A crazy part of being a creative entrepreneur is that you need an outlet and the opportunity to try things you have never done before in an effort to keep you alive and passionate for the work you create for your clients. It's helpful to have an amazing team available when you need to get an idea out of your head and onto paper, film, computer, and this particular project was no different. I told Nicole, my fab makeup artist, to come to the studio because I had 3 ideas to play through and it was completely different for both of us from the makeup to the styling to the posing....definitely not my traditional boudoir. That being said, it turned out exactly the way I saw it in my head when I purchased a pair of nude panty hose. I am now inspired to try this same concept with multiple colors in the future, so it may be an ongoing adventure! In any case, here are the results of Look #1 (which cost me approximately $8 for the entire "outfit")
Hard {Inspirational Session} ~ Winnipeg Boudoir Photography
Nicole and I did it again! This time we were inspired by Rihanna's HARD video with it's green/yellow tones and bad ass military vibe. While we didn't get as many outfits as we had wanted, I still like to think we made magic. For me, this was a challenging shoot because of the editing more than the shooting process. I had to desaturate a lot and play with color toning that I usually try to avoid. I got frustrated, but then I had fun learning and trying to match the lighting styles of the video. Once we played out the military outfit, we decided to grab some shots of Nicole with our faux police attire as she is trying to decide what she should be for Halloween....she's just going to go to 2 different parties.
Here's our inspiration:
Stephanie {Pittsburgh Travel Diaries} ~ International Boudoir Photographer
Every now and then you meet the people that are just....your people, you know? Well, little did I know when I went to a Boudoir Retreat in San Fransisco that I would meet 2 of my kindred spirits. I have already introduced you to Paige, so today I will be sharing the other bad ass babe with you, but I want to start with our initial in person meeting because it's super cute. So, I had arrived to Denise Birdsong's Modern Love studio for my photoshoot the same day that Stephanie and Paige were also having their sessions done, so I had quickly met Paige while she was in makeup and Stephanie was just wrapping up her session when she walked past me in the waiting area. All I heard was "Omigodiloveyourposingguidehiiiiiiiiii" and with a little hand wave she disappeared. We joke that her fangirling over me was one of the funniest moments we shared together and I know I will definitely never forget it. Throughout the weekend, however, Stephanie, Paige and I just bonded with each other. We had similar sense of humour, we vibed with each others' energy, and we managed to get our poor male model to wear nothing but a hand towel (#handtowelheroes). We were so sad when the weekend came to an end and as soon as we got home we started making plans for our next meet up and before you know it, August was here and we all met at Stephanie's house for a few days. We had such an incredible time hanging out, drinking wine, photographing models and then photographing each other (oh! and they took me to Target, yay!) We laughed until our tums hurt, we cried about our life experiences and we helped build each other up. This is what I love about #communityovercompetition in photography. When you find your people, hang onto them and hold them tight because entrepreneurship is lonely as fuck and you will need some trustworthy peeps in your corner when you need to have a bit of a breakdown. So, for Stephanie's shoot we decided to channel more of a retro vibe and styling, thanks to Dessa Marie Artistry, and while we started in her studio, I wasn't about to leave her gorgeous character home without shooting in it, so we pulled together a few amazing looks for there as well. So, without further adieu, here is Miss Stephanie in all her beauty, glory, and magnificance. I love her sooooo much.
"I had the privilege of meeting Teri at a workshop and was instantly attracted to her fizzy fuzzy bubbly personality. I’ve followed her work and each and every time, I have found myself impressed if not in total awe. Her work is incredibly sexy and raw. She was so much fun to be with that I could see her models not even spending a moment in their heads. By the close of the workshop we had made plans to collaborate further.
It is quite the faux pas as a boudoir photographer to have not put yourself in your clients shoes. Just like my own clients, my fears and my insecurities about my body run deep. My session with Teri wasn’t about fear or insecurity. It felt an awful lot like Teri herself, fizzy fuzzy and bubbly.When I hold the finished product in my hand,I literally can’t even :)I look at these photos and I can hardly believe it is me!
I was there, I remember getting all dolled up, I remember posing but what I don’t remember is any concern about my body. Not a fear about how I looked or most importantly, as a photographer; not a worry about the actual photograph. There wasn’t any time to worry about my body because I was already having too much fun. Teri’s energy and direction easily overrode my insecurities.
Now I get to look at images of myself and see sexy and raw. It isn’t just something reserved for someone else. That feeling, that experience and the pride is now mine as well. And I can’t stop staring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dayum, Teri.
The Tapestry of Her Life's Story ~ Winnipeg Boudoir Photography
I consider Miss S to be a good friend in addition to an awesome client. I mean, this babe will literally go to the ends of the world for the people in her life...who doesn't want someone like that in their life?? Well, we were supposed to do maternity photos for her, but if you remember the time I had someone go into labor while they were in hair and makeup, then you will be happy to know it was Miss S and the baby that arrived about 4 hours after we sent her to the hospital is Mr. T (above). Miss S came to my studio to paint my wall for me (because my attention to detail is shit and she showed up with her own professional brush!) so in exchange she was the first babe photographed on the wall and since she was a new mom, we also had Mr. T join us for the occasion. I literally never have babies in my studio during a session, but this was a bit different because we wanted to document something different.This is the season of her life now. Just when we would get into a sexy pose, Mr. would cry for his momma (he was hungry) and while we tried to continue, it was easier to stop and feed him, but during this time we also got some of my favorite photos of forever. For Miss S's shoot, this time around (she had done a shoot with me the year prior when I was in Vegas), I wanted her acknowledge her mom bod and really see it for what it was so I only lightly edited the images. I wanted to showcase her swelling breasts which provide sustenance to her baby, I wanted to show her the amazingness that is the body's ability to inflate and deflate, growing life while doing so. I wanted to show her that motherhood doesn't mean a lack of sexiness, it means a change in mind as to what sexy is. I wanted her to see that her body, while different, is a wonderful thing that is capable of so, so much (including climbing a 10ft ladder without falling off!!). Lastly, I wanted her to see that this is a new season of her life and her body is being used in a different fashion that it was before. Right now, it may seem like it's no longer hers, but the purpose of providing life and sustenance to her little dude seems to be a pretty important task...to add the task of fitting into "societal beauty standards" and the "yummy mummy bod" would be rude. She is beautiful, gorgeous, and changed from the experience of having a child. Miss S wrote her own experiences in her blog here , explaining that she finally feels "at home" in her body!! I highly recommend checking it out!
Her body is not ruined, it has evolved.Her body is not ruined, it is a map of the terrain her body weathered while growing a life, giving birth, and continuing to feed. The blue rivers stretch to feed her baby, the shallow valleys of her skin tell the story of her body's journey, and mountain ridges of scar tissue while red now, will eventually erode, falling into the tapestry of her life's story.Her body is not ruined.
{This was the moment when Mr T decided to poo all over his momma's arm.}
Your Body Does Not Owe You Beauty ~ Winnipeg Boudoir Photography
Your body does not owe you beauty.
Your body's job is to literally keep you alive, allowing you to move throughout the world in whatever manner you choose. It's not meant to be flawless, it's not meant to stay in the same form it was when you were in your "prime" (whatever the fuck that means), you are not entitled to a body of societal beauty standards...because that is not your body's job.
Imagine yourself at work. Wherever that is for you: it could be at an office, playing with kids, on a construction site, taking care of the elderly, or being creative, whatever. Now, let's assume that you are amazing at the tasks laid out for you by said profession. You show up when you are asked, you diligently perform the tasks no matter how much crap your boss throws your way, you try to go above and beyond in every possible form for your job. Now, imagine while you are doing such an amazing and consistent job when your boss comes up to you every day and says "You are ugly. Why can't you look prettier? Why aren't you stronger? You are gross and jiggly. You are disgusting. I wish you would go away. I wish you were someone else."
I can imagine you wouldn't appreciate it. I mean, on top of all the other stuff you are doing your best at, now you have to look a certain way and you are constantly being critiqued every day?? That would suck immensely and, I would hope, many of us would quit.
Well, you should thank your lucky fucking stars that your body doesn't quit regardless of the terrible things you say and do to it.
It shows up every damn day to do it's best and work as hard as it can to keep you alive and breathing. It's trying incredibly hard to do the tasks laid out before it, but it's still not good enough? Come on.
Your body does not need to be reminded that it's not good enough, when in fact it must be good enough if you are reading this. I am not saying you have to be in love with your body, but you certainly have to be appreciative of the fact that it is literally the only reason you are alive in this very instant. Despite the constant hate, anger, frustration, pinching, poking, squeezing, lifting, sighing, and verbal & physical abuse, your body shows up every day to do it's job to the best of it's ability.
We talk a lot about telling yourself that your body is beautiful. But it doesn't have to be in order for it to be valuable. Why do we have to associate our appreciation for our body immediately with beauty? Maybe we need to take a step back and really think about why we have to deduce everything about ourselves to being "beautiful" as if once we recognize our beauty THEN we become valuable. Maybe we never recognize that we are "beautiful", does this make us less valuable?? Fuck no. We have to realize that ourSELVES can be so much more than just "beautiful".
So, stop expecting your body to fall into a societal standard of beauty that changes every 10 years, because that is not it's fucking job.Your body deserves a break from the verbal and physical abuseYour body deserves recognition of it's talents and abilities at keeping you alive