Annie emailed me back in December about her fascination with boudoir, her love of my work, and wanting a surprise gift for her boyfriend whose work would be taking him several provinces away for awhile. We met at a coffee shop in January and hit it off immediately. Afterwards, we went to a downtown lingerie shop together to see if we could find some inspiration. Not finding much we loved, we made a date to look through her closet and from there I easily found inspiration for her photo session. Too often boudoir is seen as only a “bare it all” and “strike a back arching pose” photography. However, intimate portraits don’t have to be that at all. By all means, keep your clothes on, smile, laugh, and make beautiful, timeless intimate portraits of yourself. I’ll be the first to admit that all women in front of my lens look their most beautiful when they’re smiling out of playfulness, silliness and laughter. We did produce a few scantily clad photographs, but they didn’t make up the majority of her session. The most important reason for me to meet and get to know my clients is to ensure we create a photo session that feels like a true reflection of your personality and what inspires you. Annie likes vintage lingerie and classic looks so that’s what we concentrated on during her shoot. Annie and I have bonded over the past several months and I’m thrilled to have a new friend from this experience. Her secret boudoir session was revealed to her man this past weekend with a beautiful 10×10 fine art album, so I can now freely share beautiful Annie’s photographs.

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Question 1: What was your reason for wanting to do a boudoir shoot? ie. boost confidence? gift? new experience?
I wanted to do a boudoir shoot because I was looking to create a meaningful gift to give to my significant other. Boudoir is about as personal as it gets when it comes to intimate gift-giving. I was also extremely intrigued and knew the photos would be as much as a gift for me as they are for him.

 

Question 2: What are the reasons you chose my photography?
I chose your photography because you have a gift for capturing moments in the most unique ways. I love the naturalness of your work and was specifically drawn to the lighting in all of your work. I was looking for something light and tasteful and I believed that you could create an album that I would love (and my man would too!). What I learned from you was that boudoir was not about laying it all out there but rather leaving most to the imagination. The simplicity of your work is something I find completely intriguing and pleasing to the eye. You are able to focus completely on the human body; and you have taught me just how fascinating the human body can be! I knew you could effectively guide me in this new experience and capture moments that would portray stunning artistic details.
Question 3: What feelings did you experience prior to the boudoir session?
Prior to the session I was extremely nervous. Like all women, body-image can be challenging. From not knowing what to wear to trying to figure out which poses would hide my trouble areas, I was completely new at boudoir. There is something about novel experiences that can be intimidating. I had moments of excitement and joy to moments of total fear and worry (“seriously, what am I doing?!?!?!”) prior to the shoot. I think when you invest in a project like this, though, those feelings are totally reasonable. You have high expectations for yourself, and your photographer and you really aren’t sure what to expect. I had moments of guilt when I indulged in yummy foods rather than going to the gym and trying to look and feel my best for this shoot. I realize, however, that boudoir is for anyone. For anyone with any body size. I think it took me getting to the shoot and doing some shots to help me realize and understand this. One thing I have learned from this experience is to trust the process and trust the photographer: Kristen, you know what you are doing! I want everyone to know that Kristen will capture parts of themselves that will make them blush from how beautiful they feel!

 

Question 4: How did you feel during and after the session? Describe your experience.
From the makeup to the shoot; you and your team made me feel totally relaxed and at ease. Working with you, Kristen is a dream. You treated me like a friend and are compassionate, caring, and respectful. You work to make sure I’m doing okay every step of the way. My comfort level was a priority for Kristen and I think that’s so important when you’re doing such an intimate shoot. I left my shoot feeling so awesome about the day! I knew you captured some amazing shots which I was sure to love. Meeting with you to view my photos was another experience that was near and dear to my heart. You sat down with me, proud and excited to show me your work and help me choose which photos to include in my lay-flat book. This experience solidified everything that I already knew about your work and professionalism. You made me feel comfortable and listened to me banter on about which photos I preferred and which ones I didn’t (which were few to none). We chatted for some time on this afternoon and I really formed a cohesive opinion about you, Kristen as a photographer and as a person: amazing, amazing, amazing. This experience would not have been the same with any other photographer; I am so grateful for finding you!

 

Question 5: Would you recommend it to other women? Why?
I would 100% recommend this experience to any woman! Whether you are looking for a new experience or hoping to give a special gift, boudoir can offer so much more than you can imagine. Doing a boudoir shoot allowed me to feel so good about myself and about my body. You not only walk away with some amazing photographs, you walk away having experienced something so unique and liberating. Sometimes it takes someone else to help you see yourself as beautiful. Kristen really cares about her customers; she is completely devoted to the experience of boudoir and works to make your shoot fun and relaxing while capturing a variety of images.

 

I love giving the gift of the experience of boudoir. Want to connect? Let’s chat about your photography needs.
Annie’s professional makeup by: Laura Ritchie-Garofalo