Her boudoir story, by Ms.K (A blog written by Ms. K about her epic outdoor session)
“Being photographed is one of the hardest things to relax and do. No one inherently loves everything about them and I am in no way an exception. Re posted a call for outdoor sessions and I jumped at the opportunity to get in front of the camera. Why? Because in the last year I have had some pretty low points in my life, points where looking in the mirror was a difficult thing to do. The idea of taking my clothes off for people to see was the most terrifying idea I could have come up with to make me feel better about myself. I’ve gained weight, I have stretch marks, there are spots on my body I would much rather didn’t exist. That was exactly the reason why I had to do it. Re contacted me to set up a date and gave me a range of ideas for wardrobe. I was ready to do this. I had a week to prepare and I quickly realized I was not anywhere close to being ready. I had nothing to wear, I felt awful. I couldn’t do it. I began to write an apologetic email to Re to cancel and I stopped. This was exactly why I had to do this. There are always going to be reasons preventing me from getting in front of a camera, and the point of it was to show myself the real me. The one that I had a hard time seeing.”
“The day of the shoot came. I got up early and did my makeup, being very careful to make it perfect. I struggled with my hair and was so afraid I would not be camera ready. There was no turning back now. I grabbed my backpacked filled with silky fabrics and slinky dresses and met with Re in Cumberland ready to hike up to the spot she had picked. The hike was quite a bit uphill but it was manageable. We chatted during the 15-20 minutes it took to get up to the potholes. It was comfortable and I felt at ease.”
“It was absolutely gorgeous standing on the rocks in the low river. I pulled out my ‘outfits’ that I had deemed acceptable to present to Re and she set up her equipment. I kept telling myself that I could do this and it was going to be amazing, and it was. The second Re started taking pictures I lost all fear I could have had. Fears about my body and not looking good enough to be a model for a shoot such as this. Re was amazing. She radiated joy and excitement and she genuinely loved what she was doing. And it was infectious. She had me pose in ways I never would have thought to do. I laid down in the low river and started at the camera and she took shot after shot. I took off my clothes and wrapped myself in a silky piece of emerald fabric and felt like a goddess. I trusted her. The entire shoot took a couple hours and I loved every second of it. Even if none of the pictures turned out, I would always have that experience.”
“Today I returned to meet with Re at her studio to look at the photos. I was a little worried again that I wouldn’t find that many that I loved but the second she showed me the first photo I lost all my fear. I looked amazing. I truly was the goddess that I had felt like during the photoshoot. That was me?! I couldn’t believe how many absolutely stunning photos there were of me. I had been so worried about how I looked and none of it mattered in the end. The best pictures were of my hair all messed up, the ones where I was more natural looking and being myself and it was inspiring. I had such a hard time choosing which of the many were my favourites. This is why I had pushed back all my fears about myself. I have extra weight, I have marks on my skin, I’m not perfect and that’s ok. I am beautiful because of all those things. And that’s what matters.” ~ Ms.K
