A month ago, on a Friday afternoon in October, I spent two hours challenging myself to get completely out of my comfort zone.
I treated myself a photoshoot with Danielle Fletcher - a boudoir photographer for fabulous, empowered women.
I went into this shoot wanting to dig beneath all the layers that I've piled on myself over the years - to be the person I thought I should be so people would love me. I've been on this journey to find my true, authentic self and then capture it with Danielle's lens. I wanted to capture that raw, empowered women I knew I was inside of me so that, during those moments of self-doubt and judgment and fear, I could look at an image of me and see the fire that is always burning in my heart.
I chose Danielle to capture this moment because, when I looked at her work, something stirred inside me. Her photos were raw, sensual, beautiful, and haunting all at the same time. What I saw was art of the most intimate kind. Danielle has a fashion-boudoir style that's focused on emotion over looking "glam" or "perfect." She captures the inner essence of each woman she works with. It's not just about looking good, and I wanted that.
I also wanted to prove that you don't need to be in a corset and a submissive position on a bed in handcuffs to be sexy, and can still be an empowered woman. Fierce. Feminine. Free.
Danielle knew I was nervous going into this shoot, so she took care of everything. She styled my clothes and did my hair and makeup. So, when I was ready to model, I was able to step into this new woman - with wild hair, dark eye makeup....and no pants. The experience was terrifying and exciting, all at the same time.
When Danielle emailed me photos back, my immediate reaction was to look away. My heart was racing. These photos felt so intimate, that it scared me. But then, at the urging of my girlfriends who were with me that evening (and some wine), I started to scroll through all of them. And wow - I looked amazing. Once I spent some honest moments staring at myself, taking deep breaths, I fell in love with myself.
That's my body. My spirit. My essence. She's beautiful!
Danielle wrote about her experience shooting me and shares some more images on her blog. You can read it here.
Wow, I’m blown away by these gorgeous pics. You look like a ‘true sensual woman’. How nice to see something different to ‘stick-thin, breasts and thongs! You should be very proud of yourself. You are beautiful.
Absolutely beautiful!
Thank you Amanda and Andriana! It was super terrifying to press publish on this post, but I knew I had to. I appreciate your sweet comments!
Dear Becca, your photos are so amazing! You look beautiful inside out and your personality shines through those pics. I wish I was this brave to do so. Love how you developed yourself and embraced your “new” blogger live.! Love from Germany, keep going! Jasmin
Wow! You look absolutely authentic and unafraid and your power is penetrating. I know you have worked to shed many layers to find this powerful woman. Danielle knew how to coax her out of you because you often keep her under wraps so as not to overwhelm people.
Grandma Rootie would be proud of you. And I know that we come from generations of strong women who had this power inside them. We don’t know if or how they were able to let it out and glory in it given the culture they grew up in – but they are all smiling down at you now.
Thank you, mama! You win best comment award, my heart is overflowing with gratitude for the women that laid the foundation for me to walk my heart’s path.
Absolutely ravishing you are! Wow. I feel powerful just looking at them, You look like you could take on the world….even without any pants on =) Cherish these forever.
Wow! Just wow.
So happy that you shared these with us, your readers (and friends!). I can’t stop looking at these pictures – they are incredible! Yet another inspiration from the dabblist, thank you!