Where to begin? When this amazing woman and mother of two contacted me, I KNEW that I was about to be a part of something spectacular. Miss "L" has had a doozy of a year, recently being diagnosed with Lupus, and losing a lot of weight as a result. In her initial email she told me she was having a hard time handling her lack of curves and "girlish" figure. I knew that she NEEDED this. And I KNEW that I had to be the one to photograph her. I mean...no offense to other boudoir photographers out there or anything...but my tagline IS "boudoir photographer to the AWESOME". Miss "L" was the epitome of AWESOME.
And here is her story....
“Over the course of 12 months, I broke my ankle and was in a NON-weight bearing cast for 4 months- with two children and a 2 STORY HOUSE!! It was my right ankle—No driving either! About two weeks after I could finally walk again, I found a lump in my breast. 5 doctors later, test after test after test, and finally an excisional biopsy, I found out I had a condition called SLE, or Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. With this diagnosis, came a drastic change in my eating habits- think, you can’t eat anything except meat and vegetables! Since my diagnosis, I have lost a drastic amount of weight and my bust in its entirety. I know it doesn’t sound like much, and is probably so trivial a thing to complain about, but after having two children I felt like I should have my womanly figure, that they had taken my health, basically every food out there, but that I should still get to have my figure!
I contacted Kara in the hopes that I would see these pictures, and not see the absence of a figure and the plight of this otherwise sick girl that is trying every day in every moment to prevent this inevitability of what SLE means, but that I would see the me, that my husband and family sees.
My morning was absolutely wonderful. I had my hair styled by the sweetest stylist who was so welcoming and made me feel so special. My make-up was no different. She airbrushed my make-up, perfected every imperfection, and made me look stunning. Seriously these girls are awesome! I walked in an overworked, over-tired mom with a great cup of coffee, and I walked out a supermodel! THEN, I went to this gorgeous studio that Kara had rented out JUST for the shoot, and had the pleasure of working with Kara, and Jennifer of Underwear, seriously the cutest lingerie boutique in AUSTIN.
Then the shoot started, Kara is INCREDIBLE!! I was so nervous that I wouldn’t know what to do or where to look, or that the look of, “Oh my gosh, I can’t fill this out,” would show on my face. But she talked me through every pose. Every inch of my body was so meticulously positioned to get the most flattering shots! She listened to every word, and hesitation and she talked me through it all! She would even burst out as she was snapping pictures, “Ooh I love it, You look Great, Eeee this looks soooo good!” Seriously, with that much encouragement who wouldn’t feel comfortable! I ended up taking so many pictures and having so much fun, I would really love to do it again! We had such a fun time shooting!"
“I never thought, after the year I have had, that anything this great could happen. It has been such a gift, and I know that these pictures are really going to help me to feel like the woman, the wife, and mother I am, and not like the condition I have.”
My husband was totally a fan of this too! Ha, go figure right! Hands down, Kara is the best. Period. Thank you, Thank You, Thank you!”
What a delightful woman. Seriously. Her laugh was so much fun to capture. She is (clearly) so insanely beautiful. I'm so proud of her for rocking out this shoot!!! GIVE HER SOME LOVE in the comments, y'all! <3
Credits:
Hair: Nina of Urban Betty
Makeup: Lauren of Hint of Shimmer
Lingerie Styling: Jennifer of UNDERWEAR
Boudoir Photography: Click Chick Boudoir