I was super excited when Crystal said she was interested in coming along on our Mexican adventure back in February and when I found it was her birthday during that same week I was even MORE excited! Naturally, we had to do a birthday session for her and while traditionally my work does have people in their birthday SUIT, we just decided to do a tropical themed birthday SHOOT for her! (I had already gotten her nudie at her own studio last year) I am pretty sure Crystal spends more time in Sayulita than she does in Canada, so I am sure if we go again, she will definitely join in on the fun! For a little extra fiesta feel, listen to the music, relax and imagine you can feel a light tropical breeze and smell the scent of coconut sunscreen, as you peruse these images:[audio mp3="https://www.terihoffordphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Hot-Beach.mp3"][/audio]
Summer Daze {Editorial Session} ~ Winnipeg Boudoir Photography
model: Jade W.bodysuit + choker: Forever 21fur jacket: Yandy.comice cream: Scoopsrollerskates: Ebay
Editorial sessions are now available for repeat clients! You can check out the pricing & details here.
Natalya {San Francisco Travel Diaries} ~ Winnipeg Boudoir Photographer
Natalya was one of the babes at the Stripped Down Retreat that is an incredible chameleon. This little beauty is full of sugar and spice and can go from looking sweet and innocent to saucy af in a blink. I didn't have as much time to work with her, alas, because she was the model used for my one on one, but we still managed to grab some beautiful images. Her features brought to mind a sort of dame from the 20s who gave no fucks about the men she left behind...or at least that was the story I created for her. Without further adieu, here's Natalya.
Hot Sauce {Get Messy Session}~ Winnipeg Boudoir Photographer
Nicole and I were joking about her immense love for hot sauce and I told her I had been wanting to do a session where we just let loose and got super messy....so naturally, this session HAD to happen. We collaborated with epic barbershop talent of Scott Ramos at Saint, just across from the studio and the morning of the shoot he skillfully recreated the Sriracha rooster on the side of Nicole's head with the corresponding HOT on the other side.
We looked online to find a hot sauce bodysuit, but aside from the black and gold one that our previous client had worn, we couldn't find anything, so we created one. HOWEVER, the t-shirt transfer I used was absolute crap and it never fully transferred onto the bodysuit, but when it pulled off, I actually like it a bit better because it reminded me of a worn Sriracha label, as if one had used the bottle on numerous occasions. 
If you didn't catch it, we did a Facebook live of the Get Messy session on my fb page and you can check it out here. At first, Nicole seemed hesitant to pour the sauce (which was actually just ketchup btw) all over herself and in her hair and I think this is something I can expect from other Get Messy sessions. As adults, we are taught to maintain a certain level of decorum, to not make a mess, to consider the consequences, etc. and while most of the time this behavior is good, it also impacts our ability to just let go and play! Once Nicole got into it, you could see the pure delight that showed up in her face and how much fun she was having and even if it wasn't hot sauce, I think the liberating feeling came moreso from the act of getting a little...well, messy!
So, I want to offer the Get Messy sessions to you bad ass babes and boys....let's cover you in whatever the hell you want: ice cream, paint, mud, clay, gold leaf, chocolate, maple syrup, literally whatever you want!! After you check out the rest of the images from this session, head over the Get Messy page and get the details on how you can book one of these!
Her Body Was A Means To An End {Las Vegas Diaries} ~ International Boudoir Photographer
One of the best parts of my profession is meeting other boudoir photographers and connecting with them. Miss S of I Am Boudoir came to our Confident Curves workshop in Las Vegas and also did a mini session with me! After her session, she filled me in on why doing a session and why boudoir was so important to her and I knew it was a story that I had to share...
My body was a means to an end. 
Growing up I experienced several instances of sexual assault, both as a child and as a teen. I had grown men fondle me and attempt to assault me. My high school years were ruined when a classmate tried to rape me, yet he was never disciplined. Those instances turned me into an object. As such, I have never really trusted anyone with my body. I always felt like my body was the means to the end. Men just wanted my body to get what THEY wanted in the end. 
I grew to hate my body. The more I gained weight, the safer I felt. No one wants the “fat” girl right? I would go to a car lot to look at cars and no one would approach me. No one held doors for me, no one said hello or acknowledged me walking down the street. I was invisible and society told me I was undesirable at my size. 
I met my husband at 19 years old. He loved me for me and tolerated all my craziness. When we would fight and argue he would fight dirty. Even in the dirtiest of fights and the nastiest of words, he never once mentioned my weight or called me fat. I respected that. It made me feel like he loved me the way I was. We were together for twenty years. In 2011 I had weight loss surgery. I was never comfortable with my body and wanted to make a change. We were having issues in our marriage and sex wasn’t ever on the menu, so hey, if he’s more attracted to me, bonus! I lost approximately 80 pounds and was feeling AMAZING physically! I was thinner than I was in high school and yet, I was more self-conscious than ever. Suddenly I wasn’t invisible anymore and I was getting attention, which made me uncomfortable. I started nit-picking every single pudge here, or crease there. 
It was at this time I discovered by husband of twenty years was cheating on me. And not just cheating on me, but cheating on me with PROSTITUTES. I was embarrassed and disgusted. Was I that gross to make him pay for sex instead of pursuing me? Were that pudge and that crease the reason? I was devastated and turned to my best friend for support, food! Eight months later, I packed up my things while he was at work and I left. I had also gained about 40 pounds back at that point. I realize now that I slowly packed on pounds again as a protection mechanism to keep myself from getting hurt again. 
So where am I today? Today I have gained all 80 pounds back and weigh exactly the same as I did the day I had surgery. I am in a different space now. Yes, I still mindlessly snack, but I don’t feel like I medicate with food anymore. I also embrace my body the way it is. I no longer have this innate desire to chase thinness. I don’t care about my cellulite, or my rolls. My body is mine. It wakes me up every day, it hugs and squeezes my kids, and its my means to MY own end.
Having my own boudoir photos done was a way for me to embrace my body again. It was a way to MAKE me see myself as a sexual being. It was a way for me to feel proud of who I am today and how much I have grown emotionally. My body is not perfect, it never will be, but its MINE and I’m so proud I can look at it today and embrace it just the way it is – all 216 pounds of it.