Life Imitates Art!

Oscar Wilde wrote in his 1889 essay The Decay of Lying that “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life”. I find this to be true, don’t you?

This quote spoke to me as I was going through my photo archives and came across some similarities. Back in the day, Mistress J had thoughts of studying art history and becoming a museum curator. However, her passion for the camera was stronger for her passion for art history, and, shall we say, the rest is history? But I digress, I know you want to look at my photos!

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Grande Odalisque by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres.

I always had a thing for neoclassic paintings depicting women in Turkish baths surrounded by servants. Looking back, I think the appeal was the masked eroticism. I remember seeing this painting in an art history class and it stood out in my memory.  This painting, Grand Odalisque by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres is mysterious and erotic, tempting yet subtle. The woman, a slave seems in control of herself, yet historically speaking, had a very low social standing. I love the colors, the muted beauty, and her lovely white skin.

Now look at this photo I took of the lovely Theresa Because (http://www.becausewhyart.com). ImNude woman by Mistress J StudiosDuring the session she relaxed on the chaise and turned her back to me. Something in her pose spoke to me and I handed her the fan and I did several shots evoking this painting. Is it an exact replica? No. But you can see the inspiration can you not? Maybe we can call this one the Kinky Concubine. Back in the day, an odalık rose to a concubine if she slept with the sultan. The talented Shots did the rope work.

I love creating mysterious, sensual, thought provoking images. I have been known to hide my subject’s face, or have them point off screen. I am influenced by romance, impressionism, and of course pain and desire.

I created this photo during a recent session. As the session unfolded, my client placed himself on the chaise and turned his back to me. I must find the rear ends of people to be very inspiring, because something about his Nude man by Mistress J Studiosbackside spoke to me.

This image is different than the other two because this one shows his vulnerability. We don’t often see the softer side of a man, but in a photo session, I often do, and like it. The other pictures showed the women accepting calm about their sexuality, or what might happen next. This one shows emotion. Is he afraid, hurt or just tired? Hard to say. But the Ingres influence is pretty strong. It will be interesting to see how often this painting influences my other sessions.

I love to make sexual, sensual photos of the human form and would love to work with you in unleashing your inner odalisque whether you are a man or a woman.

Intrigued? Contact me. My email is Mistressjstudios@gmail.com.  I am in San Jose, California.

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Mistress J Gives Thanks!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and the year is winding down to a close. I thought I would dedicate this blog to some of the things I am thankful for.

The first and most important is my health. I am very thankful to be healthy! I am able to do two of the things I love to do, take photographs and run.

On Sunday, I participated in the Big Sur Half Marathon and set a new personal record. I did this as part of an amazing fundraising organization Team in Training and I raised $2150 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I received many donations from the “alternative” community and I want to publicly thank everyone who supported me.

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Nude male by Mistress J photography

I am also thankful the universe has guided my passion of photography to work with one of my favorite subjects, men! I love the male body and feel fortunate that I get to document the exciting sinews of the submissive male.

I like what I do, and am looking forward to the upcoming months to get my kink on! I hope you get yours on too. Let me photograph your secret passion. I promise, it will only hurt if you want it to.

 

Intrigued? Contact me. My email is Mistressjstudios@gmail.com.  I am in San Jose, California.

 

About Mistress J

 

Genderbending and Heteroflexibility

Women have been given the permission to allow their sexuality to be more fluid. We are given the permission at a young age to brush each others hair, sit close and  it is always permissible for two women to sleep in a bed together, in a non-sexual context without any type of questioning of their sexual preference. It is also acceptable for women to wear pants. It is hard to believe this was not socially acceptable not that long ago.

Men don’t have it so easy of course. They must keep their sexuality in check. It seems society makes it so they can either be gay or straight, with no in between. These past few months, I have had the opportunity to have some frank and intense discussions with a few gentlemen on the topic of what heteroflexibility means to them and their sexuality. The discussions were incredibly varied, detailed and passionate.

The gentlemen in question all agreed to being curious to exploring their curiosity under the loving  guidance of a Mistress (me). But that is another blog post.

Today, I am going to discuss a photo session I had with a man named Moe. Moe is what many consider a man’s man. Rugged, sun kissed and manly, this country boy cowboy on occasion flirts with his feminine side.  Moe is successful in business, a caretaker of his aging mother and horse trainer. He also has an affinity for women’s clothing. He likes to flirt, hide his male parts and express himself in ways one might consider feminine.

This of course must be done in private, which is why he came to me. He does have a bit of an exhibitionist streak, and allowed me to use his photos. So it is an interesting dichotomy.  Compare these two images. The first he presents himself as a confident man. The gaze is straight on, looking at me (my camera) boldly in the eye. His legs are open and his manhood exposed. To me, his body language and gaze are inviting the viewer in for sexual contact. Per my customer request, I have blocked out his manly bits.

The second image shows him to be more vulnerable.  His pose is demure submissive, feminine. Men are not supposed to hide their genitals. The other half of the population suffers from penis envy, so expose your junk man and be proud of it! Is he ashamed? Maybe. The pink backdrop was deliberately  selected for this shoot, after all real me don’t like pink.

Moe then brought out his lady garments and I helped him become one of his favorite alter egos “Goth Girl”.  Hose, corset, dress, veil and a quick application of makeup transformed him. It does not matter if he can pass for a girl. That is not his objective. Moe wanted a safe place to document his other side. My studio provided that.

In my upcoming blog posts you will see a reoccurring statement from me. Mistress J studios is a sex positive studio. My studio is a safe place and create art of a sensual nature so my clients can expose a piece of themselves that may remain hidden most of the time. I take pride in producing high quality photography. Every session is custom designed for each client. During a session you receive from me my undivided attention, my time and talent and commitment in making your photographic and artistic yearnings come to creation.

 

Intrigued? Contact me. My email is Mistressjstudios@gmail.com.  I am in San Jose, California.

About Mistress J

The Male Submissive and the Photographer

The male submissive. Does that sentence conjure up images of wimpy men brow beaten by a shameless shrew of a wife? Media images of the submissive man have shown the man to be much smaller in stature, Imagesuper thin weak and almost effeminate compared to his large bossy and brash wife. But is this true?

No.

In my experience, the male submissive is complex. Often he is very successful and could be considered Alpha in many respects. If traditionally the male is told he is the leader, to be dominant, why would a man go against convention and submit to a woman? This goes against biblical writings and preaching and shatters the foundation of traditional family. Why would a man want to do this?

The answer is as complex as the man himself and cannot be answered in a single blog post.

I will tell you of MY experiences as a FemDom, as Mistress J, erotic photographer. I think it comes down to yearning. For whatever reasons, when we reach adulthood and start experiencing sex there are deeply ingrained desires we often ignore or don’t understand.  Some have the need to serve or to be controlled or bullied. Some are either born naturally submissive or an event triggered this desire.  The reasons are as varied as there are people on this earth.

As Mistress J, my clients come to me in search of a release. I call myself a “Keeper of Secrets.” My clients have shared with me sides to themselves their wives, friends, coworkers do not know, and they trust me. They come with a pent up desire to communicate something to someone who will understand. Perhaps to even feel desirable, if only for an hour.

Others have come with a curiosity of what a Domme and BDSM is like. An erotic photoImage session is a unique way to get introduced to this kinky world.

Based on the D/s dynamic the photographer controls the scene and works within the subjects limits, pushing extracting, pulling. Negotiations always take place before the scene, I give aftercare, and touch base a day after to check in. This is all done under my loving female authority.

For me, as the photographer, I do get a feeling of power having my male subject reveal himself before me. I enjoy pushing him. It is a difficult thing to literally and figuratively undress before a camera. I enjoy watching the layers unfold. I often get a sexual charge, and combined with my feeling of power and control I feel my FemDom emerge.

As an artist, photography has been my way of expressing myself. I have allowed my camera to speak for me for over 15 years giving voice to my beliefs. I have been an activist, philanthropist, anthropologist and journalist all behind my lens. I have felt that taking a portrait has always been more than just capturing what someone looks like. As Mistress J came into being, it was a natural progression for me to seek out the submissive male and dominate him with my camera.

Intrigued? Call me.

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The Male Body as Art

Mistress J is back after a rather long break from blogging! My sincere apologies. I have missed sharing my thoughts and am glad to be back in the internet saddle.

My website is currently down and I am focusing on the nude male, the male submissive and gender bending. I always welcome kinksters and naImageughty couples. So come on in, the water is warm!

As a super sensual FemDom, I love the beauty of the male body, and am making it my mission to create super sexy images of the opposite sex. On a personal note, I enjoy showing a bit of male vulnerability, exposing a piece that men are told by society they can’t show. 

Take this lovely image. To me it says many things. He is sitting in repose, contemplating. What is he thinking? His posture is protective. I chose to turn this into brown and white, adding to the mystery. Yet, we can still admire his sexy chest and powerful legs.

I love doing full body nudes and male erotica. I just don’t post them on my blog!

So give Mistress a call, she is waiting…

Mistress J Meets a Legend

As much as I love being the photographer, it’s definitely fun to be the model once in a while! Last fall I had the pleasure of being photographed by erotic photo legend Charles Gatewood.

I met Charles nearly 20 years ago while in college and covering the Folsom Street Fair for a school assignment. He noticed me stalking people with my eyes and could tell I was a photographer. He showed me some of his photos that were on display, and at the time I was rather shocked by the content. Although he offered me the opportunity to work with him, at that point I was in no way ready to work with an erotic photographer; attending the Folsom Street Fair was already stepping outside my comfort zone and putting me in an environment that was shocking to me! Over the years I remembered his name. Every once in a while I would look him up, see his erotic books and make sure he was still around.

Fast forward to the present. I became Mistress J and one night, while poking around on the Internet, I decided to send an email to the great man himself. I was extremely excited he answered me the next day! Charles is a sweet man who has led a very interesting life. He is very open to sharing his experiences, and is always looking for more adventures.

After emailing back and forth and meeting in person, I made it up to Charles’ beautiful apartment with a fabulous view of the bay. He lives on the 3rd floor, and when you enter you see three huge canvases of his iconic black and white images, including a few of rock legends Bob Dylan (one of my favorites – it was thrilling to hear his story of photographing him in the early days!) and Rod Stewart, in addition to those of a more graphic nature. Charles Gatewood’s collection of work is a timeline of our culture.

After a long chat, we did my photo session. Charles loves natural light; he has a large sliding glass door he uses in addition to a white backdrop and a cream colored chair, which really made my red outfit pop. It reminded me again that I love being in front of the camera as much as I like being behind it.

It was a lot of fun being photographed by a famous photographer. I recognize the gift I was given and will always remember the experience. A big thank you to Charles for taking the time to share your stories and talent with me!

Sexy Screen Siren Heats Up Mistress J’s Studio!

Cuffs or crop?

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of photographing scream queen Debra Lamb in my Nude photo by Mistress J Studiosbeautiful Sunnyvale studio. Debra and I have similar artistic visions, and she chose Mistress J Studios because I specialize in high quality sexy and erotic photography.

.One of my favorite things about working with Debra is she knows her angles, how to move, and can immediately get back into a pose if she has to stop. That is the main difference between working with a professional actress and a non actor. Knowing the angles and poses helps so much.

Debra also isn’t shy at all! She is willing to try anything, bare it all and have a good time.

Debbie Does Dommina

She is also incredibly flexible and supple.

I hope you just take a moment to enjoy these photographs of a beautiful and talented woman.

If you want sexy nude, fetish, kink or boudoir photography, visit Mistress J Studios. I have a large private and beautiful studio in Sunnyvale. I can take care of all of your photographic needs.

Until later,

Mistress J

 


I have a flogger and know how to use it!

Nude photos by Mistress J Studios

Mistress J Loves Men!

Mistress is mad.

I have been looking at many other kink photographer’s work and while beautiful, the focus is usually women. I enjoy the female form as much as the next Domme, but the male body rocks too. I am on a mission to end this imbalance of representation! My goal for 2011 is to get an exhibit going featuring the gorgeous male body nude and in various kinky ways.

I love the strength of a man’s arms and shoulders and the way the masculine contours

Mistress J photographing the male form

Mistress J loves strong shoulders!

absorb the light and shadows. The male form begs to be photographed in black and white. Look at this photo on the right. Don’t you want to run your hands across his strong, wide shoulders, down his arms, up again and down his back? I do.

I also think the male body lends itself to more mystery then a woman’s. Perhaps

What is under the blanket?

I am just partial. I love the combination of strength and sensuality, and at times even a little vulnerable. Since photography is composed of contradictions, light and dark the male physique is contradictory too. It is both hard and soft. Smooth and rough.

So, as I end my post on the beauty of the male form. Think of ways you would want to see Mistress J photograph various male subjects. Comment on this blog or email me at mistressjstudios@gmail.com. I’d love to hear your thoughts and get a dialogue going.

-Mistress J

 

Pole Dancing as Exercise!

Mistress J had a fun experience at Sedusa Studios in Campbell when I did a pole dancing session with the girls! You wouldn’t think that pole dancing was a good workout but after doing it for awhile, it drains you out! Being able to do this was an empowering. I feel like I could roar!

It is an artistic performance as well. You create a sensual experience as your body twists and turns around the pole. As you grow further into the performance, the energy around you heightens and you feel as if you can fly.

Of course after the session of pole dancing,  I needed a drink. So I got a Lemon drop at Dell Saloon (www.thegranddell.com/) which was completely amazing! Yum!

While enjoying our drinks, my friend brought out her whip from Bliss Connection which got a lot of the attention!! As my friend Chrystal says, no girl ever has to buy a drink while carrying a whip.

It was an remarkable experience and I suggest everyone try this. You can even do a photo shot while doing pole dancing in my beautiful Sunnyvale studio! Contact me today to set up a photo shoot! Mistress J of Mistress J Studios specializes in all kinds of sexy shoots.

 

A recent session

Mistress had a call from a man who wanted nude photographs of himself. We arranged a date and time and he showed up promptly, which Mistress likes.

I take the sessions very seriously and care for the satisfaction of my clients. I could tell he male nude by Mistress Jwas a little nervous, despite a few email and phone conversations. I think many people, male or female might experience a little shame or embarrassment in wanting to have an erotic or nude photograph taken.

I think the reasons for this are many. The first being societal pressure. Then the other questions come up. Why would someone want to do this? Should I spend the money? Would my spouse disapprove? Am I too kinky? What is wrong with me?

Nothing is wrong. The human body is beautiful. We are sensual people, and we all deserve to feel beautiful and sexy, even just for a few minutes. Here at Mistress J Studios, that’s what I do. I photograph your sexiness. You can exhibit your kinks and fetishes (just no kids or animals), dress up or dress down and let your inner light shine.

Many people only show one face to the world, and keep the other one hidden. Show it to me. Share it, and in return you will have beautiful, tastefully done photographs to remember your experience in my studio.

Call for your session today. 408-239-6033. My website is always up and ready for visitors.