I'm sure most moms can identify with Miss "S", here. Always the one taking the photos...never actually IN them. Insecure about the way the body has changed after having kids. She put on her big girl panties (well...maybe not BIG...sexy strappy black ones !) and had a boudoir shoot with me. And the result was magical.
Here's what Miss "S" had to say:
"This session was a way for me to reclaim my body and end the unhealthy relationship that I have held on to for far too long. Since my daughter’s birth, to be exact, I have gone back and forth with accepting my body and created these self-made insecurities. Being a photographer myself (Sweet Pixel Photography), I have felt like a hypocrite in so many mays and have always been behind the lens. In a way, I was hiding. Photographing and capturing love, life, and beauty is one thing, but being inside a body, claiming it as your own, and feeling (and believing) like a sexy and confident woman is another.
Sorry guys and gals, my name is Stephanie, I am a photographer of love, and I have struggled with loving my body for quite some time. At nearly 32, I needed to see myself in a different light. I needed to truly “see” my body separate from what my loving partner has always told me. I needed to see it separate from the words that I always hear my sweet 7 year old saying. “Mommy, you are the most beautiful mommy in the whole wide world.” Even with their words, I didn’t believe it. It wasn’t enough.
Before my session, I was nervous trying to get across town in the rain. I assure you, those beads of water were not raindrops, I was sweating. When I finally arrived for my make up, I pulled into a parking spot and sifted through some texts from my honey that I received earlier in the week. I re-read them all, and I smiled. To be completely raw, I teared up. His support, his love, and his excitement for me and this session was unbelievable. I knew in that moment that I fell even more in love with him through this experience because of the way HE chose to support me. He knew I needed this, wanted this, and he trusted me. Silently, he was trusting Kara, as well. He didn’t care if there were images of me in lingerie on Instagram, Facebook, Blogs, and other social media outlets, because it wasn’t about that. This session was about embracing womanhood and motherhood, ALL of it. It is about a busy mom finally doing something for herself that made her feel beautiful. This was just one way of him supporting me practicing my own self-love, I just left the yoga pants at home. ;)
And then I met Lauren and Kara. Lauren was fantastic and instantly started calming my nerves the moment she started my make-up application. Then there was Kara, well let’s just say that she has a way of making you feel like you have been friends forever, as she lays behind her tulle-covered lens bringing out your inner goddess. She was fantastic and I am so privileged to have had the opportunity to work with her team. Kara, I am very grateful for your gift, thank you.
His words…
“You’ll be great. Be confident in the beauty you possess, be confident in your inner sexiness, be confident, be you. Embrace the gift of Boudoir and know that what goes around, comes around, and that it’s your turn.”
“Enjoy that time for yourself, be your sexy self, own it, and know that I’m thinking about you… I love you…”
… and then my love took me shopping."
Isn't she a bombshell?!! Seriously. Gorgeous. I applaud Miss "S" for not only stepping out of her comfort zone, but for proudly sharing her knockout photos with the world to encourage other women to embrace the experience for THEMSELVES.
Credits-
Makeup by Lauren Davis of Hint of Shimmer
Austin Boudoir Photographer Click Chick Boudoir
Hand-Painted Silk robe from Bali can be found at UNDERWEAR of Austin and is originally from Brilliant Imports http://www.brilliantimports.com