Posts tagged intimate lifestyle photography
She felt like she wasn’t “enough” to be sexy | Washington DC Boudoir Photography
 

Ms. N’s boudoir session in the Washington DC studio reminded me a lot of this quote from C. JoyBell C. I came across:

“There are two things we should always be 1. raw and 2. ready. When you are raw, you are always ready and when you are ready you usually realize that you are raw. Waiting for perfection is not an answer, one cannot say "I will be ready when I am perfect" because then you will never be ready, rather one must say "I am raw and I am ready just like this right now, how and who I am.”

Women often tell they aren’t sexy enough, pretty enough, skinny enough or any of the “enoughs.” And I get it, I catch myself saying these things. What will it take to finally realize that you are enough? That’s it, you’re enough for anything.

Now, I can get super preachy when it comes to a topic like perfection, but I will hold out and save that for another blog post!

Until then, I want you see what Ms. N’s session was like straight from her:

I've always felt like I wasn't "enough" to be sexy. I felt parts of me weren't big enough to be sexy, other parts weren't small enough to be sexy. I felt like I never grew out of the "girl" stage, and even had trouble thinking of myself as a "woman." I thought everyone saw me in one specific way, and I wanted to show there was another side to me, even if I was the only one to know that side existed. I finally realized that I am enough, just the way I am. It's not about the clothing measurements that make you feminine or sexy. I became interested in boudoir a couple of years ago and decided to do it as a 25th birthday gift to myself. It was time to feel like a grown ass woman!

Once I decided I wanted to do a session, I looked into a lot of photographers in NoVA. After looking at Julie's portfolio and reading client reviews, as well as her website in general, I knew she was the photographer I wanted to schedule my shoot with. Other photographer's pictures looked very posed, unnatural, and heavily photoshopped. Julie's photos look as if she captured moments in your very own home. I loved how she explained everything on her website, and I was sold after reading reviews that said how helpful she was walking you through the entire process. Everything from the initial email and consult, outfit choices and posing, to picking up your album is perfectly orchestrated by Julie.

My biggest fear was that my pictures would look posed and awkward. After all, posing in front of a camera can be daunting to begin with, let alone posing in your undies! I was worried that I would let my insecurities take over my session, and that those insecurities would be reflected in my pictures. Julie was amazing because she walks you through every pose along the way (and cheers you on as you do it!) After just a few minutes I was totally at ease, and following Julie's lead. I wasn't worried about if the poses were "flattering" or showing off my "good side," I just trusted Julie's expertise!

One of my favorite parts of my session took me by surprise: the posing! I was worried about looking silly in my pictures, but Julie cheered me along after every picture. I loved when in between shots when I would naturally shift/readjust how I was standing or sitting, Julie would catch it, and say, "wait! I love how you did that! Do it again!" and snap a picture.

My other favorite part was when I first got to the studio and showed Julie what I had brought to wear. I brought a couple of options I liked and some accessories, but I wasn't sure how to pair them. I loved seeing Julie's vision blend with what i had brought when she paired my outfits with stuff she had in the closet of her studio.

Do it for you. If you spend all of your time worrying about this spot or that thing you don't see as "perfect," you'll never see how truly amazing you really are. Don't wait until you've lost x pounds, don't do it for your man's birthday. Do it now. For you. You're stunning exactly how you are. You are enough. There is nothing wrong with wanting to do this for YOU. It doesn't mean you're vain, it means you finally realize you're worth it.

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Book your own boudoir session! Fill 'er out and I'll be in touch!

 
She was afraid she wouldn't look good | Chicago Boudoir Photography
 

We wrapped up an amazing weekend in Chicago for a couple of boudoir sessions and I had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. W. We actually had her boudoir session planned since Oct of 2017 and planned for Kristen and I to come to the windy city in February. I mean I’m always up for traveling and was pretty excited to travel to Chicago for boudoir shoots! Then it hit me, we booked a boudoir shoot in Chicago in February. It’s going to be SO cold and let’s hope and pray that we don’t get snow!

Something I love helping my clients with is planning their outfits and I actually really encourage it. Some people can breeze right through the wardrobe planning but if you’re like me, I need all the help I can get! I helped Mrs. W plan her outfits as she emailed me photos of what she found while she was out shopping and we narrowed down some really good options.

Days leading up to fling out of Washington DC, we all got pretty nervous that this wouldn’t even happen because of snow storm Mateo coming through the midwest and our worst fears were confirmed that flights to Chicago the day before we leave were indeed cancelled. GAH!! I kept checking my flight status and no signs of cancellations or delays though, so we proceeded as normal.

We were only delayed about 3-4 hours but we MADE IT to Chicago safe and sound and even got an amazing complimentary room upgrade at the Dana Hotel and Spa to the presidential suite – umm, hell yes!

Side note: I will say – you Chicago peeps know how to handle some snow, totally impressed! If it were DC, they would have shut down the city, schools and the government weeks in advance!

Needless to say, Mrs. W and I had an amazing boudoir session and she loved all of her photos. However, her biggest fear was she wasn’t going to like her photos:

“My biggest fear was that my photos wouldn’t look good that I wouldn’t photograph very well and that I wouldn’t know how to pose or I wouldn’t look natural. And the day of my revel I had to try to hold back the tears when she started the slideshow of my pictures I couldn’t believe those were me they were all so beautiful. My husband was with me for the reveal and he said I just kept saying “wow!” to every picture.”

This is quite possibly one of the most common things I hear from women who want to book their own boudoir session and I can tell you that’s it’s your fear talking for you. Tell it to shut the eff up because you are going to kick ass and look amazing!

Then I asked her what was her favorite part of the session:

“I can’t honestly pick one thing. We laughed a lot. Julie is so amazing. She kept encouraging me telling me how I was doing great. It’s such an amazing experience. After wards going to dinner with my husband looking all pretty with my hair and makeup done was a plus.”

There you have it! Straight from Mrs. W! What’s holding you back from your boudoir session?

 

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It's your turn, Chicago!