When we distill the essence of why women come in for a boudoir or nude photography session it is these two reasons.
They want body embracing and all that goes with that, like empowerment, confidence, body love, and perhaps seeing their own beauty or its level for the first time.
Or it is Body Celebration with all that is wrapped up in that. Show how bold they are, marking a milestone, checking off a bucket list and immortalizing this moment and everything happening around it.
Body Embracers may be dealing with trauma, recent or long ago, that persistently undermines them, their confidence, and their sense of their beauty. Of course, how sexy they feel takes a hit. They are often confused or disbelieving when partners or friends comment on how amazing they look.
They may even hide it well.
Teresa, a bodybuilder competitor, was a few years out of the limelight but working to get back in shape. Life had been hard for several years and was grinding her down. She did not think she could get her shape back, and so on.
She was amazing. My lighting and camera angles brought out every cut muscle. Her stances were powerful. In the images, she saw her old self, her power, and her confidence. Her images also went on to win several photography contests.
Debrah had just discovered her husband’s affair. It was devastating. It left her feeling old, used and questioning how sexy she was. Her transformation was one of the most remarkable. She saw how her sexiness had not diminished; her confidence roared back.
Her book and wall prints became markers of multi-layered defiance. She sat her husband down and laid things out. She felt inspired. She said it was like her inner cowgirl reasserted herself and was not going back into the box.
One memorable woman was Alice, a rancher’s wife. I photographed her in the Bahamas. She was shy but thrilled with what the sessions opened up for her. The best day was when we were getting snacks in the grocery store. She was wearing a light cover-up with her makeup and hair just done. A local was pushing a cart, saw her, and could not take his eyes off her while he ran his cart into a display. Alice was thrilled with her freshly discovered power.
Body Celebrators come walking in with a bounce and big grin. They are excited, perhaps still a bit nervous or scared, but determined and eager.
They often have milestone birthdays, anniversaries, or achievements. Sometimes, it is for no particular reason but the feeling that she deserved it. They have ideas and are often the boldest, embracing the nudes.
What is interesting is that their bodies usually do not fit the Hollywood beauty look. It does not matter; they feel their beauty, and their confidence defines it.
Like Kaara, who added our new Body Fire to her session. She is a welder, a woman in a male world. She charges into life. Her session revealed that. Her poses went from cocky stances, playful glances, bold fire, and some casual.
She is a welder; for her, the Body Fire was the pinnacle of the experience.
We often get couples in, celebrating their love and their connections. Those sessions are always engaging. There are fun, sexy, playful poses, some steamy stuff, and, lately, exotic Shibari rope work.
Youthful Body Celebrators always have such big, fresh grins. They are in their body’s prime and love it. They can rock a bikini like these images, skimpy lingerie or their favourite, nothing at all.
These are the experiences that stay top of mind for literally decades.
I have been doing this for 45 years now. I have clients from 15, 20 and even 40 years ago coming up to share what the images did for them back then. How they still look at their images, many have remained on their walls all this time.
The images are reminders of the experience, how they embraced it and how it changed them.
It is so exciting to be part of that.
So Body Embracing, Body Celebration . . . which resonates most loudly for you?
