Boudoir photos! I know, some of you are gasping, and some of you are ready to high five me. I’ve found that almost no one feels “in between” on this topic. You either think it’s awesome or ehhhhh. I’ve also found that most people with negative opinions feel this way because they have a bit of a distorted image in their mind of what boudoir photography is. I’m hoping that the photos I share here today can change that image!
I wanted to blog about my experience with Michelle Franzetti of Franzetti Photography because I came away from my photoshoot with her feeling genuinely empowered. I feel like everyone should have a chance to see themselves through the lens of Michelle’s camera – she knows what she is doing!
I’ll be honest, I had a few worries going in. I mean, I’m awkward. And I know Michelle because I’ve taken her fitness classes at Sora Aerial Arts but we don’t know each other THAT well. We are Instagram friends though and I am inspired by everything she posts, so I feel like we’re good friends. Anybody else just decide that people on Instagram are their friends? Just me? Anyway…
Here’s how it went down. So I arrived at 21c and knocked on the hotel room door. Michelle had booked the room to do several shoots that weekend. When I knock on the door I am immediately greeted by the happiest photographer on the planet. She invites me in for mimosas and introduces me to her hair & makeup gal. I sit in the chair. I begin to be pampered while I sit in the comfy chair, in a beautiful room, enjoying some girl talk and listening to music. If you’re a mom, you know how relaxing this already sounds. We talked a little about some of the lingerie I brought. I used the guide that I got in my email from her a week or so before the shoot to help me narrow down what to bring – super helpful! I felt like I knew exactly what would work for my body and what would LOOK good in photos all thanks to that info!
We laid everything out and picked out a few outfits. You can check out the Facebook live of us picking stuff out here! This obviously isn’t something she normally does with her clients via Facebook Live, ha, but we talked about it beforehand because she knows I’m a tell-all blogger nerd! *waves* HI, YES I AM.
I put on my first outfit and came out of the bathroom feeling a little nervous, but it didn’t take long for my nerves to leave the building! I looked in the mirror and felt so GLAM. Michelle was so excited and she seriously made me feel like a rockstar. She didn’t just turn me loose and let me pose or stand however – she made sure to give tons of direction and gently redirected me when I was doing something that wasn’t working. I appreciate that so much! We went through several different outfits and poses, all the while I was basically just laughing hysterically. I’m genuinely laughing in so many of these photos because of the ridiculously funny conversations we were having. It’s really hard to feel nervous when you’re just hanging out and having a good time!
I honestly lost track of time while I was there but it was a good 2-3 hours including hair & makeup. I felt like it went by in a snap! Michelle showed me photos off of the back of her camera periodically and that made me so excited to see them all! It only took a few days to get them back and I got them just in time to create a photo book for Nate for Valentine’s Day. He told me it was the best Valentine’s Day present I’ve ever given him so, I’d say it’s a win!
I shared a few of these photos with you all today because I feel like it’s important to share experiences like these. It’s important to me to use my platform to encourage other women who might be feeling like they could just never go do something like this for themselves because they’re shy or worried the photos might not be tasteful or it might be super awkward or what if a boob falls out. I’m shy, I feel like my photos are VERY tasteful, and not a single moment was awkward. And well, a boob might fall out. I am speaking from experience here. But I guarantee you will end up laughing so hard you can’t breathe and then you’ll resume taking photos like nothing ever happened. You will go out that evening feeling like you got to be a model for the day or maybe you’ll just go back home and get spit up on by a baby. But either way, you’ll have lovely photos to remind you that you are a glamorous rockstar inside and out. I promise it’s worth it.
