Why Boudoir?
I love a good story. It all started many years ago, I photographed my first boudoir shoot and while I loved the power of it, it was extremely terrifying. I knew immediately that I could crush a woman’s spirit if I didn’t do this right. I didn’t want anything to do with it after that session. Yet, boudoir kept coming into my life no matter how much I pushed it away. So I jumped in and knew I had to educate myself. This is such a powerful and intimate form of photography that it wouldn’t be hard to really hurt someone’s self esteem.
Boudoir is life changing to me. It’s not about the photos themselves, it’s about how you feel when you see them. It’s an experience. I am helping you see how incredible you are and helping you learn to love yourself. It’s about self love, laughing, strength. It’s about being truly who you are, not what you think you should be.
When I realized the power that boudoir could hold and its ability to change lives, I knew it was what I needed to do. I have always wanted to find a way to empower women. A way to help more women, lift them up and let them spread that joy and happiness to others. I found that I could do that with boudoir.
The Transformation
Let’s talk about the mind-blowing transformation that happens between walking in my door and leaving. This. This right here is my favorite part of what I do. I get to witness you falling in love with YOU.
You walk into the studio SO nervous (trust me, I know. I almost threw up before my first session). You relax a little more during hair and makeup and aren’t as nervous as much as anxious. Then we get to you putting on your outfits…. the nerves come back a little. We start shooting and those nerves, the lack of confidence, it all just melts away. By the end, you are posing yourself (every single one of my clients does it). And you haven’t even seen your images yet.
When you see those images, you are mind blown. You can’t believe that is actually you. You thought you weren’t sexy and we just blew that myth right out of the water. You now see what I see. What everyone else sees. It’s a magical experience.
A Little Piece of My Story
I have shared some of these things in the VIP group and here and there but my journey with this really starts when I took a leap of faith and did my own session. I was shooting boudoir before that but MY session changed my life and business forever.
I had just had my son about 6-9 months before. I had gained 80 pounds (yes 80, that’s not a typo) during pregnancy. I have always been horribly underweight so imagine the amount of self hatred when I gained 80 pounds. It didn’t matter that I was growing a human. I wasn’t doing anything to cause the excessive weight gain other than having horrible genetics. I felt out of control. I felt like shit about myself. Everything changes when you have a kid, NOTHING is in the same place. It’s fucking hard.
I was working late one night when I saw that Michael Sasser, an incredible boudoir photographer based in L.A. was in Austin and had ONE opening the NEXT MORNING. I was three hours away from Austin, had an infant and it’s 11pm the night before. It was a whirlwind to make it happen.
Photo Credit – Sasser Stills Boudoir
Photo Credit – Sasser Stills Boudoir
BUT I did the damn thing and had my first session at one of the MOST vulnerable times in my life. I used the “I need to lose 10 more pounds” excuse. But I did it anyway. I was terrified and so nervous that when I went to change into the first outfit, I did it in the bathroom because I was going to throw up. Me, a boudoir photographer, was seriously seconds away from throwing up.
(Spoiler alert, I did not throw up)
That session not only changed how I saw myself and felt about myself but it changed how I talked to my clients. It changed how I ran my business. Being in your shoes was the best thing I ever did.
That session was almost four years ago now and they are still some of my favorite images. I was 100% vulnerable and he showed me what others saw. I hated what I looked like until the day I saw those photos. I’m not normally an overly emotional person but when I saw those images, I cried. That confidence I gained may fluctuate now but I have NEVER lost the power that session gave me.
Photo Credit – Sasser Stills Boudoir
Photo Credit – Sasser Stills Boudoir
I am a single mom of a soon to be 3 year old. As much as I love being a mom, I definitely havent felt as body confident since having her. I have been super hard on myself. I work in law enforcement and some days are harder than others. Doing a boudoir shoot I feel would make me feel more confident in my own skin and mind. I love how positive you are and the vibes you make your clients feel is exactly what I need.
I’ve done 3 sessions with you and everytime it’s so much fun and relaxing. I would love to see what you have in store that has changed since the last time. You always make me feel pretty and loved. Just thought I would try and win 🙂 You are a great person inside and out
After 2 kiddos, and time moving on i look at myself and have a really hard time seeing any beauty. I see someone who is exhausted, i never learned how to do makeup. So i cant even fake it. Having 2 little girls that look up to me to show them self love and acceptance i need a kickstart down that path. I want something i can look at and say " this is you, you beautiful bad bitch" and feel it.
I miss what I used to look like when I was a young Army wife and mom always moving, but always hungry too lol. Yet 7 years later as a now veterans wife and "no longer hungry" lol I love who I am now, I just want to love who I see now as well. I have two beautiful daughters and I encourage their everyday. And I let them know everyday how naturally beautiful they truly are. I want to show them no matter time, she, life changes etc you should always have body confidence, force yourself out there, be brave in all you do.
I want to do another shoot because of the confidence it gives me. Every single time I walk out of a session I’ve learned more about myself and fallen in love with myself a little bit more.
I’m gonna be different and say I hope to be pregnant soon so that you can take nakey pics of me with a tiny human growing inside of me. All bodies are beautiful and the fact that we can house and grow a little one is crazy beautiful.
Boudoir photo shoot is empowering. It allows you to see yourself through someone else’s eyes.
I want a shoot to be my final step of recovery from my shit marriage. I need it. I have so much confidence, in every thing about myself other than my physical appearance. I still feel the things I felt when I was married. And I’m so don’t with that part of my life. But I cannot kick that part of it. I want my physical self-confidence back, without dieting and being anorexic, to be skinny again. I want to be confident as me, as I am.
I am looking to regain that confidence level back. After having my second child I just feel worn out, in all places, physically and mentally. I had a shoot with you in the beginning of your journey and I would love to see what else you offer and how things have changed over the years and the growth. Already love seeing your work.
I would like to do a boudoir shoot to boost my confidence and self esteem. Also to give a special gift to my amazing husband.
In our house it wasn’t uncommon to hear talk about not eating too much, how obesity ran in our family & even to hear “oink oink” to discourage us from overindulging. Because of this, when I was younger I had intense anxiety about being anything other than thin & as a result was so thin my doctor threatened to put me on a weight gain diet if I couldn’t get it back up on my own.
Fast forward almost ten years later to when I leave college & set out on my own in the world. I still had an unhealthy relationship with my body but it swung in the other direction. I gained weight. I hated my body. I gained more weight. I hated my body more. I’ve struggled with depression (also from a young age) & I always thought that might be “why”.
Close to another ten years later, I have a partial answer: PCOS, a commonly overlooked condition. It feels like an emotional weight has been lifted but at the same time I’m still struggling.
I turn 30 this week & am actively trying to conceive with my partner but because of PCOS, this will be challenging if not impossible. We’re in early stages but this is an added layer of complexity to my relationship with my body.
I’ve always wanted to do something like boudoir but have talked myself out of it over & over again as something to put off for when I’m “thinner, prettier, etc”. I’m at a point in my self-acceptance journey where I want to learn to love & appreciate my body in its current form, for all of the ways it does serve me, not for all of my failings or for things that may never come. My mother passed on her body image issues to me & I hope that I can end the cycle not only for myself but for any future children of mine.
I’ve followed your boudoir photography from the first time I saw one of your images. I thought “wow” that person in the photograph looks so comfortable with themselves! Then I looked through more of your work & I realized you were able to capture that for every single one of your clients. I’m not comfortable labeling myself as sexy let alone saying that out loud but your photographs gave me hope that I could learn to feel that way about myself & have the photographic proof to remind me when I doubt it.
It’s been a hard year though. Like so many I lost my job of seven years during the pandemic, an especially tough blow after landing my dream promotion just before the onset. Follow that up with just a month later losing my dog of over a decade that has felt like a child to me & you have the perfect recipe to trigger a major depressive episode in me. I checked out of the first half of 2021, there’s no other way to phrase it. I fell even further out of touch with my body & gained more weight. I am looking for ways to heal, from the grief, from the loss of self. I’m really hoping boudoir can help pull me out of my shell & I feel an instant trust with you based on your passion & all I’ve seen so far.
I would love to do a boudoir photoshoot because lately i just haven’t been feeling myself. After having 2 amazing kids, I have also gained a lot of weight. I just sometimes feel like I’m not looking good enough for my husband. I want to do this so I can boost my confidence and to give me motivation in life because i am losing it. I am really looking forward to pushing myself like I used to, and I think this photoshoot will really help me remember who I am as a woman.
Having kids not only changes your body but it also makes you look at yourself different. It’s hard to remember that you are a person outside of your kiddos.
I’ve been overweight my whole life, a few years ago I managed to lose 100lbs, then ended up gaining most of it back. I’ve been trying to lose it again but nothing has been working. I feel confident until I look at pictures or in the mirror, I’d love to have something to hopefully give me that boost again
Oh sweet girl!! This is a story I hear a lot. That number on the scale does not define you. I will 100% show you how incredible you are both inside and out.
I want to do a boudoir photoshoot because I want to be comfortable with my body again. After having 2 sons and getting stretch marks i just lose my confidence. Lately I just haven’t really been feeling myself, and I really think doing this photoshoot will help me get some motivation back like I used to.
I did my first boudoir shoot last February and it was incredibly empowering. I don’t find myself sexy but the silly goofy girl and after doing my shoot I admired my body differently. I made an album for my boyfriend ( now fiancé— maybe it was the album that make him put a ring on it haha) but the admiration he has when he looks through the album really makes me feel good about myself. Also, I love the passion the photographer has for their client while shooting. The whole experience is just wholesome and such a great environment and I want to be a part of those good vibes again.
I’m so happy to hear that you had a great experience! It’s truly life changing!