She didn't think she could love a photo of herself | Austin Boudoir Studio

I can't even tell you how many women approach me with the ol' "I am NOT photogenic" line. Which basically means they always hate photos of themselves. I always say "That's because you've never had your photo taken by me before!".  It may seem like a bold (and super cocky) statement to make, but what I mean is, you wouldn't believe the power of a good pose, great light, and a professional eye.  NOT TO MENTION the evil evil powers of a bad pose, horrible lighting, and an amateur eye. 

I've spent many years learning exactly how to pose women, how to light women, how to make women feel comfortable, and how to let a woman's inner light shine though in a photo. I'm happy to say that I'm STILL learning and always will be. 

THIS little gem of a woman. My goodness.  She completed her pre-shoot homework, which led me to believe that she wanted to keep this SUPER conservative and really just wanted a pretty picture or two of herself. 

She said her favorite feature was her hair, that she never likes photos of herself, and on our sexy scale 1-10, she wanted her photos to be at a level 3. A LEVEL THREE SEXY. I don't even know how to do that. Hahah. I teased her just a bit about that and we rocked the hell out of our photo session.

Meet Miss C. 

Makeup by Kendall Koehler of Mayhem Beauty

Here is what she had to say about her Kara Marie Boudoir experience: 

"I couldn't have asked for a better experience. From the moment I walked in the door I felt so comfortable. I've had a lot of big changes in my life and I felt like I was losing myself but after this experience I have never felt so empowered and good about myself. I still giggle when I think back to my shoot."

“I never thought I would actually like pictures of myself but I am in LOVE with my photos!”

— Miss C

Thank you, beautiful, for letting me prove to you  that you ARE, in fact, photogenic......and sexy. Like level 11 sexy. I'm overjoyed that I was able to provide her with a full collection of images she loved of herself...not just one as she'd hoped for. 

Let this be encouragement for other women who maybe don't ever like photos of themselves. For the women who deem themselves "not photogenic". For the women who don't think they can be more than a level 3 sexy. 

LET ME PROVE TO YOU THAT YOU *ARE* PHOTOGENIC. LET'S CHAT!

Print your Boudoir Photos | Austin Boudoir Photos

Generally upon seeing their photos....rather, seeing THE photo, at their photo reveal, my clients say something along the lines of "Is it weird that I want to put that on my WALL!?"

Uhhh....NO. 

Do you know how many women don't like a single photo of themselves? They see all the flaws, the insecurities, the uncertainty in their eyes.

So when you come to a photo experience with me and you are directed and posed from head to toe, perfectly lit, and made to feel completely comfortable, you are most likely going to be SHOCKED to find that you love these photos. These photos of YOURSELF. 

We've been trained to nitpick and find fault in everything. It's the worst. 

The years that I've spent on my self portrait project led up to this moment.  The moment that I finally selected THE image to hang on my own wall.....of myself.

After taking this shot on a wobbly tripod and a crazy time crunch, I looked at the back of the camera and I was absolutely SHOCKED. Was that ME?! Wait...REALLY!? That's me? No photoshop, no wardrobe....just me? I felt the way my clients feel when they see THEIR money shot.

I ran back to my hotel room and texted the shot to my husband. He responded with something along the lines of "Big AF on the wall!". I knew he was right.

I have plenty of pretty photos of myself. Once you know your way around the camera (and...eh hem...Photoshop), it's not a challenge to create a pretty picture.  I've got sexy ones, too. Ones that the whole point was to have sex appeal, for my husband, and to prove to myself that I still had it. 

This photo, though. THIS PHOTO was the one that made me feel STRONG, empowered, badass, and beautiful all at once. THIS photo made me FEEL something. It showed ME. The me that I want to be every day. 

When I unboxed this giant acrylic piece this morning, I gasped, shook my head, and then cried. 

Seeing a photo in print is just SO much more powerful than any screen can offer. 

This was exactly what I needed. And now every time I walk past this image of me in my bedroom (or in my living room if my husband gets his way), I'm going to feel strong, empowered, badass, and beautiful all over again.

SO, clients...you know THAT money shot that I just took of you. The one from your shoot that took your breath away?? That shouldn't be stuffed in a drawer or kept on your phone. Let us make it BIG ART so you can give yourself a daily self high five for being so damn amazing every time you walk past it. 

Boudoir : Bet you can't have just one | Austin Boudoir Shoot

When I first began discussing the possibility of going full-time, all-the-time boudoir photography with my close friends and husband, they all had the same questions: "Is there really enough of a market for that to do it full time?!" and, more commonly commented "But, I mean, that's just a once in a lifetime type of thing...you won't get repeat clients, right?".  

Wrong. 

Almost EVERY SINGLE one of my clients comes back for more. If they haven't come back yet, they say they can't wait to!

This is not a once in a lifetime type of experience. 

It's a "any damn time you need a boost" type of experience. 

Miss "F" proclaimed the same after her Austin Boudoir shoot.

Hair and makeup by Kendall Koehler of Mayhem Beauty

Miss "F" said...

"It was AH~MAZING!!!! I felt completely comfortable from start to finish - it was like I was hanging out with a friend even though it was our first time meeting.

I couldn't have asked for a better experience & I'm beyond happy that it was with with Kara Marie Boudoir!" 

“I’m already thinking about when I want to do it again!”

— Miss "F"

Just about every woman says the same as soon as she sees her images, and often times, even at the end of her shoot, BEFORE she even sees her images. 

YES, the photos will be badass. But it's so much more than that. It's about walking out of that studio with a sexy strut and your head held high knowing that you are absolutely incredible. Knowing that you just got a little piece of your old self back. Knowing that you STILL GOT IT.  

And I don't know about you ladies, but I could use that boost more than once in my lifetime ;)

Thank you so much to Miss "F" for trusting me with her boudoir experience. 

I absolutely cannot wait to have her back for round 2 (and 3 and 4, I'm sure!)

WANT TO SEE WHAT ALL THE FUSS IS ABOUT??? LET'S CHAT ABOUT YOUR BOUDOIR EXPERIENCE, DAHHLING!

Come just as you are. Now. Right now. | Austin Boudoir Studio

I woke up this morning to a cool breeze and fall temperatures. The air smelled like FALL for the first time this year in Austin. So I was inspired to post this fall-feeling boudoir shoot.

“Life is short. From here to that old car that you know so well there is a stretch of twenty, twenty-five paces. It is a very short walk. Make those twenty-five steps. Now. Right now. Come just as you are. And we shall live happily ever after. ”

— ~Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita

There are so many things in this life that we put off until the "perfect" time.  We wait to get married until we're "financially stable". We wait to have kids until we're done traveling. We wait to do a boudoir shoot until we've lost 10 pounds. 

The sad truth is, our idea of "perfect timing" is skewed tremendously. Because...the perfect time to do something you're passionate about is now. Right now. 

I look back at the list of things that I've been meaning to do...and it's a crazy long list. And those things on the list?  There's absolutely no reason why I couldn't have accomplished them already. 

That quote from Lolita really resonated with me, and I assume it will resonate with most of you. It did with Miss "E" here, whose favorite book is Lolita...and she happened to bring a copy to her boudoir shoot. She is a published journalist, blogger, and a writing magician. It was so awesome incorporating her love of books into this shoot a little bit. 

Miss "E" said...

"Despite being extremely camera-shy, my photo shoot ended up more like a spa treatment. Kara and her team are so down-to-earth and hospitable, and they made it felt like that whole hour was all about me and me only.

When I saw the results at my photo reveal, I teared up looking at the woman in the photos; after all the adversity I have been through in my 20's, I assumed that woman was dead. "

“The experience resurrected that woman. Or perhaps brought her back to the surface.”

— Miss E

So this is me encouraging you to come as you are. Do it now. Right now. Book your shoot, schedule that vacation, learn to salsa dance, jump out of that plane (but with a parachute, please!), and do whatever you can to make the absolute most of your life RIGHT.NOW.

Thank you, Miss "E" for sharing your incredible images and experience with us!

IF A BOUDOIR EXPERIENCE IS ONE OF THE THINGS ON YOUR "SOMEDAY" LIST, LET'S CHAT. RIGHT NOW, DAHHLING!

How to Grow a Woman | An opinion piece.

There have been a myriad of opinion blogs posted lately that have sparked so many emotions for me.

First was the likely fictional tale of a boudoir photographer who received a heartfelt email from one her client's husbands arguing that by photoshopping his wife as she requested, she has unintentionally wiped out her life story. *Eye roll*.  I would comment on that only so many other photographers have done so far more eloquently than I would (read my friend, Lynn's here.). 

Then, the overprotective dad that took a "prom pose" photo with his daughter's date, stating that he would do to the date whatever the date tried to do to his daughter. It was silly, and, I believe, innocent fun. As a bit of a feminist, I was still not at all offended by this photo or news story. 

Others were, and lots of opinion pieces began to circulate, including THIS one on HuffPost that was *actually* quite a brilliant read.

Written by Kasey Ferris and titled "Please don't threaten my son for dating your daughter", she articulately makes an example of the viral post (although she, too, admits that it was all in good fun and doesn't really judge the father for the post). However, it opens up a great discussion topic about the way we are teaching our children.

Do you remember being a hormonally-charged teenager? I do. I *REALLY* do.  Actually, it just so happens that I am currently oh-so-happily married to the "bad boy" that I was sneaking around to have "relations" with at the age of 16 and throughout my teenage years. My father made so many stereotypical "overprotective dad" comments, threats even, to my boyfriend. 

Our first date.

16 years ago (almost to the date), my father shook the hand of the boy who was picking me up for the first time while eyeing him up and down. My mother spent the evening, I'm sure, pacing around the house thinking of all the worst possible scenarios.  It was later that night that this boy and I shared *THE* most amazing kiss in the history of all kisses on the dance floor of his homecoming dance. We still talk about this kiss. In fact, we just did a couple of weeks ago over dinner with our 2 kids who were happily playing iPad games at the dinner table (Ok, so I'm not a parenting guru. Full disclaimer.)

Now that I am a parent, of course I can understand that feeling of wanting to shield your children from all harm. But here's the thing...we can't.  But there is a smarter route to take. There is an avenue that doesn't involve polishing your shot gun when your daughter is heading out the door with her new beau and trying to wish away all harm. Sounds backwards, doesn't it? Though, that's how so many do it. That's how so many were shown through demonstration to do it.

“In order to create a culture of strong and competent women who can save themselves, we must first stop teaching girls that they need to be saved.”

— Kasey Ferris

As parents, we have the opportunity to TEACH our children.  To demonstrate to them how they should respect others, how they should respect themselves. 

We need to give our daughters the tools to be strong, courageous, intelligent, incredible people. Teaching them that boys are horny little shits who will only knock them up and run away is absolutely ludicrous but sadly incredibly common. 

As Ferris states in her article (which, like I said...BRILLIANT, y'all!): 

"Above all, realize and come to terms with the fact that teenage sexuality is not a "boy thing". Teenage sexuality is a teenage thing. Young men and young women alike are going to be curious, interested, and looking to learn more about sex. Your daughter is just as curious as my son, I can virtually guarantee it."

HolyTruthBomb.

Can I let you in on a little secret? Your teenage daughter is probably just as horny as her teenage partner. I was just as interested in sex at the age of 16 as my then-boyfriend-now-husband.  And do you know what HE was!? COMPLETELY respectful of me. 100%. I never once felt an ounce of pressure NOR an ounce of regret with my decisions to be with him sexually or otherwise. I want to raise my boys to be THAT respectful of women. 

Did I feel that way about other relationships I had with men...err...boys? HELL. NO.  Did my overprotective parents save me from making bad decisions? HELLLLLL no. In fact, I would argue that several times I was pushed into purposely making bad decisions out of spite.  Is that right? Uh, no. But that's how it was for me. And it's probably how it is for other children of hovering parents.  

I truly am not trying to make my parents feel bad with this post, as I genuinely believe they were doing what they knew to be right. What we need to change is what we feel is the RIGHT way to educate our children about their self worth, their decision making, and yes...even sex. 

I am so proud to say, that despite my unhealthy relationships with teenage males other than my husband, I currently have a very healthy relationship with sex. I feel comfortable teaching my boys that SEX is not BAD. Sex is beautiful when shared with the right person.  I am confident that my boys will treat their future partners with every bit the respect and sensitivity that their father did with me. 

16 years later. Still madly in love with him.

As Kasey Ferris puts it, "Why don't we, as parents, mutually do our best to raise responsible and capable children, instead? Why don't we guide our children to better choices, and help them learn how to recover when (not if) they screw up? Why don't we remember that this is all part of the process and focus on the examples we're setting for them and the messages they're receiving at home? Then maybe we could all take a collective deep breath and be more confident in the kids we've raised."

Boom. I don't have a mic, but if I did, I would drop it to that statement. 

So, to the crazy over protective parents out there, I hear you. I do. It is tough to bathe, feed, and wipe the bums of our growing children and let them fly on their own. 

Women, be strong. Be strong for your daughters, and for your sons. Be strong for YOURSELVES. Also...BE VULNERABLE. Don't be AFRAID to be vulnerable with them. Share your feelings. Be HONEST.  Don't shield them from pain. Fill them in on your mistakes and why they were, in fact, mistakes. But also fill them in on how those mistakes taught you the right path. 

Women, LOVE YOURSELVES. Respect yourselves. Seriously. Whatever you need to do to empower yourself, do it. Own it. 

Products I LOVE | Urban Undercover Underwearables | Austin Boudoir Studio

I'm about to get all "QVC presenter" on you. But it's totally warranted. When I find a product I love, I let everyone know about it. 

So. Girls. 

Here's the thing about me and my underwear.....it.absolutely.must.be.comfortable.  Like SEEEEERIOUSLY comfortable. I would rather not wear ANY underwear (HAYYY now!) than wear underwear that's uncomfortable. Duh. 

And you wanna know another thing about me? Don't answer that. It's my blog, so you're going to learn another thing, damnit!

I am a HUGE sucker for cute packaging.  I will ALWAYS buy the bottle of wine that has the best looking label. I will buy those itsy bitsy tiny cans of Coca-Cola, even though I don't drink soda, because the can is cute.  When I'm torn between what movie to watch, I go with the one with the best cover image. 

So put my love for comfort and cute packaging together, and you've got URBAN UNDERCOVER, my new favorite underwear. 

The owner of this fabulous company happens to be a Kara Marie Boudoir fan (HOLLLAAA, girrrl!) and was cool enough to send me all of the styles of bottoms (thong, boy short, and hipster), as well as the black bralete to show me her goods.  As soon as I pulled them out of the box, I was doing an annoying sorority girl squeal at how freaking cute these things are. 

These underwear have a built-in pouch so that they fold up all adorably and are discreet.  Which is awesome if you're like me and you are determined that every TSA security search person is a pervy panty stealer. (Ok so I'm a little paranoid.)

Urban Undercover

And girls. The quality is outstanding!!! And they're cute. If they can make my barely-there butt look like a shape other than "wall", I'm totally sold.

Urban Undercover Bralete

Urban Undercover Hipster Underwear

Be sure to visit the Urban Undercover website to check out their array of bottoms, as well as their balete, chemise, and other accessories. This stuff is SO great....good for a photo shoot or to just be comfy any day of the week. HAPPY SHOPPING, Y'ALL!!! 

xo

Naughty + Nice Part II | Austin Boudoir Studio

Yesterday, I shared the "naughty" portion of this shoot, and today shall be nice ;) Although...hm. I guess the naughty portion was pretty nice too. 

But I digress. 

Miss "M" brought two polar opposite boudoir outfits into the studio for her shoot. And while I have so much fun with dark and sultry images, creating a classic set of in-the-sheets black and white boudoir images was amazing. 

What's awesome about creating classic, timeless images like this is.....WALL ARTTTT!! YEAH! I was so psyched that this client got some incredible fine art prints for her bedroom wall out of these images. I didn't want to see them go!

Boudoir Wall Art

Talk about a diverse shoot! We had a great time and everyone involved adores the finished product!!! 

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 ;) 

I traveled. She cried. | Austin Boudoir Studio

One of my favorite things about being a photographer is that I can do my "job", my passion, anywhere I want. My camera, while at times after a long day of shooting it feels like it weighs 50lbs, is actually portable ;) I can put it in a small bag and take it with me in the car, on a plane, on a boat, wherever the hell I want. And while I love my studio, it's always so fun to shoot in different places with new light, new atmospheres, new people. 

Last month, I was hired by Moodboard Productions to travel out to Midland, Texas for a bit of a "pop-up" boudoir photo shoot. I worked with 4 incredible women to give them a boudoir experience, KMB style. 

One of them was Miss "A" here. She was a little southern belle ball of enthusiasm who said things like "I'm fixin' to leave" and I instantly loved her. She's a mom of 2 and seemed to have a hard time believing she was doing something "like this". Needless to say, she absolutely rocked it. 

“This was one of the greatest experiences ever. I felt so comfortable and at ease... Did I mention I was half naked? I cried when I saw the pics...”

— Miss A

Thank you to Miss Olivia Jordan of Moodboard Productions for coordinating a great day of boudoir shoots , and to Ashlee Rice of Let's Face it Makeup Studio for the standup makeup job. 

If you're ready (or even if you don't think you are) for your own boudoir experience, let's chat dahhling! 

Kara Marie Boudoir is HIRING | Austin Tx Help Wanted

Ohhh heyyy! You there! You super friendly, awesome, hard-working, creative minded grammar-fiend, you! I'm looking for a new boudoir retoucher and studio assistant as mine is fleeing the country (I didn't scare her away, promise!)

This part-time position involves flexible hours in our south Austin studio. Candidates should be self-motivated, efficient, tech-savvy, super friendly and positive, enthusiastic (but not before 8am), organized, female, and have a passion for making women feel on top of the world. ✔✔

Candidates should NOT be photographers, based outside of Austin, mean, grumpy, lazy, confused by you're/your, or allergic to coffee.

Basic photoshop knowledge is a HUGE bonus, but if you lack that knowledge, it's not a deal breaker. Extensive retouching training will be given regardless, as well as assistant training. If this sounds like YOU, shoot me an email at hello@karamarieboudoir.com ! I want to hear all about you (you can spare me the fluffed up resumes!) and why you would be a perfect fit for Kara Marie Boudoir!

Cheers, dahhlings!

xoxo,

Kara Marie