This post is so very overdue!  I’ve sat down a couple of times to write about my experience in the Boudoir Divas‘ studio, but I get writer’s block every time!  I do really want to give them a public thank you, though, and also share my photos, so here goes…

If you don’t already know who they are, Marissa and Kimberlee (aka The Boudoir Divas), are the top boudoir photographers in the country (the world even!).  They are based out of San Diego and not only run an amazing boudoir studio but they also teach workshops to other photographers.  Last April, I was fortunate enough to be in Paris when they were holding a workshop there, and I jumped at the chance to take it since I had just launched the Rue Boudoir side of Laura Boyd Studio and welcomed an opportunity to learn from the best. (A few blog posts from my time there: one, two, three.)

I spent the summer growing my boudoir business and having a blast, but I wanted to experience having my own session so I could really relate to everything my clients were going through – from the anxiety to the fun.  In thinking about posing for my own boudoir photos, I knew there was only one place I absolutely trusted to give me an incredible experience – of course, the Divas!  I booked myself out to California last September for the full Supermodel Experience at the Divas’ studio.

Having shot so many boudoir sessions and told so many women how fun and empowering boudoir is, I didn’t think I would be as nervous as I was to actually walk out on set in my skivvies.  Wow, was I nervous!  Just as I tell my own clients, though, I truly did feel at ease almost immediately.  Marissa was doing my session, and she was so enthusiastic and supportive and in control that as soon as we got started I forgot that I was nervous and morphed into a supermodel.  For real, y’all.  When you have had your hair and makeup professionally done and you are rolling around under the hot lights, feeling sexy, you DO become a supermodel, and I wish every woman would give themselves a chance to experience it!

I think ALL women should do this, but here is a special word of encouragement to those ladies out there who think they are too shy, too fat, too out of shape, too whatever to let themselves enjoy something like this: DO IT ANYWAY!  As a not-so-skinny girl myself, of course I was anxious about how I would feel seeing myself in photos.  Yes, some of my proofs did make me cringe (not because of anything Marissa did but simply because of how hard it is to look honestly at myself in photos), but I focused on the ones that I LOVED (and there were so so so many that I loved) and walked out of there that day feeling like a million bucks!  I swear, I had a pep in my step for at least a week after I got home!

If you entrust yourself to a talented, thoughtful photographer who knows how to use lighting and posing to highlight the best features of ANY figure, you will be thrilled with the results.  Personally, I am already planning to go back and have another session after I meet my weight loss goals.  Hello, BEST before and after pictures EVER!

OK, no more rambling.  THANK YOU, Divas, for an amazing experience and for photos that I will treasure forever.  Here are some of my favorites from my shoot with Marissa:

Whether it is with me, the Divas, or another top photographer in your area, I encourage all of you to go out and own your sexy!