Hot off the press: Here’s the 1st in a sultry series of Boudoir Photographs from my latest Workshop for Boudoir Photographers this past weekend.  We had such an eclectic mix of talented photographers from all over the US and had such an outrageously fun and sexy good time!  Live shoots consisted of two gorgeous girls at The Mondrian Hotel in Hollywood and a beautiful girl-next-door shoot at my photo studio in the Pacific Palisades.

One of the creative aspects of shooting that I teach is Lesson #1 Telling a Story with your pictures…  Take a peek at The Voyeur narrative that I captured…

Yes, we have film shooters at my Workshops :)

Thank you to Shannon Jankula for being the best Make-up and Hair stylist ever, as well as a creative force.  Huge thanks to our model pictured here, Amanda, for being so professional, hot and “bendy.”  Lots of gratitude to all of the Boudoir Workshop photographers who let me geek out and share my enthusiasm for making women feel amazingly sexy and my love of boudoir photography.  You guys were so fun, so talented, and I am grateful for your enthusiasm and participation… as well as indulging me in the pillow fight idea!  :)  Looking forward to seeing more awesomeness out of each of you!

More sensual pics and fun boudoir lessons on the blog coming up this week - stay tuned!

xo,

Christa

Nothing like an All-American Girl who’s up for anything! Lisa is a photographer and was an attendee at my most recent Portrait Workshop…. while the Boudoir model was caught in LA Marathon traffic hell, I asked Lisa to jump into the hot seat!  And she happily obliged.  I give her so much respect and credit.  Most girls need to mentally prepare, but no… not Lisa.  We had a quick chat and made some wardrobe changes with what she was wearing:  we took her jeans and rolled them up, took off her shirt and kept the rocker vest on (for awhile!), took her underwear off (sorry is that TMI?)… then I added my high heels, turned the fan on and Lisa rocked it out! She is such a bold, fun, edgy, sexy and beautiful girl - on the inside and out.  Thank you Lisa! for helping me out with your openness and willingness to experiment.

Here are just a few sneak peeks from our awesome Boudoir photography shoot with Lisa…

More sexy pics on the blog soon… The Boudoir Workshop is Sold Out!… for this weekend, and we have talented photographers coming from all over… Massachusetts, Texas, Kansas, and more… and I couldn’t be more excited for the live shoots we have planned!  At the studio, at The Mondrian Hotel on Sunset, and at a residence in Malibu :)

Lots of models, lots of photographers, and one helluva good time!

I’ll keep you posted :)

xoxo,

Christa

Part 2 of Anna’s boudoir shoot shows a bit of her sweet and romantic side… versus the sexy vavavoom of Part 1.  Anna mentioned she loves vintage lingerie, reading, and that Casa Del Mar has a soft spot in her heart… so of course we did her boudoir shoot there :) 

So without further ado, here’s part two!

And that about wraps up my favorite boudoir shoot to date.  Until the next one!

xoxo,

Christa

Classic. Beautiful. Feminine. My latest Boudoir shoot at Casa Del Mar was all of those things and more!  When hunting for a Boudoir photographer online, Anna stumbled across one of my Boudoir pictures from my shoot with beautiful Jane… apparently, one of my pictures had won a Boudoir Contest online - without my even knowing or entering!  The web is funny.

So as I always do before a boudoir shoot, I spent time chatting with Anna about who she is, what she loves about her body, what she thinks is sexy/beautiful/sensual… Anna gave me a great run-down of things she loves: vintage lingerie, her legs, romantic photos, and more - all of which we incorporated into her shoot.  I also asked Anna what her husband loves about her and her body… and I LOVE that without hesitation, she said Everything!

There were so many amazing pics of Anna that I’m blogging her boudoir session in two parts :)   Note: not all of the images are blogged for privacy reasons :) but these first 2 black & white’s are my absolute favorites!

So beautiful… doesn’t Anna remind you of Carrie Otis?!

How much fun is a girl in bed with a camera?!

Sexy.

Silly and free :)

I love shooting in a window… Casa is so great for this, and we’ll be shooting this set-up at my next Boudoir Workshop!

Anna had mentioned to me prior to the shoot that she “never photographs well”  - uh, huh… that’s what they all say :)  And nothing makes me happier than when a woman sees her photos and says not only are these the most beautiful photos ever taken of her, but also “You really captured me!” and that’s the part I love :)

xoxo,

Christa

ps. more of Anna’s boudoir shoot on the blog this weekend!

***Updated to add: How could I have forgotten to credit my fabulous make-up artist and hair stylist?!  Shannon Jankula is incredible at creating any look my heart desires and is such a dream to work and play with.  Shannon is a talented photographer as well, and is a Christa Meola Portrait Workshop grad.  Keep your eye out for her - she’s taking my Boudoir Workshop on April 10th and 11th, and I know her images will kick ass.  Also, if you mention you’re a big fan of Christa Meola Pictures, you’ll get a huge discount from Shannon for make-up and hair on your next photo shoot or just for a day when you want to feel pampered and extra pretty :)

Gorgeous color! Here are just a few favs from the final installment of my photography series of downtown Los Angeles…  It was hard not to turn them all into black and white… as one of the Workshop attendees this past weekend noted, “Christa, you see things mostly in black and white” - she’s right! I usually go for the moment, the relationship, light/shadow, lines, etc… color is secondary for me.  But in these pics, color is the star for sure!

God and palm trees are everywhere… even in Downtown LA :)

You know when I saw this, I was all over it!  The old theatre buildings in downtown Los Angeles are one of the most distinguishing details of the city, and I freakin’ LOVE this one!

And to follow-up on the beautiful black & white’s of the Walt Disney Concert Hall from my Symphony in B&W No. 1, here are some of my favorites that showcase the beautiful blue notes of the sky reflected in the steel…

Ahhhhhh, just let this one wash over you :)  Bliss….

Hope you guys enjoyed my series of Downtown Los Angeles as much as I loved shooting it!

Lots of fun coming up on the blog - gorgeous boudoir pictures, workshop attendees’ pics from this past weekend’s Portrait Workshop, and some Polaroid lovin’ :)

xxx,

Christa

Just a few lines of light that I love from my recent downtown LA Art Installation project.  As I mentioned in Wednesday’s post, Symphony in B&W No. 1, my goal was to capture the energy of the city.  I played around with slow shutter speeds and high contrast settings to capture movement and a play on line and perspective.  Here are just a few of my favorites…

Stay tuned for the color shots!

Have a great weekend!

xoxo,

Christa

I love photographing portraits… it’s my passion, and I am pretty confident now that I can capture the subject’s personality in a single frame and nail it.  Shooting landscapes on the other hand, when there’s no living breathing human in the picture and no interaction between subjects… well now that’s a challenge!  So when the Library Lofts in downtown Los Angeles went looking for a photographer to shoot their art installation, suddenly, I was so on fire and told them I was their girl.

My goal was to capture the energy of the city.  When you think about it, places are living breathing subjects too… and I wanted to create an art installation for the lofts that people feel when they pass by.

The Walt Disney Concert Hall was an obvious on my list of must-have’s.  Created by the world famous architect, Frank Gehry, the Disney Concert Hall is probably the most photographed building since it’s opening in 2003.  The sun was setting fast when I arrived at the Hall and I had about 10 minutes to shoot before it would be too dark… So I went with what I know best and I chose to shoot the hall like I shoot my boudoir photography… walk around the subject, notice things, the curves, the lines, etc… and suddenly the Hall took on a life of it’s own and became a boat at sea, a mountain top, waves in the ocean, and many other things…

What do you see?

A big thank you to one of my self-proclaimed blog-stalkers, John Batdorff, an extremely gifted photographer, especially with landscapes, who generously gave me some advice before I started shooting… Thanks John!

More in this series on the blog tomorrow and this weekend - I’ve prescheduled the posts so while I’ll be teaching the Portrait Workshop this weekend, you can enjoy a peek at downtown LA!

xoxo,

Christa

Yay! I’m psyched to launch my new website for photographers! And this is just the beginning! Lots of exciting projects are well underway, and I am so pleased with the quality and uniqueness of what will soon be available to photographers everywhere!  Fabulous resources will soon be added to the site and a new membership group is on the horizon for all Christa Meola Workshop graduates :)

Swing by the new site when you get a minute, check out the new workshop schedule, read the raves, and see a very dorky picture of me :)

Thank you to all of the amazing folks who made this site possible…
*My awesome Workshop attendees who were very generous and enthusiastic with giving feedback
*My incredible partner in crime on all upcoming projects, phenomenal new photographer, supermom and all around amazing woman… Jayne Jewell
*The best web support system a girl could ask for… Max at King Creations, Mac Sokulski, and Anthony Cunningham - y’all keep me sane, thank you :)

xoxo,

Christa

I know it’s only mid-March and I’m rushing Springtime… but recent days in LA have been gorgeous breezy and sunny - just like Spring!  These shots from a recent kid’s shoot remind me of growing up in NJ and all the awesomeness of the different seasons… when glorious Spring arrived, there was nothing better than being outside on a windy day and playing in your backyard.

Here are a few of my favorite childhood moments in Springtime…  scootin’ around and sporting your favorite boots!…

Laying in the grass… just happy to be outside…

Smelling flowers…

Oh, the excitement and anticipation of getting ready to climb a tree!…

And the fear and the thrill of it!…

Pausing for a snack of raisins…

The wind blowing…

…and being young enough to sport polka dot underwear and a ponytail…

I hope Springtime hurries to your neighborhood soon :) and you take time to bask in the wonderful everyday moments even if you’re a big old grown-up.

xo,

Christa

Leaving for Vegas in a minute and so excited for WPPI this year! This blog was brand spanking new when I posted about my experience at last year’s WPPI in Vegas.  I was so inspired by last year’s conference and it was the catalyst for so many amazing things that I’ve done since then!  I remember sitting in the Print Competition room watching the Print entries being judged, but I hadn’t entered the contest… Well this year, I’m in! I’m thrilled that this is the first photography contest that I’ve entered, and it’s fulfilling just to participate with my peers :)

I’ll be seeing many of you in Vegas - don’t be shy and say Hi! Coming up on the blog - announcing a new website, downtown BW installation and family pics :)  Here’s a peek at a recent Boudoir Workshop demo - this was a 5 minute shoot using only available light at night in the Biltmore Hotel bathroom!…

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Boudoir Workshop “A Sexy Affair” dates have been changed to April 10th & 11th.  Give me a buzz to sign up -would love to see you!

xoxo,

Christa