There is one thing that I love so very much about the particular business of boudoir and that is learning about each of my clients life story. It truly amazes me how strong you ladies are! I'm often surprised to hear the struggles that many of you have faced and amazed at the amount of pure tenacity it took to over come them. One of my recent shoots was with a woman named Melanie. She told me about her story, which even though different from my own, still sounded so very familiar. An unfortunate accident had robbed her of her physical abilities. She was couch bound for an entire year. She told me of how she still struggles with chronic pain. As a person with a pretty gnarly back injury, I can relate to this. What I could also relate to was how kick ass her attitude was about the whole situation. She could have let the pain get to her. She could have let the depression take over. But she didnt. She's tough as nails. Stronger than she probably knows! This shoot was a surprise for her then boyfriend (now soon to be husband!! Congrats on your proposal, Mel!!) but I think this shoot was also as a celebration for all that she has overcome. A celebration of a new chapter in her life. A celebration of rebirth and renewal. Its some truly inspirational shit! Anyways... Here is Mels experience in her own words...I love you girl!! So a couple of months ago I set out on a personal challenge of which my sister Laura Hepburn encouraged me to try. My whole life I have always been "skinny " and then 40 hit along with a devastating accident in which my neck was broke in 2 places. Long story short I was couch bound for a year and lost myself in a world of depression and binge snacking. I gained almost 30# and it as all right smack in my mid section. I learned to hide it with baggy shirts or sweaters and people still talked about how skinny I was. However how I personally felt when looking in the mirror when I was naked was not good. I hated myself and what I had become. I have this amazing man in my life and I hated the thought of being intimate because of how I felt. Anyways, back to the topic on hand. I did a healthy food challenge and as hard as it was I lost 15# and was starting to feel like myself again. My beloveds birthday was coming up and we would be in the U.K. for it, so was clueless what I should do. Then I saw my friend Kris Williams pics that she had done by Alaynna and I had a brainstorm. That was it ....I would do a photo shoot for him (I have always hated my picture being taken and he complained all the time). So I got in touch with Kris and she put me in touch with Alaynna. Well after a couple of white lies about what I was doing that day I went and did it. I was nervous as hell but that all changed while talking to Alaynna and Mariah whilst having my hair and makeup done. I have never become so at ease so quickly as I did with these 2 extraordinary women. By the end of the shoot I could have walked around butt ass naked and wouldn't have a care in the world because they made me love myself again. Fast forward to his birthday.....he loved the pictures and was completely in awe that I loved him so much to step out of my comfort zone and do this for him. That night at his birthday dinner he proposed to me in front of my whole family. So ladies trust me when I say this is something I started out to do for him and it became an empowering moment for myself. Alaynna, Mariah and Kris I love you ladies and thank you for helping me find myself again!
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AuthorSt louis boudoir photography. Located in Illinois. Specializing in ALL women! Archives
January 2018
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