A word on self-confidence

If you’ve been considering doing a boudoir shoot, there is a good chance you’re looking at lots of photographers and lots of clients while questioning whether you could ever look as good as the people in those photos. “I’ll do a boudoir shoot as soon as I drop 15lbs,” you might tell yourself. Or, “I’m going to do one, I just want to drop a size and tone up a bit first.”

I believe that if that is the attitude you are taking toward your photoshoot, you haven’t understood the real power and beauty of boudoir photography. Glamour photography is better thought of as a style that captures a certain idealized body type: people who are ultra thin, ultra fit, ultra tall, who have perfect skin, or what have you.

But boudoir is not glamour photography; boudoir is first and foremost about authenticity. It’s about capturing you exactly as you are, with all your so-called “imperfections” on full display. Why? Because the hyped-up idealized beauty standards of glamour photography aren’t real. They don’t represent everyday people. They are often heavily edited, including but not limited to altering proportions — shrinking stomachs, enlarging breasts, widening hips. With boudoir, you are celebrating your body not because it fits some arbitrary (and unattainable) cultural standard, but because your body is your story — every bump, curve, and crease is a reflection of who you are and your journey through life.

You deserve to feel good about your body. You deserve the chance to feel confident and proud of the skin you’re in exactly because it is uniquely yours. You may desire to change your body in some way, and that’s totally fine! Fitness goals can be fun, healthy challenges of discipline and fortitude. But that doesn’t change the fact that your body is still worth celebrating today, exactly as it is.