This year's personal project surrounds a subject that I encounter in each and every boudoir session, no matter if I'm here in Atlanta or elsewhere in the world. 

Let's talk about Scars.

While my breasts (I feel like that's the term I should use here) started to come in when I was around 11 years old, outside of the stretch marks from a young body growing some mega-boobs, my physical body doesn't have a lot of scarring. Sure, I also have one or two chicken-pock scars but that's it for my epidermis. 

My mother gave birth to me when she was 32 and I was a lil bitch in the womb. So much that she needed to surgically remove me (what can I say, I was 1.5 weeks late and comfy AF). We call that a C-Section. I grew up constantly seeing my mom's scar, but she never mentioned it and to me it seemed just like another part of her beauty. In the 80s the scars were more aggressive... picture a vertical scar down the abdomen. Include the staple marks. Now add stretch marks. 

This is normal for me. 

Fast forward to the purple stretch marks I began to have as my boobs came in. We spent a lot of money on scar cream (Mederma anyone?), but time was really the healer. If I have to be honest, my scars didn't really bother me because I knew nothing different. I had no Instagram models to compare myself to, TEEN magazine was mainly documenting makeup trends, boy bands, and romance quizzes– not body types.

As I began my career as a photographer I was immediately drawn to people. People in their element, people not in their element, people in general. 

When I started boudoir photography I immediately fell in love with the stories of my clients.

Of course each story isn't written with one page. 

Our client's' stories are written page after page. They describe experiences. They describe joys. They describe very painful lows. They describe very painful highs. 

In our clients I began to see a pattern of scars. We have physical scars that we'd like to cover up, yet the reason behind wanting to cover them is most often because we feel like we have to. 

We have emotional scars that we would like forgotten. Those scars are harder to visually see, but they cut just as deep. 

The thing about scars is that nearly 100% of the time a client comes to me she will request for me to remove any trace of her scars. There are of course exceptions, however a common request is to rid the images of all stretch marks, C-section scars, childhood wounds, beauty marks, adult battle-wounds, etc. We want to be seen as perfect. 

Why do scars make us imperfect? 

These are the thoughts and experiences I've had over the last 10 years as a photographer. About a year and a half ago I had a wild thought in my brain to bring boudoir clients in and photograph them with their scars. This would mean that those very scars they decided to hide would be brought to the present. These scars would be visible for all to see, and for all to love. 

In January 2018 I introduced the 'SCARS' project. We'll bring you in for a personal photo session in order to beautifully document you and the scars that grace you. I have no idea how this project will evolve, but I knew that I needed to start somewhere. I knew that I needed our clients and all people everywhere (women and men) to see the power and beauty and personal strength that comes from scars. 

Are you interested in participating in the 'Scars' project? Get in touch: Sarah@Ownboudoir.com

While maternity boudoir sessions are becoming more and more of an occurrence in my studio (especially for those clients that got knocked up as a result of their stunning photos hahahah), this session was a little different when it comes to 'pregnancy boudoir'. 

It doesn't happen often, but every now and then I get a panicked call from a client. This call usually goes something like this: 

"Ohmygoodness I just found out that I am pregnant and I need to come in for a boudoir session within the next hour or day or week before my body starts to show!!!" 

I love it, and it definitely gives the session a different sort of milestone in the lives of my clients. How neat to be able to look back at your boudoir session and see the beginnings of your child's life?

For this client, that happened exactly... read about her experience below!

1) How old are you... or if you prefer, who were you listening to at age 14 :)?

28

2) What do you do for a living?

Regulatory for a Medical Device company.

3) What/who made you decide to book a boudoir session?

Been wanting to do it for a while, and after I found out I was pregnant, I finally decided "It's now or never!"

4) Did you have any obstacles or fears about boudoir?

Body image insecurities. [I'm] not good at posing and [tend to make] awkward faces in photos. 

5) Why did you choose OWN? 

LOVED Sarah's work and the way she elegantly captures a woman's natural beauty. 

6) How was the actual session different from what you expected (if at all)?

A lot less nerve-wracking than I thought especially being almost (if not completely) naked in front of a stranger. But, having only the photographer there makes it more comfortable. Posing is hard, foreal.

7) What was your favorite part of the entire experience? (priming, the shoot, seeing images, giving the images..etc)

Everything, really. But seeing the images was really special and shows the fruit of your labor [before I go into actual labor!]. I kept saying, "Dang! Is that really me?!" Sarah is amazing at what she does!!!

8) How has the response been to your images?

Response has been great. Nothing but goooooooood feedback :] Especially from the hubby.

9) What is your advice for women interested in such a session?

You don't need the "perfect" body to do this. Just as the name of the studio states, its about your OWN beauty.  Whether you do it for yourself or for someone else this was such an empowering experience and one I would recommend every women to try. If you are doing this for a special someone, think of ways to make the outfits more meaningful, so the photos are more personalized.

10) Did anything change about the way you see your own beauty as a result of this session?

Learned to love my own skin and embrace what I feel are my imperfections. Being sexy is more than just the outfit I may (or may not be) wearing, but the confidence that comes out of me.