Foxy Pinups Perfected: Highlighting The Eyes with Lighting

I'm starting a Saturday series of blog posts and I am SUPER excited about it. 

(You all know me though-it doesn't take too much to get me excited!!!) 

I'm calling it "Foxy Pinups Pefected" and each blog will talk about things to look for when choosing, and also photographing, beautiful pinup models.

Without further adu... Blog Number 1, Commence!

If you guys were nerdy like me in high school and drew cartoon characters all over your Lisa Frank spirals, then bare with me! In those cartoon drawings, I would always draw in a little white bubble or two in the eyeballs. I'm sure you guys drew it too without even realizing it! You were drawing one of the most essential tools in highlighting your subject's eyes; a catch light. 

Wikipedia define's Catchlight or catch light as:

a light source that causes a specular highlight in a subject's eye in an image.^[1] They are also referred to as eye lights or Obies, the latter a reference to Merle Oberon, who was frequently lit using this technique. 

With pinup photography, because of the style you're emulating, you always want to have catch lights present and reflected in your subject's eyes. This adds dimension and depth to the eye and also let's you know that the lighting is correct on your subject's face. I went ahead and pointed out the catch light below in the gorgeous Laura's eyes.

To make sure a catch light is present in your subject's eyes, look to your light source. Here in our studio, our fill light is named "Phil" and we use him for catch lights in our Foxy Pinup girl's eyes. We have Phil located off to the right and slightly behind the photographer. 

When shooting your subject, be aware of where your fill light is in regards to their eyes. Always be thinking about your subject's brow and eye shape. Someone with deep set eyes will need the fill to be more centered behind the photographer and their chins lifted slightly higher to get that same catch light effect rather than someone with wide set eyes or almond shaped eyes. 

To me, having catch lights present in Pinup Photographs separates the professionals from amateurs.

When your subject doesn't have light reflected back in her eyes you have....

SHARK EYES!!!!! NOOOOOOO!!!!

Have no fear! Now that you know about catch lights you can:

1. As a pinup photographer, figure out how to make catch lights work for your images

2. As a client, choose a pinup photographer that understand this concept.

Toodles!


love,

h i l a r y h o p e 

Our Foxy Pinup Giveway Winners | Kansas City Pinup & Boudoir Photographer

We had a lot of entries into our Foxy Pinup Session Giveaway in December, and I read a lot of entries that were just fantastic! Seriously, it's so great to hear about strong women in our society-ones that show courage in the face of adversity. It was our mission to give a special woman, one who had an especially hard year but kept pushing forward, and her best friend a great session full of Foxy Pinup pampering for free! The winners of our Foxy Pinup Session Giveaway were Brandi and Stefanie!

Brandi was nominated by Stefanie and her entry was very moving. Brandi lost her fiance last year in a work related accident and Stefanie is the one who introduced them. After meeting Brandi, I can easily see why Stefanie nominated her. Brandi is so upbeat and FUN!! She had a smile on her face from the moment she walked through our doors. What a sweetheart! And by the way, Stefanie is totally kick-butt as well! Aside from her sweet attitude, she is in the military! Thank you for your service, Stefanie!

Brandi and Stefanie both participate in the Polar Plunge. This is the event in which awesomely brave people dive into FREEZING cold water to help raise money for special olympics. (Cold water frightens me, haha...but seriously). Brandi also helps organize Relay for Life-one of the organizations I love-that raises and donates money to the American Cancer Society.

I speak for both Amanda and I when I say that it was an honor to have met you both! Thank you for letting us capture a little of who you both are, and for being an inspiration to women everywhere! You girls rock!

Love,

h i l a r y h o p e

Foxy Pinups On Groupon! | Pinup Boudoir Photographer Kansas City, Missouri

Here is a little mood music... :) 

This is a One Day Deal through Groupon! It's insane-82% off the Foxy Pinup Package with an additional 3 airbrushed images on DVD. This will never happen again, and it's only available to you tomorrow!


Check out our Groupon Here!

Questions: Let us help!

What is a Foxy Pinup Session?

A Foxy Pinup Session is a photo shoot that evokes your inner diva! It's totally sexy, completely vintage, and simply the bee's knees!

What happens during your shoot?

You are totally pampered! Our hairdresser Amanda works with you to figure out your perfect pinup hairstyle. When your hair is finished, a vintage makeup look is applied. Then you get to raid our closet! We have tons of dresses, skirts, shoes, and sexy little things to choose from. After you've put your outfit on, we put you infront of the mirror for the big reveal. There you are-a sexy blast from the past! When you're ready for your close up, Hilary gives it to you. You receive pinup coaching with each pose and you get to release your inner vixen for the camera!

How does Hilary edit these foxy photos?

Hilary works tirelessly on your perfection. Your pictures are airbrushed with gentle cellulite removal while keeping your original body shape. You pick the photos to edit and you're in complete control of what is edited away or put in. The pictures will definitely be you at your very best. The celebrities get this treatment and Hilary is determined for you to get it too!

What products are available exclusively for our Pinup Gals?

On top of amazing photo prints, we offer our pinup girls vintage 12 month (13 photo) pin-up calendars! Each one is customized completely for you! We also offer Little Black Books and Albums, to keep for yourself or to share with your special someone.

If you have any additional questions, please dont hesitate to ask! 

Lots of Love,

Hilary Hope 
708.498.HOPE

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Foxy Pinup Sessions | Chicagoland Pinup + Boudoir Photographer

I am so excited to announce that Hilary Hope Photography will be in the Chicagoland area from August 1st through August 7th! AND I am taking Foxy Pinup Appointments! :D

My pinup appointment times are very limited. I'm not kidding. I'm already booked for other sessions that week, but I know so many people in the Chicagoland area that want to do pinups, I thought we could squeeze in a few! I don't know when the next time will be that I will be in Chicago, so if you've been waiting for me to come in to do your pinup session, this is your moment! Call me or email me as soon as possible to book your date and time slot. As always, you can reach me at hilary@hilaryhopephoto.com or (708) 498-HOPE.

I'm so excited I can hardly wait! Check out the flyer for more details and I will see you later, beautiful!

Lots of Love,

h i l a r y  h o p e 

1st Post | Kansas City Photographer | Hilary Hope Photography

Hello great big internet world! It's me, Hilary! I'm so happy to be here. :)


It's my first blog post on the Hilary Hope Photography blog and I couldn't be more happy to share it with you. In honor of our amazing blog launch, I'm doing something special! An amazing 30% off coupon code which you can use on either a session or photo order. Here is a little bit more about that deal:

I'm so excited about having a photography blog! I know-that sounds really nerdy-but I am totally stoked! I can't wait to upload sneak peaks of all my photo sessions here. It's going to be fantastic. Well, aside from my excitement, and because this is my first blog post, I think I will tell you a little bit about me! 


My full name is Hilary Hope Bloomquist.  I'm 23 and am deeply in love with my husband, Alan and my amazing floppy-eared basset hound, Harley! I'm the oldest of four kids and am extremely passionate in absolutely everything I do. I love being with people and butter pecan ice cream, and playing my guitar on Sunday afternoons.


Alan, Harley and I moved to Kansas City about 2 months ago, and we are loving it! We set up shop here in Dutch Hill/Longfellow-a fantastic neighborhood in downtown Kansas City next to the Crown Center. I love waking up to the sounds of the city. I think that might have to do with me being a Chicago native. (Go Hawks!-I'm a huge hockey fan). 


I love dresses and am a huge endorser of vintage styles. You may have gathered that from the HHP pinup gallery, but incase you didn't, I would have loved to have been around in the 40's & 50's. Something about it seems so cinematic to me. I am so pleased to bring a little slice of that glamour to my pinup clients-who also happen to be the most beautiful girls in the world!

I don't think it's possible for me to love photography any more than I do, but every day I find myself falling more in love with the amazingness of recording life in photographs. My favorite thing to shoot (besides weddings, pinups and all the wonderful life moments of my fantastic clients) is my little sister, Madalyn. She was my first model at age 0, and I just love her to pieces! She also does a magnificent "blue steel"...haha. 

A lot of people tell me when they first meet me that they feel like they've known me forever. I'm not sure why that is, but I thought it might be worth mentioning. My mom tells me all the time how I have "an old soul." That's a pretty great compliment from my mom I think-but it also would probably explain why everyone has thought I've been 25 for the past ten years, haha. 


That's a good chunk about myself. I'm not really used to writing exclusively about me, but since this is the first post and you might not know me yet, I figure this is a good start! I can't wait to get to know you better.


Lots of Love,


h i l a r y  h o p e