I have this friend.  She had a shoot with me last year.  I immediately loved her.  We both mentioned that we’d be best friends if she lived closer.  She came from 2 hours away for her session with me.  I was honored.  We laughed, we cried, and we had a blast.  I loved her first session.

As I was watching from the sidelines, I noticed that she cut her hair … SHORT!  Like, super short!  And, instantly I was inspired!  Knowing that she let me share her photos the last time, I thought she’d be interested in doing an inspiration shoot with me!  I knew immediately that I wanted to show off that SHORT IS SEXY!

We see long hair and beautiful curls in most of the boudoir phots that are shown.  I wanted to give a shout out to the ladies with short hair to show them that they are pretty fantastic!  I’m inclusive of all looks and I loved getting to showcase this beauty.

I knew how I wanted to style her and where I wanted to do this shoot.  There is an abandoned warehouse that I love to use for these shoots.  We did some stuff inside the studio, then went out to have some fun!  It was absolutely perfect and everything I had envisioned.

Check her out….and check out what she had to say at the end of this post!

After I took the above photo, I stopped immediately.  I had to tell her something.  You see, this woman has been through a lot of struggles — things that most of us don’t imagine happening to us.  In this moment, I saw her OWNING her sexuality.  It was hers to give, hers to share, hers to celebrate!  I love seeing that in her!  She is deserving of so much.  At the end of this post, I’ll share with you what she said after this inspirational shoot!

I love looking at these photos!  I messaged her as I was writing this blog post telling her that I was crying.  And, I wasn’t sure why.  I just LOVED seeing this amazingly confident woman!  Her strength that is portrayed in these photos is something that I am so very proud to share on my blog.  I’m so honored to be a part of her journey and share these experiences with her.  THIS is what my job is about….changing women for the better!

Lastly, I leave you with what she said:

“It was a year ago today I met Maura and had my shoot. I had booked it as a gift for my husband’s 30th birthday, but I never imagined how much that shoot would end up affecting me.

I was sexually and physically abused from a very young age, and never had a very high level of self-esteem. My husband has always been super patient with me and my recovery and constantly goes out of his way to make me feel loved and important, so I thought “What better gift to give him than for me to maybe step into these shoes and finally see what he sees?”

From the moment I walked in the door, Maura made me feel like a VIP. I can only imagine that this is what Ashley Graham feels like when she walks onto a set. I was on cloud 9 all day, even after the shoot was over, and when I finally got to see those pictures, my jaw hit the floor. “Wait…THAT’S ME?!!”

Maura has FOREVER changed how I feel about myself. I no longer step on the scale every day and stress over a fraction of a pound. I no longer wear baggy clothes to hide my ridiculous insecurities. I didn’t immediately take all my shoot lingerie to Goodwill…I bust it out randomly and wear it PROUDLY (and with the lights on!!) 😉

I am good enough. I am sexy. I am worth loving. WE ALL ARE. “

****

Hair and makeup by Pittsburgh Makeup Artist, Kristen Tatko.