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.

Naughty + Nice Part I | Austin Boudoir Studio

I'm not sure whether it was intentional or not, but when Miss "M" brought in her boudoir wardrobe selections for her boudoir shoot, the looks were clearly split between badass rockstar vixen and sweet and flirty bombshell. It was so cool to watch this shoot take 2 completely different directions! 

Today I shall share with you the "naughty"! I freaking LOVE that she brought in a spiked bra!! It was so fun to shoot with, it photographed powerful, strong, confident, and sexy as allllll get out. 

RRAWWRRR! Am I right!?

**No injuries occurred during the creation of these images.**

Stay tuned for part II tomorrow!! I'll share the "nice" half ;) 

It's about CONFIDENCE. | Austin Boudoir Studio

She was so enthusiastic about her upcoming shoot, yet so, SO nervous. I could feel her anxiety through email.  I got a really spot-on feel for her personality and style through the words that she wrote in her first few messages. Before even laying eyes on her, I knew exactly the approach we would take for this session. 

On the day of the shoot, Miss "W" came in with her tea and her all black everything.  A girl after my own heart. It's no secret that black is my favorite color. I see a red door and I want to paint it black (second favorite song reference!). I'm also a mega bodysuit fan. And a fan of tea and hashtags. And a fan of people who own their style.  We were going to get along swimmingly and I knew that when she said "I'm kind of visualizing all of these being in black and white."

I'm going to keep my own commentary to a minimum because her words are SO important. Read them. Seriously.

“Attract what you expect, reflect what you desire, become what you respect, + mirror what you admire.”

"Seriously. I don't think you EVEN know how much this whole experience means to me. Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!"

"A little over a year ago, I started my own business. It's been an amazing whirlwind experience of #getitgirl ... venturing into the uncomfortable world of self doubt on numerous occasions. Confidence is a little thing that I had always been lacking. There was always someone just a little bit better. There was always someone a littler more creative. 'I've never done this before' ... 'how the hell am I going to get this done?!' ... 'Why did I even say yes?!' ... 'I can't do this.'

So for the past year I've been really focusing on working harder than anyone else I know, pushing myself further creatively than I ever have before, + experiencing every opportunity to the fullest capacity that my little brain [+ heart] could hold.

I'm a true believer in 'fake it 'til you make it'... + 'make it work.'  I say yes, + then figure it out afterwards.  Mirror what you admire, right?

But. Let me tell you, girl. I DREADED saying yes to my photoshoot. Dreaded. Ugh.

However I knew that it would completely blow my husband away.  Something that he would NEVER imagine I would do. So I HAD to do it."

"So, tonight I gave him a car & driver magazine, with one of the images tucked inside.... at the dinner table. I told him that his birthday present was inside.

It was SO fun to completely catch him off guard while he was just nonchalantly flipping through the pages. He was totally confused, + didn't even realize that it was me he was looking at. His reaction was PRICELESS. The first words out of his mouth?? "Wow babe, I'm really proud of you."

Not "this is hot!" or "you're so sexy"... but ...  "I'm proud of you."

Of course, i started crying.

But it was EXACTLY the whole point of this entire thing.   CONFIDENCE."

"Not to just have some photos to flip through when he feels like it. But to show him that I'm not just some "mom" who is overworked, exhausted, and usually highly caffeinated.  To show him that I'm willing to push myself of out my comfort zone.  To show him that I DO feel sexy, that I can still rock it, and that I'm not afraid to do something not just for him...but for myself. #confidenceiseverything

We had this whole long conversation about my "journey" to do this... [like seriously!? when does a husband ever said "tell me about your journey...."] so it was so so great for us to talk through everything I felt + experienced through the whole thing. SUCH GREAT MEMORIES."

"I'm sure that you hear all the time how transforming your photoshoots are... but seriously.  It's so much MORE than just feeling sexy. It's the confidence of GET IT GIRL, of not backing out, of HOLY SHIT I DID THAT.

So THANK YOU, Kara. thank you TREMENDOUSLY. You have totally changed my life.

I canNOT wait to do it all over again, soon!"

I am so grateful to have been able to meet, photograph, and share this journey with this woman/mom/business owner. Yet another example of why I do what I do with such passion. 

Can you identify with her? I sure as shit can!  

I'M READY FOR IT TO BE YOUR TURN. ARE YOU? LET'S CHAT.

30, skinny, and fan-freakin'-tastic | Austin Boudoir Photographer

I know that so many of you will identify with Miss "G"s story here. So often we hear about plus-sized women who are having a hard time feeling comfortable in their own skin, especially given outside opinion. The less-told story is that of the thin girl who ALSO feels inadequate. She gets told to "eat a donut". She is judged by her size and shape. She is told that her insecurities are ridiculous, that she should be grateful to have such a tiny frame. Much like the curly-haired woman longs for straight locks, and the woman with poker-straight hair does everything in her power for some texture and body, we always feel the grass is greener. The moral of the story is, OWN IT. Celebrate yourself. Miss "G" did....and the results were supa sexay.

Her story:

"Every day I fight and have a struggle with myself on how I look. I hear comments day in and day out on how I am too skinny, that I need to eat a hamburger (or insert any other food people find funny at the moment), how I must be anorexic or bulimic. I even receive comments asking how my husband could marry someone who looks like a prepubescent boy.

I am turning 30 years old this year and have never been able to weigh more than 100 pounds and I cry every time I go to buy clothes because I cannot fill out a simple tank top, let alone a bra to make me feel like a woman.

This shoot was not my first experience with Kara, and if you know me, you know I am a frequent flyer. But this shoot was different and extremely personal to me. I wanted to shut up those negative voices I hear every day, I wanted to be able to look at myself and feel beautiful, I wanted to feel like a woman, I wanted to finally feel like a wife that my husband deserves. I started shopping MANY months before my shoot, not because I wanted to be overly prepared, but because I needed to find outfits that could fit my tiny figure.

Everything that I would find online on websites had to be shipped back because I could not fill them out, even in their smallest sizes. I know many women right now are yelling at their computers “I wish I had that problem!” or “Lucky girl” but once again, I was crying because I wasn’t a woman. I was ashamed of who I am, ashamed of what I looked like, ashamed of what I didn’t have.

When arriving to the shoot to get my makeup done, I was actually the biggest ball of nerves I have ever been to see her! Here I am shooting with this amazing Chick who photographs all these gorgeous, fabulous, sexy women multiple times a day and then posts their inspiring stories! And then there was me……

I received an early text message from Kara a few days later of a few teasers! Instantly, I was in shock with my mouth opened as wide as a cartoon character! I couldn’t believe what my eyes were seeing, I was actually crying! I was beautiful!! I was on cloud 9 for these few simple images I couldn’t stop staring at!

Thank you Kara for showing me that I could be and that I AM beautiful! Thank you for showing me that there is a side to me that I never thought was possible! Thank you for showing me the woman my husband has told me he has seen for all these years, yet I was unable to. Thank you from the bottom on my heart!! Thank you for allowing me to be a part of the awesome club that is the phenomenal women you shoot every day and show them how wonderful, spectacular and special they are! THANK YOU will never come close enough to the gratitude I have for you! THANK YOU!"

PHEW. Are YOU misty-eyed?! I am. 

Miss "G" has shot with me a record number of times. In fact, at our last shoot she wanted to make sure there was no one else who had shot with me as much as she had. I'm pretty sure if I told her that there was, she would have demanded another shoot on the spot. She is the dictionary definition of "loyal customer" and I'm honored to have her as such.  This shoot definitely topped all of our past ones. 

She told me she wanted to be a little more bold/daring/sexy/adventurous this time around. I'm PRETTTY sure we nailed it! Don't you think!?

BOOM!

THANK YOU, Miss "G" for sharing your story and photos with us!  May you only eat a hamburger if you're craving one, and never ever feel insecure again about that rockin' bod of yours!!

Ready for your turn? Let's chat about your boudoir shoot, dahhling!