I booked a photoshoot for myself with Barb to celebrate finishing my graduate program and reclaim some of my femininity, honestly. Lol. And WOW did she deliver. I looked for a variety of photographers in the Pasadena area (and came across Instagram ads from other photographers in surrounding areas), and for what I wanted (solo female looking for a glamor photoshoot and wanting a pampered experience), she was just about the only one who checked all my boxes. Pampered make-up and hair included in the photoshoot session on-site, several-hour photoshoot with multiple poses and backgrounds, really listening to what I wanted, and taking pictures that practically looked ready to go straight from the camera.
I wanted to step out of character a bit and do some boudoir shots, and she managed to deliver on my request for them to be mostly classy enough for me to even feel comfortable posting publicly! (While ofc, since it was boudoir, it was a tad too "come hither" for LinkedIn, but otherwise very public-friendly, which was my exact sweet spot).
She even has a whole wardrobe of outfits and angel wings to choose from, although I'm admittedly picky about styles and mostly went with my own wardrobe. I did use one of her fluffy black mesh robes for one of the boudoir shoots though!
When I browsed other photographers, then I either found the poses not glamorous enough (and I was definitely not looking for "generic school student graduation" vibes for THIS graduation photoshoot -- I wanted to look feminine and GLAMOROUS), the backgrounds all too simple, or I would've had to come with my hair and makeup done, which I did not want to have to worry about (especially without a car).
The only thing I will add is that I do not have a car, so I mostly looked in the Pasadena area. There might very well be other photographers out there in the LA / surrounding areas who could deliver a similar experience and perhaps have more affordable prices for the prints. But for what I wanted and needed, this was everything I wanted, and given the fact that I could not find alternatives that matched, I couldn't call it "overpriced" even if admittedly expensive. Don't know if I can afford it again anytime soon LOL, BUT given the occasion, it was worth the splurge. read more