As a 13-year veteran of the writing life, I've long since accepted the fact that half the fun in life is getting there and most of the other half of the fun involves writing about the trip afterward. So, I'm back from New York and my boudoir photo shoot with the very talented Laura Boyd, and now it's time to tell you all about it! Today I'd like to begin by asking for your help.
Like most writers, I have a Web site and a profile picture. I've long felt a bit, well, guilty, in using a photo from my first boudoir session from seventeen years ago. Okay, not that guilty because I never really looked like that photo even when I was thirty-one and besides I'm an erotica writer and my readers surely shouldn't object to a little blurring of reality. However, since my motto is "smart is sexy" and I firmly believe I'm smarter and much sexier now than I was back then, I knew I'd feel much better if I had a current sexy picture to post far and wide. That is one of the many reasons I jumped at the chance to have Laura take my picture.
Of course, as the shoot drew closer, I suffered from the same doubts I did the first time around. Would the camera's eye find any beauty in me, even with Laura's magic and expertise on my side? Is society right that women are over-the-hill and invisible after thirty or thirty-five or forty or whatever the current cut-off is for female desirability? Which might mean, that like a vampire, when Laura snapped my picture, there'd be nothing there?
I have to say, in spite of my pre-shoot jitters, I am so, so pleased with the results. So pleased, in fact, I'm going to become an honest woman and use one of her portraits as my public face from now on. Now comes that favor I wanted to ask of you. Will you help me choose which of these two rather intimate "thanks for the great sex, honey" pics posted here that I should use? Choice A in the black slip and bling or Choice B in my birthday suit? Polls close December 6, so leave a comment or send me an email with your vote!
15 comments:
They both look great! I vote for the first/top one.
Wow. Not sure I can choose. I like both for different reasons. Choice A has more color in it, more contrasts (between the skin and the black slip), so it grabs the eye first (I scrolled so that I could see both and then realized I was drawn to the first one for that reason). But I love the expression on your face in Choice B. There's a story there and I want to know what it is.
So, with that not-too-helpful non-choice, I guess I'll have to vote for .... Both! ;-)
ha..number two!!! most def. number two...that one is beautiful...it has the perfect klightning..face expression...and ha sthat timeless air arround that you would like for an authorpicture...:-)
Yup, number two, no question. You're glowing out of it. Lovely :)
number two - the colour is so much warmer, and the smile is more inviting as a result; plus your expression in number two seems mysteriously interesting - makes me want to know what's going on inside your head
I'm with those voting for the second pic. They're both gorgeous, but the first one could be in a catalog for pretty things, whereas the second one is just you, and there's something beautiful & direct about the way you're looking at the camera (& at the viewer). But really, both are lovely & sexy.
I've gotta go with #2, too! Both are lovely, though!
Thank you for weighing in, everyone! (And the polls aren't closed yet). Robin's comment made me realize I can use both in different contexts, but I suppose I do want to pick my "brand" photo for the masthead. I really, really appreciate your honest reactions to the pics. Reaching readers/others is what it's all about :-).
Second picture. I like them both, but the second one is more vibrant, more personal.
Hi sexy,
These are fanatastic - she managed to capture your soft and ultra-feminine side, but there's also devilish-side too...which we see in your naughty writing.
Congratulations on this project. It's very liberating. Yes, these turned out wonderful...if I had to choose, I'd say the second one because I can see your glimmer. ;-0
Happy for you!
Hmm, with the later returns, the balance is tipping. Thanks Neve and Craig.
Upon further reflection I guess the first photo has a sort of dreamy "thanks for a great time, honey" and the second has more of a "hey, I've got a kinky idea--wanna try it?" spark, which is perhaps more fitting for my profession!
Wow!
Uh... what was the question? : )
Okay... if I had to pick, I'd pick #2. It feels more intimate, as others have also opined.
I hope that truly you know 1) you look gorgeous in your pictures and 2) you are beautiful (so very beautiful) inherently and with nothing to do with any of society's standards or even your physical appearance.
I'm so glad you were pleased with your photo shoot and its results! It sounds indeed like a blast. As far as the author picture, though I find both of them so lovely, the second one seem to jump out at me for that purpose for whatever reason....
Thanks for sharing! :)
I like number two fractionally more than number one - like the way you are looking out at the viewer. But both are gorgeous.
Hey Donna,
You DO look stunning in both of them, but I think #2 is a bit more coquettish. #1 seems a bit more "knowing" and sophisticated and glamorous to me.
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