boudoir portfolio
August 28, 2010
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Boston boudoir dates announced | October 2010
August 12, 2010
We’re so excited to be bringing our very popular hotel boudoir sessions back to Boston, MA and Rhode Island.
Dates: September 22-October 9, 2010
Location: hotel, studio, or your own home (Boston, MA and Providence, RI)
COST: $300+
We have several spots available each day of the hotel promotion (September 30-October 3). To reserve your preferred date and time, email carol@mergeweddings.com and ask any questions you might have. Friends wanting to book out three slots in one day will each receive an additional $100 product credit (hotel or individual sessions).
Want to see a sample gallery? Check out this poolside session at a private residence in Phoenix, Arizona!! LINK (code: poolside)
Note: Images are never shared without full permission of the client.
Want to read more about our work and clients? Check out the boudoir archives.
Rachel specializes in elegant black and white images of women of all ages and all sizes. Her work is tasteful, natural, and brings out the best in the women she photographs. She has been recognized by Boston Magazine and Daily Candy as one of Boston’s premiere boudoir photographers.
Many women choose to give a boudoir folio to their husband as a gift on the wedding day or anniversary, though increasingly our clients schedule these sessions to celebrate milestones such as pregnancy, weight loss goals, career changes, or other celebrations of independence and life.
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why should we have engagement photos done?
July 15, 2010
“And let’s be honest: youth is beautiful. You as a couple are the best-looking you’ll ever be, this minute. 20th anniversary photos will be touching for sure, but nothing else save the wedding will capture the luminosity you’ve got right now — which you probably don’t even know you have.” -Lessons Learned From the (in)Famous Chicken Suit Pics
Today I am in the middle of a workshop with Tanja Lippert (the hilarious photographer who did the naked + chicken suit engagement session referenced above).
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their wedding album
July 14, 2010
I was so excited to see Anita and Haady’s wedding album in the post today! I love the plush brown leather cover and the images they chose.
I will never forget their intimate – yet boisterous – Persian wedding. Their families incorporated many traditional elements such as a beautiful Sofreh Aghd and a carpet-covered area for guests to smoke the ḠALYĀN [قليان, قالیون, غلیون, ghalyan, ghalyaan or ghelyoon] known to non-Persians as a water pipe or hookah!
Many thanks to Ashley of Pizzuti Studios for her album designing skills.
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Tara & Navid | Persian wedding celebration in Santa Cruz
July 12, 2010
Tara & Navid had an intimate, family only marriage ceremony at the Santa Cruz City Clerk’s office. I was afraid it might all be indoors and institutional, but after they signed the paper and paid the fee, we all went out to a beautiful green area behind the city building that made portraits just perfect!
One of the traditions with a Persian wedding is at the very end of the official pronouncement of marriage, the women throw this white almond/sugar candy called Noghl (Farsi: نقل) and ululate loudly.
I enjoy seeing the looks on their faces as they’re being pelted with the Nogh-l.
After the city hall ceremony, Navid and Tara invited their family to join them for a dinner on the beach in Santa Cruz. They chose Paradise Beach Grille, and we took full advantage of the colorful backdrop on the beach to do some more romantic portraits as the sun was slanting down.
Persian weddings are never, ever boring or predictable. Even with this intimate collection of immediate family, the dancing and singing was contagious. My favorite image – the quiet moment between the newly minted husband and wife has a rare, peaceful quality to it and I love the way it contrasts with the dancing shot below.
Tara and Navid chose this particular day for the ceremony because it was also Navid’s birthday. What a great way to celebrate life loudly — anniversary and wedding on the same day.
I am so excited for Tara and Navid. They complement one another – she brings the calm, reserved, and thoughtful demeanor while he is full of life and vigor and excited dreams. Their passions are different, yet work beautifully together. I admire their togetherness and I am so glad they found one another.
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recent press
July 6, 2010
REALBRIDEINADRESS.com
I love the concept for this new website! As regular readers know, I have an entire website dedicated to special fine art photo sessions with women in their wedding dresses [fearlessbridals.com] so when Kylah approached me because she wanted to feature photos from a couple of my brides, I was thrilled to be a part of the concept. Real Bride in a Dress connects women to images of real ladies in wedding dresses – to give them a more realistic idea about the fit and detailing. She featured Suzy’s wedding in Palos Verdes, CA and Colleen’s bridal session at Wellesley College over on the new site. Click on the images to see more!
OFFBEATBRIDE.COM
Katie and Victor’s eco-friendly wedding at Quailcrest Farm in Wooster, Ohio was featured on Offbeat Bride:
We’re not strangers to the OBB concept and client… Our wedding photography was also featured in 2007 and 2008 [2008-1] [2008-2]
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bright blue!
July 1, 2010
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softly coming to an end
June 30, 2010
“Often people attempt to live their lives backwards; they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want, so they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want.” – Margaret Young
The past few years have been incredibly busy and full! I needed to take some personal time to pull back from photography and enjoy life more. 2010 so far has been restful and delicate, and I’ve enjoyed reading more books than ever before and exploring some new life habits. My goal for the year has been to “rediscover the lovely.” Now, six months into the year, I feel my sabbatical softly coming to a graceful end.
By the way, the photos above are from February, and were taken on 120 film in a plastic Holga camera. Aren’t they interesting and just a touch eccentric? Since May I have been working with serious analog film cameras and testing to see if I’d like to spend more of my time doing portraits in old-school style… and the answer is YES! There’s something wonderful and elusive about film.
(More on that soon, I helped photograph a wedding in Hollister California with 35mm and I’m excited to see the results.)
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love@MIT.edu
June 23, 2010
These two brought some snuggles into the hallowed halls of MIT for their engagement session. Rawr!
It makes me giggle to imagine Nobel-prizewinning researchers, astrophysicists, and nanotechnologists peeking out from their lab window to wonder what in the world we were doing.
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Melinda and Mike
June 20, 2010
Aren’t these two lovely together? These photos are from their wedding a few years ago, and every time I see these images I fall in love with them all over again. I love the soft, muted colors that go along with their sweet personalities. I think there was a story about that veil. I’ll have to ask Melinda about it….
I think Melinda might have been my first “glasses” bride too. I always like those spunky gals.
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