Miss V. was one of my Christmas boudy babes, who came to me wanting to do a shoot for herself, but also as a gift for her husby. She was referred to me by my epic hairstylist, Miss Kelly O, so I knew she was awesome to begin with, but after chatting with Miss V. I realized that this woman also had big dreams, hopes, and aspirations. Doing a Boudy Babe shoot was just one of the many things on her bucket list.
However, Miss V. had her doubts (like most women) about whether or not she could do this. I mean, really do this. She sent me a few emails going back and forth about her concerns and having cold feet, but I messaged back reassuring her that it was completely normal. This went on a few days up until her session, and then it was like she had been doing this her whole life! Miss V. lit up the camera and her inner sex-kitten came roaring out!
This bombshell was absolutely amazing during her session, but it wasn't until AFTER her session that I realized just how much it had meant to her. I received, in total, 3 emails telling me how much her life had been changed from her session and each message brought me to tears. She carried her confidence with her for days after her shoot and when she came to pick out her images, she was once again revitalized after seeing herself!
The amazing thing about Miss V, however, is that I think she used the confidence gained from facing her fear of doing something like this to start planning an epic, dream filled life for herself. After leaving the studio, I sent her on her way with some inspirational reading material to get her thinking about striving for an amazing life and what that would mean to her.
Here's what she had to say about her session:"Teri’s photography services were recommended to me by a friend. I checked out Teri’s social media sitesand loved what I was seeing. It had been a year of transition for me and I vowed to take more risks andpush myself out of my comfort zone. I had recently created a “bucket list” of sorts and getting boudoirphotos done was on that list. One day I noticed on my social media feed that Teri was offering a sessiondeal and just in time for the holidays. My gut said “let’s do this”. So I contacted Teri and we set up a dateand time to meet.From the minute I met Teri I knew I had made the right decision. Teri greeted me with a warm smile andenthusiasm that was infectious. Teri is so down to earth and genuine. She is so easy to be with that I feltcomfortable immediately. We discussed ideas and details for my session and then booked the date.I should mention that Teri is very prompt to respond to any of your questions or concerns and I reallyappreciated that. I left our first meeting completely excited about our session. The ideas and creativitywas flowing. What should I wear? What are flattering poses? What props could I use to personalize myshoot? Teri emailed me right away confirming my booking along with great information and suggestionsfor our upcoming sessions (the information answered almost all of my questions). A few days later thatterrible feeling “doubt” kicked in and I started to get cold feet. I sent Teri an email to let her know as Iwas quite surprised by how nervous I felt. Teri was completely reassuring. She let me know I was in goodhands and this was going to be an amazing, even life changing experience and you know what?.....I trulybelieved her.
On the weekend before my shoot I was just full of excitement and had completely got over my nerves.Teri’s Boudoir photography is so much more than beautiful photos, it’s an experience. I arrived in themorning for my session and was greeted again by Teri’s warm smile and this time she had cookies too.We chatted and listened to music as my hair and make-up was done. I felt completely relaxed andready!It’s amazing to watch Teri getting ready to be creative too. She set up the studio and already had a planof the furniture and props she was going to use. Teri was excellent at providing direction and praiseduring the shoot. She made me feel completely empowered and beautiful! I left the shoot feeling oncloud nine!!!A week later I returned to view my photos. Teri once again greeted me warmly and walked me throughthe process. It was pretty emotional to see myself through her lens. I could hardly believe that some ofthe images were actually me. Teri has a gift! An ability to empower and capture the beauty andfierceness within. Teri and I spent a long time sharing life experiences before we said goodbye. She evenlent me a couple of inspirational books from her library. In closing, Teri said something during thisprocess that resonated with me. The photos are going to be a gift for your partner but the true gift andexperience is for you. I highly recommend woman to treat themselves to this amazing experience andultimate transformation.Thank you Teri for making this such a wonderful experience!"
I find that a lot of women are like Miss V. So many dreams, hopes, and aspirations bubble up inside us and standardly, moms, wives and mothers have to keep a lid on those things because they are used to giving so much of themselves (not saying that this is a bad thing...just something that happens a lot). I am not saying you need to quit your job tomorrow and run away to Mexico, but I am asking the question "What are you doing every day to get you closer to the life you want?"
Both Sides of Her ~ Winnipeg Boudoir Photography
It's not uncommon for me to receive a number of emails leading up to a client's shoot, but Miss J and I corresponded quite frequently. Her, voicing her concerns about how she saw herself, how others saw her, how seeing herself this way would make her feel, should she wait until she lost weight, etc. etc and me, calming her nerves and advised her that her fears shouldn't be strong enough to stop her from doing something epic for herself.
The day of the shoot came and Miss J. soothed her nerves with some Baileys in coffee (hey, it's the holidays!) while my makeup artist Nicole did her hair and makeup. It was during this time, that Miss J and I realized just how much we were alike and loved being within each other's energy fields!
So, Miss J's fears were mostly twofold. First, she advised me, almost everyone knew her as smiley, loud, and happy...but she knows herself deeper than that and within that smiling shell, she houses a woman of strength, sexuality, and deep emotion. THIS was the Miss J she wanted me to capture. So, she took a chance on my Black Friday special (hence all the black and white images) and we made absolute magic in the studio that day. She entertained the parts of her that she had kept hidden from others and she gave me the go ahead to share that side of her with you. She let herself be vulnerable and within that space, we explored beauty in sadness, captured raw sexuality, and reintroduced this mother and wife to all aspects of her being.
There is nothing saying that you can't be all the things. Happy and smiling, while sexually charged and full of emotion. All of these adjectives only describe parts of a person, not their whole being and that is what I love about the challenge of my profession. I get to see ALL the parts of my boudy babes: physically & soulfully and while it's hard for someone women to confront those areas of themselves, it's almost a sense of relief when they realize there is no judgement and there is nothing wrong with being strong and powerful, but raw and emotional at the same time.
I wanted to start the year off with Miss J because I believe that she fully represents the women I see. She had every fear possible before coming to see me, yet she fought through the fear because she knew she needed to explore a side of her that doesn't get out as often as she might like. During her shoot she fully trusted me to do what I do best and let herself be guided by my direction. And after her shoot, when she finally saw the images, she fell in love with herself and all the parts she originally told me she was fearful of exposing. And, ladies and gents, THAT is why I do what I do.
"As a woman, I am many things. A mother, wife, friend, artist, business woman, daughter,...the list goes on. Endlessly. Also...I am extremely sexual. That usually raises a few eyebrows...and quite frankly...I love to raise eyebrows. But what an amazing thing! To be alive and embrace your sexuality without shame or fear of judgement. Teri was not only able to capture my dark, raw sensuality in a beautiful way...but the entire time I felt as though she was cheering me on, encouraging me to love my body with all its lumps and bumps, and channel my sexual ferocity and embrace that power I have as a woman! Own that shit!!! I look forward to shoots with her for decades to come!"~Miss J.~