Yesterday was the 4th of July and I hope that you all had a joyful time celebrating with friends and family (or yourself!). While the 4th celebrates a lot of things for us, a common theme is 'freedom'. Posting this client interview seems appropriate to the theme of 'freedom'. In almost every question she answers letting us know how much freedom she feels now that she has been through her OWN experience. 

Read on to hear her personal account on her boudoir session

In love and independence, 

Sarah

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

 I am 23 and turning 24 in September. And at 14, I was (and still am) jamming to my girl, Beyoncé! 

2) What do you do for a living?

 I'm a full time mommy, wife, student, and nurse. 

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

At first I thought I wanted to book a shoot to surprise my husband since I've never done anything "sexy" like a boudoir shoot. But then when I saw all the women looking so natural and beautiful in the pictures, I kept telling myself that I needed to do this for me. 

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

Being naked in front of a stranger was my first fear. But then I thought, "Why the hell not? I'm young, have a great body after having a baby not even a year after the shoot. Why not?!?" And I am SO glad I did it. 

5) Why did you choose OWN? 

I researched a ton of different photographers in the area and I didn't find one who had the look I was interested in. Until I scrolled through your site off of Google! My mouth was on the floor looking through the gallery. (Still is after seeing my pictures!) 

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

I went in with an open mind so I didn't really know what to expect. I was feeling nervous at first but Sarah is seriously the easiest person to talk to. You’ll think you've known her for 10 years as soon as you meet her. 

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

My favorite part was posing, getting a shot taken, and then pausing for a second to view the image. At first it feels weird posing at awkward angles. But when Sarah shows you what it looks like on camera, it's like "OH MY GOD. IS THAT ME?!" All of it was great but that was by far my favorite. 

8) How has the response been to your images?

My husband loved the previews so much that he thought that he couldn't love the rest. 

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

Please do it. Don't wait until you "lose ten pounds". JUST DO IT. 

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

Absolutely. As a mom, you're often expected to take care of yourself last. It's almost the social norm to let yourself go and to feel down and defeated after having children. I don't think that's fair. Women have the right to feel sexy and to feel comfortable in their own skin. This photo shoot did exactly that for me. I'm not afraid to wear that bathing suit at the pool anymore. I don't hide from my hubs after a shower. Own really made me realize, I may be a mom, but I can be hot, too. Behind clothes doors of course ;)

Recently I took a dream vacation to Greece, Europe, Planet Earth. While I would now love to flood your eyes with images of the Aegean Sea, cobblestone streets, and cities older than Jesus, I will use self control (that being said, go ahead and let me know if you want me to talk your ear off about the trip and show you beautiful photos through my cracked iPhone screen). 

 

The Greece vacation was a major result of a minor decision. 

Sometime in December 2016 I had a series of margaritas with a boudoir client-turned-margarita partner. We bonded over recent breakups, past boudoir sessions, our love for tiny dogs, and the inescapable feeling of wanderlust. Maybe it was the impending new year, maybe it was the margaritas, maybe it was Maybelline, but we declared 2017 to be the ‘year of YAS’. 

That’s ‘YAS’ with an ‘A’, because that’s how you say ‘yes’ when you realllllly mean it. 

Walking out of that conversation had me feeling a little drunk and a lot inspired. Saying ‘YAS’, or ‘yes’ for the remainder of this blog post, for this year seemed absolutely terrifying to my very-comfortable and predictable life. At the end of our time together my friend asked me “Hey do you want to go to Greece in May?” and not wanting to completely void the last 2.5 hours I enthusiastically responded “Yes”.

Fast forward to today, we’re about 6 months removed from the margarita madness and ‘Year of yes’ blood-pact and I’m proud to say that I have lived fully, wonderfully, irresponsibly, thoughtfully, creatively, and openly. I’m not sure what my next ‘YES’ will be but I recently said ‘yes’ to being in a new relationship, and that has been as much of a whirlwind-mind-blast as it could have ever been. Saying ‘yes’ may have the same effect on your heart rate as 12 cups of coffee and a 5hr energy drink, but it has a greater chance of opening you up to a wider variety of positive experiences in your life. 

There aren’t ever really any signs of what you might miss out on, there is only hindsight. A year, or a season, or a DAY of ‘yes’ can be a great thing for all of us. 

Whatever it means for you, let’s all “Say yes to your OWN adventure.”

Say ‘yes’ to: new relationships, tap dancing lessons, volunteering, trying new foods (unless your allergic), seeing a movie alone, making a life change, being photographed (hello boudoir!), cutting negativity out of your life, moving across the country, etc. 

After all, this is your OWN adventure. 

In love and spontaneity, 

Sarah