For those of you who know me, you would never guess that I'd agree to, and pay, a stranger to come into my house and take boudoir pictures of me. I even still have a difficult time changing in the locker room at the gym if there are people I know around. It's so far out of my comfort zone, thinking back on it, I don't know that I would have done it if it weren't for my sister-in-law bringing it up to me. I mean I'd just had a baby under a year ago and I was no way near my goal weight, not to mention the stretch marks on my chest and stomach that wouldn't be hidden even if I had achieved my goal. So why did I do it? What's the big deal about it anyway?
I was sitting at home watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with my daughter, when I got a text message from my sister-in-law telling me we had to do "this." What was this and why did we have to do it? Then she sent me a text message containing an ad for a Valentine's Day special for boudoir photo shoots. Yes, you read correctly; boudoir photo shoots. At first I thought she was joking, but when I realized she was serious, I knew I was in trouble. I had always wanted to do something like this for my husband, however, with all the scams out there and all the stories about naked pictures leaking onto the Internet, I wasn't convinced. I told Aubry, my sister-in-law, that I would think about it, and I wasn't sure if I would go through with it- but she talked me into it. So we got together and began planning the ultimate Valentine's Day gift.
We usually work out every night, but we felt like we needed to gather info fast. We had no idea what to expect so we perused Pinterest and Google for ideas. How should we pose? Should we use props? What should we wear? All these questions had to be answered, after a glass of wine, and a couple of hours- we were feeling pretty confident. We had decided on poses, props, and what prints we thought we would want.
Other than educating ourselves on boudoir, we needed to prepare physically. Instead of just three or four days of doing "Insanity" videos, we kicked it up a notch and committed to work out to them everyday. Anyone with kids will tell you it's a difficult thing to do and it is. We would work out at nap time, or at night after the kids were all put to bed. It wasn't an easy task but boy was it worth it. In addition to exercising everyday, I took it upon myself- beauty blogger that I am- to dig up all the tips I could find that would help us look extra sexy. Pouring over magazine after magazine, I compiled a list of tips to get us gorgeous head to toe. All in all it was a lot of hard work, but it was exhilarating, and made the weeks leading up to our photo shoot go by quickly. We went shopping for everything we needed, worked out everyday, and had the perfect list of tips to use for the big day. We were pretty prepared right?
I don't think we could have been any more nervous, a few weeks before the photo shoot we were bursting at the seams with excitement and couldn't wait till we could finally tell our husbands the big secret! The night before, we finalized all our plans and it was perfect. Both of our guys would be away from the houses first thing in the morning and had agreed not to come back until we called them and told them the coast was clear. That morning after Aubry text messaged me that it was safe to come over, I grabbed my VS tote and packed it full of all the make-up, and hair products we could possibly need- not to mention two boxes of rose petals and some baby snacks. I put my daughter on my hip, picked up my box fan and headed over to her apartment. We were advised not to wear tight fitting clothing since it could leave impressions on our skin, so we just wore night gowns and robes. We knew we were really nervous when we began to feel our body temperature spike- even with minimal clothing, at 8 am! We giggled as we finished getting ready and anxiously awaited our photographer; Marie-Dominique Verdier, or Do (like "doe") for short. Sure enough, about 30 minutes later there was a knock on the door. I swear our hearts were pounding out of our chests, we were really going to do this! Aubry quickly let Do inside and got to work. Most of Aubry's shoot, I was taking care of my daughter, but it wasn't long before it was my turn- and I couldn't wait.
After we finished at Aubry's apartment, we all headed back to mine- which luckily, is just around the corner in another building. Once there I put my daughter down for a nap and set everything up for my photo shoot. We moved furniture, hung up a sheer curtain, opened the windows- we were just about ready. I stripped down to nothing but a necklace and lace panties and asked where Do preferred me to be. We started in my bedroom, then moved out into the living room. I posed in many positions with numerous props; pillows, rose petals, a large mirror, and my wedding gown. It seemed like Do had taken a million pictures and it's difficult posing for so long, not to mention when you're half naked. However, as far as awkward goes, the bulk of that wore off in the first ten minutes. Marie-Dominique prefers to work with natural lighting so we had to work quickly and that didn't allow for being sheepish. It was easy to be myself because I knew I wasn't being judged. Do also made an effort to make us smile and laugh throughout the shoot, all while remaining very professional.
When Do had finished taking pictures, I quickly dressed myself and cleaned up any evidence. We'd already worked so hard on this surprise, it couldn't be ruined by leaving any clues behind. We paid Do, scheduled a time to view our edited pictures, and said our good byes.
A week or so later we visited Do and discussed which pictures we wanted to order, and it was a tough decision! Do edited ten photos for us to choose from and they looked amazing! She had managed to take pictures of us in a little less than fair lighting, tight spaces, and turn them into magnificent masterpieces. Every problem area that we worried about was no where to be found- we looked gorgeous. That's not to say that she changed how our bodies looked or made them appear fake, but rather helped us see ourselves in a better way.
I had no idea what to expect when I scheduled a boudoir photo shoot. I was excited, and very nervous at the same time. After seeing some of the shots she had taken, I knew I'd made no mistake and that after I received my prints- I'd have a very grateful husband. After doing a boudoir photo session, I have far more confidence in myself. I feel so empowered and it makes me want to help other women see themselves in that light. Do did a great job, and turned something that was always sketchy and uncomfortable to me, into something to be proud of. I hope that every woman decides to have boudoir pictures taken at some point in her life. Will I do it again? You bet! ;)
You can check out Marie-Dominique's photography at: http://www.mdvphoto.com/
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