Sweden is one of my favourite places in the world for several reasons. The first is the quality of light they get out there. I spent 3 days basking in glorious golden October sunlight in Stockholm a few years ago on a work trip that still comes up in conversation regularly (photographers and light… I’m such a cliche!). The second is the food – they cater for dietary requirements SO well out there – and the third is how nice Swedish people are! When Miss Victory Violet mentioned she’d be going out to Gothenburg for some vintage hair workshops in March, I jumped at the chance of adding on a boudoir makeover day and exploring another part of the country.

The makeover days took place in Hotel Pigalle, a decadent, no-expense-spared boutique hotel right in the heart of Gothenburg. From textured wallpapers and dripping candle holders, to Louboutins in Beauty and the Beast inspired bell jars and erotically charged movie quotes playing on each floor of the lift, each room boasted beautifully bespoke decor that has us both wishing we could stay forever! We were staying in room 325, a pink themed room with vintage accents and lots of gorgeous little details that made each nook of the room shoot worthy. It was also a great size for us to host a boudoir shoot in without Miss Victory Violet and I stepping on each others toes!

Over the two days, we were joined by 6 beautiful clients from all over Sweden and Norway. Styled to perfection by Miss Victory Violet, they were then photographed by me using a mix of ambient light mixed in with some additional continuous light from the Elinchrom D-Lite RX ONE heads I had brought with me for the trip, kindly provided by The Flash Centre. It was a fun challenge working with these lights as I’m used to the daylight balanced modelling lamp of the ELB 400’s, but the warmer glow worked really well with the ambient lighting of the room.

Of course, it wouldn’t have been right to make the trip without sneaking in a little shoot of our own, so after all our clients had left Miss Victory Violet pulled out a What Katie Did lingerie set and an Orchard Corset underbust to shoot. I’ll be posting more of these on the blog at a later date, but there’s a sneak peek above! In the meantime, here are some of my favourite clients shots from the day.

If you’re ever visiting Gothenburg, I can whole-heartedly recommend Hotel Pigalle. The rooms are exquisite, the beds are super comfy and the breakfast is so good its a life experience in itself! You can find out more about Hotel Pigalle here. And watch this space for announcements on where we are heading to next. Miss Victory Violet and I have more European cities in the works before the year is up…

Josie Windflower © Tigz Rice 2018.

Georgie Glamour © Tigz Rice 2018.

Johanna Svensson © Tigz Rice 2018.

Vintage Corner Nu © Tigz Rice 2018.

Mimi Le Rouge © Tigz Rice 2018.