For Couples
While I believe there’s plenty you can do for your husband, and should do, I still don’t believe you should do this—just for them. “But Megan, didn’t you do one and give it to your future husband?”
Yes. But I still stand by what I said.
Let me explain.
Listen to this post:
I’ve been creating a lot of content from a very different experience I had a couple of weeks ago. I never had any intention of taking pictures like these and presenting them to Kevin later.
In fact, I almost thought it was just another stupid trend. Honestly, boudoir photography made me uncomfortable. Yet, now I find myself hitting publish on more than one piece of content on my own boudoir images.
I’ve talked about it on my own show Get in the Lab where you see actual behind the scenes footage and my honest thoughts brought out by a conversation with my audience and the photographer Georgia Yeh.
Let me give you some context:
One day on Facebook, Georgia asked her friends who would be up for a boudoir shoot to help build her portfolio for her new business On and On Boudoir. I saw the post and waited to see what other women would say.
The result has been something that has irked me for so long in the photography business, which is this go-to response of: “can you photoshop me?” Not every response said this, but they were all rooted in feeling un-beautiful, un-sexy and un-confident. Effectively putting off the shoot until they could feel worthy of being shot in that way.
Nevertheless no one willingly volunteered.
Interesting enough, I find that this phrase is now being uttered to me by men when I used to photograph regularly.
Anyway, I saw this as an opportunity to create content. After all, it’s what I do: take my life and put it on blast for me and others to learn from.So without thinking too much about it. I said “I’ll do it”. A day later, I get a direct message from Georgia saying “are you really down to shoot? That’s so unlike you. This is so exciting”.
I tell Georgia about my scheme to create content and discussion from this shoot, other than sexy photos.
The theme that we discovered together, is that:
You don’t have to wait to feel beautiful and sexy about yourself.
Not when you lose that extra 15 pounds, or when your acne clears up or when you’re not on your period (and on the 2nd day I might add!) You have the power to feel and exude sexiness everyday if you want.
That’s what I wanted to accomplish and generate discussion on. As a society, we tend to defame ourselves for fear of looking too conceited, too into ourselves, too fat or too skinny. We’re not here to be beautiful to everyone, that’s not possible. We’re here to be beautiful for ourselves. I always say the first relationship you’re in is with you and you.
So while I shot these with the intention of creating a positive ripple in the minds of women, it’s a nice added bonus for me to present a side of me that never gets any attention from me. I’m a very proud tomboy. But I’m a very proud woman too. And for the most part I never truly give that side of myself a voice. Until now.
Writing and creating content about it might be a little overboard for some people, but again I did this for me. I feared putting these images out into the world for a moment and many other moments after that, but the rebound rate is so quick now, I’ve gotten into the habit of moving past my fear and hitting publish anyway.After all, I’ve written so many articles that have been real struggles that were intimate and definitely very personal.
So this was almost like the next step into my own self-discovery and experimentation.I’m not a model, and I don’t pretend to compare myself to others. I’m not super fit, I do my best. I can only simply be me and try to uncover more of who I really am.
In doing so I take others along for the ride if they want to come. If not, there’s plenty of other creators you can consume. So, should you present a boudoir shoot to your husband on the wedding day?
Sure, but do it because you wanted to. Own your sexiness in the obvious and non-obvious ways. Do it because of the experience to see yourself in that way gives you liberation and empowerment. To own every inch of your skin, unapologetic about the “so-called flaws” is the most sexiest thing I can imagine. Apart from weddings, Catherine offers boudoir photography in Maine to empower women.
Here’s to our femininity, to our bodies and the everyday woman who exudes the decision to feel sexy no matter what.
