embracing your sexuality & sensuality through boudoir| oceanside, california boudoir photographer
Today I want to feature an amazing woman who came in for her session earlier in November. Lauren had expressed to me prior to her session that she had already done a boudoir session once before but did not leave feeling all that empowered or beautiful.
Sadly, this is something that I hear quite often, and it breaks my heart because I know how life changing - in both a positive and negative way - boudoir sessions can be for people. It is so important to find the right boudoir photographer for you, and to spend time vetting those photographers.
For this reason, I really wanted to highlight and share about Lauren and her experience working with me. Her gallery is just 🔥but most importantly, she felt seen & celebrated & honored.
“I chose to invest in a boudoir session for a handful of reasons. I have been on this journey of radical and unconditional self love, which has forced me to reevaluate the way I view and treat myself.”
Sensuality and sexuality were taboo topics in my home of origin, which was a real struggle for me as someone who feels deeply connected to sensuality and my body. I never really had a healthy example of what loving your body and exploring your sexuality looked or felt like so I have had to discover and figure that out for myself. This is what led me to Carrie Anne’s beautiful studio and art -because that is really what she is- an artist!
Five years ago I scheduled a boudoir session with another photographer and it was not a great experience. I did not walk away feeling sexy or grateful for my body.
In fact it was the opposite. I think part of this was also because I did the shoot for the wrong reasons. I wanted to give the images to my husband because I wanted him to freak out and gush over how great I looked.
When really, I needed to do that for myself. I needed to believe I was worthy of gushing over, and gush over myself, instead of hoping my husband would do it for me. Fast forward to now, after many years of working through past bullshit and trauma, to a version of myself I am head over heels in love with, both inside and out. So, really, I pursued a session for myself first, to always remember how fucking good it feels to love myself entirely incase I ever stray from that again. And also, to gift the images to my husband partly because its fun to give him smokin' hot picture of me. But more so because he played a huge part in helping me learn how to love myself. Understanding and embracing his love played a huge roll in me adopting the belief that I am worthy of love and happiness and all of the above just my simply being me. And I think these images are tangible proof of that.
I chose Carrie Anne Kelly Studios because I saw some of her work on Instagram and instantly connected with the vibe.
It felt real, and that was exactly what I was looking for in a session.
I was super nervous before my session! So nervous that I spoiled the surprise for my husband and told him I was headed to a boudoir session so he could hype me up! I think I was most nervous about having a similar experience to my previous session, I really wanted to walk away from this feeling empowered and beautiful. And as soon as I got to the session I had no nerves at all. Carrie Anne was very authentic and professional, and from the very start of the session I was having fun.
Carrie Anne is a master at this craft. I really do not have the right words to accurately explain her awesome energy, but she made me feel so much more than just sexy. She made me feel like a WOMAN. My favorite outfit was the thistle and spire snake piece. I feel like it is 1000% my style, my personality, and it fit my body exactly how I wanted it to. After my session, I can honestly say I have never felt better. The session was so much more about getting images of me in lingerie. For me, it was about stepping into that power to be so many things at once. Mother, wife, friend, daughter, sister, student; powerful and graceful, intelligent and curious, sexy and soft. And Carrie Anne fuckin' nailed it. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Looking through the unedited images was incredible. I kept saying out loud "and these aren't edited"!! Because it was almost hard to believe the woman I was looking at and (finally) gushing over was me. It was such a unique and cool experience that really made the session that much more worthwhile. My favorite photo from the session was probably the one in the thistle and spire piece with my arms up and back against the wall OR the one in the white set on the edge of the bed. I really don't think I could pick just one! The investment was definitely worth every penny and every second. I would (and have!) recommend Carrie Ann for a boudoir session to others.
To anyone who is unsure about doing a boudoir session, I would say DO THE DAMN THING BABE, but do it for yourself.
Give yourself permission to shed any worries you might have about the images not looking how you expect them to look and instead truly appreciate them (and yourself!) exactly as they are-which honestly is really really easy to do with Carrie Anne behind the camera!
