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.