One Woman’s Calgary Boudoir Story about Joy, timing and seeing herself differently.
After 48 years as a Calgary boudoir and nude photographer, and having photographed more than 5,300 women, I have learned all the many reasons women walk through my doors.
For some, a boudoir or nude portrait session is about embracing their body. For others, it is empowerment, experimentation, confidence, healing or simply seeing themselves differently.
Holly walked into Inner Spirit Photography with one beautifully simple reason: she had come to celebrate herself. The idea had been encouraged by an unexpected source.
She was barely 26, feeling good about herself and happy with this moment in her life. That was reason enough to celebrate.
She was slender and attractive in a sweet, unpretentious—no, almost unaware—way. Her excitement for the adventure was so pure.
Another woman, Rosey, had been her unexpected nudge. Actually, much more than a nudge.
An Unexpected Nudge
Rosey was twice Holly’s age when she came in for her own session. She had raised two children and weathered a life harder than planned but, in the end, richly rewarding. Her body carried those years in ways she had not always found the time or energy to appreciate.
She had very few regrets. Rosey was not the kind of woman who spent much time looking back.
Which is why this one regret surprised Holly.
Holly could not quite remember where they met or how the conversation turned to choosing to go nude in front of a camera. Somehow, it did.
It made a difference though. Boudoir and nude photography depend on trust, clear boundaries and respectful direction. A woman needs to feel safe enough to relax, play and become expressive in front of the camera.
Rosey told her how elated she had been by her session. She used words like *stunning*, *breathtaking* and *amazing* when she spoke about the photographs. Rosey was effusive about how glorious she felt during her session.
The emotional remembering caught Holly’s attention. She wanted that, she thought.
Rosey’s regret was not the body she had at 50. She loved what we had created together. Her regret was that she had waited so long. She had no such portrait celebrating the woman she had been at 25—the younger body, the younger confidence and the person she was before life added all its layers.
“You have to do this now!” she told Holly.
For Holly, this was not going to become her regret.
She entered her session feeling great and happy with herself. Then, as so many of the 5,300-plus women I have photographed have done, she surprised herself with how easy and freeing the experience felt. It became natural. She became wonderfully expressive.
The dressed photographs accompanying this story show some of that range. She played up her girl-next-door look in blue jeans and a crisp white shirt, perched on our stone fence. In one of our tight black plastic miniskirt dresses, she tried sultry. Her grin turned it into more of a playful tease than a smouldering, sensual promise.
She embraced the nudes too. Some became sculpted body art. Others were dramatic and fashion-inspired. Many were simply playfully sexy.
After her professional makeup and hair, Holly was ready to begin. We spent four hours moving from one mood and idea to another—four hours of play, expression and discovery.
During her selection session, Holly clapped at many of her photographs. More than once, she looked at me and asked, “Is that really me?”
“I Feel So Celebrated”
But the look I will always treasure came later, when she unwrapped her book. It had been printed in a castle in Italy and held 55 of the images she treasured most.
Her fingers slid over the cover, tracing her name in the title. Then she turned the page, saw the first image and gasped.
She paused and simply stared.
Holly turned the pages slowly, almost reverently, lingering over each photograph as she drank it in. Printing gives an image depth, permanence and the feeling of life. You can hold it, touch it and return to it in a way a screen never quite delivers.
As powerful as the book was for her, the wall prints took her somewhere else. Some were emotionally deeper.
As I unveiled each one, the burgundy satin slipped dramatically away. The spotlights caught the finished surfaces, giving the portraits an almost three-dimensional presence.
That was when Holly could barely whisper, “Wow.”
I am not sure she breathed for the next few moments.
Finally, holding her book in one hand and leaning slightly forward, she said in a hushed voice, “I feel so celebrated…”
She stood there for a long time, simply admiring herself as art.
As she was leaving, her arms wrapped around the boxed portraits, Holly turned back to me.
“You really should tell Rosey’s story to others,” she said. “She was right. 26 is the perfect age to do this, but 50 isn’t too late to celebrate who you are as a woman.”
I think we just did.
You are worth celebrating too.
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About Mark Laurie
Mark Laurie is a Calgary-based photographic artist and the founder of Inner Spirit Photography, established in 1980. His work explores beauty, strength and individuality through intimate boudoir and nude portraiture. Across a 48-year photographic career, he has photographed more than 5,300 women and earned recognition for his work across Canada and internationally.