Renate Liev’s Boudoir Cape Town

+27 (0) 79 495 9088 (c

+27 21 788 8288 (biz

Specialising in Intimate Female Boudoir, Vintage pin up and burlesque, Couple and Female Nudes.

A proud member of Glamour Nudes, The Boudoir Photography Network, SA Photography, Magnum Photos and Photo & Film Expo.  One of the original boudoir photographers in Cape Town since 2008.

Miss Renate Liev’s studio is situated in Muizenburg Upper with beautiful views of the town and Sea and elegantly furnished for the perfect boudoir shoot.   Her studio is a place of lost inhibitions, secret desires and simply a place to have fun for woman and couples, nude or bathed in beautiful lingerie.  The atmosphere is one of ease and comfort.  She has a professional team of make-up artists, hair stylists  and stylists on hand for every occasion.  She has worked with the same team of professional woman for over 3 years.

Drink champagne, feel sexy and alluring no matter what walk of life.  A place to be a diva, to show off your beauty and curves.  A place where confidence is restored, the beauty of a woman is rediscovered and sensuality becomes part of something real even for a brief moment through the fine art of photography.

Step back in time to Paris in the 30’s or even a Moulin Rouge experience.  Be your own sultry pin up, go vintage or just do it for a trip down memory lane in a few years.  For a spouse, a husband to be that has everything or just for a zany idea on a girls night out.

With woman, men and couples leaning more and more towards this intimate, personal photography, Miss Renate Liev’s  Boudoir offers a more intimate atmosphere shooting on location or at her private boudoir.

What is Boudoir? It’s a French word meaning, “pouting room,” which in earlier times meant, if a young lady was sulky, she was sent to the boudoir where she could pout in private. The idea of boudoir is more personal and engaging, interesting and seductive.

A boudoir shoot is a great idea for a Hen’s party, a birthday present from him to her and vice versa, Wedding present, Celebrate your relationship, Anniversary gift, Engagement present or Valentines present.

Come Play!

The Look & Feel Good Expo

After the Expo

The Look and feel Good Expo, Cape Town Convention Center 16 – 18 Sept 2011.

A great success:  Here is what I was up to:

Cape Town Convention Center

Before the Expo:

I have been fortunate enough to have been appointed the official photographer for The Look and Feel Good Expo at the Cape Town Convention Center on the 16 – 18 Sept 2011.

http://www.ifeelgood.co.za

As well as being the official photographer for the expo I will have a stand and a demo stage where I will be shooting boudoir.

You can enter and win a boudoir shoot with me and Fairlady Magazine as well as 2 VIP tickets to the Expo.

http://www.fairlady.com/win

My team will be by my side including:

• Kelly Alison Paitaki from Mac – MUA
• Nicole Fourie – Freelance MUA
• Will Moller from Sha’gi’wi Hair Studio – Hairstylist
• Leigh Mckillop from Sha’gi’wi Hair Studio – Hairstylist
• Nadine Magon – Massage therapist
• Amielle Morel – Model
• Lucille Hepburn and Antoinette Sienne – Marketeers

The weekend will be full of fun filled interactive events all to do with well-being.

You can find me and the team at Stand E28 and E30.

A range of lingerie will be on sale.

Come pamper yourself with a massage, have your hair and make-up professionally done, buy some sexy lingerie and end off with a boudoir shoot with me all in one day.

See you all there.

Behind the scenes

A Miss Happ and Renate Liev collaberation shoot, behind the scenes of a shoot like this.

On the 24 October we had a very successful photo shoot show casing Miss happ’s new summer range and the pin up, Vintage and Rocakbilly styles of photography.

We were so fortunate to be able to shoot at the most perfect location in Constantia.

The weather sometimes played along and sometimes did not but in the end we got all we needed.

The gallery will soon be launched but in the meantime here are some behind the scenes photos.

Come book a Rockabilly, Geisha, Vintage or  Pin-up shoot with myself and Mandy, Miss Happ.

We will take you right back to the 1950′s.

Featuring:

Miss Happ, Mandy Bronner

Photographer, Renate Liev

Models, Dominique Otto and Ashlee Golightly from

Make-up and Hair, Gabbi Katz and Mishca Robbertze

Italian Journalist, Mara Mancuso

Location:  Constantia

Being on the other side of the lens

I had a great opportunity to be on the other side of the lens for a change with a great photographer and friend.  I must say the trepidation I felt before the shoot was astounding.  It was such an amazing experience, personally and on a professional level.

What a learning curb this was for me as I now understand what my clients feel like and for all the preparation that goes into one of these shoots.  Sunbeds, facials, manicures, pedicures, waxing, shoo:)  So to all my clients, I take my hat off to you for being so brave and for trusting me whilst in such a very vulnerable state.

I was never shy in front of the camera but when told to smile, bend, lean, look that way, look this way was a completely different ball game.  What I did realise though is how much I have learnt over time about what looks good and what doesn’t.  It’s a relationship formed between a photographer and a client that speaks volumes in the end result.

Will I do it again, of course and soon I hope.  If only to do all the pampering stuff we never get a chance to do.

So with that I present my photos by Jim Enigma Photography

Featured Established Artist and Sculptor

Bruce Cross, born 23 March 1957  in Zambia.  Bruce knew from a very young age that art would be his destiny.  A combination of life in Zambia and attending a military school gave him the ability to succeed at whatever life had to throw at him.

After school he left on a journey overseas to europe where he worked and travelled for 5 years.  Giving Bruce even more life skills all the while still having the dream of becoming an artist in the forefront of his mind.

An opportunity arose for the London Botanical Gardens to create aluminium sculptures.  He grabbed at the opportunity.  A dream coming true.  He created the most beautiful creations which can still to be seen in the Botanical Gardens in Durban today.

In Australia Bruce worked in all the main cities setting up machine shops and training staff  in the repair and reconditioning of diesel and petrol cylinder heads.

Previously in South Africa, Cape town and started his own Engineering firm. Not surprising, he formed a very successful business in Specialised Welding, Metal Stitching, and automotive engineering  He produced high quality repairs to industrial and automotive components as well as reconditioning.

Furthermore Bruce worked for Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory in Johannesburg for 4 years on resurfacing and upgrading a 26 metre diameter radio astronomy telescope.

Durban was next on his agenda where art really came into play.  Here he created 4 aluminium sculptures for the Durban Botanical Gardens, representing a shiny chilli, a clove of garlic, a harp and a winking mask.

Now based in Cape Town, Bruce has so much up his sleeve for the future.  He has been called the Mad Artist and this he is but what he creates is here to stay.

New Look Modeling

If you enjoyed doing a shoot and you want to take it further into a modeling career or if you have kids that are interested in a modeling career then these guys are amazing.

A little bit about the people behind New Look Modeling and what they offer.

NLM was developed by Amiélle and Adrian Morel, who both believe in a greater journey of empowerment for the younger generation, and an understanding that each person’s unique beauty is held within themselves.

We strive to stand up for every child’s dream, showing the world that YOU can also be the best model, no matter who you are or where you come from.

Our vision for New Look is creating a secure and solid foundation to make this dream come true, offering a course dedicated to confidence building and realising self-beauty..

During the New Look course, we personally take you under our wing (with your parents sharing and being part of the process) and developing your talent through an educational journey of encouragement of natural beauty, awakening of spirit and belief in self.

Stefan May Nude Photographer

http://www.stefanmay.com/

Stefan May – biography Stefan May, who was born in Germany in 1962, took up his passion for photography after studying medicine. His first contact with the medium was in the photo lab of the Munich Dermatological Clinic under Prof. Dr. Braun-Falco, where he documented skin diseases with a Leica and a circular flash unit for the archive. The self-taught photographer was later a fashion photography assistant in Sydney for different fashion and beauty photographers. Ever since he made the decision to devote himself exclusively to photography, he has been working in the international sphere for well-known magazines and major advertising clients. His works, presented in an exclusive online archive, continue to feature people/celebrities and beauty/body subjects. Stefan May became famous mainly for sensual black-and-white photographs from extreme viewpoints allowing the viewer a direct experience of the depicted scene. Couples: Photographs by Stefan May, showing hitherto unpublished photographs besides others already well known in this area of his work, is published by teNeues Verlag. Another one of Stefan May’s specialties is photographic series on big cities all over the world, such as Paris, Berlin and Milan, which he publishes under his pseudonym Lance Lensfield. In these works he shows the viewer his very personal view of the cities as he discovered them on many trips with his camera. Also published by teNeues Verlag is New York: Photographs by Lance Lensfield, a portrait of the city showing both lively scenes of people and unusual perspectives of architectural structures.

The different styles of boudoir photography

Boudoir doesn’t just have one look, there are many different styles and degrees. You can keep it very sweet and mild, or take it to the other extreme and make it more erotic.  It’s important that you find a photographer you can relate to.  You have to be able to tell them exactly what you want without being shy about it. You don’t want to find out the day of your session that your photographer doesn’t want to do topless or bottomless photos if that is what you are looking for.   I usually come right out and ask my girls if they want any nude shots. If they say yes, I ask them how much they are comfortable showing and how provocative they want to be.  Being a boudoir photographer is a unique profession to say the least.

There are also many sub-categories of boudoir: Pin-up, retro, glamour, artistic nudes and even couples sessions, where the couple is photographed interacting in provocative ways.  Guys are also getting into the act with “doudoir” sessions.  Doudoir is not a proper word but one that has been invented to describe a type of shoot.  No one knew what to call this new phenomenon so somebody came up with the obvious, doudoir, and it stuck.  Every photographer is familiar with the term by now. It has managed to find its way into the urban dictionary with this description:  ;-)

“The male version of ladies boudoir photographic sessions, minus the lace stockings and lingerie (usually). These sessions have little to do with nudity, but more the seductive nature of the masculine form.”

Guys out there that want doudoir photos taken, keep in mind that not all photographers are comfortable shooting these sessions. So when you call or email ask them right up front if they photograph males. Use the term doudoir, they will immediately understand. They may ask a few more questions to make sure it will be a comfortable experience for both parties. Yes we female photographers get some strange requests and we need to make sure you are not one of “those guys”.

Below are a few examples of the different styles of boudoir.  The first few are pin-up examples by Robert Alvarado, one of my favorite photographers. If you have never seen his work do yourself a favor and look him up on the internet.  Robert isn’t only a talented artist, he is a nice guy too. ; -)

The softer traditional look most associate with boudoir. www.robinowen.com

These photos by Arny Gunn push the limits of what we would consider boudoir. Yes Arny is right there on the edge but there is definitely a market for his type of work for the more daring client.

By: Robin Owen the Boudoir Photography Network :  http://boudoirphotographynetwork.com/

Go Vintage – Viva Van Story

There once was a time when images of women were filled with secrets and mystery, intrigue and enticement. A sideways glance, the trailing smoke of a slender cigarette, a whisper of danger on cherry red lips. Photographer Viva Van Story takes us back to the days of gun molls and garters with her stunning collection of vintage-inspired imagery.

Ms. Van Story eschews the modern-day trend of in-your-face sexual explicitness, instead harkening back to an era where tease and suggestion reigned supreme. Her timeless images range from smoldering seduction to coquettish playfulness.

Check out:  http://www.vivaspinups.com

Featured Lingerie Boutique – Pinned Up

On the corner of FUN and SEXY! Pinned-Up is a new exciting online boutique that provides exclusive high quality dress-up outfits, dress-up lingerie and extravagant lingerie in a wide variety of sizes whilst providing exceptional client service. Whether you the daring 1st year college student that needs an outfit for an event or crazy party to the couple married thirty years that needs something fun, exciting and non intimidating to spruce up their relationship. Pinned-up is the right place to be!

Everything old is new again! Pin Up

Pinup as we generally think of it today, gained popularity in the early 1930s. It was a time in history when the image of a georgious girl took the soldiers mind of the war and reality. Whether it was the classic painted pinup calendar, advertisement, or the pinup photography,most guys in the service had a poster of his favorite taped in his locker lid. These memorialized women were first known as ‘Petty Girls’, named after the artist George Petty, which were popularized by Esquire magazine during those decades. The ideal depictions of scantily clad and pleasantly voluptuous women were featured in magazine calendars, centerfolds and even painted on warplanes during World War II. And every girl curled her hair in pin curls and dimpled as she smiled hoping to be taken for a pin-up herself. The attitude and fashion of vintage pinup girls went mainstream quickly moving from the centerfold right to the front cover. Matchbooks and movies even featured pin up girls and their, for those days at least, skimpy fashion. Some more mainstream names of pinup girls were Marilyn Monroe, Jane Mansfield and the edgier Bettie Page. What was once considered risquŽ, was now out in the mainstream, the strict Victorian attitude towards a woman’s body, for better or for worse, would be forever shattered. The rise of the sex industry shortly after would drown pinup girls and their fashions and overshadow them with tacky and perverted mutations of its essence while stripping the innocence and humor from the original pinup girl centerfolds of decades before. Pornography would replace the innocent pleasures of the pin up girl centerfolds. Pin up fashion and art would prove resilient, however, and rise again with the help of independent burlesque troupes during the mid nineties as well as the underground resurgence of Rockabilly and Swing music amongst many younger people who would mix the fashions popular with these music fans, along with vintage pin up fashion. The most publsihed pinup artists were Elvgren and Vargas whose original pinup art is highly sought after today.

Today pinup girls and pinup art is back in the spot light and strong as ever. The pinup style and pinup fashion is featured once again in movies, magazine ads and got adopted by pop singers and celebrities.

Check out http://www.oldschoolpinups.com/index.html