The first time I met Miss A was a few years ago when I was casting for a fashion photo shoot and it has been awhile since we last shot together. This time around, she contacted me because she wanted to do a boudoir session and she took advantage of my July 24-hour promo, giving herself a classy session. You see, Miss A worked as a model (you probably saw her in Warehouse One ads back in the day) so you would think doing "another photoshoot" wouldn't be special for her, but this was totally different. I have come to find that sometimes models are harder to work with because they are trained to be whatever the photographer, art director or agency wants and they have a hard time connecting with themselves. We even chatted about this prior to her shoot while she was getting her hair & make up done. I told her to leave her "modeling shit" behind and to get vulnerable with me today (I get bossy when I need to be.). Miss A brought it...she was sensual, feminine, sexy as hell, and natural. Her reveal was interesting to me. I was nervous. Would she see the photos, just like every other photoshoot? Or would she see herself as a woman?
Well, here is Miss A's recount of her boudoir experience with us:
As a model; I'm always working hard to appeal to what all the others want for their photo and outcome; but with Teri we were able to solely work on what I wanted. I'm so excited to have pictures that remind me how strong, fearless and beautiful I really am. She always makes me comfortable (maybe too comfortable -I didn't even wear bottoms most of the shoot hehe) and her direction is just as helpful to achieving a beautiful photo. I LOVED my wet TShirt outfit!
She went on to say that her experience was "unforgettably life altering" and I would have to agree. Many of the beauties that strip down emotionally and physically in front of my lens tend to change their lives in one way or another. Perhaps they realize who they were all along or they learn something new about themselves! In either case, I like to think that every client who does something amazing for themselves is rewarded with knowledge about their awesomeness!
She Was Blown Away ~ Winnipeg Boudoir Photographer
Miss K has one of the most infectious laughs ever. I had the pleasure of having Miss K be part of our Boudy Babe shoot/video last month and that made us even more excited for her upcoming session. This woman is one of the kindest, most beautiful souled people I have ever met and I am pleased you to get to hear about her experience today! When she came in for her consult we talked about what type of session she wanted: classy or sassy and she had mentioned a combo of both so I knew it was going to be a ton of fun! Sassy sessions are always risky, ridiculously empowering and push people out of their comfort zone. My favorite things! Without further adieu, here is Miss K!!
Before the session I felt a little nervous but took comfort in having done the #boudybabe group session with Teri recently which was so much fun and a nice way to prepare myself for an individual session.
My comfort and confidence definitively grew throughout the session which happened to coincide with me wearing less and less clothing...go figure! Teri gives great direction making it very easy to just go with the flow and really enjoy the experience. While it was more makeup than I would typically wear (as it is photo makeup!), it was a treat having it done professionally. Nicole did a wonderful job which is plain to see in the photos!
Hard to pinpoint what was the one thing I will remember most, but honestly just how much we laughed! What an empowering experience that left me feeling sexy, beautiful and full of confidence. I am forever grateful for the experience, happy I invested in myself because it paid off ten fold.
How did I feel when I saw my images? Blown way. First thought was "Holy Shit, that's really me!!" Teri essentially captured my essence and all aspects of my personality . I keep telling her how amazing the photos are to which she is quick to say "no, you're amazing!".
I would do another session in a heartbeat. Leaving the session, I wanted to walk back through Teri's door and do it all over again. Teri is a true master in her craft, beautiful soul, creative mind and an absolute pleasure to work with.
Well thank you, Miss K! (And I still stand by it...she IS amazing!) Inspired to come in and invest in yourself and have a day to let loose and experience all facets of your being? Awesome. Shoot me a message!!
The Uncovered Revolution~ Winnipeg Boudoir Photography
Launching the Uncovered Sessions may not seem like a big deal, but it absolutely is. In our VIP group on Facebook, I questioned my babes about how they would feel if they saw an unretouched photo of themselves and why they would feel the way they did. The majority of them stated their perceived flaws would be amplified, they would see their "imperfections" and they would be faced with what the world has told them is true: they aren't "perfect." Well, here's a fun fact: you will never be perfect to everyone and the only person you need to be perfect for is yourself.
The beautiful girl in this post is an amazing makeup artist and currently working towards a fitness competition which means A)she uses makeup a lot (now for fun more than anything) and B)she is working to attain a strong body and someone else's idea of what perfection is (in addition to her own). Now, the cool thing about that is, she came forward saying she wanted to partake in this photoshoot and I promise you that if you aren't thinking "What does she have to be concerned about? She's tiny and beautiful" then the next person to read it will. We are drowning in comparison hysteria (something I made up). We see someone else and automatically assume that they can't possibly feel as terrible as we do. We look at them and say "Oh!! How I wish I had their XXXX!" When in actuality, those people are probably look at you and thinking the exact same thing!!
I invited some babes to my studio to talk about body image and where it all began for them and one of the questions I asked was "If Photoshop wasn't a thing and you didn't know there was a way to change your appearance in photos, would you still want them to be changed??" Like, who decided that a poreless face was an ideal standard?? Who decided that the "perfect" waist size was 26 inches?? And who the fuck decided to tell us to despise all the natural parts of us SO much that we would spend countless dollars, hours, and energy trying to remove, manipulate, shrink, enlarge, erase, or color them?? Whomever it is should start worrying, because I am only a small part of the upcoming revolution to body acceptance.
It's time to raise up, ladies, and shout from the rooftops that we will no longer buy into the bullshit that we aren't enough of one thing and not too much of another!! It's time to say "I'm okay with all my bits!! I am okay with my rolls, with my skin, with my color, with my age, with my waist size, with my shape, with my height, with all the bits that make up the perfection that is me!!"
What does this mean for boudoir sessions with me? Will ALL of them be photoshop free?? Not at all!! "But what the heck, Teri," you are thinking to yourself, "You just said..." Yes, yes I know. My goal with the Uncovered Sessions is to give you a resource to help you on your journey to self-love and acceptance. These sessions are more of a therapeutic tool rather than the luxury experience that you will experience with the traditional boudoir sessions. I want you to love seeing yourself unretouched as much as you do retouched. I want you to love yourself without makeup as much as you love seeing yourself with makeup.
Now, things you can expect with the Uncovered Sessions:You will have rolls. (these are beautiful)You will have texture to your skin. (gasp! what a concept!)You will see your scars, birthmarks, beauty marks, and all the other makings of your story. (yours is unique to you!)You will see a true documentation of yourself in this particular time in your life. You will have to face your true beauty.Do I believe these sessions are for everyone? No. Do I believe that everyone should experience an uncovered session at some point in their journey? Yes, but I know that not everyone is ready to face these parts of themselves just yet.
We've all seen the #nomakeup#nofilter selfie on Instagram for the world to see (and don't get me wrong, I love a good selfie) but when are we going to start looking at these photos for ourselves and actually spending time with them. I mean, looking at ourselves in the mirror or in a photo and seeing the awesome boss babe that is staring back instead of picking apart every little thing we have been told is the wrong way. (Note: I didn't say "IS" wrong, I said you have been TOLD it's wrong.)
So, dolls, you will see the details for these sessions under the packages and promos tab on the website or if you want to learn more about them you can schedule a time to come see me for a chat and let's get this revolution started!!
What The F* Is a "Body Standard?" ~ Winnipeg Boudoir Photographer
This is the story of my boudy beginnings and my attempt to influence the world, one woman at a time. (Also, be warned, there's nudity and quite a bit of passionate swearing ahead, so enjoy the message below, but then click away if you want no part of that)
'Twas the year 2014 when I embarked upon a journey that would forever change and shape my life, career, and focus of passion. For a long time it bothered me listening to women say "I need to have Kim Kardashian's ass" or "I need Cara Delvigne's eyebrows" or "I wish I had her body" OR WORSE YET: " I wish I had the body for xxxxxx." I am not saying I have never said these things, because I am pretty certain that it is a fact that 93% of your twenties is spent on not knowing what is the right way to do or be anything, but the problem with this mentality is that we are searching for the "perfect body type."
So, one day I was perusing a Cosmo magazine (which I never read anymore because it's filled with a lot of mindless drivel that does women more harm than good, tbh) there was a survey they had done where they interview men and I think the title was something ridiculous like "What Body Type Men REALLY Prefer" or some shit like that and I read it because God knows, every woman needs to know what SHE can do (contort, change, improve, shave, etc.) to land the "perfect" man (please note my extreme use of sarcasm). Anywho, the results of the survey were so diverse that you wouldn't really know what to do if you DID want to try to land a "perfect" man. It was like 13% of men surveyed like big boobs, 24% of men like women with a big butt, 21% of men like a woman with a sense of humor, or some horse shit like that. The percentages were not high enough for you to say "ALL MEN LIKE XXXX." So, that got me thinking....why do we, as women, feel the need to fit into a particular shape and size? Because, clearly, it's not because of something our men want. (Also, just stop trying to do shit to please men....be yourself and your person will find you.)
So, after reading that information and thinking about it over some time, I decided to throw together a project to prove my hypothesis right: that there is not 1 set "body type" and that we all should stop trying to achieve something that is not us. So, I did what most people did in the year of 2014, I took to the ever loving Facebook and posted a casting call on my page asking women to come forth and wear as much or as little clothing as they wanted, but the trick was, they had to let me photograph them with no Photoshop. They would be a 100% authentic representation of their babeliness. I thought maybe I'd get 20 people. I received emails and messages upon messages from over 75 women in both Winnipeg and Regina and over the course of the month of September in 2014, I had the pleasure of photographing each of these babes for like 5 minutes each to get 1 shot that told their story the best!
Every woman that came in had a different reason for wanting to be part of my Body Celebration Project and I loved hearing their stories, but what really changed the focus of my life, was the emails that came AFTER they had their little photo sessions.
I received countless FB messages and emails with words of confidence and excitement that they had done something so incredibly empowering. That was when I realized that if I could do that in 5 minutes, imagine what I could do with a half day or a full day with women! How much further along their journey to self love and appreciation would they be if they came to see themselves in a totally new and accepting way.
Now, these days, body positivity is all the rage and I think that is absolutely phenomenal because it means our voices are getting louder and fashion agencies, marketers, and the media are getting on board with the fact that, hey, all bodies ARE different and all bodies ARE beautiful, but we still have a long way to go. The women that came in for this project probably had no idea that they were going to change the course of MY life so drastically. After September, I ditched everything else that I normally shot (weddings, portraits, families, etc.) and focused my mission on empowering women as much as I could in whatever format I could, whether it be through speaking, writing, photography, philanthropy and just general silliness.
But, this isn't about me. This is about women coming together to celebrate their bodies. One of the questions I asked during their 5 minute session was "What is your least favorite body part?" and women responded with about 5 answers in less than a second. Then I would ask "What is your favorite body part?" and they would stop and have to think about it before answering with something like: eyes, lips, hair, face. Most women (of all the different sizes) were not a fan of their tummies. So, I asked them to show their tummy some love, because it is a part of them (and to be honest, without your tummy you would be at least a foot shorter). The funny thing about the human body, though, is that it is going to change, evolve, grow, shrink, move, contort, get scarred, get hurt, and so forth continually throughout life. So, maybe we should just be thankful for the stage that our bodies are at right now because they are moving us from point A to point B and letting us go about our lives and do our earth work.
It's interesting because we tell ourselves over and over not to compare ourselves to other women, but in order to showcase the reason why we SHOULDN'T compare ourselves, I had to compare all these images together by putting them into one large print. (Let's just say it's for science.) The thing is, the grass is always greener, my friends. You will always want the thing you cannot have and maybe that is part of the journey. I had to come to the dire fact that I am not meant to have pastel hair...if I was, I would have been born blond and patient. So, I shall rock this brunette like it's going out of style.
Women influencing and empowering women is really important to the world and it happens so far and so fast that if we stop focusing on the little bits of ourselves that we deem "undesireable" because 1 person said something to us 15 years ago, we would be able to take the world by storm. Let. That. Shit. Go. YOU are what's important. Your HEALTH (mental and physical) is what's important. Stop trying to become someone or something other than yourself because you were designed to be beautiful and magnificent and spectacular. Below is one of my favorite images found on Pinterest because it is true (I am not sure of the artist):
So, instead of saying "I need to look like {insert celebrity or non-celebrity name here}" start to look deeper into yourself and ask "Why do I think that? What will achieving those lips, those eyes, those bewbs, etc. change so drastically in my life?" Look at all those babely babes above, not a single one of them looks exactly the same but they all looking so damn beautiful and happy. And remember: All bodies are beautiful but beautiful bodies aren't everything. So, yah, fuck the body standard and remember that one woman's beauty has absolutely fuck all to do with your own.