Meet the JVZ Team! 

When you book a session with Jezebel VonZephyr, we want you to come to it feeling excited. We know that boudoir shoots can feel scary, so we’ll do everything we can to make you feel safe, seen, and comfortable. Because we’ll be getting to know you at your session, we want you to get to know the JVZ team!

SARA, OWNER & FOUNDER

Who are you? My name is Sara James Williams and I have been in love with photography since I was about 10 years old. I enjoy capturing all kinds of things in my camera from pets to nature to landscapes to kiddos, but my absolute favorite thing to witness is a woman owning her body.

Nothing lights my soul on fire more than watching another woman walk into her power, hug her body tightly and claim it as her own.

Once she’s done that, she can do anything. I’ve seen women with PhDs who can’t love their fat or their wrinkles but forget the meals with family and the laughter with friends that brought them those things. I was raised by a strong feminist woman and it’s no surprise I became one myself. 

How long have you been a part of the Jezebel team? And what do you do? I started the Jezebel team! I am the owner and founder and photographer. I started Jezebel 10 years ago–her birthday is July 25th! That was the date I registered the domain, officially walked out of corporate America and started living by my own heartbeat. I have always loved the name Jezebel. I like the saucy and snarky implications of the name – the sexual freedom and expression of self. The way it just sizzles on your tongue as you say it. It’s a bit naughty and a lot powerful. It says something. I knew immediately after I decided to open a boudoir studio that I wanted “Jezebel” in the name. VonZephyr came later through a Google name generator and many hours of hitting “next name” and making a list of those parts of names we liked and ditching what we didn’t. In the end we were left with Jezebel VonZephyr and I love that “she” feels separate from me, from all of us, like she’s her own person—the beauty and the brawn. 

Do you have a favorite JVZ shoot look or outfit? Or outfits?  I always enjoy the things we create for team sessions. We tend to go a little extra because IF we screw it up and it’s awful it’s just us and we can always do it over. I loved my GISH set from last year…my stuffies, my sequin top and the sequin “funderwear” I had to make for the task. GISH is the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt and we’ve been doing this now every summer with 100,000 other weirdos in over 100 other countries. My set also has my sock monkey hat and I love it! 

OMG and my gnome set! It’s just campy and cute and fun and I love it! 

What advice do you have for anyone coming in for their first shoot? 

It will change your life if you let it. 

I can’t stress this enough. It’s the absolute truth and it’s not just me giving lip service because I want people to come in. I want an army of women so strong, so powerful, so educated, that no diet culture, no rape culture, no “blow me for a job” culture, no domestic violence culture, no oppressive fuckery will ever stop them. I want women to see that garbage and say “no thank you, next” until it’s washed from the earth. 

What’s your favorite snack? Ice cream. Almost all kinds but my absolute favorites are Birthday Cake Remix from Coldstone, or Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough from Ben & Jerrys or Dryers Rocky Road. That Rocky Road has been impossible for me to find since before COVID though. It’s the best one because it has chocolate covered peanuts mixed in and for whatever reason the other brands don’t. Ice cream is a major food group.

Desert island question: what three things would you absolutely need to have with you if you were stuck on a deserted island? My first instinct is a full bookshelf of “To Be Read” books I have hand selected. That’s one item right? Presuming I have food and water and ya know, life managed….I would also need my record player and all my records. I’m guessing people and pets are off the list so my final thing would be Robin Williams as genie in a lamp. That should just about cover it.

If you could have any animal as a pet what would you have? I have two amazing Bernese Mountain Dogs and they were the type of dog I dreamed of as a child. To have that dream fulfilled and have them be really amazing dogs is such a blessing. Aside from them, I need a Wooly Mammoth. Snuggly, tough, transport possible.

If you could only celebrate one holiday for the rest of your life what would it be? Summer. I know most think it’s a season, but it is my favorite time of the year. The days are longer, the nights are warm. We can sleep outside. We can live outside. I don’t really care too much about summer holidays, like Independence Day isn’t that big of a deal for me and never has been. However, summer as a whole is a vibe that I just can’t shake my bones of. Born in northern California, I think the sun is just in my bones.

If you ran the world, what is the first thing you would do? 

1. Give women back their rights.
   
2. Once we’ve established women are people then we can feed everyone and give them a warm bed. I can be both the “give peace a chance” girl and “fuck around and find out” so it’s really tough to say how I’d handle the “resistance” but generally speaking I’d want everyone to have the basic things they need to live and THRIVE not just survive. I dream of what kind of world we’d live in if everyone woke up tomorrow thriving. If we all just suddenly had “enough”. Truly from that standpoint humanity has a chance to really do something spectacular. What would you create from that place?

KAITLYN, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Who are you? I am Kaitlyn aka the Nap Captain! 

How long have you been a part of the Jezebel team? And what do you do? I’ve been on the Jezebel Team since January of 2016. I am the queen of all things behind the scenes. I’m the one clients talk to for their style consultations, the one sending all of the very important pre-session information. I’m there for reveals, and the one to put together all of the fabulous products after the fact! And some other things, too. 

Do you have a favorite JVZ shoot look or outfit? Or outfits?  I brought a bunch of flowers in from my grandma’s garden and shot them with a blue lace outfit on the bed. I felt like a flower queen for my 2019 session.

In 2018 I can shamelessly admit that my team outfit was my favorite. (Team outfits are typically punishment, but not for me!)  The girls dressed me up as an old lady, complete with Ensure, compression socks, and Werther’s Original (one of my favorite candies). I rocked the socks off of that outfit.

2020 might have been my favorite session to date. I can’t think of a single outfit from that shoot that I didn’t absolutely love!

What advice do you have for anyone coming in for their first shoot? RELAX!

The more you can let go of the worries and get yourself pumped up, the better time you will have! Spend your drive into the studio listening to your favorite music that makes you feel good. Sing at the top of your lungs and do a silly dance. Let that energy carry you throughout your session, and you will have the absolute best time of your life!

What’s your favorite snack? I love all snacks…but OK, maybe pickles are my fave!

Desert island question: what three things would you absolutely need to have with you if you were stuck on a deserted island? My books. My dogs. And all the snacks I would ever need.

If you could have any animal as a pet what would you have? Dogs. All of the dogs.

If you could only celebrate one holiday for the rest of your life what would it be? Christmas! Christmas! CHRISTMAS!!! (Can I start decorating for Christmas yet?)

If you ran the world, what is the first thing you would do? I’d rescue all of the dogs and start a retirement farm where they could run and play and live their best lives with me!

The whole Jezebel VonZephyr team is committed to helping clients feel safe, seen, supported, and celebrated before, during and after their sessions. We will do whatever we can to make your experience one of your best days ever. What are you waiting for? Claim your spot on our calendar today! We can’t wait to welcome you to the studio!