One of my favourite shoots from 2012 was tribal fusion belly dancer Leah Debrincat, who I’d been wanting to shoot pretty much since I first saw her on stage at Proud Cabaret several years ago. With a diary more packed out than mine(!) finding a date that suited both was proving extremely difficult. However, one rare Wednesday afternoon we both managed to shuffle a few things around… 

Inspired by Klimt’s painting ‘The Kiss’, Leah had created a wonderful outfit in shades of gold, purple and browns that we decided would be the main focus of the shoot, so the first task was to find a suitable location to match the theme. Having set our hearts on a gold leafed wall, it was proving problematic to get access to one, with most venues refusing us entry. After a fruitless day of phone calls, I turned to good ol’ Twitter for help and within minutes, I was on the phone to Paradise By Way Of Kensal Green, confirming a day’s hire of the venue.

As well as a number of other wonderful rooms, Paradise By Way Of Kensal Green has a stunning distressed plaster room in hues of blue and golden brown – proving to be a much better fit for the shoot than our original plan. With two elegant chaises in the room as well, the location couldn’t have been any more perfect for us. Setting up in hair and make up, it was an absolute pleasure to be joined on set by incredible hair and make up artist Karen Yiu, whose previous client list includes the likes of Vogue and L’Oreal. Using gold leafing to make Leah’s eyes and lips pop, it complimented the outfit and accessories perfectly.

Using a mix of natural light and flash to balance out some of the blue hues bouncing off the walls, we utilised several corners of the room for the shoot, including a wall of mirrors and two fireplaces. The colours of the decor really complimented the tones in Leah’s outfit. These images were shot using a 50mm F1.8 lens.

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Inspired by Leah Debrincat? Book your very own boudoir shoot with me right now – you can find my boudoir photography packages here and then drop me an email with your preferred date. Let’s make this happen!

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