After many calls, emails, and messages Miss C. brought her lingerie and a bundle of nerves to her session. We ironed most of them out during her hair and makeup and once we got into the swing of things, you would think that she had been posing for boudoir sessions her whole life. This wife, momma and glorious woman did amazing at her session and I think in return, the session was amazing for her.
I have known Miss C. for a few years and it was important for me to show her exactly who she is to everyone around her. She is a giver. This woman is strong, fearless, but a giver. And you know what they say? A giver need to set limits, because takers never do.
This is something that happens to a lot of women, but I definitely saw it with Miss C. She lost herself a bit in the whirlwind of having children, living outside the city and if there's one thing I know, it's that she requires social activity. She is too sparkly to not interact with people!
Miss C felt everything most women do prior to their boudy babe sessions: fear, guilt, concern, and lack of confidence. She sent me emails about fear over her weight and size and I emailed back "You'll be fine. Trust me." We emailed back and forth for a few months and then, I called her. I eased the fear and put my foot down on the negative self talk. It was time for her to give up control Sometimes that's all it takes....someone saying: "It's okay. You don't need to be in control this time."
Miss C. brought her bombshell game and during her reveal there were tears. We didn't even get through the first photo before tissues were being used. THIS was the woman she knew she was! THIS was the woman hiding beneath the Rider sweaters, the kid's spit up, and the dishes at the homestead. THIS was the woman she needed to be reunited with. And it wasn't the weight she was looking at or thinking about anymore. She was looking at all the goddamned fabulousness and confidence that was bubbling up inside.
Miss C. will always be a giver, because that is just her nature and that is part of what makes her beautiful, but I hope that this session will remind her that she also needs to take time for herself.
Here's what this goddess had to say about her session:"Teri, your work brought me to tears. You told me to trust you. I was so very nervous I would not do your work justice. You also said you would get me naked. You succeeded and crushed any doubt I had. I did get naked and loved the finished product. As did my husband ."
Calm Your Tits, Ladies ~ Winnipeg Male Boudoir Shoot
Mr. R contacted me about doing a shoot for his lovely wife, as she had had a shoot done for him a few years prior and he wanted to surprise her with an amazing gift! Seriously, ladies & gents, this guy gets it. The hardest and most nerve-wracking thing for him was coming up with a lie to tell his wife about why he was "busy" for his consult and then his session. He was so nervous that she would find out that he was doing this, so he came up with a story and did everything covert so as not to spill the beans.
Like women, men also struggle with insecurities of having to fit the "perfect build" and I actually think it may be worse for men, because not only are they belittled if they don't have abs of steal, but they are teased if they even admit to being sensitive to the subject. All of that is bullshit. ALL people, regardless of gender, should be allowed to feel awesome about themselves, their body, and what they choose to do with it. It's time we start re-writing all these old school notions of "men being men" and what it means to be a "real man."
DUDES! It's not vain, conceited or "womanly" to enjoy have your photo taken and be okay with your body just as it is. It is, however, cowardly and insecure of you to pick on other dudes for it. LADIES! Don't laugh if you catch your husband/boyfriend taking selfies or appreciating their looks. They should be allowed to feel good in what they wear, how they feel, and the actions they take (unless by hurting other people).
Mr. R killed his shoot and his wife was beyond ecstatic with the results! They both came in for the viewing and she chose almost all of the photos! As ladies, we like a little eye candy from our partners too!
So, with that, I will be launching the male side of my boudoir business and I hope that more men will come forward after seeing that you don't have to be a male model with an 8 pack of abs and a chiseled jaw....instead, you need to be an awesome human being who is trying to or does love his body. THAT is the only criteria to doing a boudoir session with me! Bring it on, boys. And ladies, calm your tits, because there is more where this came from.
Here's what Mr. R said about his shoot:"For all you dudes that have perhaps thought about getting professional photos done, but for whatever reason haven't, I strongly recommend you do. It was a first for me and Teri made the whole experience
Miss A Takes On Portland ~ International Boudoir Photography
Miss A & I had the pleasure of meeting at a workshop in San Francisco last year, so I was really excited when she wanted to shoot with me! Shooting other photographers is a great compliment, but also a ton of fun. I told her that I would be in Portland so if it wasn't too much trouble she should come there (she runs the amazing nine23 photography studio in Indiana) and we could play in the AirBNB that I stayed at. So, she bopped on over to Portland with her man-friend and came in to my cute little space to have her session. Things I knew from the workshop: Miss A is a bundle of energy and loves to laugh. Things I learned from her session: she is able to work her eyes like nobody's business and her fierceness and take no shit attitude is extremely evident and refreshing.
The last time I saw Miss A, her hair was down to her shoulders and like most women, she changed her hair when she had a change in her life and now she rocks this kick ass pixie cut! I think she looks like a modern day Tinkerbell, but with a little more ferocity.
But with that ferocity, Miss A also has a gentle, kind, and compassionate soul that will do whatever it takes to take care of her family and those closest to her. She does what is right: for her, for her family, and for her life.
I think it's important for photographer's to "get shot" so they know what their clients will feel like, and I hope that Miss A will have this experience to look back on and show her clients that regardless of what is going on in your life, you sometimes need to put yourself first, because dammit, you are worth it! Anywho, I hope to see Miss A again in the future and I am sure we will meet up at workshops or conferences going forward!
And Then She Saw Her Worth ~ Winnipeg Boudoir Photography
Miss A. was another of my brilliant Regina boudy babes and my last shoot of 2015! We had an incredible time together and Miss A was full of energy, excitement and brought ALL the lingerie to her session! She had a surprising amount of confidence for someone who was doing a boudoir session for the first time and I found out later, that she followed the ol' adage of "fake it 'til ya make it"! Regardless, she jumped into her session full force and I was not aware of the huge difference this session made for Miss A's confidence in herself. For someone as young as she is, she is very much an old soul who eloquently shared her feelings about her session with me.
"In all my wildest dreams i could never see myself doing something as crazy and unexpected as a boudoir shoot. I came across your images on Facebook, and could not believe how beautiful all the different shapes and colours of girls you were able to capture. I was mesmerized. When i dug deeper into your Facebook wall, i noticed you were coming to Regina soon and my excitement grew, i knew instantly that you were the one for me (kind of like seeing that pair of shoes in the store window, and knowing you just had to have them).. after further discussing with my partner (who of course was ALL FOR IT), i took the plunge and put my deposit down. Instantly after doing so i had this incredibly nervous feeling. I had just signed up to stand butt naked in front of a stranger (WHO AM I, and WHAT had i done with Alii.... was all i could think).. as time passed, i followed your FB and kept seeing all the gloriously pictures. I kept thinking to myself that there was no way mine could turn out as good as those ones.
The morning of the shoot, I went and got my hair and make up done (by Amanda Gibson, Pure Beauty Regina) and instantly felt pretty (she did an amazing job).... however, i only got more nervous as i knew it was show time soon. When i arrived, Terri... instantly made me feel comfortable. I knew right away I had made the right choice in asking you to be apart of something that would change my outlook on myself... forever.
I dove into the shoot as if I wasn't nervous.. I changed in front of Teri, noting I would soon be posing naked (minus we'll get the naked out of the way early on)... and the shoot came natural. Teri helped me with my horrible "open mouth" poses... and my not so arched back... in the end I was empowered and felt so comfortable!!
As I left, I was excited and nervous all at the same time. I knew their was no way my images would turn out like the ones I seen on her FB. I patiently waited for the pictures... UNTIL... I seen them. My goodness, I was not looking at myself when I first glanced through the pictures. Some, I instantly fell in love with, and till today I still love them.
Getting to show my significant other pictures that I called myself beautiful in was a whole new experience for me. Together, him and I picked 60 favourite pictures, eventually narrowing them down to 40 (which was extremely difficult.. which is so unlikely for me... I'm lucky if I usually like half of a picture of myself).... SOOO, after this, I have nothing left to say but thank you. Teri was able to make me see myself as no other had, I hold my head high, and feel more confident in my daily activities. I no long want to be like the girls I see on tv, rather, I am so extremely content with the beautiful I have created all on my own."
Women comparing themselves to others on social media, TV, or anywhere is a huge waste of energy when we could spend that time loving and embracing the uniqueness that makes each of use individually beautiful. Acknowledging another woman's beauty does not take away from your own and I think this is an important thing people need to understand. We need to stop trying to achieve J Lo's ass, Kendell Jenner's lips, and other body parts that A) are not meant to be ours or we would have them and B) are probably fake. Dr. Seuss said it best when he said:“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”
And Miss A, I am extremely proud that you have come to realize the beauty and strength that comes from owning and appreciating your youest you!
And Then She Became Unstoppable ~ Winnipeg Boudoir Photography
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?"