My beautiful wife has been my model and photographic inspiration since before we were married. I met and married her while she was still a young, barefoot Southern Belle, and I'm sure that's what got me started shooting what I like to call "Barefoot Glamour." I have some specific criteria for this style of photography. I define Barefoot Glamour as photographic imagery containing several essential elements: a girl-next-door look, casual clothing, an outdoor setting, and, of course, bare feet - though, I do find sandals acceptable as well. For me, another distiquishing element of Barefoot Glamour is that it is a planned photo shoot and not just a casual snapshot or image from another event.
That last criteria has developed over the years and wasn't an essential element. We often had to do our photography as an adjunct to our other outings, but my wife always ensured that I was able to get my photography done as well, and posed for me in many different and sexy outfits purchased specifically for those infrequent, but very special, photo opportunities.
I've done these "Barefoot Glamour" shoots with her in many different locales, such as Connecticut, Upstate New York (see the photo above), South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Idaho, Oregon, California and so many, many more places. In fact, we've often planned road trips with a theme based at least partially on this concept, and we still do so.
The photo to the right was taken in Tioga Pass in the mountains of California. We stopped for landscape photography, but managed to get in a little glamour photography as well. There were other traveler's present at the stream, so we weren't able to shoot our normal style, but there were other streams and lakes along the way where we did do more glamour nude style shots.
Water goes very well with Barefoot Glamour, and I often use a stream or other body of water to complement the shoot. It provides a good reason for the skimpy attire and the bare feet, but also, I just like shooting beautiful women in water.
Many of our photography friends know of my penchant for beautiful women and bodies of water, and a few of them have shown me some great spots for shooting. The image to the left was taken in the Pinochet National Forest which is full of great streams and other bodies of water. We spent an entire afternoon shooting at this spot a few summers ago, and I'd certainly like to go back there for a future shoot - I just need to find the spot again. We've also shot in several streams and waterfalls near Mount St. Helens, a gorgeous area in which to shoot, even in the desolate lahar area. We're hoping to get back to the Mount St. Helens area this summer for more exploration and hiking, and maybe even a little camping.
I'll leave you with an image from a road trip we made in 1999. We made this trip simply to explore the wonderful Oregon coastal areas and we found this place by simply following the signs to Cape Mears. The beach area is beautiful and full of huge driftwood logs and stumps that are great props for glamour photography.
