Snowstorm Can't Stop Her | Austin Boudoir Studio

I'm stepping back into the blogging game finally (I know, it's been a minute), and lucky for me (and you), I've got QUITE the stockpile of incredible women with incredible stories and images. So let's get this show back on the road!

Miss Y. This girl was so much damn fun to work with.  

A photographer herself, Miss Y understood the value of a boudoir experience and she braved a snowstorm to fly to me from across the country, and we shot on a day that Austin was SHUT THE EFF DOWN because of a little bit of ice and cold. (We're wimps. I'll be the first to admit it as a girl who was born and raised in the #1 snowiest city in the country many years). 

We both brought our A games and came up with a collection of photos that was so representative of her and her badassery, while glamming it up a little with some leather and boots, letting her show off some story-telling scars of hers, and just overall killing.it.

"Having a boudoir experience with Kara Marie was my dream. I had been following her for over 2 years before the stars aligned. I wanted to do this to celebrate myself. "

"I traveled all of the way from North Carolina to Austin during a snow storm. It was worth it. She is absolutely on point in everything that she does. Seriously does this woman sleep? I am obsessed with my images. I am ready to do it again." 

"I have always been a loud person. It is within that loud personality that I hid my insecurities. That is until now. I feel liberated. Words could never begin to explain how looking at an image of yourself and falling in love with that image of yourself changes the core of you. I thought I had confidence before, NOPE. Now am this new woman who exudes confidence in all facets of her life."

"This shoot changed me. I am happy with myself. I am content with my scars. I feel powerful."

And THAT is what it's all about! Hearing from my clients that this experience helped to improve their self-image is  job satisfaction to the nth degree. Thank you thank you Miss Y for your candidness, for your badassery, and for flying all the way to Austin from North Carolina in a snow storm ;) 

Taking it ALL off | Miss S | Austin Boudoir Studio

BY THE END OF THIS BLOG POST, I WILL ENCOURAGE YOU TO TAKE IT ALL OFF FOR YOUR BOUDOIR SESSION. 

Yep, down to just your birthday suit. There's something so damn freeing about not wearing even a stitch of clothing...yet that thought is often derailed by our intense fear of not looking the way we're "supposed" to, our crippling insecurities, or, maybe just the "weird" factor of being photographed by a stranger (Hi! I'm Kara Marie! Lovely to meet you. Now that THAT'S out of the way....

I GET IT.  I GET IT ALLLLL.

But if you're going to be nude in front of anyone's camera, mine is the one to choose. I've got the whole naked female form thing down to a perfectly lit and posed science. I'm also pretty easy to be comfortable in front of. *in my best Lamar Burton voice* "But you don't have to take MY word for it!", check out the RAVES page for more on clients being comfortable in such a "weird" setting. 

You'll giggle, then belly laugh. You'll wonder how these photos could possibly turn out with all your bits hanging out there. Then you'll see them, you'll gasp, and you'll fall deeper in love with yourself and the way you and your body are right now. And you'll probably wish you would have done your entire session in the buff. But it's fun to have the variety of wardrobe, too. ;)

Miss S reached out to me in order to help her celebrate herself in her 40th year of life. We started out clothed...then less clothed...then nude. She felt silly in the poses, she admits, but never imagined that she would love the photos, and so many of them, the way she did. Read on:

"When I turned 40, I promised myself that everyday would be better than the last. The power of intention led me to have the most amazing year of my life. As I round the corner towards 41, I wanted to do something extra special for myself. Enter Kara Marie Boudoir. I really enjoyed looking at images to give Kara an idea of the style that I like. "

"Kara nailed my vision and I'm thrilled with the results. Every step of the journey was easy and enjoyable. Kara's website has a ton of great info and she was quick to diminish any anxiousness that I had about being naked or doing a weird pose."

"I'm a glass half-full kind of gal so luckily, I don't struggle in the self esteem department. I did not expect to fall madly in love with so many photos, though!"

"I feel great and am proud of the hard work I've put into my body. I'm excited to look back on these when I'm older."

It was time to strip down, be vulnerable, and trust me completely. She did. And the resulting images make my heart skip a beat. They aren't hyper sexualized, but reveal a woman who is proud of her sexuality. They aren't "traditional" boudoir, rather, they lean more towards fine art nudes.  They aren't heavily retouched, but they are strategically posed and lit to show off her natural curves. They don't bare it ALL, but they bare her soul and show her in her most natural form.

"What a fun present to myself. I'm so happy, thank you a thousand times over. Hopefully I get to see you next year, too!"

Nudes are intimidating, I admit it. But you can truly rest assured that you are in the very capable hands of a professional. I'm never going to have my camera all up in your business in an uncomfortable way. I won't expect you to do ANYTHING at all and will monitor your comfort level the entire time. I will photograph you in an artistic and classy way. You will laugh and have fun and be surprised that you are able to have such a good time while being naked in front of a "stranger".  You won't be showing me anything I haven't seen before. Your body won't offend me, and when you see your final result, your body won't offend YOU, either.

If clients are considering a nude set of images during their boudoir experience, I always encourage them to bring an extra outfit, just in case they aren't feeling it. Yet I've never once had a client who was CONSIDERING doing a nude set decide mid-shoot that they weren't comfortable with it. If anything, they decided sooner into the shoot than planned that they were ready to take it off. This experience isn't about being someone you aren't. It's about showing EXACTLY who you are...who is hiding under masks. I only want you to do what you are comfortable doing. It's just that I have this uncanny ability to make people comfortable with themselves. That is my super power. 

Infinite thanks to Miss S for trusting me with her boudoir experience, for loving the process, and for allowing her words and images to be shared with the KMB audience. 

WHETHER YOU'RE READY TO BARE IT ALL, OR ONLY A LITTLE....LET'S CHAT.

The parallels between yoga and boudoir | Naked Yoga | Austin Boudoir Studio

Finding the right words for this post was far more challenging than most others. But I think I have a point to make, and I'll do my best getting there....so forgive the ramblings that are about to happen along the way. Hey, my blog, my rules ;) 

I find a lot of similarities between yoga and boudoir.  Though I don't regularly practice yoga any longer, I used to be die hard. During that time of daily yoga, I was so at peace with myself, mentally and physically. I was so aware of how I was feeling emotionally, and so aware of every part of my body. IN TUNE, I suppose is the best way to describe it. I felt like I had superpowers because I was SO in tune with myself, and so in tune with everyone that I held near and dear. 

Although I practiced at least 5x/week, I learned something new about myself every time I set foot on my mat. I learned to accept where I was in my practice and not necessarily aim for perfection.  We all know that "comparison is the thief of joy"...but I really UNDERSTOOD that through my daily yoga practice. It wasn't about how I always seemed to be lightyears behind "front-row Caitlin" in my abilities, it was about how much "back-row Kara" had improved from the day before. I learned to love myself. I never did learn to do crow pose, but I learned to be ok with that. 

As I've fine-tuned my boudoir technique and client coaching over the years, I've drawn so much from my yoga practice. From coaching breathing, relaxation, and body awareness, to self acceptance and not comparing yourself to "front-row Caitlin", there are just so many parallels. 

A proper boudoir experience isn't about what my other clients are doing, what they're wearing, or what they look like. A proper boudoir experience is about YOU. Not you after you lose 20 lbs, but you RIGHT NOW. It's about loving yourself as you are today. It's about recognizing how far you've come in your life journey, and giving yourself a big, loving, bear hug. It's about being able to look back on that moment in time for the rest of your life and reminding yourself how amazing you are.

For all of these reasons, I've been visualizing a nude yoga photo shoot for years.  The female form is just so stunning...there's no arguing that.  It just LOOKS like art. It IS art. Add in some absolutely breathtaking yoga poses, and you've got a seriously awe-inspiring set of photos. 

A client of mine happens to be one of Austin's finest yoga instructors and when I bounced this idea off of her and told her that I was basically going to be zero help in the pose direction (polar opposite of my regular boudoir sessions where I direct every inch of the body), she was so enthusiastic and receptive to the idea and began planning the poses. 

The session was genuinely a breeze for me, though obviously, she had her work cut out for her. I can't take much credit for this one. Compared to the constant direction on posing and body movement that I give in my boudoir sessions, I felt very insignificant in this collaboration. But, alas, the finished product turned out so much better than I had imagined, largely due to Miss R's badassness and trust. 

So this is my weekly rambling blog reminder to you to love yourself, appreciate yourself, respect yourself...I'm talking to myself, too. 

Love and peace.