Burlesque Babes

Showgirls are wonderful. There is nothing more beautiful than the female form artfully covered up with feathers, rhinestones and glitter.
And of course all of the above make for amazing photos.
So Jenn Hadley and myself teamed up with Miss La Belle to run a “Burlesque Babes” photoshoot.
Designed for new showgirls to practise getting their game on for the camera and to start their career with some great photos.
We turned St Andrews on the Terrace conference centre into a jewel encrusted den of iniquity. The poor toastmasters were having a meeting next door, and were quite intrigued by our door sign and screams of laughter. It was all very irreverent but oh so much fun.
The best thing about photoshoots is the mix of people. Because we aimed for new dancers we had a few girls who are not that used to getting their kit off for the camera. It is so lovely to see these girls slowly warm up, they get their hair and makeup on – confidence building as they see how beautiful they look, then they watch other women – of all shapes and sizes prance around in a few wisps of material and the odd pasty or two.
Then it is their turn in front of the camera. Enter Miss La Belle.
Grace, for those that don’t know her is one of the most inspirational people in the Burlesque scene in New Zealand. I have had the pleasure of working with her for a few years now, and I can honestly say that she tops them all. She brings something to photoshoots that is impossible to replicate.
She has a way of making women feel instantly comfortable. She finds their sexy and brings it back, coaxing them into the most unimaginably uncomfortable positions, whilst making them laugh, then look like sex kittens, then laugh again.
If you can feel comfortable with your body in front of the camera you can start to feel comfortable in your body throughout your life, this is the true magic of Burlesque.
Once you are instructed by Grace, you will never forget. Her quote for today “ When you are getting false eyelashes on look at Claire’s crotch”.
The other fantastic thing about photoshoots, particularly Burlesque ones, is that I can push my styling to its zenith – creating dramatic looks and movie star hairstyles. In the immortal words of Amy Jansen Leen “more is more”.
This is something that I am getting better at. My natural tendency is the purist vintage look, easy on the eyes, and all about the lips. But as Max Factor knew, the camera needs lots of help, so I am pushing myself to up the dramatic. To this end I am attending a class by Ellie Kat this week, how to apply drag queen makeup.

As you can see from the photos we had so much fun. It was like a big girly pajama party, with lots of opportunities to ham it up in front of the camera.
If you are interested in our next shoot please contact us at book@jennhadleyphotography.co.nz