"Well-behaved women seldom make history." -Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
Stand up, speak out, fight for everything you believe is right. Make your stance known. Do not let any man OR woman tell you what you should or should not be doing. You do you. Make mistakes and learn from them. Don't let anyone make you feel bad about them. Be compassionate and love with all of your might.
I'm coming out swinging today.
I may have squealed loud enough for my neighbors to hear when I got word that Miss L was allowing me to share her words and photos with y'all. Her shoot was seriously incredible. And...y'all....I would kill for her curves! Seriously. Hair, lips, boobs, waist, legs, booty...the whole damn package.
She's been following my work on Instagram for a few years now, and it was so fun to bring her in, doll her up, and let her shine in front of my lens. I could have photographed her all day.
Here's what Miss "L" had to say!:
"It's hard to be a woman sometimes. Heck, it's hard to be a human these days! I'm finally in a place of my life where I'm able to fully embrace my career, my womanhood, my romance, and more - woohoo!
It took a long time to realize life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful and I knew I wanted to capture this time with something special... something sassy... something sexy! I've followed Kara's work for a few years and just love her vision. Every image tells a little story and I knew I had to work with her someday. As soon as I gained the courage to sign up for a boudoir photo session, it was a fantastic experience through the entire process!
Kara captured my look and mood in every photo. She gives great direction and her compliments help you relax. I would definitely do it again and recommend her to EVERY girl I know. No matter your body type or age, she'll make you feel like a beautiful woman. Thanks, Kara - keep rockin' it!!!"
Is she not just a blonde goddess!? Ahh! Love these images. Ok, carry on.
Thank you to Miss L for sharing her gorgeousness with us! And also, as always, to my lovely makeup artist Kendall!
I shall preface this post by saying that this woman makes pregnancy look all adorable and stuff. Try not to harbor any bad feelings towards her for this. It's not her fault she's so damn cute, even at 7 months pregnant!! ;)
But seriously though...look!!! I LOVED this maternity session, Miss KK was such a pleasure to photograph!
Every time I go in to HEAT Bootcamp for my training sessions, this girl is there, lunging away- bump and all! I wish I possessed HALF of her energy...and I'm not even pregnant!
Thank you to Miss Keri for allowing me to share her gorgeous photos will all of you lovelies!
The hardest and least favorite part of my job is DEFINITELY keeping secrets! It's such a challenge....especially when I'm sitting on such awesome images!!
THIS badass bombshell came to me a few months ago in hopes of creating an awesome anniversary present for her husband. We had the most amazing time during her shoot and got some of my all-time favorite images. And her husband "LOOOOVVVVVEEESSSSS" the images ;)
Right before we started this set of images, this client said "How do you pick who gets to be on your blog?" To which I responded "Ummm....ANYONE who I photograph can be on my blog if they want to be!!" So she said "Can I please be on your blog!?!?!" Hell yes you can, my dear. Hell yesssss.
PHEW! It feels good to get that off my chest. ;)
I love how she rocked out plaid, leather, lace, and ended with a super soft and feminine set! It was SUCH a versatile shoot and it was such a pleasure to photograph her!!!
My journey into specialization started years ago. Only it didn't start with me actually specializing as it should have. It started with me thinking in the back of my mind (way back there with high school algebra and "how to be a domestic wife") "I really should be JUST a boudoir photographer. That's it."
Then of course, at "OTHER" voice in my head said things like:
"But lots of people pay you to photograph those other things!"
"But about 40% of your income is based on everything but boudoir!"
"But you would lose so much of your existing target market!"
"But so many people have negative feelings towards boudoir!"
"But the numbers! Do the numbers! It doesn't make sense!"
"But it's so hard to promote yourself as a boudoir photographer. I mean...not everyone wants their photos online...and, after all, that IS how you accumulated so many of your existing clients...because they saw your photos."
"But Facebook hates boobs."
"But your expenses will go up tremendously. You'll need a studio. And furniture for the studio. And insurance for the studio. And electricity for the studio. And, and, and..."
"But, but, BUTTTTTTTTT....."
I, of course, heard all of those specialized photographers talking about how fantastic it was, how it's the ONLY way to go. I read those books about specializing. I read ALL the books.
It wasn't until a few years later that I told that "OTHER" voice to STFU. I did it. I made the switch. I decided to specialize. And you know what?! The CRAZIEST THING HAPPENED. All of the things I had read in those books, all of the AWESOME results that those other specialized photographers bragged about CAME TRUE.
+ I am booking MORE of my ideal client. Clients who VALUE my time and my work.
+ I am WORKING LESS. Yep. Working less. It's funny how when you do what you're good at and really work on that ONE THING--it comes pretty naturally to me. Not to minimize the amount of work that I put into my "job", but when it comes easy to you, and when you're only doing what you love, it really doesn't feel like work. AND it takes you less time than when you do something you AREN'T naturally fabulous at and then have to work EXTRA EXTRA HARD to compensate for your lacking skill in that department.
+ I am making more. Uh huh. When I took an in-depth look into the number of hours I was pouring into other types of shoots (weddings, especially!) vs. what I was charging for those services...I was profiting an embarrassing amount per hour. If you look at the figure alone, you think "Wow, yeah, that's awesome. She really does well for herself!"....if you look at how many hours invested each month.....OUCH. It's not just that those hours were spent working hard. The kicker is that those were hours that WERE NOT spent on really important things like time with my family that I will never get back, like trying new things, like stopping to smell the roses.
+ I am able to be selective. If someone comes to me and asks me to photograph their family, I can easily say "I'm so sorry, I specialize in boudoir now." It's the truth. It doesn't mean I don't like that person. I know there are AMAZING family photographers out there that will do so much better than me and will be a better fit for that person. While it may sound like I'm being snobby...it's QUITE THE OPPOSITE. I've accepted the fact that I am NOT AWESOME at every type of photography. Just not. I've squashed my artist's ego. I find that the clients who I turn down but happily refer to another photographer are GRATEFUL for my honesty and end up most likely being far happier with their final images with that other photographer than the would have with mine (even though they might not realize that!). Then they come to me down the road for boudoir. Because that's what I do. And I do the hell out of it.
+ Doors are opening and they're opening WIDE. It is still absolutely BAFFLING to me how many opportunities have come my way since specializing less than 6 months ago. I can't talk about all of them just yet, but I assure you, these things would have never happened if I was still trying to juggle weddings, families, fashion, etc etc etc. It is so exciting. I'm still just stunned. And I know that it's only going to get better from here.
My final takeaway from all of this: I should have done this a LONG freaking time ago.
So you're not a photographer? So what. This blog post is still for you. What are ways you can change your life by being more selective about what you do? This doesn't even have to be about work, but life in general. What if , when you were playing with your children......wait for it........ you were JUST playing with your children?! That's it. 100% of your attention on your kids. Can you imagine how your relationship would grow? Improved behavior? Improved quality of family life?
Think about that.
ALSO- I strongly, STRONGLY recommend that anyone struggling with this topic pick up the book: "The ONE Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results" which obviously covers this very topic.
This shoot was truly one-of-a-kind, as you will see. It's not often (ok, so it's not EVER) that you see a boudoir shoot done in a bar. This client contacted me a few years ago with a pretty solid location idea in mind. The result was so fun! Checkity check it out (I rapped that.)!
Miss S was such a badass trooper strutting around the bar in her undertheres (and even outside for a few!!). It just goes to show you, that, when you step outside of your comfort zone, magic can happen!
Xo
Your turn! Let's do something fun!!! Email me at hello@clickchickboudoir.com to chat more!!
I get asked loads of questions on the daily about how to market a boudoir business, social media, blogging, etc. I don't foresee myself ever jumping on the "TEACHER" train, because, well, I just love shooting way too much! Creating this guide was my solution to being able to help photographers who contact me for help, all while continuing to live my passion through shooting boudoir full-time. It's the best of both worlds!! ;)
I launched the original "EXPLOIT YOURSELF" guide last year and got some really amazing feedback from it. I really beefed it up with LOADS more content and am really excited to be rolling it out today! Read more about it and purchase yours for $30 for a limited time!
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.
“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
It stands to reason that a good chunk of the boudoir shoots I do are for women who are about to be married. What better gift to give your forever-partner a reminder of just how lucky they are? ;)
Miss "B", here, put a tremendous amount of thought and planning into her boudoir shoot. We had to be sneaky...I'm talking 007 stealth type sneaky! You see, her man was SLEEPING after a long shift in the downstairs bedroom while we shot upstairs. There may or may not have been a towel stuffed under his bedroom door to muffle any accidental noise we might make...
But it was worth it. Check out Mr. B's reaction to opening his bedside book (and learning that she did the shoot while he was sleeping downstairs!!):
...and because Mr. "B" was a marine...THIS had to be done...
I would like to state, for the record, that Miss "B"s hair is 100% alllll real, ALLL HERS. (My fellow thin-haired ladies out there are jealous right along with me right now...) Isn't that AMAZING!? I mean, if you're THIS beautiful as it is, it's just not fair to have such perfect locks as well. But I digress.
I ADORE this set of bridal boudoir images. ADORE it. Just. Ahhh. Love love love.
This amazing woman's photos are yet another example of how classy boudoir photos can be, y'all. You DON'T have to take it all off to be sexy (but you totally can, if you want! haha)
BRAVO, BRAVVVOOOO *standing ovation*. I love this set of images and this gorgeous woman...who is NOT a model....but SHOULD be, shouldn't she!?!
Mr. B is a lucky man.
I have this shoot that I did this week...and, as a rule, I do my full boudoir features on MONDAYS (best web traffic day, y'all....gotta play the game!), but I definitely needed to blog a teaser. <3
You will NOT want to miss this blog post bright and early Monday morning! Set an alarm, y'all! Or better yet, subscribe to my blog so you get an email!
SO much more to come!