Why I Shoot Boudoir Photography?

Sometimes I find it hard to put into words why I shoot boudoir photography. To me, it is so much more than photos. I photograph the shift. The “a-ha” moment. The lightbulb. I photograph those very first few moments where you are exploring the meaning of your true beauty. Those moments where you’ve set aside all of your titles and expectations and spent some precious time fostering the relationship you have with yourself. I photograph you accepting and celebrating your truth and your imperfectness. I photograph you challenging yourself to be vulnerable and raw in front of a stranger.

I photograph boudoir because I have witnessed first-hand the transformative power of a photograph. I’ve seen all of the lies a woman has told herself fade into the background as she sees an image that negates everything she’s ever believed. I photograph women because I want to provide an experience and a place where I can tell a woman how beautiful she is, and allow her to feel safe enough to believe it.

I see beauty in everyone that comes through my studio doors. I am a mirror for any client who walks through my studio door. I am not the mirror that the media shames you with, but the one who sees past all of the lumps, bumps, bruises, and imperfections.

I am here show you that beauty is not determined by:

-the size of your jeans

-how many stretch marks you have

-how tan you can get

-how much money you make

-whether or not you are in a relationship

-how many followers you have

-how many designer handbags you have

I photograph boudoir, so you can show your daughters and sons what a positive relationship with your body looks like.  So they can grow up with a sense of self-acceptance, self-love, and self-worth, and unbreakable confidence so, that they do not grow up with the same internal struggle that you have going on inside your head.

YOU are the ONLY one who can DECIDE that you are beautiful and that your beauty stands on a foundation far stronger than what your bra size is or how many back rolls you have. Build your confidence on something unbreakable. The choice is yours…..what’s it gonna be?

THE TRANSFORMATION:

The transformation that takes place in our studio is the best part of the whole experience. When a woman arrives at my studio, most of the time, she is nervous, sometimes visibly nervous. Shaky hands and voices and sweaty palms are things I see all the time.  Once they meet me and sit in the hair and makeup chair, the transformation begins.  The client slowly starts to shed those signs of feeling nervous and anxious.

Then the shoot starts.  The first few poses are to get you all warmed up!  When I show the client the back of the camera after the first few shots, I usually here “OH MY GOD, that’s me? There is NO WAY that is me.”  Then the real fun starts and the laughter and smiles start to come out. Then she starts feeling sexy!  And then here come those sexy eyes; it is all clicking with her.

Once they see their final images, their jaws drop, and they see themselves like they never have before. I give them the chance to see how their spouse sees them and I get the privilege of being their mirror.

A LITTLE PIECE OF MY STORY

My desire to help women get the self-love they desire was not an accident. It was fueled by many years of being brutally bullied by peers because they thought I looked different than they did. 14 years ago I discovered the art of boudoir photography, and it changed my life and how I viewed myself so profoundly that I made it my mission in life to help as many women as I could find the beauty within themselves.

Your mind will believe anything you tell it; feed it love, feed it encouragement, feed it TRUTH. So if you are ready to stop chasing the affirmation of others and find the beauty in your nonsymmetrical boobs, your battle scars, and stretchmarks, I want to tell your story. The beautiful, raw, messy, imperfect story.

So that one day soon you WILL stand up proudly and say, “That’s me–that’s the day I got brave, did something for me, lived in the moment, made peace with myself. That is the day something within me changed.”