Rachel’s Boudoir Experience
When I asked Rachel to write about her boudoir shoot experience with us, she quickly responded with, “YES!” Rachel’s transformation has been one of the most memorable ones. Here is her story, written by Rachel herself.
Booking a boudoir session seems scary, but when I first spoke with Kearstyn, she instantly eased my fears. I wanted to do this because I realized I won’t be young for long, and I want to remember myself as I am today. I was heavily inspired by a quote from Schitt’s Creek:
“Take a thousand naked pictures of yourself now. You may currently think “Oh I’m too spooky,” or “Nobody wants to see these tiny boobies.” But, believe me, one day you will look at those photos with much kinder eyes and say, “Dear God, I was a beautiful thing!” – Moira Rose
I think about this quote often, I believe it has helped me be a lot nicer to myself.
So I booked my session. I prepared as much as I could – following the helpful prep guide Kearstyn supplied to me. The amount of stretching really surprised me! But spoiler alert: I’m very glad I did it!
I got my nails done, painted my toes, and ordered so many different lingerie options until I found a couple I was comfortable in. Kearstyn was really helpful with this too, giving me recommendations for where to look and telling me what not to order. To my surprise, some types of lingerie are not great for a lot of the best boudoir shots (ex: teddys!)
I brought all my favorite options to my shoot and Kearstyn helped me pick which would be best. Then I sat for hair and makeup. I haven’t had my makeup done since high school prom! Marki, the hair and makeup artist, asked me what I like, and I gave her very little direction, but she knocked it out of the park. (I even ended up hiring her for my wedding!). It felt so amazing to be pampered before I was about to do something I’ve never done.
Kearstyn had a playlist going to get me pumped up, I put on my lingerie, and we were ready to go. Except I had no idea what I was doing.
We started out simple, and Kearstyn showed me each pose so I had a basis of what to do, then she’d alter my position to make sure everything was perfect. She even told me exactly what to do with my face! She kept the mood light and made me feel so comfortable. Every time I felt insecure, or started feeling like this wasn’t going to work for me, she would jump in and say, “WOW, you look AMAZING,” or would let me see a photo on the back of her camera. I was so shocked and in awe that i looked like that, even without ANY editing! Eventually all the nervous feelings were gone and I was feeling like an absolute bada**! Even when I had to ask for help to hook up my thigh-highs properly, even when I had to arch my back so much that it felt SO wrong and awkward, even when I was laughing hysterically because that’s just what I do when I am nervous, even when I had to lay or kneel on the cold, hard floor to get the perfect shot… I felt amazing. I couldn’t imagine during those moments what the final product would be.
And really, I couldn’t wait to see how it turned out. I was feeling so good about myself – empowered, sexy, beautiful, just all around incredible. We sat down for the reveal and the first picture blew me away. I never thought I could be THAT girl! And then the second, the third, and so on! I couldn’t believe it was me in the pictures. I didn’t focus on the flaws and the imperfections that plagued my daily life. It was so liberating. For the very first time in my life, I genuinely didn’t feel weighed down by those thoughts. Is this what it feels like to truly love yourself? Is this how my fiance sees me?
I knew that if I felt this way, there was no way he wouldn’t. I’m elated to have the memory of this whole experience, and a luxurious album of 25 beautiful photos from this boudoir shoot to remind me that I am an actual goddess. I look at them every chance I get, and to be honest, I think I look at them more than my fiance does! These photos are a daily reminder of how much my self-image has truly changed because of this boudoir shoot. A new level of confidence and acceptance became a part of my every day life. I really couldn’t be more grateful for the day I stepped out of my comfort zone and did something scary and exciting, just for me.