30 and flirty and fabulous....well ok, nearly 33 - spoilsport!

I'm hugely into my history. I do victorian re-enactments and I love vintage styles. Being rather voluputous (yes that would be fat to the layman) I find that the styles of the 40's and 50's suit me far more than the modern 'fashions' of today and so I stick to them where I can.

I have always wanted to get some professional photo's taken of myself and back in April I decided to just go for it. I mean, I'm not getting any thinner, younger or perkier, so I figured it was now or never. I asked my vintage pals for their recommendations and booked a shoot. I booked it for the end of August, just before I went back to school and it seemed eons away. I thought I had loads of time to get my clothes and props together, but as life always does, it crept up on me faster than expected and before I knew it the big day had arrived.

So last wednesday at the ungodly hour of 4.45am, I dragged my half dead ass out of bed and into the shower. By 5.40 I had put petrol in the car and picked up my pal Jo, 30 mins later I had collected my sister and set the SatNav for Southend on Sea. Google maps had estimated a 2 hour travel time, but we managed it in an hour and a half and even had time to pop into Asda for a hot brekkie before arriving at the studio.

Thanks to both the SatNav and good directions from Terry Mendoza (the photographer) we found the studio easily and started unloading the car. By 8.30 am I was perched on my chair being ministered to by the hugely talented Hair & make-up artist I had booked. A mere two and a half hours later, I had completed my transformation from frumpy to fabulous and was ready for my close-up ;)

Now Terry had warned me that he doesn't like to bring friends into the studio itself, as he feels it makes his subjects more self-conscious. Despite this, I arrived with my entourage of my sister and my friend Jo. I needed my sister to help me in and out of my corsets and Jo was interested in having a shoot done herself and had come along to see how it went before making her final decision.

I went into the studio in my first (of about 6 or 7) outfits and Terry grudgingly (which is understandable) said that they could come in for one or two pics. He suggested a few warm-ups shots to loosen me up, but after all the pampering from the make-up artist and with the fabulous forties music playing in the background I was ready to pose for Britain. I danced and whirled and posed and played and within a few short minutes he stopped to ask me had I been practising for weeks as I was doing great. Funnily enough there was no more mention of making the girls leave the studio ;)

It really was the best experience and I urge everyone to give it a go. I came away hugely liberated and full of confidence. I (will) finally have good pictures of myself that I actually like and want to look at, as opposed to the usual 'Dear God, do I look like that?' photo's of the usual night out.

What can I say guys? I finally feel 30 and flirty and fabulous, so what if it's 3 years too late ;)

You can book your own exhilarating experience with Terry or just ogle the gorgeous pics on his website

http://www.retrophotostudio.co.uk/