From the Lovely Lady J’s perspective…
I wanted pictures that showed me who I am. I have never had photos that captured my internal self. I wanted to be beautiful.
The week leading up to my photo shoot I was so excited. As I arrived for my session I was so nervous I didn't think I could go through with it. The butterflies in my stomach were non stop. I almost turned around and left. (so glad I didn't)
I have never had my makeup done professionally before. That element made me more relaxed.
I brought close to a dozen outfits, with Leah's help she identified the perfect items and matched the jewelry to accent the wardrobe perfectly. Leah listened to my stories and comments. She identified the outfits with ease and made me comfortable.
Leah's simple directions on where to place my hands/fingers, lift my chin, open/close my eyes helped me to just be in the moment and enjoy the process.
It was being glamorous without having to think. After working 34 years in corporate America, that was a pleasant change.
To say I was shocked and amazed does not even cover the emotions I felt when the photos were revealed. How did I look like that?! I never felt sexy or centerfold worthy before that moment. It was overwhelming in a good way and really boosted my ego!!
Yep, tears appeared.
I had my doubts, yet went through the process anyway. Sometimes you need to let down that invisible wall you built and believe in yourself. It doesn't have anything to do with what you are wearing, it is all about who you are on the inside and allowing Leah to find the real you.
Every woman should have a boudoir photo shoot at some point in their life. It is never too late.
From the Photographer’s perspective…
When I first spoke when Lovely Lady J about having an empowering boudoir experience, I could hear the wheels turning in her head. It was something she wanted to do, but there were invasive thoughts popping up in her mind that had kept her from pulling the trigger.
In the past few years she had experienced the loss of a spouse, a cross country move during a global pandemic, and she described her state of mind as one of living in a fog. It had been a LONG time since she had felt like herself and she was ready to change that!
We got her all booked in for a session as soon as possible. I sent over all of my in-depth guides and preparation material before we even got off the booking call (I wanted to make sure she got it!) so she could get ready for her big day.
The morning of her session, I fluffed all the pillows on my set, swept the floor, made sure everything was just where it needed to be. Each little bit of preparation made me more and more excited for her to arrive!
When she showed up at her appointed time I couldn’t wait to hug her! I was so proud that she didn’t talk herself out of the experience and was ready to invest in her own beauty.
I really enjoyed chatting with her during her hair and makeup application. It was great to hear a little more about her life, her stories, and see pictures of her adorable dogs! I went through all the wardrobe options she brought in and asked a few questions to get a sense of what was important to her. We ended up landing on a beautiful dress she had planned on wearing with her partner before he passed, her super cool leather jacket (she rides a Harley!), and a great bra and panty set. I picked out some awesome accessories from our client jewelry collection and created some stunning looks.
When it was time to get started - we took a second to have a mindfulness moment and create an intention for how she wanted to feel when she left the studio. Lovely Lady J said she wanted to feel ‘euphoric’ when she walked out the door. Awesome! I was so ready for that.
We rocked out to show tunes (The Greatest Showman is one of her favorites) as I led her through her shoot. Lovely Lady J rocked our posing flow! I could see as the time went on that she was getting more and more relaxed in her own skin. Especially when I showed her images on the back of my camera as we went along and she could see how amazing she looked!
When we wrapped up the shoot and and it was time to go through all of the images - I could tell her nerves were creeping back in. Would she like the photos? Would she feel beautiful, euphoric? Those nerves were short lived because the moment I put her images on my big screen TV she was blown away!
Could that be her? She’d NEVER seen herself like that before! I, of course, had to reassure her that she did in fact look just like that!
We spent the next half an hour going through all of her gorgeous images, selecting her favorite, and building a fantastic collection.Lovely Lady J selected a stunning heirloom quality album and a piece of wall art that she is going to hang in her bedroom to be a daily reminder that she is BEAUTIFUL!
I had such an amazing time helping Lovely Lady J unveil her beauty and find that euphoria she had been missing. I cannot wait to capture this beauty again in the future!
