Have you ever done a boudoir shoot before? If so, how does your shoot with Jaclyn compare to your prior experience?
No, this was my first one!
Why did you do your boudoir shoot?
I wanted to do a boudoir shoot for several reasons. For a large portion of my life, I was a competitive athlete and I was conscious and aware of how my body looked and moved. Being an athlete was my identity. Then I stopped playing sports, entered the workforce and lost my identity a bit. I found a new sense of self after delivering two beautiful baby girls within three years and nursing them each for 18+ months. Again, I was conscious and aware of what my body was doing, and a little (Ok A LOT) in awe as well. As my girls grew into preschool and elementary students and I worked to balance my mom identity with the other parts of my life, my confidence in my appearance was severely diminished. I looked FINE I thought – healthy eating and workout have always been a part of my life, but wanted MORE than that. I wanted to look hot and sexy and all those feminine things that I don’t typically feel about myself. I was always sporty but lost with makeup and wardrobe and thought that a boudoir shoot would be a great way to make me feel sexy – feeling that is very difficult for me to embrace for myself when I think of lifting weights, running, bruises, nursing and hauling kids around as what my body does well. I’ve also spent the past year working in healthcare and have put so much aside to physically and emotionally deal with struggles in that part of my life. But I was able to put all of these thoughts aside and damn, I felt sexy at my shoot with Jaclyn and it was something that was all about me. Beth created a make up look that was perfect, so before I even set foot in front of the camera I felt such a boost to my confidence and self-esteem
What was your favorite part of the session?
The whole experience was great, but I loved being able to see how my different wardrobe choices looked with the different backgrounds. I also really enjoyed trying out different poses and tweaking them by arching, turning and looking different ways. It is amazing how such subtle movements end up making big differences when you see the actual photos. Jaclyn did a fantastic job talking me through each pose. That was something I was worried about prior to the shoot.
What did doing this shoot do for your self confidence, self worth, and self image? Tell me your story.
This shoot did exactly what I was hoping. I felt great as soon as my hair and makeup were done. Those two things really got me in a sexy and fun mindset to start shooting. Jaclyn’s positive energy and experience really showed throughout the session and made me feel so at ease. We laughed so much chit chatting about life and trying out poses that were SO difficult to hold and did not FEEL sexy at the time, but look amazing in the photos. When I left the shoot, I had to pick up my daughters and then we went to dinner for my daughter’s birthday and I was definitely feeling the increase in confidence for the rest of the night (as well as the next day because I slept in my makeup and it was still immaculate the next day – Shhh!)
Was your experience what you were expecting? If not, how was it different?
My experience was more that what I could have imagined. From the minute I booked my shoot, I had ongoing communication with Jaclyn. She provided information about wardrobe, hair and makeup ideas upon booking and has great work posted on her instagram that gave me inspiration. After the shoot, she provided an investment menu so that I could select what kinds of products that best fit my needs. The “big reveal” as I call it was a meeting that we scheduled after the shoot. We met and Jaclyn opened our meeting with a slideshow of some photos. Wow! It really hit me then. The photos were beautiful and it was a little strange to see ME up there on the TV screen looking so good! We spent time discussing product options and again had a great time chatting.
What was the best part of your experience? Would you change anything?
I can’t tease out one part that stands out as the best part. I will say that coming into the shoot feeling great about how I looked was a tremendous help in letting me relax and go with the flow as Jaclyn posed me and we discussed ideas for wardrobe changes and posing. I think that having worked with Jaclyn prior to this shoot was helpful as well because she had some background knowledge about me and I was able to be a bit vulnerable in front of her.
Makeup by Beauty By Bethymae
GUYYYYYSSSS! This is what it’s all about right here. I photograph everyday women, and help them see the beauty that’s always been there. Scroll to see a few of my favorite shots from this session!
XOXO, Jaclyn
Categories: Boudoir
