I had the pleasure of spending the afternoon with this beautiful woman the other day. When we were going through her outfits for the shoot, her American flag swimsuit caught my eye. It wasn't until I was editing that I realized Memorial Day was coming up. Sometimes things just happen perfectly. Summertime, here we come!
Before heading outside, we shot a few in her apartment. I love how these turned out. Hannah, you are so gorgeous. 
I have wanted to do a session like this for a while. I love the intimate moments and conversations that happen in the bedroom late at night or first thing in the morning, I call this special time Pillow Talk. It's when you and your lover are alone and free to share your dreams. It's where affection is over flowing. Even when you are far apart, you still want to touch feet or hands. It's where you are still a child and tickle each other until you cry. It's holding, kissing, touching, breathing, smelling, embracing, laughing, talking...it's love. Problems are solved and bonds are formed during this special time together.
I started a Pintrest board about 4 years ago to post intimate images of couples that moved me. Recently I posted on my Facebook page that I was looking for a couple that would be interested in setting up an intimate shoot inspired by my board. Ally responded immediately and I was thrilled. I had become friends with Aaron a little while back when I met him at a local eatery where he works. We connected via Facebook and Instagram so I had seen lots of photos of the couple together. I knew they would be perfect for this photo session. As soon as I arrived at their beautiful home that was overflowing with gorgeous natural light, we began the session. There was lots of kissing and nuzzling. Everything happened very naturally. These two are in love, the outpouring of emotion was beautiful. I am very grateful they allowed me experience and document a piece of it.
I first got to know Casey when we worked on this 70's inspired shoot a couple of years ago. We became instant friends. She is someone I consider to be a muse. Whenever we get together, ideas start flowing naturally. She is such a beautiful woman both inside and out. I am very lucky to have her in my life. She is going to be a wonderful, loving moma.
When Casey said she wanted me to shoot her maternity session I was very excited. We had been talking about doing a darker shoot for awhile. We used this as our opportunity to push ourselves in that direction. We came up with sexy, dark, powerful, images that I absolutely love. Casey is a goddess! I can't wait to meet her little peanut.
MUA: Christine Rice, Location: Mainstay Rock Bar, Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell, Hat: Miller Hats
It had been way too long since I had last updated my website. I have been in the process of rebuilding for years now. I would work on it for a few months then get busy and neglect it again. The company I used for my old website was great, but I needed something a little more user friendly when it comes to updates. A friend of mine turned me onto Squarespace. Once I started playing around with it, I knew I found my new platform. It is very easy to navigate and to update which is key for me. I feel like I am a pretty good photographer, but when it comes to web design I need things to be simple. I also need to throw a shout out to GoDaddy. I have been with them since I bought my first domain. Their customer service is out of this world. The representative sat on the phone with me for over an hour explaining SEO and other foreign web lingo to me. Im telling you, I am web illiterate, I feel like I have a basic understanding now. They also made the transition to a new site so easy.
With my new site I decided to have sections for all of my work, not just weddings. I have debated with myself over and over about having a seperate art site. Lately a lot of my wedding clients are mentioning some of the more artistic shoots I have done when discussing what they want for their wedding. I absolutely love that. I decided that all of my work represents me and my aesthetic, so why not just put it all out there.
I added an inspiration blog to my site called The Daily Dose. It is my little place on the web where I can share what inspires me. It's like a my virtual scrapbook. I hope you are able to find it inspiring as well. :) I am still using this blog to share all of the awesome weddings and photo sessions I shoot.
My new site still has the same web address as my old one www.nikitagrossphotography.com. I promise to update it often, so please stop by and say hello!
I am lucky girl to have so many amazing friends to create with. A few images from a shoot I did at my house with my beautiful friend Wednesday.
Torri, a friend of mine, took an amazing road trip to the notorious Burning Man festival with a group of friends last year. When she got back and told me all about it, I had this crazy idea of setting up a shoot inspired by the clothes she wore there. It was a ton of fun. I am so happy to finally have time to edit the images. Our friend Maggie did a fantastic job with Torri's hair and makeup.
First up is an image I shot and processed on my iPhone.
Jordan did a Boudoir session for her husband as a Christmas gift a little over a year ago. She had such an amazing time and her hubby loved it so much she decided to do it again! Her husband is in medical school in Arizona, she wanted to give him a special gift before she joins him later this month. Her last shoot took place in a lovely Bed&Breakfast. We wanted to change things up this time and decided to shoot outside. I would like to thank Jordan for allowing me to share her images with you today. Through our experiences of shooting together we have become good friends. Good luck with your new adventure Jordan, Im gonna miss my little British Bombshell! xx
I got to work with an awesome creative team on this shoot. Thanks to Shane Weber for the fabulous color and styling of Jordan's hair and Christine Rice for glamming her up with gorgeous makeup.
See Jordan's first Boudoir session here and a session I did for her and her hubby Kent here. 
A crazy, psychedelic, rock and roll, fantasy dream is the best way I can describe this kick-ass shoot I had with my good friend/model Casey and her amazing and talented make up artist Christine Rice. Inspired by 60's and 70's music and the feel of old album covers, I wanted this shoot to be wild and hot. Casey was so awesome! She got my vision completely and dug out some amazing pieces from her own wardrobe.
See the 70's inspired wedding shoot I did with Casey a few months ago here.
We started the day out in my car jamming The Doors which inspired a heated discussion between the three of us about how hot Jim Morrison was. After about a 20 minute ride we arrived at the location I picked out for the shoot, a field of wild flowers in KY, my favorite place to be. He we are, 3 girls on a long gravel road in the middle of nowhere, clothes and cameras everywhere, Casey half naked and here come the police. Shit! You should have seen the look on their faces, priceless. :) Thanks to Casey's power of seduction they were super cool about letting us stay and shoot. How could they say no, right?
We gathered our thoughts and gear and ran into the middle of this amazing field squealing and laughing like little girls. We were all so excited. We set up this shoot for nothing but fun and that is exactly what it was. The sun was low and gorgeous. Casey had a cocktail and was ready to party. Christine was beside me holding my cameras(thanks Christine) and making sure Casey looked amazing. I was just trying to take it all in without losing my mind. We lost a camera (which we later found), a cup of vodka, and a pair of killer sunglasses. We were covered in bug bites and burs.
Inspiration was running so thick I had to remind myself to breathe. There is a point in my creative process where I sorta loose control. I love when it happens. I let go of fear and things begin to happen naturally, it's freedom. Casey totally inspired me to push myself farther that I could have imagined with these. She became my muse and we fed off of each other instinctively. Over exposed, under exposed, out of focus, smokey sun flare, it was magic I tell you, magic.
****this post contains some artistic nudity, Casey's cool with it, I am cool with it, but If you are not cool with it you might want to turn around now****
There is a very lucky man who is going to be extra surprised when he gets his gift this Christmas.
Thanks for letting me share these J.
Simply gorgeous.
Whenever I mention one of my boudoir sessions I always get a few people who tell me how much they would love to do it, but they don't have the nerve. I want to share a little of what my experience shooting boudoir has showed me and prove to you that boudoir is for everyone. I can promise that you will not only love your pictures, but you will also feel pretty awesome afterward.
When a client first walks in they are almost always nervous, heck I would be too. You don't really know what to expect, and even if you did, it is still a little scary taking off your clothes in front of someone you barely know. Something I feel really helps build up those nerves is feel getting your hair and makeup done professionally. It will make you feel hot and confident. Brittany from Cloud 9 salon does a wonderful job.
Every girl has her own special curves so make sure to choose outfits that make you feel beautiful. Don't worry about those 10 pounds you have been trying to loose. It is amazing how the right light and pose can instantly take off those pounds. We all have something about our bodies that we don't like. The idea is to enhance the features we love and to mask those we don't. That can be as simple as a turn of the hips. Don't focus on what you consider to be your flaws. Instead trust that your photographer has your best looks in mind and let me do my magic.
It usually takes about 15 minutes to get past the butterflies and start rocking your session. The following images are from a client a photographed a couple of weeks ago. She was a little nervous at first, but she trusted that I would make her look beautiful and together we made some gorgeous images. She did the session as a birthday gift to her man. This was a little note I got from her afterward...
That makes my day! I love that I have a job that has the power to make people feel so good about themselves. :)
E thank you so much for allowing me to share your beautiful images! :)
