hair spray, wired tinsel, a bag of foil bits, and silver nail polish. The crown was created out of a decoration that was sold in the bridal/floral section, which I cut into smaller branches and attached using wired tinsel to a headband. I must say, I'm extremely proud of my creation - tis the first crown I had ever made! The entire trip to Bal Harbor and back, where Aradia performed makeup magic, took about five hours, but fighting rush hour traffic on the way back to Boca to do the shoot, we both felt satisfied that the hardest part of putting the image together had already been done. Once we got to the studio, the magic of transformation continued as Nelly skillfully (insisting she did not need me help when being asked five times) put her hair up in an intricate yet tasteful design and adorned it with a crown. To make sure the queen looked like she was made of snow, I proceeded to spray her hair with white hair spray, which on accidental contact with skin proved to be useful in that regard as well, so we sprayed Nelly's arms as well to give them a silvery glow. The final touch was to tie Nelly's chest with a silver belt (yes, it is a belt indeed) which we found at Marshall's for five dollars - those who seek truly find!
The actual photo shoot was conducted with just one speed-light and a soft box. After having experimented with a number of poses, the million dollar shot turned out to be this image you see here. It was lots of fun to research ideas and come up with a theme and then manifest that vision into life. I am also very proud to have won an honorable mention for this image at a monthly photography contest that is held for members of a meetup called The Art of Seeing (it's a wonderful group of seasoned and aspiring photographers that provides a lot of inspiration and feedback).
follow your bliss
I always dreamt of being a photographer and have been fascinated with photography for years. In May of 2012, when I realized that I can have the life of my dreams if I dare to do the things that bring me joy, I bought a camera and resolved to learn photography. Having acquired the most important piece of equipment for the task, I signed up for two classes at a local art school (Boca Raton Museum of Art School) - Introduction to Digital Photography and Photoshop for Beginners. I learned a lot...
I always dreamt of being a photographer and have been fascinated with photography for years. In May of 2012, when I realized that I can have the life of my dreams if I dare to do the things that bring me joy, I bought a camera and resolved to learn photography. Having acquired the most important piece of equipment for the task, I signed up for two classes at a local art school (Boca Raton Museum of Art School) - Introduction to Digital Photography and Photoshop for Beginners. I learned a lot during those classes and was in a constant state of euphoria from being immersed into this environment. In the introduction to photography the teacher gave us several assignments: to photograph a window, a self portrait, a portrait, and a person in a mask. Before I had signed up for that class I was convinced that most of my photography subjects would be animals and all of nature in general with all its beautiful detailed manifestations in particular. However, having done the last project on photographing a person in a mask (my at that time friend had a mask and volunteered herself for the project), I realized that I am irresistibly drawn to photographing humans. I fell in love with people since then and continue to be to this day. My most exciting photo shoots are the ones in which the subject is photographed not in their usual environment being their daily selves but where he or she comes up with a theme or dares to play out a fantasy or a dream. The latter type of photo shoot requires more preparation - searching for the right outfit and accessories, location, poses and trying to really convey a certain emotional state. This is also the type of shoot during which people realize that being a model is not as easy as it sounds - being able to communicate through your body, facial expressions and eyes is no easy task! These types of photo shoots leave my models ecstatic - it is not every day that you get to play dress up and reenact a dream and then feel like a star when looking at the professionally edited images. Being able to contribute to that state of joy is what makes me ecstatic about what I do - showing people how beautiful they are, inspiring people to dream and convincing them that dreams come true. Mine did.