Miss R…

May 20

Miss R. was gracious enough to answer some questions about her experience and even offer advice to aspiring clients…I resonated so much with what she said that I was moved to tears with some parts of this interview!!! Love this girl right here!

Can you tell me a little bit more about why you decided to do a boudoir shoot?

-I wanted to regain confidence in myself. As time goes on, my body keeps changing and it will likely never look the way it did in my early twenties. I wanted to see myself in a new way, to learn to love myself how I am at this moment.

What were your fears before doing a boudoir session?

-I was scared that I wouldn’t have any good photos. I was afraid that I was only going to see the parts of myself that I didn’t like. I was worried that I would get so far into my head during the photo shoot that I wouldn’t enjoy the process at all.

How did you feel after the session?

-Elated and exhausted. I had such a great time with the process—from hair and makeup to wardrobe to the actual shoots—that I thought that even if my pictures didn’t turn out the way I had hoped, it was still absolutely worth it to get to feel good about myself.

What was it like working with Chrissy?

-Chrissy is the ultimate hype woman. She’s sensitive to the parts of yourself that you may not feel most confident about and works with you to highlight what you do enjoy about yourself. She’s conscientious of your journey and your comfort with yourself, and if you’re open to trying new things, she’s right there with a dozen ideas.

What was your favorite part of the session?

-I loved getting to try new things with different backgrounds. One of the places we shot was at a park, and there was something honestly magical about sitting on a throne in the park in a crown and a cascading robe to take pictures where I looked and felt powerful. Other backgrounds inspired sensual feelings or laughter or joy, and it was so freeing to get to explore all the different emotions and part of myself.

What did doing this shoot do for your self confidence, self worth, and self image? Tell me your story…

-I am confident at work and in my own home, but I put so much effort into making sure I am “useful” because of how low my self worth can be a lot of the time. I wanted to do this shoot to try to improve my own self image, to start to love myself again.

At one point during the session, one of my favorite songs started to play and I just started dancing. Chrissy was right there taking pictures, and I remember thinking after we were done, that while the dancing had been fun and I had genuinely enjoyed myself, I knew I wouldn’t like the pictures at all. My body isn’t the same as it was when I danced in high school or went to parties in college, and I never liked the pictures taken back then, so how could I like the ones taken now?

On slideshow day, I saw myself in ways I didn’t think I could be seen any more—I felt stunning and sensual in some pictures, beautiful and playful in others, and powerful and downright sexy in more. But even after seeing all of those other images and feeling so good about myself, I still dreaded the prospect of facing those dancing photos, sure that they would wind up being cut if any had even made it into contention to begin with. I never expected to love them.

The set of pictures Chrissy took while I was dancing turned out to be my favorite ones. I look so happy, just enjoying myself and the music and the sunshine, and so, so comfortable in my own skin. Those photos made me realize that I don’t have to be in control to be confident in myself. It was transformative, to see myself in a moment of unguarded joy and to love the way it made me look.

What would you tell anyone who was afraid to take the plunge?

-Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. And go for it.