The Best Things Take Time

a photo of the Polaroid Brett took the day of the shoot. My first glimpse of how well the shoot was going :) 

Photography by Brett Heidebrecht, Hair and Makeup by Toni Marlo, Special thanks to Danielle Keogh, Aaron Edwards, Katy McClanahan and Chelsey Cobb

This portfolio shoot was done on film by Brett, he's primarily a wedding photographer but with an exceptional eye for beauty. 

Since I'm good friends with his wife, Claire, I asked him one day if he'd help me get some images done for my portfolio. All I had at that point was paid work and I was ready to experiment with concepts of my own and do something more creative, or rather collaboratively creative :)

We scheduled it months out, created a bit of drama with my agency, but eventually the day of the shoot arrived and we did the pool/swimsuit shots first.  I remember when we were shooting this, after a while I started to shiver and I couldn’t stop. We had been there since 7:30 am, but I wasn’t cold that early. So, Brett couldn’t believe when it I was shaking uncontrollably at 9:30. I had to keep getting out of the water and standing in the sun to take deep breaths and warm up. But, inevitably as soon as I got back in the water, my jaw would start trembling again and he would laugh. 
How I could possibly be cold in Oklahoma in August was beyond either of us!

Why not add a behind-the-scenes pic? 

Toni met us downtown for the studio part of the shoot and did an amazing job on my hair and makeup before she had to jet out of there and onto another job.  I knew I wanted professional hair and makeup for this shoot. I was taking it serious, putting together a group of professionals together and making it worth everyone's time. Originally I'd asked if Sharon Tabb could help but she already had something planned that day and suggested Toni. I'd met Toni a few months before at the Liberte 2 year anniversary party (she did my white rabbit makeup that night) 

I like the way Toni works, and in my opinion she's very good (especially with the sexy makeup) she has experience in the adult entertainment industry (which made for very interesting conversation).

We packed in as many looks as we could. The Karolina Zmarlak cape, the Herve jacket, the white tee. I l liked the way Brett shot. He was thoughtful capturing. Since he uses film, he waits until he sees something interesting in his viewfinder before he snaps, rather than just shooting 100 per minute. Since there wasn't a mirror in front of me, I had no idea what he was capturing, and since it's not digital he couldn't just turn the camera around, either. I was just going off Brett's feedback, and I was lucky that we worked well together because these are the result!

I loved the cape images. Brett started to get really excited and took a Polaroid so I could see what we were getting and, I was stunned! Magnetic. Completely stunning. I was in awe. I couldn't believe it was even me. 

What I love about them is that they are completely timeless. They have no indication of decade- past, present, future. They could have been taken from any point in time. They are pure beauty, with mystery and allure. 

The Herve jacket. It's so cool, such a great piece. It zips down the back, for no reason, but made for cool "half jacket" images. I wanted to showcase my features, my lean body and muscle tone, in a cool way.

While these blanket and tshirt images are sexy, I like them because they have some natural beauty to them. I wanted them to come across as beauty, with sensuality, not necessarily sexuality. I know they're intimate, and I'm always trying to be aware of the tone of my images. I like to show flexibility while maintaining the integrity of my brand. Above all I'm still a mother and a wife, so It's important to me to think of them ... you know.