I want to share a text conversation I recently had with a client, who had just received the images from her second Brooklyn Boudoir shoot:
Client: It (Our session) helped me so much! I need another one! It's therapy, straight up! When I'm down I stare at the pics and it makes me feel better. Not sure what that says about me but I'm cool with it. 😘
Me: That's the whole point! It says: sometimes when work and family and life wear you down we all need a reminder of how badass you are and how beautiful it is to be a woman. 👊
Yes, I included the fist bump emoji (insert monkey covering eyes emoji here).
I say it all the time: a boudoir session does not need to be for or about anyone else -- it's about you. It's about making YOURSELF feel beautiful, strong, empowered, and, yes, SEXY.
Perhaps this is a controversial statement, though it shouldn't be: FEELING SEXY IS IMPORTANT. It's not something you should only feel for your partner. Sexy is something you should feel for yourself, and when you do, it can be INCREDIBLY powerful. Whether that means you rocking out with your tatas out, or you are modestly sporting a turtle neck. Whatever "feeling sexy" means for you should be embraced. Because I tell you, there's no telling what you can do with that kind of confidence on your side.
Can you feel sexy on your own, with your clothes on? Yes. Obviously you can. So why strip down for a boudoir session?
Well... isn't that when you feel the most vulnerable? Isn't that when you feel the most uncertain of yourself? I think most women would say yes. I know that feeling of "OH GOD. WHAT is THAT!?" as I spot a new bulge or dimple on my naked body in the mirror. I know that panicked feeling when you see yourself tagged in a Facebook photo and you immediately drop what you're doing to screen it and (usually) untag.
It's a lot harder for us to love our stripped-down selves. But I know that if I can show you how incredible you are, how beautiful you are, how SEXY you are, WITHOUT your clothes, that you can rock some new found self-esteem whether you're wearing anything or not.
To me, boudoir photography is not about doing something "naughty" but doing something exhilarating. It's about getting that feeling back. It's about feeling sexy, brave and strong. It's about surprising yourself. It's about knowing that she's still "in there somewhere." It's about CONFIDENCE. And it's about learning to love yourself, just as you are.
Before our photo session, many women talk to me about how they need a break from their banal, every day routine. Some don't even realize that was what they needed until they get there. But across the board, I hear my clients tell me how important the experience has been to them as a woman, how they feel every woman should have a boudoir shoot, how the experience has helped them and been a type of therapy for them, how they needed the reminder that they are still in fact a sexual being. And it is my absolutely honor to help them find that in themselves again.
So ladies, I encourage you to take the plunge! I promise I won't tag you on Facebook, but you will likely be tempted to tag yourself!
And now, to share a few more images of the goddess who inspired this rant. <3
xoxo, Stephanie
Ready to take the plunge? Let's chat!