Portraits

Music | Remind Me by Royksopp

I know there are a lot of women who feel that they don't have the courage enough to be able to bare themselves to themselves, let alone a stranger of a photographer. Understanding that each woman who goes down this road has to make that decision for herself, by herself, I can suggest booking a less intimidating Portrait session. Besides getting to know your photographer, a past history always makes future encounters a bit easier. Also, a timeless portrait can say just as much about a person than anything else...

The Assassin

Music | In the Waiting Line by Zero 7

Some sessions there is no time to think, prepare. From my initial contact with Courtney via email, our meeting, to our shoot, not more than 48 hours had passed by. I realize that maybe more importantly than our shoot day, our initial meeting was of more importance. Because there was so little time between our introduction to the actual shooting, it was good we spent 2 hours talking, getting to know each other. Having a great rapport going into game day was a good thing.

Courtney found a fabulous room in a upscale downtown hotel. The top floor rooms had windows angled up to the ceilings like a Parisian atelier. The buildings surrounding ours jetted way beyond the 12th floor of our vantage. I was inspired by the space and felt like I was in fact in a studio with amazing light streaming through the windows. The setting was movie like. Having just seen The Shadow Boxer, I saw our heroine as an assassin. My version of La Femme Nikita was about to take place...

We had moved thru 3 changes in short amount of time. I was really happy with what I had up to that point, but the best light of all was about to take place. The direct sunlight was about to hide behind another building, creating the perfect light. In hind site, having a pistol with a silencer or a scope mounted to a long range rifle would have been fabulous. But all I could quickly come up with was my own leather jacket and one of my cigarettes. Courtney immediately took to the props and without words, just moved... No time to think, preparation was for amateurs...

Visit to Chicago...

Music | New Genious by Gorillaz

10 days in Chicago, 5 jobs, personal business, new friends, new networks... This was one of the most fruitful visits back to my home town since I left over 10 years ago.

Anyone that knows me knows I'm always looking for great eats and my mission was accomplished by actually finding a new king for deep dish pizza. I also found my favorite soul food restaurant as well as visiting many of my old favorites! Food and Photography...

My shoots for Photo Privé went very well. My subjects, both extremely nervous before the shoot settled into their sessions in different ways. One used up our entire time to get to her comfort zone while the other literally man handled her way to get to hers. The most nervous of the 2, she just decided she was going to do it and came out on fire! I'm extremely proud of both of them as they managed to achieve something most recently was thought to as an impossible feat. They faced their fears and decided to go for it.

As I shoot more for Photo Privé, I do get a more meaningful understanding of what some of the women go thru when deciding to make the "dive". You women are very courageous and you have earned huge R E S P E C T !

Anne...Again

Music | Slum Goddess by The Fugs

The shoot with Anne brought out a lot of great images!

Testimonial...

Music | Come Here Boy by Imogen Heap

I work in the entertainment industry and often need photos for publicity and public relation purposes. I found Photo Privé thru a friend where we were able to both get a discount as we booked him at the same time. I was so happy with the results that I've used Ted several times through out the last 3 years. It is amazing that each and every time we shoot, he manages to get something new. I'm also especially happy that I have beautifully documented photographs of myself. I hope to continue to what I hope will become an annual tradition.

Thank you, Ted.

Sincerely,

Serena McIntosh

Anne

Music | My Foolish Heart by Linn Halliday

Photographing Anne was insightful, enjoyable, enlightening... It is great to be able to create a piece or in this case, a body of work and learn something about yourself. Anne was gracious enough to tell me she thought of this experience as a special event. She also gave me the impression like on game day, she had butterflies in her stomach. At the time, I didn't really think much of that idea, but now that I have been able to contemplate that thought, I take it as a great complement.

I think all of my photo shoots are somewhat of a collaboration, particularly when I'm shooting a portrait. Of course I have to have some control, especially when in the moment of a shoot I see something and feel a certain look is a great representation of that person. In the case of Anne, I think the shoot was a true collaboration as she just stepped up and started swinging. I loved the fact that she was comfortable enough to let go, to step off. Now I don't really know how much of the real Anne I have in my images, but I feel really great about them. At the time of this writing, she has seen only one image, this one below and I know she is at least approving of it.



This photo is all Anne. My only suggestion was where to stand and with all the butterflies and such, there she goes. Now that I think about it at this very moment, I'm sure I have captured the essence of Anne and the soul that lives within her.

This next photo has more of my signature within it. I remember having her guided into this pose. Though of course she took on her own interpretation of what I was asking, it was my asking that put her in this pose. I'm curious as to what she thinks is more her...



As I mentioned earlier, we managed to create more than a few images. There is a good body of work. Maybe later, more will show up here on the blog...

My Latest Testimonial...

Music | Somersault by Zero 7

I love my clients...

"In 2008 I made both personal and professional changes in my life and turned to Ted for completion of this transition. I had witnessed the artistry he captured behind the lens and knew he would be an integral part of the completion of my metamorphose.
Recently divorced and a mother of 2, I wished to honor the soft, seductive feminine side of my being a woman.

Ted's reputation and professionalism exceeded all expectations. His uncanny ability to place myself completely at ease, coupled with his keen sense of style and class created a permanent depicture of what I wished to celebrate.

I owe many thanks and gratitude to him for being a part of this process....:)

Thank you Ted,

Candace van Hoof"

First Newsletter!

Music | The Walk by Imogen Heap


To download, click on the image

Our very first newsletter... It will be refined and honed as time moves ahead, but I'm really happy with this first run thru design.

The Simplicity of Beauty...

Music | I'm Thru With Love by Diana Krall

Seeing the Forest for the Trees, or Something Like That...

Music | Flame Trees by Sarah Blasko

Photo Privé has always been about producing the finest images with the idea of creating pieces of art. Just yesterday, a friend made a comment about something I had said about photographing young naked women in France when I retire. She asked why only young women, why not women in their 40's +. Then another friend agreed as she was in her 50's...

You know how a light bulb lights up above your head when something pops into your mind? Well, I have to thank Anne and Alina for stepping up and putting the obvious in my head. While I know not all women want to be photographed in provocative poses, nude or implied, I would think everyone would love to have a fine photograph or themselves. A true representation of themselves or something totally opposite, in a portrait format.

Photo Privé has just created a Portrait category for services we render. On the site will be a great representation of my favorite photography genre, Portraits. I hope to showcase a variety of portraits, women of all ages and celebrate the beauty that is, Woman.

Beauty and Twilight...

Music | Lonely Woman by Ornette Coleman

I photograph women for the sake of capturing beauty. Saturday mid evening, the sun slowly setting over the hills to the west, twilight suddenly cast its light upon us. It really is a magical time as the sweetest light envelopes everything. Lay a woman upon the ground upon a dry like river bed and what do you have... Beauty. We know the sun sets to the west, giving a directional light, left to right, but when the source of light hides beyond the horizon, the entire sky turns into the light source. It isn't only it's softness that defines Twilight, it is also the colour - An indescribable hue that mixes blues, reds and yellows... A time of calm, a time to take in a deep breath and be with beauty...

Photo Prive

Music | Big Paul by John Coltrane

Photo Privé

This is the latest incarnation I've come up with where creativity, art and commerce is balanced and where I feel I am not selling out my vision as an artist. That is also the basis of Photo Privé, more so about art and the provocative nature of women, than the 'sexy", "pretty", "gorgeous" adjectives used to portray other photographers that are photographing women in the "boudoir" style.

I don't think Photo Privé and boudoir have anything in common. But to reach the women who want to step up and in many ways, create art for themselves or to the masses, we have to start somewhere. I do in fact think Photo Privé is far beyond where boudoir ends. And so today is born the phrase, photographing women in the Privé tradition...

A Muse...

Music | Lontano by Jose Padilla

Sherri has been a long time friend and muse. I remember seeing her around various art events we would both attend. Then, in the neighborhood, a new café opened up and it just so happened she had her mornings there, quite often. Needless to say I found a new place to sip my americanos as well. Over the next few months, we finally got to know one another. In more instances than a few, Sherri has pulled me out of artistic lulls and it is easy to see why.

We've made various photographs together from simple studio portraits, candid shots out in the park, and photos that would be appropriate for at the time a non existent Photo Privé.



This photo is an great example to a question I often get about shooting with Photo Privé. "Do I have to be naked?" My answer would be, no. There are so many ways of making a statement without having to be nude. Often, the perception of a nude body can as provocative as a nude itself and sometimes even more so.

of Women in Art...

Music | Danny Boy by Bill Evans

I love the lines and shapes created by the light and shadow of a woman.

The Movement of Time...

Music | Hold you in My Arms by Ray LaMontagne

Time wasn't so important when I was younger. I remember thinking time moved too slow... A school year seemed like an eternity and even the summers over stayed its welcome. As I watch my child grow up, I know my perception of things have changed, not anything else.

I would hope to think that my time has made me more of a better person, wiser, more mature, more excepting... Ok, maybe not...

Tick, tick, tick... I do perceive now that time is moving faster, that there just isn't enough hours in a day to be able to get the things we need to get done, done.

Our children are turning into young adults, anniversaries and birthdays seem to circle closer and closer. Does anyone know where last June went?

Tick, tick, tick... Technology has turned things on end as well in regards to time. Each day, a new discovery turns last years fad gadget into obsolescence. Things are no longer repaired, just replaced. In the hopes of making our lives simpler and easier, have we gained any more insightful perspective?

So as we move forward into the unknown, with both time and technology seemingly to be not an ally, but more so a foe, what do we have?


A polaroid print, which can no longer be reproduced because time has deemed it obsolete.

The World is Watching...

Music | Unlike Me by Kate Havnevik

In finding ways to market a new business, the most difficult is hitting your target audience. However, I still do get a kick out of having my work seen all over the world. Without even trying, I've managed to have 9 foreign countries view my website in the short of amount of time it has been up.

Some Women...

Music | Yoyo Waltz by The Cinemenatic Orchestra

Boudior... What We Are Not...

Music | Close the Door by Teddy Pendergrass


In finding ways to promote our services and site, it seems what most people look for regarding this type of photography is, Boudoir. I know for me, I see really bad photos of women in uncomfortable poses with feather boas, overly propped non realistic bedroom sets, soft focus images that are not representative of the modern woman.

Our photographs are not at all about fantasy. As in a fine portrait, our approach to photography is to capture the essence of our subjects. Photo Privé is here to create a piece of art that will move thru time, thru generations. Not only as a provocative photograph, but a piece you can be proud to display in your own private space or gallery setting.

Getting to a Place of Comfort

Music | Lost and Found by DJ Shadow

One of the biggest concerns I have with a client is to make sure they are comfortable. I've shot in opulent hotel suites to a bedroom in a small apartment. It doesn't matter how grand a space appears if the client isn't comfortable.

Jenn is no wall flower by any means, but again, I wanted her to be in a comfort zone wear she could get lost without feeling self conscious. Some of the best expressions with just the tiniest nuances can make a nice photo so much more.

From last week, here is one of our favorties...

First Shoot

Music | Dusk by Andrew Hill

My first shoot under the name of Photo Privé took me back to my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Barbara has been a client of mine for over 12 years. We go way back during our Vintage Motorcycling days of riding BMWs. We had talked about doing a shoot like this over 5 years ago, but I didn't really have the experience to do so. Fast Forward to this year, I was talking to Barbara about launching a business like this, but hated the term, Boudoir and anything that had associations with that word. She agreed and within moments came up with Photo Privé. Without batting an eyelash, I secured the .net domain.

It has been awhile since I flew back from Chicago photographing Barbara, but with her permission, here is one of my favorites from the shoot. The room had fantastic light pouring in from the window, which led to the great lighting.

Photo Privé

Music | Avalon by Roxy Music

I don't think I have been more comfortable starting a new business than starting Photo Privé. I've worked years to get to the point where I am and have gained confidence and abilities that only experience can bring. This is not to say that I don't have butterflies in my stomach as I launch the website and even this blog. I'm putting my soul out there, parts of me that I know of and others I do not. This also rings true with my subjects, the commissions that have entrusted me to bring to light something special, to emphasize little nuances and the subtleties that first are not yet apparent. I too take my uneasy steps on terrain that will take a little time to get used to.

Photo Privé
Private Photography or Private Photos... When thinking of names for this new ambition, it was appropriate that a friend of mine put me in the direction years ago to start photographing women in a more sophisticated, provocative manner come up with Photo Privé. I was immediately taken by the name as it expresses specifically what my photographs are...

I hope to post recent shoots (with clients permission of course), events and news that pertain to photographing women in this way. If you have any questions that I might be able to answer, please feel free to contact me via the blog or website. Otherwise, please come back often and visit, write a comment now and then if you are so inclined.

Thanks!

Ted