Colorado Boudoir Photography – Featured and another Quickie Why

So why do these two go together? Because they’re the same photo. EXPLAIN! Back in January, I was asked to submit a photo that represents my brand and Colorado boudoir photography very well. This can be REALLY really hard because my brand is about so many things!

Empowering Women! Travel! Adventure! Sparkles! Strength! Humor!

How the heck do I narrow it down to just one thing?

I poured through my portfolio and images that are released, that I can share, and one image kept coming back into my brain, over and over again. So that is the image that I submitted.

This past week, we celebrated International Women’s Day. I am on the board of a HUGE local women’s photography group, and every Wednesday we have a theme for photos to share – and this particular Wednesday was WOMEN! Again, seriously, how the hell can I possibly narrow this down? I think I have like 5% of my photos that are of men, without women. Even my couples photos have women in them!

So again I scrolled through the portfolio drive and looked and looked… and smiled as I thought of the women I was looking at. This one has SIX KIDS! This one had a horrific domestic violence relationship and lived to tell the story and kick some ass! This couple was facing a separation because of something beyond their control and wanted to capture their love first! This one is marrying someone thousands of miles away and wanted something exciting to send to him! This one was adopted years ago and doesn’t really know her family history because part of it is gone forever!

THE STORIES behind the photos were bringing tears to my eyes, and the memories were amazing!

But again, I kept coming back to one specific photo.

It’s not that this photo is technically perfect – I’m sure there are several lighting gurus who would pick this apart. It’s not overly creative, there aren’t flowing fabrics everywhere or crazy effects going on from professional editorial contest editing.

But it represents my brand so, so well.

And I wrote about why when I shared it in the photography group, and wanted to share that with you today.

This is one of my most favorite photos I’ve ever taken. It’s not amazingly creative, it’s not technically perfect, and I don’t care. It shows what I want to do, my goal with every session. For a woman to feel completely comfortable and joyful in her own skin. No matter what she looks like, what she has been through, or where she’s at in her life. For her to let her guard down, and look at herself as so many others see her.

Beautiful.

As a larger woman, I always thought skinny chicks had it easy. They’re skinny so the world loves them, right? WRONG. No matter what we do as females, as women, we will always be just that – wrong. We will never live up to someone’s expectations, SO WHY THE FUCK TRY?!

To encourage a woman to be herself, to learn who she is and celebrate that, to serve others, to love on others and encourage others – that is what this photo represents to me. And on today, International Women’s Day, I extend the love to all of you.

I tend to say you are enough, but the truth is, I don’t think that phrase really fits. ENOUGH to me feels like content – like good, but not great.

YOU ARE WORTH IT. Even when you don’t feel like it.
YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. Even when your hair is greasy.
YOU ARE IMPORTANT. Even when you feel two inches tall.

I could go on and on about this, and I probably will in the future (hello Facebook live rants) – but I didn’t want to drown out the photo.

Here is this beautiful woman, wearing almost nothing, just the skin she was born with and a few small pieces. Her joy, her smile, her laughter, I absolutely love to see that in this photo, and in every photo!

No, not every photo I take has someone smiling – and that’s okay. Smiles don’t happen every single moment of every single day, there are different emotions that we all feel and go through.

But to encourage a woman to be joyful in her own skin, and OWN her body because it is hers and hers alone, and to feel that confidence where she is so relaxed that she can laugh wearing next to nothing? THAT is the magic.

So you there. Reading this. Sitting on your couch with the kids running around in the background. Or perusing social media, randomly clicking on a link while you’re in the bathroom peeing. Up super late because you can’t sleep. WHOEVER YOU ARE.

I see your beauty. I see it deep inside. Beyond the greasy hair and sweatpants, beyond the wrinkles that were hard earned from years of laughter through trials. Beyond the words from others you trusted that told you that you weren’t good enough for whatever reason. Beyond the Facebook comments that judge you for whatever decision you’ve made.

YOU are beautiful, and I want to help you see that.

Because when you see it and really KNOW it, your entire outlook on everything changes. You feel a little sexier. You walk with a little more pep in your step. You choose the cute panties instead of the everyday panties because damnit you can.

Don’t wait.

I kind of got off on a tangent there behind this photo – but yes, this Colorado boudoir photography image was published in the February 2017 issue of Shutter Magazine.

Love & Adventures,