I started shooting boudoir in 2010…before I even launched my business…my bestie was my first client.

Just over 3 years later, I experienced boudoir (in front of the camera) for the first time! Well…technically, I had boudoir pics done in 2009, but it doesn’t count because (a) boudoir wasn’t really a thing back then, and (b) my sister took them! She’s not a professional and we had no idea what we were doing!!

So. February 2014 was my first real experience and guess what…I was nervous! I know, I know…how can a boudoir photographer be nervous about having boudoir photos done?! I was asking myself the same thing, but it comes down to trust…and feeling like you have permission to just be yourself. Will I feel awkward? Will I feel comfortable? Will I feel beautiful?

My experience started with hair and makeup. Although I didn’t end up looking like me at all (it was a little too glam and too much for my taste), I thoroughly enjoyed the process and the pampering, and it relaxed me for camera time. Within minutes of stripping down to my undies, I was having so MUCH FUN! That hour was over in no time. I hadn’t seen a single picture and I wanted to do it all over again, already!

I have experienced boudoir about ten times in total (maybe more), and I have loved every single one. They were all different. They were all empowering. They were all me…in some way or another! The one I did this year is my favourite because I did my own hair and makeup and it was exactly how I like it…it was specific to my tastes.

The experience is always my favourite part…with the pictures coming in as an immediate and close second. Words can’t really express the true feeling of boudoir. It’s just so magical.

Boudoir has so much more to offer than just pictures. It’s like your wedding…a beautiful day you will never forget. A day full of fun and happiness and beauty. You truly feel like a Queen! With boudoir though, you get to experience it as many times as you like. It’s not just a once in a lifetime opportunity. I think boudoir should be an annual occasion…or at least a milestone celebration. I once travelled across the country for boudoir pictures and made a whole weekend of it. It was priceless.

Even though I had already been shooting boudoir for a couple of years before I experienced it for myself, it was definitely the catalyst for my direction in business. From that very moment, I started focusing more and more on women and paying this experience forward to them. I want EVERY woman to feel exactly how I felt…brave, beautiful and special.

Have you experienced boudoir?

How did it make YOU feel? And if you haven’t yet tried it…what’s stopping you?