Pittsburgh Boudoir Photography that empowers YOU to love yourself!

April 5, 2023

The Goddess Garden

This post is long overdue! One year ago, I began construction of the outdoor patio at the studio. It was finished in June, with the design completed in early July. It’s now April. Yup, long time coming. 🙂

When I first saw the building in its raw state, I saw the patio and knew exactly what belonged out there. I didn’t have the time to focus on that piece of the studio when I first bought the building because the inside needed all my attention. You know, redoing all the electrical, HVAC, making a handicapped bathroom, redoing a ceiling. Then painting and cleaning. Finally design. So, yea, the inside had all my attention but it was time for the outside!

It was nice to finally be able to bring this whole space to life! My creative mind gets obsessed until I can get those ideas out of my head and simply waiting for the right time was very hard on me.

First thing I needed to do was put a roof on the space – the open air concept wasn’t going to work for how much it rains in Western PA. That involved using some existing frame work and building upon that to give me a clear roof. A roof that allows light in and also continues to give me privacy.

When that was finished, it was time to design all the sets that I had initially envisioned.

Please meet

The Goddess Garden

Within the garden, there are four different sets: The silver tub and hanging wisteria, the boho egg chair, the purple sofa and pink flowers, and the outdoor shower!

It’s an oasis. I sometimes find myself sitting out there to relax, and I often look around and am amazed at what the space has become.

The Goddess Garden is now a session add on. When you select this add on, you have access to all the sets out there and we can use as many as you wish for your photo session!

Here are two sets from the garden! I am constantly changing and adding things out there – much like the inside!

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JOIN MY PRIVATE LADIES ONLY FACEBOOK GROUP!

You can now add The Goddess Garden onto your boudoir session!

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February 2, 2023

Your Strength

Strength

There are many ways to define strength, there are even more ways to identify that strength in your life.

Often times, you singularly focus on your strength when you are working your way through difficult events in life.

And, that’s certainly obvious. However, in your every day life, you exude strength. You simply have to take a closer look.

Strength is walking away from conversations that don’t serve you.

Strength is letting go of friendships that are not healthy.

Strength is following your heart when everyone else might say you are wrong.

Strength is admitting how you really feel instead of saying “I’m fine.”

Strength is crying when you need to instead of brushing everything off with a smile.

Strength is not retaliating when someone hurts you.

Strength is forgiving those that have hurt you, whether they feel bad about it or not.

Strength is communicating with others even when the conversations are difficult.

Strength is being honest about where you are in life.

Strength is saying “I can do this” in the face of fear.

Strength is sometimes simply getting out of bed.

Strength is focusing on your mental health.

Strength is having HOPE.

Strength is BELIEVING you are enough.

Strength is standing up for yourself when something is not good enough for you.

Strength is saying “enough is enough.”

Strength is not delaying all the things you want to do in your life.

Strength is reminding yourself, daily, how worthy you are.

There are many ways you can identify your strength. I hope that you can see all those things, because it doesn’t just exist within your trauma and pain. It exists within your life every single day. Don’t give your trauma and challenges all the power – YOU are the one fighting through that stuff. You are recognizing and believig your strength. YOU ARE DOING THAT!

YOU ARE STRONG

YOU ARE LOVED

YOU ARE WORTHY

YOU ARE ENOUGH

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December 1, 2022

What Do You See?

This is MY BUTT! Yes, my butt. I am using myself in this posing demonstration.

Showing you the different angles of you!

I talk often about how I get to show you all sides of yourself. When you look at yourself one dimensionally, you miss so much about yourself. That logic applies both physically and soulfully.

Let’s take MY booty as an example.

If you look at me straight on, it’s pretty flat.

(Go ahead, zoom in on that picture above and get a good look at my booty. I really want you to focus on what it looks like from this angle so you can appreciate what I am going to show you below)

I always say, “God blessed me with boobs, not a butt.”

My pants fall down cause there’s nothing back there to hold them up.

There’s not much to grab on to.

If I only look at myself from one angle, from one viewpoint, and only noticing what I don’t have…..I actually see nothing.

I miss what is there.

I fail to see the curves of my body, all my edges, the roundness.

But, from other angles and dimensions, BAM! I have a butt!!!!

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This is why my angles matter, posing matters, light matters, what you wear matters….it all matters so I can show you yourself, fully!

Let me do just that for you!

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Are you ready to see all the sides of yourself?

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November 24, 2022

What She Said

I thought I’d include some recent testimonials that have been posted in my Facebook group. While I don’t have permission to share their photos specifically (because my client’s privacy is important, and I only share photos I’m allowed to share), their words are still important. So here we go:

From K.T.

I have started this post a couple times trying to find the right words to express the incredible experience that is a photo shoot with Maura. Those of you who have had this experience know exactly what a monumental task that is.

My first shoot last year helped heal my confidence. My second shoot healed my soul. My super power this time was acceptance. Accepting all the pieces of me and seeing all of me as valuable; especially the parts I try to keep hidden.

This shoot was my gift to myself for my 40th birthday and what a perfect gift it was. I spent the last year of my 30s shedding other people’s expectations of me. Accepting that perfect is an illusion and there are no such things as “faults” just things that make us more interesting. All things Maura shouts from the rooftops!

She created an environment for me to open up and be myself. A place for my true self to shine and created works of art for me to have for the rest of my life. The self expression that she not only encouraged but celebrated was exactly what my soul needed.

I can never thank you enough

Know that the only risk you face going into a shoot with this incredible woman is that it won’t be your only one !

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From C.M.

This photoshoot was everything I needed after this year. I was nervous at first, but within the first 5 mins of shooting I felt completely comfortable. Maura is the best hype girl and makes you feel so confident. I spent years hating my body and now I have never loved it more. I’m so happy I finally decided to do a shoot with her. If you’re hesitant, all I can say is you won’t regret it. Thank you for doing what you do Maura McCarl Chick

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From D.S.

Signing up the day of open house was one of the best decisions I made. I told myself to just do it! The day of the photoshoot I was so nervous but when i showed up Maura just made me feel so comfortable and I’m usually just so shy at first. The photoshoot and Maura made me feel so much better and more confident!! Oh my goodness and at the reveal of all the photos i just fell in love with myself again! Maura told me don’t look at the flaws you always see look at everything about the photo. So anyone wanting to do a boudoir shoot! Just do it!!

I especially loved my booty pics!!

THANK YOU MAURA!!

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From J.R.

So this is what 50 is like…..

With age comes wisdom? I’ve learned that every woman is self conscious about something with her body. Every. Single. Woman. It’s so easy for us to see our own flaws. To focus on the negative. When Maura asked what I wanted from this session, I said I want to see what my husband sees. I want to see myself in someone else’s eyes.

So I got glammed up. Maura cheered me on all day. Her hoots and hollers made me feel comfortable. Made me feel glamorous! I see now it was more than those fake eyelashes I kept teasing her about all day. She truly is an artist! I put my trust in her to style me and she did not disappoint!!! Totally worth it and took the stress off finding outfits to fit in all the right places. Driving to my viewing tonight I kept thinking I’m going to hate myself in these photos. I feel like a busted can of biscuits today. Blah blah blah. When she showed me the first photo I cried. I couldn’t believe it. It’s like you focuses on all my good parts and the bad just fades away! If you’re on the fence, please don’t hesitate to book your appointment! Don’t be afraid to put your trust in Maura. I already can’t wait to book my next appointment! Maura, I can’t thank you enough!!! love love love how my photos came out!!!! Thank you!

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November 17, 2022

I Apologize

::SELF LOVE::

A recent post of my journal….

To my body, to myself, I must apologize.

I don’t even know where to begin. For so long, I have only seen you as a problem that needed to be fixed, that every time I failed, I’d “just let myself go.” Never once looking at you with kindness – it was quite the opposite, just raw anger, disappointment and despair for how you looked. With constant thoughts of, “How could my body possibly betray me, I am in control and I will warp you into the mold that I want.”

The only place to start is by saying I’m sorry.

I’m sorry for always telling you that how you looked was wrong and that you needed to be fixed. When I look back, I see now that you needed healing, not fixing. Healing from a mindset that only looked down upon you, that constantly beat you up, healing from never feeling like you were right or that you wouldn’t fit in. More healing. No fixing.

I’m sorry for always thinking you were wrong. I never saw what was right and good about you. Let’s admit it, looking at you fully without turning away was a rare occurrence. During those few times I could look at you, I would only focus on the things I thought were my problem areas, “how does that outfit make my stomach look?” “Does this make me look thinner?” “Are my arms showing?” I couldn’t see what was RIGHT, I couldn’t see you standing in front of me. I only saw you as wrong.

I’m sorry for always blaming you when something didn’t go my way. Everything came back to you, even when it had nothing to do with you. “If you were thinner, people would like you more.” “If you lost weight, you would have been married by now.” “Drop those 40 pounds you’ve gained, and you can go to the beach again.” It was always your fault.

I’m sorry for belittling and berating you every chance I got. It never ended. Whether my legs were too big, my boobs sagged too much, my cellulite was overwhelming, pinching my fat, pulling and tugging at everything I hated. There was nothing good to be found in you, and I’m sorry I couldn’t see all the value that existed within you.

I’m sorry for all the things I thought but never said out loud, for those things were far too nasty to even speak into the world. But you already felt what I was saying. I didn’t need to speak it out loud for it to have an impact on you. Just a little shake of the head was enough disgust for you to know how badly I felt about you, no words ever needed.

I’m sorry for standing in front of the mirror and speaking with such vitriol in your direction. The mirror only showed me the disappointment I felt, for it was staring right back at me, with such a heavy heart, I would spout off hate that I am still recovering from. I never realized that the mirror could offer me a warm and welcoming reflection.

I’m sorry for not seeing you for what you are. I only paid attention to what you didn’t have, for all that you lacked, for the wrong way you looked. I only noticed things I wanted to change, not recognizing what you were. How could I ever accept you if all I wanted to do was alter the way you looked? You were the part of me that constantly faced rejection, that never met a kind word from me, you always heard that you need to be better and look different. I’m sorry.

I’m sorry for always thinking the worst of you. What positivity could be found when I was beating you down left and right? Everything about you was always the worst it could possibly be, that you were the most disgusting thing around.

I’m sorry for always hiding and concealing you, constantly telling you that you weren’t good enough to be seen. Oversized t-shirts over my bathing suit at the pool & beach, clothes that were 4 sizes too big for me to hide my body, wearing jeans in the heat of summer, because the less I was seen, the better. I didn’t realize at the time how hurtful that message was to you – you needed to stay hidden because no one, not even you, wants to see that gross body. So, I hid and hid, and the body hatred grew deeper.

I’m sorry for holding us back from embracing the moments of life. From vacations to pool parties to relationships and everything in between. It was your fault we didn’t go anywhere. If I could have those perky boobs or a firmer stomach, I would have gone those places, done all those things, developed deeper relationships with others. I was continuing to blame you for my inability to embrace myself as I am and enjoy life as it comes.

I’m sorry I was so ashamed of you.

I’m sorry for thinking that others only see you, my unappealing body, and not the person within. The value that exists within someone has nothing to do with their body, and you are no exception. Yet, time and time again, thoughts consumed me that others cared about how you looked, deep insecurities developed that led me to believe that strangers and friends alike were constantly judging you. Most hurtful though, was that I always felt you needed to look a certain way to receive love and acceptance from others, never once realizing that you didn’t have your own love and acceptance from me. How sad.

I’m sorry for all the fat jokes I told or even the ones I laughed at at your expense. You aren’t a joking matter, but, as a defense mechanism, I needed to do it before others did it to me. That sounds like I’m defending my actions, but it was the reality of my situation. I always needed to laugh at the jokes or tell the jokes so that no one could see how ashamed I was of the body I had. I know better now.

I’m sorry I punished you every time I failed at something (especially after each new diet plan and exercise regimen). I was brutal. You were a failure. You couldn’t do anything right. Never blaming a society that wants me to believe that one solution defines success, I looked to you to take the heat. I would punish you with more hurtful words, endless days at the gym when I hated everything I was doing, starving myself. I went to the extremes so I wouldn’t feel like a failure.

I’m sorry for letting you – my body – this one thing, define who I was, dictate my worth and hold the burden of whether I felt good about myself. That is too much pressure for one body to carry.

You, Maura, are so much more than the body that carries your soul. You are fierce, you are passionate, you are joyful, you are force to be reckoned with, you radiate positivity and light.

NONE of those things could be found simply by looking at your body.

It is now the season of life for me to make amends. I have a lot of time to make up for, I have a lot of hurt to process, but I also have a lot of love and compassion that I need to show upon you, my dear body.

You are worthy.

You are acceptable, just as you are.

You have accomplished enough just by existing.

Now, let’s go do all the things we’ve always wanted to do!! As we do, I promise to embrace every moment, to LET GO and live, to experience the joy in each adventure not worrying about how you look. I will take the progress day by day on this long journey, and I’m ready for it all!

And now, some photos from a session (nipples purposefully blurred for website).