Courtney Dellafiora » xocourtney.com
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This would be me, and two of my favorite people, Jos and Ali, dancing in the random countryside of Scotland on our journey through the UK and pretending we are Katy Perry. Ah, memories. As you have possibly heard me say before, it is so important to me as an artist to “paint” my own pieces from time to time. Do not get me wrong, I LOVE my clients and I adore photographing each one of them. But every now and then, I need to create something that is just for me. I am such a dreamer, always fantasizing things in my mind that I want to portray in images. Creating my own shoots also really helps me push myself to be better as an artist. And so I would like to share with you today, another piece of my heart. I have always loved the movie “Memoirs of a Geisha” and wanted to portray a geisha in boudoir form. I think geisha girls are so stunningly beautiful and completely intriguing. To be a geisha you had to be so feminine in every way. This inspires me so much as I constantly strive to be more feminine in everything I do. I believe as women we have an incredible gift of being able to be feminine and lovely. Not just with the way we look, but with the way we speak and carry ourselves. Inspiration to be feminine can come in many forms. And I was truly thrilled to display it through a boudoir geisha. I will be honest, this shoot made me so nervous. And I never get nervous for any shoot. But this one sort of scared me a little. It was completely out of my comfort zone. I just wanted so badly to be sure I portrayed a geisha properly and did this shoot justice. I can say with all of my heart, that I am SO SO SO proud of myself for this one. I am in love these photos. The shoot was so beautiful in every way. I truly felt a part of the Asian culture and completely forgot I was in America for the moment. It was as if we had sailed away to Japan for the day. I never wanted it to end. I couldn’t have created this without the help of Brandi, one of our stylists here at the studio. I asked her if she would be willing to also step out of her comfort zone a little in helping me create the “look” of a geisha girl. She agreed, and completely NAILED my vision with hair and makeup. I believe this shoot helped us both grow tremendously as artists and I am so grateful to have had Brandi be a part of this. I asked my friend Amy to model as our geisha girl. Words cannot ever express what an amazing job she did portraying a geisha. She was stunning. Not only how she looked, but how she moved and carried herself throughout the shoot. I am forever grateful to her for helping my dream come to life. Thank you to my amazing Deirdre for bringing us sushi for lunch and for all the wonderful behind the scenes things you do. We love you! Shoot styling: Courtney Dellafiora (me!) Hit play on this video to enjoy beautifully stunning music from Memoirs of a Geisha while you view the photos. : )
For as long as I can remember, I have been a dreamer. I day dream all the time. Even as a little girl I would stare out the window letting my imagination run crazy with beauty and love. It’s clear as can be God created me to be an artist as he has truly given me the wild imagination for it. Sometimes I like to share my imagination through my portraits and create pieces of art that mean so much to me deep inside of my heart. The shoot I am sharing with you today is so special to me. It’s a piece of my soul displayed through my camera. I asked my best friend D to model for me. I knew she would be the perfect image of grace and beauty that I was looking for. D is a woman of true beauty inside and out. She was able to portray exactly what I needed in order to tell this story. The whole shoot was styled and designed by me. I hope you love them as much as I do. D, I tell you this all of the time, but I truly am SO lucky to have you in my life. You are a beautiful daughter of God and I don’t know what I would do without you. ; ) Thank you for being you. muah. Hair: D
The two beautiful hairpieces below are from Jannie Baltzer. Jannie creates some of the most stunningly beautiful hairpieces I have ever seen! I was thrilled to have some of her work in my shoot.
Valentine’s Day, the day of LOVE. The holiday that celebrates the very thing that makes the world go round. I absolutely love this day – I am sucker for love and romance. I believe in it, I crave it. However, I also believe that love should be celebrated every single day of our lives. Not just with a significant other, but with everyone around you. Love is a beautiful thing, it’s something God made and he created us to want and need it. This day is amazing, and I love V-day… but it can be a really sad day for so many who don’t have a significant other. Constantly having it shoved in your face that you’re not getting a Valentine, or flowers, or chocolate on this day can be really depressing for some. Especially when you see everyone around you receiving flowers or special gifts and going on romantic dates. I thought today would be the perfect day to share something that is on my heart always. We all dream of feeling loved and appreciated. Most of us crave being in a relationship because God created us to want a partner in life. It’s completely normal and a very good thing. However, I too often see people in the wrong relationship out of desperation. So many are so afraid to be alone, that they will settle with whatever they can find, just to not feel lonely or unwanted. This ends up causing so many problems and sometimes can create consequences that are irreparable, life altering and sometimes devastating. Settling with the wrong person can cause heartbreaks that will last a lifetime. I’ve seen so many marriages fall apart because of couples getting married too quickly before taking the time to realize they weren’t right for each other in the first place. I’ve seen people have children with a person they didn’t really love… ultimately causing pain and unnecessary grief to a child. Desperation and impatience are two things that can cause unbearable pain and I am here to say it doesn’t have to be this way. It’s okay to be single. It’s okay to wait, search your heart, and be happy on your own. I don’t usually speak a lot about my personal life, but I am going to take this opportunity to share a little bit. I am currently single. 100% single. I get asked all of the time why I am not in a relationship, and the answer is very simple. I am waiting for the right one. Simple as that. There have been some amazing men come into my life that I could have chosen to enter a serious relationship with, the kind that would definitely lead to marriage. But in my heart, I knew they weren’t the right one. And I learned a long time ago to follow my heart. It has gotten me where I am today in life and has never let me down. I also learned a very long time ago to be happy on my own, without a partner. It was tricky to figure out at first, but when I finally got it, it was a like I had entered a whole new world. I have never looked back. When I finally realized I didn’t need someone to make me happy, it was like my eyes were seeing for the first time. I have never been happier. Placing my happiness in God and in myself has changed my life, and I have never been more satisfied. I know that when I do find the man for me, he will only add to my current happiness. I honestly love being single. Yes, I definitely look forward to the day I can be in a relationship with the man God has created for me. But for now, I am 100% content being on my own. I don’t dwell on the fact that I am alone… I don’t spend my days wishing I would find a guy. I spend every waking moment bettering my life, bettering my business, bettering myself. Instead of fretting over being alone, I spend my time preparing myself for the day God decides it’s time that that special man come into the picture. I want to be the very best woman I can be for my future husband. I want to be ready for him and I refuse to settle for anything less. I know in my heart, that God has a plan for me. I trust him and know that when it’s meant to happen, it will. There is absolutely no reason on earth that I should waste a single minute of my life wishing, waiting, being depressed, sad, mad, angry, or bitter. I am so blessed. I have SO much to be thankful for. I have honestly told God and myself a very long time ago, that even if I never find “him”, I will never be with someone who isn’t right, just to be with someone. I would rather be single the rest of my life than enter a relationship with the wrong person. Life is way too short for that. I only get one life and I want it to be the very best life I can make it. And I mean that with every bit of who I am. God has big plans for me and I refuse to screw it up by being impatient. I am telling you my story because I want you to understand that you can be happy alone. You don’t need a relationship to fulfill you. Ultimately only God can do that for you. He has proven this to me time and time again. He is the only one who has never let me down. His love fills my heart like none other. And he wants to do the same for you. Whether you are single or in a relationship, reach out to him for happiness. I promise if you just ask, he will fill your heart with his unfathomable love and peace. Be patient, be happy, trust God. He has a plan for you too. : ) Many XOs. Happy Valentine’s Day. |
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