Stacey Bode Photography

Prepare yourselves for a big slice of beefcake!  Yum!  It’s the “Men of Dad’s Garage” calendar!  I’m so glad they brought me on board for this project.  I did these shoots throughout July, and waiting this long to blog about it has been a special kind of torture.  The fabulous folks in these pics are ridiculously talented friends of mine, and they represent the improv ensemble at Dad’s Garage Theater.  The purpose for the calendar is to promote all the cool shows for their next season.  That way, people can see exactly when the shows are running.  Smart.  Even smarter?  Adding some eye candy to that info.

I can’t sufficiently describe here how much fun this was for me.  However, if you shove enough good tequila in my face, I might share a few special details.  Which shoot had the most giggling?  Which one was surprisingly dangerous?  Which one was I not wearing pants to shoot?  Note to potential clients:  I will definitely be wearing pants during your shoot.

So, I do a somewhat adequate job of keeping this blog at a PG-13 level.  I may be pushing it a bit with this post.  If your eyes, soul, or heart are of a delicate nature, I suggest that you do not scroll down.  You have been warned.

JANUARY

Here’s the one from this shoot that made it to the calendar.  We all agreed that the champagne missing the glass was the winner.

Here’s another shot I love from this shoot.  Having just started watching “Mad Men”, I have a new appreciation for Z’s sharp, cool, rat-pack style.  Nothing wrong with ringing in the new year with champagne and a handsome devil.

FEBRUARY

Anyone who knows Christian will understand that we had to involve robots.  Years ago, he made the costume he’s wearing.  During our shoot, he told me a great story about the first robot costume he made, and got stuck in.  Awesome.

This one didn’t make the calendar, but I adore it.

MARCH

Dad’s Garage could totally be accused of false advertising, since Amber is a lovely lady in the man calendar.  That’s why I thought we should play with that idea, and make her look like one of those androgynous Calvin Klein male models, or one of those Herb Ritz photos from the 80s with gals dressed as dudes.  I also figured that since Amber was the only girl in the group, she should be the only one that gets to pose with a half-naked woman.  By the way, a big thank you to gorgeous Alison for allowing us to completely objectify her incredible yoga bod.

Here’s the calendar shot…

…and another favorite.  To all the guys who see this calendar…..you’re welcome.

APRIL

I wanted to experiment with the “April showers” concept, and Lucky has a friend with this amazing car.  Win, win!  I just wish we could have gotten his dog, Abe Jackson, in more of the pics.

Not in the calendar, but I love this one too….

MAY

So, what do April showers bring?  May flowers, of course?  Only Tommy could pull of such a smoldering look while covered with this many blooms.

Seriously Tommy, that look should require a permit.  Weapon of mass seduction.

JUNE

Randy has a show coming up next summer called “Slaughter Camp”, and nothing screams summer like actual screaming when there’s a maniac loose in the woods.

I think my direction before this next image was “more blood!”.  I must also thank Breckan and Rueben for playing dead so nicely.

JULY

I think Mike got the easiest, most relaxing shoot.  On a hot day, he had to look hot while chilling by and in the pool.  I guess it wasn’t all a walk in the park.  I did make him wear that goofy headband.

God.  Bless.  America.

AUGUST

When planning this shoot, it didn’t seem physically impossible to fit three guys in one tub….and all my photo gear into a bathroom.  Trickier than we thought.  Thanks for being such sports, fellas.  Turns out, the toughest part was keeping Dan from finishing that burger before I took the pics.

Dan, Ed and Chris made the cover (this next image)!  We should have called them to announce it, like they do for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.  Thanks to Leigh Hays for letting us use her sweet purple bathroom!

SEPTEMBER

Oh, dear.  This shoot with George and my hubby Matt actually ended up being more tame than I thought it would be.  These guys are not known for their shyness.  I had to stop between each frame because I was laughing so hard, I couldn’t hold the camera still.  This calendar photo still makes me belly-laugh every time I look at it.

Nope, nothin’ crazy about this….

OCTOBER

Rene got the coveted Halloween month (also the month of his birthday).  I wasn’t sure that “mummy” and “sexy” and “funny” could go together, but Rene happily proves me wrong.

Though not in the calendar, here is my favorite from this shoot.  I dig the throwing action and mischievous expression.

Here’s another idea we had for October.  That’s our pal Chris Brown in his oh-so-creepy Rotzo costume that he made himself.  So talented.  In between shots, Chris and I were hanging out in the theater, when an unsuspecting young lady walked in.  She saw him, screamed, and ran out.  It was swell.

Sweet dreams…….

NOVEMBER

Not only does Matt deserve bravery points for the obvious reasons, but he also deserves recognition for the most harsh modeling conditions.  The AC wasn’t working (was in the high 90s outside).  It was painfully hot just standing still, then we made him lounge a few feet away from a fire.  I can’t confirm this, but I’d guess he had no hair left on the other side when we were done.

In case you’re not sure what to be thankful for this Thanksgiving…

DECEMBER

Kevin, I’m so sorry for the pain we caused you.  I’m sure all the smooching, groping, and attention will haunt you indefinitely.  Thanks to our snow wranglers and beautiful hand models Megan, Coop, and Hayley.

If you’re very, very good, maybe you’ll find this under your tree on December 25th.

Thanks so much to all my brilliant friends!  Please go check out all the shows at Dad’s Garage!!!  If you think these folks are hot, wait ’til you see how talented they are!

Family portraits + sword fights = YES!  Jon and Raymond Carr are two of the most cool, creative fellas you’ll meet.  They wanted some portraits to give to their folks, and I was more than pleased to oblige.  It cracks me up how different they are, and they made fun of each other throughout the shoot.  I would expect no less.

I could continue to babble on about the awesomeness of our photo time together.  However, I think you’ll be able to tell what a blast we had just by lookin’ at the pics, so I’ll let them speak for themselves.  Cheggit!

You guys got swag.

I do love a crazy portrait.  That’s why I perk up when my theater pals hire me to snap photos for their shows and projects.  Two of my favorite theater buds, Amber and Kevin, needed me to do just that.  They work over at Dad’s Garage, and they have an upcoming improv endeavor where their team will be called “Kill the Dog”.  Disclaimer:  They are both lovely people, and I don’t think either of them actually condones the murder of canines.  The name is a take on the popular screenwriting book, “Save the Cat”.

Don’t feel sorry for Amber when you see the shaving cream pics.  It was almost gonna be toothpaste.  I think she got off easy….this time.

The awesome folks at Georgia Shakespeare were kind enough to ask me to take some photos for their upcoming shows.  Here’s the way cool part.  They didn’t just want photos of scenes in costumes.  They wanted actual portraits of the actors and staff around the theater.  LOVE that!  Most of the people who work there and appear in these images are friends, so this was a truly sweet experience.  Oh, and if you’ve never been to a show at GA Shakes, you are missing something great.  Go check out their shows…you won’t be sorry.

Amber is one of my favorite human beings in general and in front of my camera.  She’s hilarious, sassy, gutsy, and can go from tomboy to sexpot in about 5 seconds.  I think she might know something the rest of us gals don’t, and she aint tellin’.  Just in case you need some evidence, check out these first couple pics we took during her Cheeky Lamb boudoir photo shoot.  She recently went skiing, so I decided we should do some naughty ski bunny shots.  I sincerely hope she wears this outfit the next time she’s on the slopes.

Then we got all film noir up in that hotel room…

Amber, everything about you in this next one makes me swoon.

I guess these posts are already PG-13-ish, so I’m not afraid to say that this next one is BAD-ASS.  If she doesn’t use this as her Facebook profile pic, I’ll be mad.  No pressure, Amber, but I mean really mad.

The origin of some of her true beauty is that she’s not afraid to be goofy.  To me, there are few things prettier than that.

Then things got dirty.  No, not THAT kind of dirty.  The kind with actual dirt that I brought in a ziplock bag.  Yay!

I never knew a closet could be this hot.

Thank you Amber, you stunning creature, you!

Jas is one of the coolest gals you’ll ever meet.  She’s that combination of down-to-earth and blatantly pretty that causes things like rampant envy and drooling.  I had the pleasure of meeting her last year when we took her acting headshots, and I adored her instantly.  We had so much fun during our Cheeky Lamb boudoir shoot, which even had some pseudo danger.  The fire alarm kept going off at the hotel.  The first time, we grabbed a bunch of stuff and headed down the stairs like a good group of safety-first gals, only to be told that they were running tests that day.  Might have been handy to mention that at check-in.  Sigh.  Once we confirmed that we were fire-free, we hung out in our room and played, giggled, and took lots of photos.  Hooray!  Jas, you are simply fab-u-luss!  I don’t know how you do what you do so well in front of the camera, but thank you for doing it!

When Jas and I met to discuss the style of her shoot, she mentioned “Alice in Wonderland”.  Yes, yes!  So, here’s what we came up with…

I didn’t even realize it at the time, but in this next series, we did a few “falling” pics.  I guess that could be Alice in Wonderland-ish too.  Yay!

I brought one of our Cheeky Lamb soaps for Jas to pose with.  Thanks Jas!  Oh, I also have to shout out to Robin for assisting us during the shoot.  She helped by posing for lighting scenario tests, watching “Tank Girl“, and eating cheese puffs.  Each job is equally important!

Jas, I don’t even know what to say about these next ones other than “WOW!”.

See, sometimes we even allow laughter during our shoots!

Jas, you are a rock star.

Pretty x 2 = yay!  When I  was scheduling Tara and Perry’s Cheeky Lamb boudoir photo shoots, they requested a little overlap time to do a tandem session.  Hooray!  We somehow managed to show that girl-on-girl doesn’t have to be x-rated.  Sorry folks, if you’re lookin’ for that, you’ve come to the wrong website.  Perhaps we’ll start capturing video at our shoots and market our “Girls Gone Appropriate!” films.  Aw, yeah.  Here are Perry and Tara (or “Para” as I like to call them) demonstrating the only thing more awesome than a fun boudoir shoot….two fun boudoir shoots in one!

Two is a magic number.  Yes it is.

Ooh….here’s Cheeky Lamb shoot #2!

It’s hard to figure out what to write about Perry without sounding like a total weirdo.  It’s because I completely, gushingly, adore her.  What’s not to adore?  She’s smart, fun, cool, sweet…..my adjectives runneth over.  I dare anyone to take a bad photo of her.  It aint happenin’.  She’s just a downright awesome gal in every way.  Um, and have you seen her?  Everybody I know who has met Perry always has something to say after the experience.  It’s usually something like “Wow!”, or “Are you kidding me?”, or “Good grief that gal is pretty”.  I’m almost certain I said all three.  If in the next few days, her boyfriend starts to experience a strange feeling that he can’t explain…it will be the result of a wave of envy from folks who’ve seen his gorgeous lady on this blog.

I didn’t realize until after the shoot that we sort of shot scenarios of 3 of the 4 seasons.  I guess we’ll have to do another session to include “summer”.  Here’s the set-up we did that I think is “spring”.

Perry is an avid knitter, so I love that she brought some yarn to play with.  These are shots that make me think of “fall”.  Nuthin’ says fall like a knitted sweater, no pants, and a see-through shirt!

Our last scenario definitely has to do with “winter”, and also has to do with why we may not be welcomed back to the Atlanta Motel.

Perry, you are one stunning human.  Thanks for letting me show that in some photos.

Soon, I’ll be posting Perry and Tara’s tandem photo shoot…..with acrobatics, birds, and doll faces.  Oh boy!

For a few weeks, I’ve been hinting about a new facet to my photo biz that I’ve been working on.  I’m so daggum excited to finally have officially begun my new division of Stacey Bode Photography!  It’s called Cheeky Lamb, and it’s a slightly left-of-center take on boudoir photography, disguised as a way for me to get knee-deep in my shameless love of portrait photography.  Oooh, here’s the logo….

My approach to boudoir photography is about mood and sensuality, not just boobs and butts.  Don’t get me wrong, I think nude photography can be really beautiful.  Howevah…..whenever I see a stunning photo that has naked action bits, that’s immediately where my eyes go.  Can’t help it.  We’re all drawn to anything we’ve been taught is taboo.  As a photographer-slash-control freak, I want the viewer’s eyes to go exactly where I want them to go, which is typically the face.  Hey, the face is naked, right?  This is not to say that I’m against taking nude images.  I’ve done it in the past, and would gladly include those types of images if someone requested them.  I don’t want the significant others of my clients asking if it would have killed me to include just one naked photo.

My goal is to make anyone in front of my camera feel relaxed, special, and phenomenally gorgeous.  With that said, allow me to introduce you to the very first cheeky lamb.

Tara completely embodies the spirit behind this whole idea.  She’s fun, sassy, and bravely vulnerable.  I suppose it also doesn’t hurt that she’s a natural beauty as well.  If Tara is in a room full of people, the probability that you will be looking at her is very high.  I’m sure there’s a mathematical equation for this.  Let’s call it The Tara Theorem.  You can’t argue with math.

We had a blast playing dress-up, listening to music, eating junk food, and taking lots of photos.  Woo hoo!  Tara, you totally rocked the face off this shoot.

Here are some of the fruits of our saucy labor….

Tara easily picked up on the mood of these shots.  It’s rare when a photo turns out exactly how I imagine it in my head, but these are like someone stuck a USB port into my brain and hit the print button.

Enter, the jackalope.  We heart the jackalope.  We fear the jackalope.  We don’t recommend touching the jackalope with your bare hands.

Here are a couple “behind the scenes” shots.  This one I took using the reflection in the TV.  Can you tell which one is me and which one is Tara?  Hint, I’m the one who looks like a scuba diver.

Here’s Tara chillin’, with the ever fabulous Robin sayin’ hello.  Y’all hear a lot about Robin on my blog.  We second shoot with each other all the time, have weekly doggie play dates, and eat bagels together often.  She was such a huge help throughout the shoot.  She reads my mind before I do, and makes fun of me whenever possible.  “Hey Stacey, I think this shot needs to be more creepy”.  Did I mention she’s also the queen of sarcasm?

Tara may have the perfect profile.  Kinda not fair.

I adore this next series because it really demonstrates the light side of Tara’s personality.

In the words of the late, great Robert Palmer….”It’s closer to the truth to say you can’t get enough, you know you’re gonna have to face it, you’re addicted to love”.

Tara, thank you so much for being ridiculously awesome, patient and willing.  This actually isn’t the end to Tara’s photos.  We had a second shoot that day with our pal Perry, and they wanted a “tandem” session.  Their duo shoot and Perry’s images are coming soon….hooray!

I’ve photographed family portraits, engagements, and even weddings where people’s furry friends joined in the fun.  I LOVE capturing a few shots of my clients’ pets….especially when they tell me that it’s impossible to get a good photo of their little pal.  I like a challenge!  It was time for me to try my hand at a full-on doggie portrait session.  I knew my friend Stacy’s dog Maddie would be the perfect photo subject.  She’s calm, adorable, and really well-behaved.  Every time Maddie and Fletch play together, I hope that Fletch will learn by example.  Nope.  He can’t seem to shake his crazy puppy bad-boy status, even around a good influence.

I had such a blast taking these pics, and Maddie was an awesome fluffy model.  I’m glad we got some shots with Stacy too.  Seeing that bond between someone and their pet makes me so happy.  These were actually taken a couple months ago, and I finally pulled some up for the ol’ blog.  Yay!  I hope there will be many more photo shoots in my future with whiskers and wagging tails!!

We had to get a shot of Olive too!  Sorry Maddie.

Aw, so much puppy luvs!