Our Most Memorable Boudoir Moments
Our Most Memorable Boudoir Moments
By: Asif, Nicki, Andrea & Jill
Asif:
“ If that wasn’t enough she comes home to a diagnosis of breast cancer and had to have one of her breasts removed. . .”
One of my most memorable boudoir photography moments is when a client of mine described me as a gay bestie to my wife during a PhotoShop (reveal) appointment. I don’t think anyone could’ve paid me any higher of a compliment than that. What’s amazing is that she felt comfortable sharing that with my wife during her photoshop appointment with her. I guess that explains why during her shoot she felt safe enough to share a bit of her life story with me. This AMAZING soul used to be engaged and when she arrived at the hotel a day earlier than planned for her wedding day, she found her husband-to-be sleeping with one of her bridesmaids. If that wasn’t enough, she came home to receive a diagnosis of breast cancer and had to have one of her breasts removed. This girl is in her early 30’s so she figured she’d opt for reconstructive surgery. By the way, she never told her parents about the cancer. After the surgery, her mom chewed her out for having her “boobs done” saying she didn’t raise her daughter to be so vain! Can you believe it? After which, of course, she let mom know about her cancer and they worked it out. Needless to say, she needed a little boost to remind her of just how awesome she truly is and I cannot be more grateful that she chose me to create her boudoir portraits for her! If you are reading this, my deepest and heartfelt gratitude goes to you. You made a huge impact on me!
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Nicki:
As a studio manager, my only in-person interaction with our clients occurs when I get to show them their gorgeous images at what we call a PhotoShop appointment. I love these appointments! It is such a privilege to witness each client's response to her images. Some women cry, some laugh, some gasp out loud and some are silent. It's almost a sacred moment as each individual processes what she's seeing: it's herself, and yet a sexy, gorgeous self that may have been hidden inside until now. It's hard to explain all that goes on during this experience! Needless to say, I have countless memorable moments that I cherish from these appointments.
“she planned to surprise him so she actually blindfolded him so he didn’t know where he was going. . . ”
However, when Jill asked what my most memorable moment was, one particular appointment came to mind. It was way back, within the first year or 2 of our business. A lady did a super sexy session for her husband of 20 years and decided to bring him to her PhotoShop appointment. Well, she planned to surprise him so she actually blindfolded him so he didn't know where he was going! Not only that, she brought a large pizza and a bottle of wine because it was their date night. When she took the blindfold off and I showed them her images, he was thrilled! Both of them literally jumped out of their seats and were "oooh-ing" and "aaahh-ing" over the images. They had such a vibrant relationship and it was clear that these pictures were the icing on the cake. They had so much fun, eating their pizza, drinking their wine, and picking out their favorite pics. I laughed with them and felt so filled with hope after seeing a couple married for 20 years who were still so crazy about each other. Definitely a moment I will never forget.
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Andrea:
This question has seemed to be a hard one for me. So many sessions have impacted me over the years. They’ve taught me so much time and time again. So what is my most memorable boudoir moment? Well, I truly don’t know how to pick one - Do I tell you about the funny one? The one where we both sat and cried? The one where I completely realized I “judged a book by its cover”? etc. How is just one of these the most memorable moment when they’re all so important? Well, I have decided to share with you two of my most memorable moments but they go together …sort of …both take place at the photo viewing appointment.
The first I want to share took place a couple of years ago. I photographed a bride to be and the session went great, pretty normal. She came back a week later by herself to view her pictures. As we went through the slide show, she was silent. I looked at her and saw that she was just looking at them crying. She then shared with me that she is scheduled to go wedding dress shopping and has been contemplating canceling because she is at the heaviest she has been. A couple of people very close to her had been really hard on her about this. She then wiped her tears and before I could say anything, she said something along the lines of, “But after seeing these there is no way I am canceling and I don’t care what anyone thinks. I may be the heaviest I have ever been but look at me!!! I look great, I can’t wait to go try on dresses!” This was one of the first moments I had where I really realized that what I do is far beyond taking pictures. I have the ability to help women simply see what’s already there!
“This was one of the first moments I had where I really realized that what I do is far beyond taking pictures. I have the ability to help women see simply what’s already there! ”
So the second story I want I want to share actually takes place in my husband's workshop where I found one of my boudoir pictures hung up. This story really starts 6 years ago when I had my first session. My husband came to help me pick out my pictures (totally surprised him!). He wanted this one picture of me so bad and I was like NO! All I could see were all the flaws. Eventually, I came around and let him order one very small print of it. I had completely forgotten about this image for a very long time. Now jump ahead, I am a photographer and love when clients bring their significant others with them to help pick out pictures. Whether it be a surprise and we pretend they are coming to talk about family pictures or whether they know exactly what they’re walking into, either way I love it! Why do I love it so much? 9 out of 10 times when their significant other sees the images they are floored. They are so excited, love them all and full of compliments and words of praise. It's also a little fun to see some of them squirm at the edgier photos and you know they love them but don’t want to come out and say “that picture of your butt is amazing!” I can usually sense this and put them at ease letting them know it’s totally fine to say it! Clients are typically beaming, laughing and enjoying this time. I am fully enjoying this time and I am beaming just as much! We spend so much time taking the pictures working on them, putting together orders and then we’re left hanging if it’s a gift for someone! What did they think? How did they react? Nosey me wants to know!! Now I am well aware these appointments typically take a little longer because often it takes twice as long to narrow down the images…but why???
Well, this takes me back to that moment in my husband's workshop, six years and two kids later when I looked at that picture he has. I am studying the image remembering that night picking it out and trying so hard to figure out why I didn’t love this image from the start?? So I went back looked at all my images from that shoot and realized well shoot…. this is actually my favorite image from that entire session!! My husband could see what I simply couldn’t see at that time. I was so caught up in nonexistent flaws that I clearly thought you could see across the room that I couldn’t see the beauty in that image at the time. After having this moment, I think this is probably a huge reason why I love when clients bring along their significant other. It's pretty 50/50 on how many bring them vs. how many come alone or with a friend. Either way I think in general photo viewing appointments are some of my favorite memories - clients have gone through the whole process and finally get to see the end results and whether they are coming alone or with someone, it’s always so great to see that moment where they’ve come full circle and finally understand the impact of the full experience.
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Jill:
The most memorable boudoir moment, for me, happened years ago when I was assisting Asif for boudoir sessions. I know that I have said it over and over again, however, there is just something that happens during boudoir sessions where clients feel comfortable within their vulnerability to tell us so much about themselves. Sometimes we talk about insecurities, life challenges, embarrassing moments, hilarious occurrences, etc. If you haven’t checked out our Wonder Woman articles yet, this is where you can read the full stories written by our clients and friends -Missy, Lisa, Dana.
“Her sessions lasted for hours because we were talking, laughing, crying and at one point she was leading us through yoga poses on the floor of the studio. ”
There was this one session that stands out in my mind… this client was just so much fun to be around. Her sessions lasted for hours because we were talking, laughing, crying and at one point she was leading us through yoga poses on the floor of the studio. Once we were back to taking her photos, Asif was mirroring a pose on the floor while she was on the bed. I was in between them with an enormous reflector so Asif and our client couldn’t really see each other. He is talking her through the pose and when she successfully achieved it I just let out this weird “YESSSSSSSSSS!” Now, I don’t typically chime in during sessions because sometimes it can be hard enough to follow directions from one person let alone two people. We all start laughing, I am 7 shades of red. What makes this moment most memorable is not because it was embarrassing, it was because we all became so comfortable with each other that I talked to this client as if she was one of my closest friends. I would never let out a guttural “yes” to a stranger! Those quickly forming friendships just don’t happen every day and it is something that I will never forget!
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It is so difficult for each of us to choose just one memorable boudoir moment. Every single client we have photographed has connected and chosen to be vulnerable with us in more than one way. Thank you to all of our clients who have allowed us to be part of their lives through the experience of boudoir photography.