Gif by Artist PalinOptika
So I get a lot of clients who are super excited about booking a shoot, then all of a sudden after I send the hello email, and the questionnaire, they get cold feet.
I’ve heard every reason from I just need to lose these last ten pounds to my hair color isn’t right,etc. But I am here to tell you the secret to find out if you really are meant for a Boudoir Session, just answer these questions down here! (Answer Honestly Guys)
- Do you have a body?
- Do you want to feel good about yourself?
- Do you like to have fun?
Well if you answered YES to these questions then, YOU ARE SO READY for a boudoir session! Boudoir, is for EVERYONE (over the age of 18 of course), skinny, tall, curvy, young, old, any race, gender, and sexual orientation. It shows you, how beautiful or handsome truly you are! It is meant to be empowering, helps you to accept your body, and self love (also to remind your significant other how lucky they are, or if you are single to remind yourself how fierce you truly are!).
This is Ashley/Mari whatever you would like to call me speaking here. I want you to know that I have been the insecure, need to lose ten pounds girl before. I’ve been the one who’s made the excuse to not get in front of the camera, because I was afraid of the outcome. I didn’t realize how unhealthy, it really was until I finally took the plunge and went in full steam ahead! Doing this for a living, I never understood why so many people, men and women, would get scared before a session, so I decided I needed to understand this by doing it myself. I booked a FULL NUDE session YES FULL NUDE, artsy boudoir session with an amazing Artist PalinOptika (www.palinoptika.com), because let’s be real here if I am going to do this right I am going to go all out.
Photos by Artist PalinOptika
So I show up for my shoot, hair & makeup already done before I got there and that is when the nerves kicked in. I was about to be in front of a complete stranger showing all of me, we had corresponded through email a few times, he came highly regarded by good friends of mine so I knew I was in safe hands, but I wasn’t worried about him, I was worried about me. Was I going to hate what he saw through that lens? I had gained a whopping 90lbs in the past year and had grown really insecure with my body, Andy (ArtistPalinOptika) didn’t know that but I did. All I could think about is how fat, I am and if he’s gonna think I’m fat, blah blah blah. You know the always evil devil on your shoulder. I wanted to get back into the car, and drive home, to forget this crazy plan I had to do this shoot. Alas, Andy came to greet me, the air changed, he was so open, relaxed, and totally cool. Perk of working with a photographer, when you are one is you get gear envy and talk shop, so for the fact that I was fully naked didn’t matter at all. We laughed, shared stories, he was so body positive, inviting, and patient with all of my insecurities. After the session, we said our goodbyes, headed home, living off the euphoric high and feeling down right awesome. A couple weeks later I get the email with my images, and I was in a state of shock. For a second I thought he sent me someone else’s! I was like damn, who’s that sexy lady?! Those 90 extra pounds did nothing to my self esteem when I saw what was coming out of that camera. We are our harshest critics, and sometimes it takes looking through someone else’s eyes to really appreciate who we are. So thank you Andy for that!
But back to what I was saying, I understood the insecurities and fears that are wrapped around the idea of being that vulnerable in front of the camera. I’m here to tell you don’t sweat it! You ate some pound cake the night before your session? NO problem come as you are and I know you are gonna be FABULOUS. Cat scratched your arm? We can get that out for you! We promote body positivity here, we love you how you are, and your lover does too! We are here to build you up not break you down! My whole view on this is, I want YOU to see YOU how I SEE YOU (I know that’s a lot of you’s!). I think everyone is beautiful and sometimes we get so caught up in what society wants us to be that we forget to be kind to ourselves. So Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m here to tell you YOU ARE ALL SEXY BEAUTIFUL CREATURES! Come see us and we will show how AWESOME you really are! Also if you have time, go check out www.artistpalinoptika.com, he’s amazing creative man!
-love and light-
Ash/Mari 🙂
Gif By Artist PalinOptika