Dawn Mace
I Put Myself in Your Shoes!!!
“Nervous, anxious, thoughts of self-doubt, I do not look like the others I have seen” – These are the feelings I hear from most of my clients. However, I want you to know that these thoughts are not uncommon. Thoughts like these simply tell me that you are humble and human.
Through Keyhole Intimates, I have ladies talk to me all the time about how they do not feel they have the courage to do a boudoir session. When we first chat on the phone, they have doubts and are nervous about having a session. For some, it is not actually the thought of being in their lingerie in front of someone with a camera, it’s:
· I don’t know what I am doing in front of the camera.
· What if I can’t do the posing that I see in all the other photos?
· My legs are not long enough to look like the others I have seen.
· I have stretch marks, scars, a mum tum…
Trust me ladies we all have these thoughts about ourselves, and we are all our own biggest critics!
When chatting with ladies that contact me about doing a session, I’m often asked: How are you so confident? To tell you the truth, I have self-doubts, and I get nervous too. We all have those moments where we think we could not do something like this, and we compare ourselves to the others that we have seen and feel like we do not measure up.
Ladies, we need to stop comparing ourselves to others! NO ONE out there is perfect. We need to embrace who we are and where we have been. Our minds and bodies tell a story and that story is ours. It can’t be compared to anyone else. No one else has been though the exact same things as you have.
I am also here to tell you that I have been in your shoes, and I completely understand.
Nervous, anxious, thoughts of self-doubt, these were all the feelings that rushed through me when I first walked into the room.
Yes, that’s right. I get those feeling too. But I also want to share with you my experience.
Last summer, I had the opportunity to attend a conference in southern Ontario. This conference is held at a summer camp. (Yes, I said summer camp.) The organizers that put this all together are amazing people. This is the most relaxing, laid back, and fun conference that I have ever been to. It typically consists of attending courses and shooting other photographers. It was amazing, and it did not feel like work at all.
Once you put a bunch of boudoir photographers together, it’s a totally judgment-free zone, and everyone is uplifting and encouraging!
Through this opportunity, I have met some amazing photographers there and even became great friends with some of them. One of the most amazing people that I have met is Aroha. We instantly clicked. I’ve even had the chance to hang out at her studio in London and shoot with her. She is an amazing human, and I feel very grateful for us becoming friends.
While at the conference at the summer camp, she asked if she could do a session for me. I was reluctant at first but then told myself, you are going to do this, you need to experience being on the other side of the camera and not just selfies!
So I said, “yes!”
Nervous, anxious, thoughts of self-doubt engulfed me again. So, yes, I do know how it feels. I am so proud of myself for having the courage to have this experience though. I think that if I passed it by, I would have definitely regretted it.
I’m confident, ladies, that a boudoir photography shoot is an amazing experience and something that you will cherish forever. I was a huge believer in that before I had my session, and I am still!
When Aroha sent me the images my heart lept. All I could think while thumbing through the images was: “WOW!!!! That’s me!” Even though I have a mommy belly, stretch marks, am not as flexible as others, none of that mattered.
I had posed in ways that worked for me, and that is what I want to do for all you ladies. Everyone is different and unique in their own way and everyone’s experience and images are also unique to themselves.
So take it from me – you do not need to know how to pose! I will instruct you on how to do that from fingertips to toe tip.
I wanted to share my experience with you so that you know that I have been on the other side of the camera myself, and that I agree that it can be scary. To be honest, I think that everyone should have as many amazing, frightening, exhilarating,
empowering experiences as they can possibly have in their lifetime.
So, get out there, ladies, and try something new! Heck, even if you’ve already done it, go out and do it again!
I also want to share the images with you. However, be warned that some of theses are XXX!
CHECK OUT THE GALLERY HERE