Embracing Your Life | Charlotte NC Boudoir

I am not a sexy woman. Let me rephrase that: I don’t think I am. By no means would Vogue, Cosmo, or even Southern Living Magazine ever ask me to grace their covers (and we all know Oprah  on the cover of “O”!)

So when Casey mentioned boudoir photos about a year ago, I did that typical eye roll we all do. Yeah, okay – let’s photoshop Scar Jo’s boobs onto Eva Longoria’s body, then maybe we’ll put my face in there somewhere.

One day though, I woke up, and I said let’s do it. I don’t know if it was the fact I had worked so hard for a year to get my body to where it was (Crossfit isn’t a joke), or if I finally accepted my body for what it is, or if that wonderful man I happen to call mine just said the right thing, but I said let’s do it. I stopped fighting the curiosity and the self doubt.

So I go through the motions, and even Casey knew I was nervous, but scantily clad and an armor of makeup and free flowing curls, we did it. We took what my grandmother would call “sexay pitchers.”

And when they came back, I had nothing to say. That was me. In all my glory. And I was so excited. I think I was more excited that I had given a big “f you” to the voices in my head that said my body wasn’t good enough or that I wasn’t pretty enough or skinny enough.

My body is mine. It’s the only one I’ll ever get. My photos showed me that the idea of beauty and sex appeal are mine to define. Sure, I’ll never wear peplum (those hips!), a size 2, or walk the Fashion Week runway, but that’s okay. I’m most comfortable in a pair of size 10 jeans and a white t-shirt. The fact I can embrace exactly what The Lord made me is a hell of an accomplishment, and one worthy of being called beauty.

My advice to any woman doing boudoir is this: do it for you. Don’t do it for a significant other. Do it for the woman inside of you. Do it to show her what she’s made of and what it’s like to capture your smile at just the right moment. Do it to give fear the middle finger. Do it for “holy shit I’m hot,” or “damn I look good!”

And if there’s a man that’s lucky enough to see the photos: he’s already lucky enough to have a woman like you because you’ve embraced yourself and your beauty in such a way that the world needs to see more often.

Thank you, Casey, for being there to capture the moment I embraced mine.

Thanks so much for stopping by! xoxo, casey

{ Charlotte Boudoir Photographer Casey Hendrickson Photography }