As the romance of Valentine’s Day is starting to fill the air, I am excited to announce a special campaign primarily offered to the married ladies, “Married and Sexy”. It is built upon one of Zorz Studios’ specialties, boudoir sessions.

Boudoir, French for “pouting room”, refers to images that have themes of romance, sensuality, and flirtation. It is not necessary to be nude or revealing in female boudoir photography. It has more to do with an attitude or state of mind than the state of dress or undress.

This Valentine’s Day, give a one-of-a-kind gift of a picante bed-side photo frame, a hot calendar, or a risque little Black Book to your spouse or partner. With Zorz Studios’ renowned expertise in fashion and fine art portraiture, you can be assured of the gift’s glamorous and tasteful nature.

To celebrate the affection, femininity, love, and devotion, I am offering 30% off all boudoir sessions, regularly priced from $500 to $2,000. Due to the highly involved character of boudoir sessions, only 10 slots have been allotted for booking. On-location shoots available. Single/engaged ladies are also welcome. Offer expires February 8, 2009. Check back for more details and suggested packages.

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

The session began in the Dance Specific studio in Manhattan, a place that blends dance and photo studio experience. I came fully-equipped with my Hensel 4-head lighting setup, backgrounds, fan, and other gear. Lika brought bags of clothes and props, too. It was regretful that Tania could not join us but Lika’s other friend brought her four-year old son who also participated in a shoot at some point.

At the end of the session, we drove to the Times Square for the final set of images on the cold, brightly-lit at the late evening hour, and crowded landmark. Instead of heavy studio equipment, I used an off-camera flash. It was fun to get the crowd stop, wait, and shoot with me… More samples to follow.

For the record, NILMDTS foundation offers professional infant bereavement photography as a form of healing to those parents who need and request it. I rushed to the hospital, gathering my emotional strength. I will not go into the details but upon my arrival and the initial discussion with the medical personnel, the parents approached us and indicated a reversal of their decision to use my service. I could only express my wholehearted compassion and hugged them before leaving… I’m not sure if I’d be able to party otherwise but with this change, as unexpected as the call from the hospital, I felt like needing to lose some thoughts and imagery.

Jp Sevillano of VanJes Foto accompanied me in the hospital so I invited him to join me for the Resource Magazine party. There we went. The party was organized on four floors of the magazine’s office in Brooklyn. It gathered photographers, graphic designers, editors, stylists, models, and other artistic minds. There were few cameras flashing, mine among them. Magazine’s staff kindly allowed the usage of their space, improvised props, and light. And many artists were willing to obediently follow my directions… What an exciting way to demonstrate their hidden capabilities and to make friends! Here are two of the original themes that I developed on the spot there.

These unprocessed images are just a glimpse of the session. The details of this fabulous shoot, accompanied by a collection of properly processed photos, will follow.

Fotki is a digital photo sharing, video sharing and media social network website and web service suite; it is one of the world’s largest social networking sites. Founded in 1998, Fotki helped me introduce myself to the world of photography. I have made numerous good friends there, many of whom became my clients. I was also one of the first members of a group of artists within Fotki, called “Shekhinah”, who sharpened their photographic and post-processing skills in a private collaborative circle.

The complete series, as well as my article on the underwater photography, is now available in the original blog entry.

I had a privilege to shoot Nami Oneda, Manhattan-based Pilates instructor, ballet dancer, performer, and actress. She has been trained in classical ballet since her childhood, including School of American Ballet.

The goal of this short session, which we chose to be conducted in her apartment, was to come up with a few images portraying her fit shape. The images will be used on her professional website.

I brought my Hensel portable studio lighting set but did not use any backgrounds other than a floor or wall. In this image, monoblocks with a softbox, umbrella, and a snoot were used to create an intriguing play of light and shadow. In all, the theme was set to avoid flat lighting typical to fitness-related images.

The time has come! I am excited to announce Zorz Studios’ first contest, EngagEd, in which I give away a complimentary engagement session (and more!) to three lucky winners!

Click in the box below for a cool introductory video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

What?
Engagement session, also referred to as an “e-session,” is a separate photography session with a couple, conducted prior to the wedding. It is usually held outdoors on a location of the couple’s choice, in casual attire, and is carried out in a mixture of lifestyle, photojournalistic, and portraiture styles. I like walking with the couple in the city or in the wild, when they interact, play and fool around. It could be a park, a nightclub, or an apartment. A mix of romance and urban edge is possible. And why not throw in some daring photos, grabbing attention?

The contest’s hot prizes are:

• 3rd place - complimentary e-session
• 2nd place - complimentary e-session and 20-page album of session’s images
• 1st place - complimentary e-session and free wedding photography service (covers time of the primary shooter)

Who?
Invited are all engaged couples! If you are not, think of your friends and rush them over here! As a destination wedding photographer, I welcome people not only in the NYC metro area, but from across the country as long as they are responsible for travel and accommodation for one good fella… The couple must be willing to appear on my blog with their story. To claim the Grand Prize, I must be available on their wedding date.

How?
Enter by submitting your vision of the e-session, along with a photo of you two and few more details. The cooler and the more challenging your vision is to execute (which I LOVE and hope for!), the higher the chance of having it done, for free! Into role-playing? So am I! Adventurous dare-devils? Meet Ed. Love quiet moments and dreaming of Renaissance? I burn the candles through the night in studio filled with classical music…

Keep one point in mind - this is not a raffle but a contest. In return for a valuable service and skills, you need to bring an intriguing idea to the table. I can certainly come up with mine but then I charge! If you thought of something new since your submission, feel free to re-enter. Think of places you can take me to - firehouse, fashion magazine editor’s office, theater’s backstage, desert, and so on… See where I am going?

The link to the entry form is posted below. Three judges, including truly yours, will pick the three finalists. They will be announced in Zorz Studios’ blog and all visitors will be able to cast their vote for who they believe is the nicest and coolest. Entrants will be encouraged to invite their families and friends to vote, of course!

When?
Entries accepted through December 31st.
Finalists announced on January 10th.
Voting ends on January 31st.
Results posted on February 1st.

Don’t let anyone miss out! Forward this to all your friends and spread the word! Nominate your neighbors, friends, family, and of course YOURSELF. We’re going to have a lot of fun with this!

Submission Ended

11/17/08 update: Tam-ta-da-dam! I welcome Noah from Savannah, GA as the first contest entrant! In conversations, I also heard some of my booked brides are gathering their thoughts… Keep them coming! While there is time till New Year’s, if you don’t enter now, you will have less time around Christmas! Don’t start 2009 with a regret! Take time today to think well about the vision, and jump in!

12/31/08 update: The contest submission is ending today. Judges, please click below to log in using a password sent to you via e-mail. We have until 01/09/09 to select the three finalists who will be later positioned by the popular vote of site visitors.

Judges Login

I grabbed one of my cameras but this time, shooting was more recreational and personal. Although… couldn’t stop giving directions to my “couple” and climbing walls and rolling on the ground to get the shot.

This would begin a “slow” stage in my studio’s cycle but only in regards to shooting - left in 2008 are only two weddings, an engagement session in Florida, and two artistic sessions. With much of the post-production still planned through end of the year, this period presents an ideal opportunity for a long-awaited boost in my conceived marketing and branding initiatives, as well as studio renovation. The simple goal is to invest everything back into my growing business. Stay tuned for the announcements!

My entry won Resource Magazine’s “Classy Nudes” contest and is set to be published in the Winter issue of the magazine. This photo, entitled “In the Morning”, was taken in 2006 on a ridgetop which offers a spectacular scenic overlook of one of the Wildlife Management Areas in New Jersey.

Resource Magazine is a “quarterly publication dedicated to the sub-culture of the photo production industry. It explores all facets of the business, from the mundane to the illustrous, trough inrerviews, photographs, and articles… distributed freely in major photo studios and industry related locations throughout New York City.”