New Year, Pretty Much Same Me- Self Portrait Boudoir- In Studio Session Nine19 Photography Raleigh NC- Kimberly
We all say it, “New Year, New Me!” Well as I look back over my personal life, my business, and my work I can truly say that I have grown but I am pretty much the same old me and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. At my core, I am still the person that I have always been. I enjoy laughing and having a good time. I’m an athlete who doesn’t play sports. I love food and alcohol. An artist, true and true, even to a fault. Emotional and sensitive, yet cold and abrasive at times. I care about others even to the detriment of myself and my own wellbeing sometimes and even in those moments I would still say that it was worth it. As it feels I am opening a new chapter in my life, with a few major changes and some serious life lessons learned, I wanted to celebrate me in the only way I would tell anyone else to celebrate themselves, with a bad ass boudoir session! That’s right, I did one too and it wont be the last! You can expect one every year from here on out, because as difficult as it is to look at your own flaws in the editing room, I feel incredibly proud of myself and these portraits!
From a technical standpoint, I had to get creative in order to have finished portraits that looked like I took them of myself. I asked that my new found bestie, LaTisha, to come over and be my trigger woman. You may remember her from her session a couple of months ago! I setup the camera to the settings I would if I were to be behind the camera, set the flash and then asked her to snap several at a time. I then would ask her to view them and we collaborated on what angles and such that we liked and went back and forth like this until honestly, I got exhausted. To my clients, YOU BITCHES ARE BADASS! I only posed for about 2 and a half hours and I was DONE haha You ladies go up to 4 hours sometimes, you deserve a cheesecake after your session (Note to Self: Add cheesecake to menu options for boudoir sessions) I then edited the photos in my style and chose to not heavily edit my body and leave the ones that look good even if I do have a fat roll from sitting down. I want you to see these with my imperfections and still think they are beautiful, just like when I edit my client photos and think “No, they aren’t perfect BUT YASSSSSS they are still fucking gorgeous!”
As far as outfits, I always tell clients BODYSUITS!!! You literally can’t fuck up with a bodysuit! You can find ones that hide your least favorite bits and show off your best ASSests! This one I got on sale through Yandy.com over the holidays. You don’t have to spend a ton to look like a stunner. I just as easily could have covered in that fur blanket or a white sheet and pulled this look off! In my second outfit, I cheated and wore my coveted “Photog Bae” bodysuit and cut offs. Wearing more clothes can be difficult because it really forces you to push through the clothes to let your confidence shine, stopping you from just relying on your lingerie to carry the portrait.
“Your self worth is determined by you. You don’t have to depend on someone telling you who you are… I don’t feel like I have to please anyone. I feel free. I feel like I’m an adult. I’m grown. I can do what I want. I can say what I want. I can retire if I want. That’s why I’ve worked hard.”
#BEYGOALS
And as much fun as it is to pretend that I am this vixen always posing for the camera, honestly, I am silly and I love my puppy, so here goes…
Got to cover his puppy bits, boudoir is about leaving a little bit to the imagination, haha
Those booties though! haha
If you feel like you connected with me and want to do a boudoir session of your own, please reach out! I would love to hear your ideas and your stories! Whether you are getting married, looking for a gift, or just wanting to celebrate the new you or the pretty much same old you, I cant wait to hear what you have to say!
Annnnd one more, shout out to my mom’s red leather Glamour Shots photo from the 90s. I tried my best to replicate it and not to giggle, I hope you like it Ma!
