The majority of boudoir photographers get into the genre of boudoir in an effort to heal themselves through the healing of their clients. Having the privilege and honor to show a variety of bodies and babes just how beautiful they are, helps us rewrite the representation of the bodies that we are used to seeing in the media. I created my everyBODIES Education platform in an effort to empower photographers to get out of their comfort zone and challenge their ideas about what beauty is and truly understand that our honour as boudoir photographers is to provide our clients a safe, non-judgmental space for them to show up on camera - an experience that was previously denied to many bodies that fell outside of North American beauty standards. As a result, many of these awesome photographers recognized that in order to talk to their clients about body positivity and body neutrality, they also had to do the work on themselves. Below is a list of personal responses by boudoir photographers:
*Nude selfies
*YOGA! it helps me realize my body (and my minds) capabilities and that makes me love it even more.
*Self portraits and weightlifting
*Look in the mirror nekkid and compliment myself
*Body affirmations and also,, what makes me super body positive, is sharing the “good word” of self care & self love with others. Seeing them blossom literally makes me feel better about my own body.
*Positive self talk!
*Take Selfies when I'm feeling my shittiest to remind myself that I'm not what my inner critic says I am. Major boost to my self confidence at those times.
*This is going to sound silly but it is for me - have quality sex.
*Baths, pedicures
*Sleep naked. No constrictions, just me. It physically is more relaxing and comfortable to me, and it makes me feel more freeing being naked in bed, and when I get up to go pee I see my body naked in the mirror. It's a mind thing.
*Look at myself in the mirror naked, every day! I thought this would have the opposite effect but it allows me to really look at myself! And selfies
*I am naked as much as I can be.
*Affirmations. I constantly tell myself i am worth more than the scale and think of the things I’m proud of myself for
*Naked selfies of parts of my body I have a hard time looking at.. belly, side rolls etc
*I’m naked a lot. Forces me to see myself every time I walk by a mirror. I’m fairly ok with my body. Not that I don’t have moments of wishing for things I don’t have (generally for me it’s smaller boobs). But naked has helped a lot! And, sex. I feel sexy and fierce (likely because my husband makes me feel that way with his words and touching during sexy time)
*Compliment myself, and others.
*Naps. Stretches. Deep breathing.
*Self portraits!
*Stand in the mirror naked and rub the wiggly bits I have a hard time looking at and tell them how much I love them.
*Selfies lol
*Sexy selfies!!!!!
*Nude with a good hygiene regime. Acceptance of all body types.
*Self portraits they help so much
*Make myself orgasm. It might seem weird. But I never did that until I was 29 years old. And now it's a massive part of me moving forward.
*I go hard at the gym. It's soooo good for my mental health.
*Take my damn meds.
*For me, wearing clothes I really love makes me feel more like myself. Nice lingerie or a high waisted skirt
*A nice lingerie set always makes me so confident, even when I just go to work or for groceries
*I dress up sexy and take a million selfies
*Paint my nails red.
*Probably sounds silly, but taking care of my body, because so much of the time I don’t and it caused problems. Eating healthy, yoga, sunlight. Caring for the body forces me to acknowledge that I’m worth something and it matters how I treat myself, view myself, accept myself.
*I let my daughter blow razberries on my stomach, wiggle my stomach, and it has helped me to appreciate my body and little moments more. One day while at a client consult she lifted up my shirt to blow on my belly, and instead of hesitating, I let her do it, out in public, many people watching. And I didn’t care. Me two years ago would’ve cried from people seeing my body. Instead I laughed with my client as we led into the discussion about body dysmorphia and how it can impact our daily lives.
*Nude selfies
*Periodically reorganize my paperwork and make sure it’s all labeled and organized in folders. Something that took me a long time to do.
*2 minutes in the mirror with positive affirmations before each shower. I let my husband caress my tummy, hips and arms without pulling away. I keep my hair shaved into a Mohawk (even if I don’t often put it up anymore) it still makes me feel like a badass.
*Instead of protesting in any way, I say thank you when I receive a compliment. Even and especially if it’s from my husband!
*Yoga, I love my butt in mirror and how strong I am doing all the poses I never thought I could!
*Wear pretty bras and panties! It’s nice that there are finally pretty pieces for my curves. Actually, I love my bras so much that I’ve actually lifted my shirt at one of the restaurants we frequent! I was talking about wearing things that make you happy even if you have to wear a uniform.
*This may sound kind of dumb but in my last relationship and ultimately my whole life I’ve been shamed
about my body to the point in my last relationship they would never touch my belly or my hips. If they touched any ‘fatty’ part of my body they would move their hands immediately. It made me feel so incredibly ashamed. In my newest relationship, they put their arm around my belly. They touch my hips. My back. Everything. It’s taken a lot on my part to not flinch away, and I still struggle from time to time, but I’m working on loving my body and letting someone else love my body the way it was meant to be loved.
*Wear crop tops in public.
*I revamped who I follow on social media, following all types of bodies and abilities. For me, this has been one of the biggest differences in body positivity and self acceptance. I see the beauty in these unique people and it has helped me realize I'm equally as beautiful and worthy. It 'normalizes' what society deems ‘less than.’
As you can see, the photogs have some pretty stellar advice and a few methods popped up more than others. Stay tuned for Part 2 where we give you advice on how to take a sexy selfie to get you feeling yourself!
