Glam the Dress

Glam the Dress

Christmas 2014 was spent in Wisconsin visiting my husband’s family (Why, oh why, could he not be from a warm state like Hawaii?), where we ate too much and enjoyed visiting with people we haven’t seen for some time, and one of those people was my dear friend Dana, who is a very talented wedding and newborn portrait photographer located in Kiel, Wisconsin.

Dana, who owns STUDIO DEE IMAGES, has been a true mentor to me on this photography journey, and it’s really nice to talk shop to someone who doesn’t go glassy-eyed when I start talking aperture and depth of field. 😀

I hadn’t planned on shooting a Glam the Dress session with Dana—I didn’t bring any of my props or accessories along for the trip—but when I mentioned to her that I was offering Glam the Dress sessions in 2015, she instantly perked up when I told her it’s basically an excuse for a woman to wear her wedding dress again. The idea is not to make the woman look bridal, but wear the gown like you would on the Red Carpet. She and her husband just celebrated eight years of marriage and she just so happened to have tried on her dress the week before—and it fit!—…so a Glam the Dress session was in need!

So, off our husbands went to attend the Packers vs Lions game at Lambeau Field and one of my dearest friends and I had fun dressing up.

I know Dana doesn’t realize how stunning she is, but WOW. She nailed the twinkle-in-the-eye perfectly. We didn’t have a team of professional hair and makeup artists for this session—she did her hair and I did her makeup.

Halfway through the session, she brought out this stunning black-beaded shawl, which she let me keep! Yay!!

And finally, we played around with a large piece of tulle that she owns.

All of the images, except for the one of her on the couch, was shot using only natural light, and man, do I love the versatility I get just by changing the room/angle that I shoot in. Both B&W images were shot in her basement just using the light that filtered in through the back door.

I was a bit nervous to show Dana her images—it’s nerve-wracking to have a photographer whose work you admire look at something you’ve produced for them, but I think I heard her jaw drop all the way here in PA! I wonder if her husband has picked up his own jaw?

I’m looking forward to offering Glam the Dress sessions to my clients in 2015—I have a session coming up later this month! I’ll keep you posted on the session.

If you’re a newlywed bride or have been married for years, I would love to shoot you in your wedding dress—who says you should pack the gown away and never wear it again?! Contact me and let’s do this!

Until next time,

Shannon