Self-Worth, Self-Love & Boudoir
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When it comes to self-worth, it can be hard for a lot of women to find theirs. From childhood we are taught to have certain beliefs and expectations around what it means to be a woman. Be lady-like, don’t be too aggressive, be kind but not a door mat, be smart, but don’t intimidate others…
When it comes to finding our self-worth we tend to tie it to things like our looks, how productive we are or even to how others views of us. We somehow believe that it’s a destination we have to work tirelessly to achieve. We work hard and harder the next day to achieve that to-do list or reducing our pant size. Losing these love handles, making our thighs slimmer, or our booties bigger.
How do we find self-worth within ourselves? What does it look like to not be influenced by society or even family on how we SHOULD look? How do we listen to our own voices?? How do we truly embody it, in our head AND heart? And if it doesn’t come from these places, where does it come from?
You may or may not like the answer. You literally have the power inside you right now, right this second as you’re reading this.
I know I know, ‘Are you kidding Amanda? What kind of 90’s sitcom sh!t is that!?’ ‘It’S INsIDe yOu aLL AlOng’. BUT HEAR ME OUT. There is no power left for yourself when you’re giving it to others. When we give people the power to tell us how to live our life we relinquish it from ourselves. Have you ever seen that video ‘Be A Lady’? It is painstakingly apparent that we have these absolutely IMPOSSIBLE standards to meet, that it sounds absurd to hear them back to back. It might be a first step in the direction of cutting those influential ties and saving our own sanity.
‘Be A Lady’
When we starting cutting those ties we are creating a new energy like no other for self-love. Choosing not to listen any longer and say in the face of society ‘that’s not realistic and I’m not going to listen to that’ will create huge shifts in your life. Waking up everyday and finding something you love about yourself will do the same thing. What all these small actions are doing is building a stronger foundation of self-love and power to listen to your own voice and blocking out the negative ones trying to come in.
You can choose to continue on the long draining road of achieving your ‘dream body’ or can show it acts of love by going for that run as a show of gratitude not punishment. Have you ever looked back at a old photo of you and say to yourself ‘Wow, I looked amazing back then, now I’m troll.’ Guess what . . . the cycle doesn’t stop until you choose it to. You can continue on that round-about every few years never truly loving your body or you can start loving yourself and be happier today, here and now!
We need to start taking responsibility for our own well being, because frankly no one will do it for us. You are worthy of the hard work it takes to be happy, only you can give yourself that permission.
Reach out to me if you need someone to talk to about this. You’re not in this alone.
Why Are Boudoir Photos So Expensive?
Every wonder what the difference is between a cheap and expensive photographer? What does it mean as a final result?
*THIS IS A TRUTH BLOG, I DON’T HOLD ANYTHING BACK AND AM TRANSPARENT ABOUT BOUDOIR. I UNDERSTAND IT WILL BE TAKEN DIFFERENTLY BY EACH INDIVUAL PERSON, AND THATS OK. I’LL ALWAYS KEEP IT REAL HERE AND FEEL My readers AND MY CLIENTS DESERVE TO HAVE THE TRUTH TOLD TO THEM, NOT JUST WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR.*
I can only speak for a small percentage of photographers, because we are not all built the same. Price can be determined by a photographers intentions behind what they do, their why, their experience level and what they also offer with the boudoir photoshoot. Let’s start with #1.
PHOTOGRAPHERS INTENTIONS
Like any other profession, every person has their ‘why’. A great way to determine what their why is is by talking with them. A good photographer sees the value and importance in talking and getting to know their clients. Make sure they make time for you to answer you questions, then you’ll know they are really here for you. A big difference from just showing up to take your photos and never see them again.
EXPERIENCE LEVEL
An experienced boudoir photographer will most likely have a higher price tag. They have invested a large amount of time, money and resources to build their brand, improve their skills to deliver a more clean and flawless product as well as how to communicate with clients. An experienced photog knows how to answer questions and concerns from their clients, by educating and being transparent vs. dismissive and defensive.
BOUDOIR PACKAGES (WHAT COME WITH IT)
This varies from photog to photog and the best thing in this situation is see what you can afford and how much getting these photos mean to you.
Some will show up and leave, others are more hands on and there for you every step of the way. This will greatly determine what the price tag will be.
Products are another determining factor. Some togs only offer digitals and that may work for some, and there are others that get the products printed for you to ensure quality throughout. This is the most determining factor of all.
The best thing to do is a get in contact with a photographer and talk about it. You may not know what you want, and thats normal. Talking with a true professional will, at the very least, point you in the direction of what you are looking for even if it’s not them you choose. They will care about making sure you get the information you need so you can have the best experience that suits you.
Juiceland
I met Jennifer at JuiceLand Hyde Park location on a weekday afternoon. She literally showed up in exactly what I hoped to see her wearing, very cute and simple to keep it down earth, cropped top and jeans.
I wanted to take on another location that seemed ordinary and turn it into art. Jennifer has had some modeling experience and was wonderful to work with. We vibed really well together even making her laugh by hyping her up during the photo shoot.
The staff was so nice and the shop was pretty empty we basically had this back room to ourselves. This backroom was beautiful, floor to ceiling windows bringing in a lot of natural light, a bar facing out one window, and a collage of flyers and brochures hanging on the wall that made for a great backdrop. This location also included a small record store, which is why I chose this location in particular. It’s the biggest one I think in all of Austin and it has a legit selection of records to flip through and buy!
This location was really fun for me because I absolutely love natural light so shooting by the window was so fabulous and the records really was the cherry on top. I would be down to do another shoot there again with someone else, there was a lot of space that we didn’t use and still ended up walking away with a lot of great images.
Thank you to Jennifer for being so open to the idea and cooperative and fun during this photo shoot!
