I've *always* had body issues. I was overweight the whole time I was growing up, and I really just wanted to look like the other girls my age. When I finally lost the weight in 2010, I had loose skin and stretch marks. Even after having the loose skin around my midsection removed, I was (and am) self-consious of my stretch marks and the loose skin on my thighs and arms.
My sister had a boudoir shoot done last year when she turned 40, and her pictures looked amazing. I really wanted to do it, but I kept waiting for "the right time". I finally realized that there really isn't a "right time", because there will always be things about my body that I will find flaws in. So, when I saw a Groupon for a mini-session, I thought it would be a great way to get a little taste of what a boudoir session would be like.
I originally bought the Groupon for the photo shoot, which was a very basic package for $99. When I went to the website, however, I saw that I could upgrade to the "Luxe" package for another $100, and it would include hair and make-up (plus more outfits/shooting time). Since I only ever planned to do this once in my entire life, I figured I'd better just upgrade. And the more I thought about the idea of the boudoir shoot, the more I liked it! I've never really felt "sexy" because of my body image issues, so I hoped that by taking professional sexy photos, I would see that I actually AM sexy ;)
I waited until my Groupon was about to expire before I finally booked the appointment. Looking at the website for Catherine Kellie Studios, I really liked Catherine's thoughts about boudoir photography. Her goal with the sessions is to basically empower women and make them feel absolutely beautiful, no matter what their size, shape, age, etc. I met Catherine earlier this week to talk about the shoot, and I felt very at ease with her. I knew I'd be comfortable with her doing the photos. My personal goal for the session was to feel pretty and sexy, in a way that I never really had, and see all the good parts of my body. I always tend to focus on the flaws, but Catherine would pose me in ways that would make me truly LIKE what I saw.
Anyway, my appointment was at noon, and it was about an hour and fifteen minutes away, so I left at 10:30. Traffic was bad, but I still got there in time. I brought along about seven outfits, hoping that Catherine could help me choose the best outfits to use. I don't want to get too detailed about what I wore, so I'll just leave it at that ;) She helped me plan everything out, and then she organized it very well to make things easy when it was time to change during the shoot.
While she did that, I sat down to get my hair and make-up done. Again, because this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me, I chose to be pretty bold with my make-up. Larrissa, the hair stylist/make-up artist, did dark, smokey eyes and "soft red" lips (not super bold red, but a nice color--still much bolder than I would have chosen). For my hair, she did big, loose curls, which I really liked!
Once my hair and make-up were done (and I hardly recognized myself in the mirror), I put on my first outfit. It was one of the more modest ones, so that was a nice warm-up. Catherine gave me perfect directions for each pose--all I had to do was mirror what she wanted me to do, and she got some awesome photos. I didn't see ALL of them, but occasionally as she was shooting, she would show me a photo. I honestly gasped out loud a few times, because I couldn't believe it was even ME--I looked so good!
The whole shoot was actually really fun, and not at all awkward. The only people in the studio were Catherine, Larrissa, and me. The door to the studio is locked, so that people can't just walk in, which was nice to know. Occasionally, Catherine would get really excited about a certain pose or photo, saying something like, "This is SO PRETTY!", and that always made me feel good. Some of the poses felt very odd, but I trusted she knew what she was doing, and when she showed me a picture or two, I realized she really knows her stuff.
By the time I was done, I felt absolutely amazing. I really should have done it a long time ago, before I lost the weight! It would have made me feel so much better about myself, and to stop thinking I had to be thin to feel pretty or sexy. I'm really excited for Jerry to see the photos, because I know he will love them :) (I may share a couple of very modest ones here on my blog--I'll decide after I see them). Catherine said that most photographs capture moments in life, but a good boudoir session has the power to do more. "I don't just capture moments, I change lives!" -- And that's totally true. I feel different now, in a good way.
When I mentioned the boudoir shoot before, several people commented that it's something they would like to do "someday"--I want to encourage you to do it now! A good photographer will pose you to show your best qualities, and you will feel very feminine and pretty. The photos are not cheap--I think I probably hyperventilated when I started comparing costs last year--but again, this is something I'll only do once in my life, and I'm sure I'm going to love the photos. (Jerry and I will go to the studio next week to see them and order what we like).
Catherine is offering anyone who I refer a $100 voucher good toward the Luxe boudoir package (which is the session that I did). That would make it only $99, and it includes hair and make-up! (If you're interested in booking, you can email Catherine at hello@catherinekelliestudios.com. It has to be booked by 10/19 and shot by 11/30/15).
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| I was nervous about whether I should even share THIS photo, and it's pretty modest ;) |
Last night, I went out to dinner with Andrea. And then today was crazy busy in the morning. The kids had a cross country meet AND a double-header baseball game back to back to back. The cross country meet started at 8:15, so we had to be there by 7:15. It was at a golf course, and there was a collection of fog that looked so eerie that I had to take a picture:
The kids did awesome! Noah got a new PR (again), finishing in 8:45-ish (I don't have the official results yet); and Eli ran his first sub-10:00 mile!
The baseball games didn't go so well--the kids' team was crushed by the other team (I don't even know the scores, but it was bad!). It was their last game, which is kind of a relief. They both really enjoy cross country right now, and said that next year, they don't want to do fall baseball because they have meets and games on the same day. They only have two more meets until cross country is over!
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