Pittsburgh Boudoir Photography that empowers YOU to love yourself!

April 19, 2018

The A-ha Moment Bullsh*t

You’re waiting for it. You may be expecting it. You want that moment. That A HA moment where everything magically makes sense. You have a moment of clarity, and POOF – your life is magically transformed. I hate to burst your bubble but ….

A-ha moments are bullshit.

There I said it.

We sit back and wait. Thinking that some day it will just hit us. That all of the sudden we’ll stop being so hard on ourselves. That we’ll magically love ourselves after years of intense hate. That we’ll instantly accept who we are instead of trying to change. That overnight we stop fighting with ourselves and just embrace the beautiful soul we have inside.

It doesn’t happen overnight. You don’t have an A-HA moment when the change happens. After all the years of putting yourself down and feeling inferior, you have I’M DONE moments.

I’m done being so negative….

I’m done feeling like I’m not enough….

I’m done hating my body…..

I’m done hiding myself….

I’m done letting my inner mean girl run the show…

I’m done self sacrificing myself to the point where I’m last in the priorities….

I’m done putting myself down…..

I’m done living up to an unrealistic expectation……

I’m done. I’m done. I’m done. I’M DONNNEEEEE!!!!!

We eventually get to a point that we are DONE with putting ourselves last. Done being so negative towards ourselves. Done living a life where you think you constantly have to change to be loved and accepted. Done hiding behind a bunch of masks to protect yourself from being seen for who you really are.

Most importantly, we’re done loving everyone else without condition but we can’t do the same for ourselves. We so freely give love to other people that we need to start turning that love inward to ourselves. When you can love yourself without conditions, you become free from the chains that have been holding you back. You don’t need to change who you are or what you look like to love yourself. You just need to acknowledge, accept, embrace and love yourself, unapologetically.

Sounds easy right. It’s not. You don’t wave a wand and AHA, everything is set straight in your heart and mind. You can’t expect to change immediately when you’ve been so hard on yourself for (dare I say) DECADES!

The point comes, though, when you decide to make yourself a priority, it hits you that you are just as important as everyone else. Its time to stop putting yourself last. It’s time for you to work on yourself. It’s time for you to love who you are, what you look like, the soul you have!! But, it takes constant work, practice, encouragement and inspiration. And, it helps when you are with people who are on the same journey as you.

And, this why I’ve decided to start a SELF LOVE CLUB. A club where we are going to constantly work on this self love journey because it needs to be nourished DAILIY. Not sometimes, not every week…every damn day. It’s hard work. But, work that is worth the effort, as this journey isn’t just for you – it’s for all the women and young girls around you.

We have to FIGHT to love ourselves, because we live in a society that preys on the fact that we are unhappy with who we are. My goal is to replace the negative we’ve been feeding ourselves with the positive. Our inner voice will be loud, happy, joyful, soulful, encouraging and loving!

WE ARE GOING TO STAND UP AND SHOUT THAT WE LOVE OURSELVES!!

And there’s nothing wrong with that!

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April 5, 2018

Fulfilling A Dream

I hear from many clients that they could only dream of a boudoir session. Today on the blog, I share a client whose dream it was to have these images taken – to see herself as a work of art! I’ll let her share the rest….

1) Why did you decide to invest in a boudoir photo shoot? My photo shoot was a gift given to me to fulfill a lifelong dream.

boudoir photography in pittsburgh anonymous body photo that doesn't reveal identity

2) How did you feel about yourself before your photo shoot? I felt fairly self confident and beautiful, but had some hang-ups that made me wonder how well I’d look in professional photos. Concerns about facial expressions, hand positions, etc. Things I’ve disliked about my candid photos, that I hoped would look better having a professional position me.

3) How did you feel about yourself after your photo shoot? A lot more confidence, happiness, and gratitude that the beauty I feel inside can be translated to photo keepsakes with the guidance and artistic direction of a professional.

4) Describe your session in 3 words? Whirlwind, fun, unexpected

5) What was your favorite part of the boudoir photo shoot? I loved the opportunity to showcase so many beautiful outfits that were all gifted to me. It’s one thing to wear outfits for inspiration in the bedroom (and quickly remove them), but to have someone else’s vision to capture those outfits fitting perfectly is really something special to me. It gives me much more appreciation for the work that went into those clothes, and how well they can accentuate beautiful bodies. It makes me feel that much more beautiful for someone else’s art to look good on my body (also art), and be captured by yet another artist. I think it really gave me a stronger appreciation for art, as a whole.

6) What would you say to other women who are considering a boudoir photo shoot? Ignore all of your hesitations and just do it. Seriously, don’t even bother telling me about your hesitations! If you don’t do it on your own, I’m going to tie you up kicking and screaming and force you to do it. My aunt and uncle pretty much did that to me when I was 13 to take my first ride on a rollercoaster. I’m so glad they did. It opened up a whole new world for me. I still don’t often take risks, but some leaps you know deep down you just HAVE to take, and you’re so happy you did. This is one of those risks worth taking. There are absolutely ZERO chances of any losses or failures. You are guaranteed to reap only good benefits from this experience.

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March 29, 2018

Going Forward

There’s not much else I can add to this amazing woman’s story. I will say that her bravery to face something that scared her is inspiring. I can’t imagine being in her shoes – knowing that something big needs to change – and having the courage to step up and face it head on. Most of us shy away from the hard things, hide under the covers and hope it all goes away. It won’t. The hard things come back – what are you going to do then? Hide? Run this time? Or, face it and tackle the challenge?

Here’s what she had to say about her session!

1) Why did you decide to invest in a boudoir photo shoot? Originally it was for my fiance, I was going to give it to him the day of the wedding before we were actually married. But then we broke up and i wanted to postpone. It was a bad breakup and is only just now getting settled. I ended up keeping the date and going forward with it because i wanted to do it for me. I wanted to have some sort of control over my life again

2) How did you feel about yourself before your photo shoot? Insecure, like i couldn’t do anything right. Scared i was never going to be able to get my life together and be happy on my own. I had planned a whole wedding let alone a whole life. Granted it wasn’t going to be a good life but it was going to be with someone and i wasn’t going to be alone. I felt lost, like the person I had been for the last three years wasn’t me, so I didn’t know who I was.

2A) What was your biggest challenge when it comes to the image you have about yourself? My weight. I was a much healthier weight back in 2011. I was working out and eating well and still wasn’t to m weight goal. I was shy 20 lbs and I plateaued. That was the year I met my first emotionally abusive boyfriend and I really started to let myself go. I stopped living for me and was living for him while he rejected me. This (somehow) only made me want his approval even more. After 2 years off and on I was finally able to break it off. About a year later I met my current ex, but I had completely let myself go and had gained 80 lbs. I had stretch marks where I never had before and I hated my body and myself for letting it get so bad.

3) How did you feel about yourself after your photo shoot? Centered. You made me feel amazing, like i had done everything perfectly. I had done everything right and I felt satisfied with myself for the first time in a long time. You made me feel like i could do anything. I could model if I wanted to. I could conquer the world. You made me feel like I was the first person to ever do so perfectly in a photo shoot. Obviously that’s not true, but that is exactly how you made me feel. Instantly supported and best friends.

4) Describe your session in 3 words? Refreshing. Insightful. Inspiring.

5) What was your favorite part of the boudoir photo shoot? The immediate feedback from you. I would do something and I was immediately validated for doing it well. That was something I hadn’t gotten (or given to myself) for the past year.

6) What would you say to other women who are considering a boudoir photo shoot? Just take the jump. Leap of faith. You need it more than you could ever know. You will get more out of it than you ever thought you could out of 4 hours. Maura, you need to bottle the feeling after and sell it like heroine.

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March 22, 2018

Think No More

Get ready to look at the most photos I’ve ever shared on a blog post. Usually I’m pretty good at picking out a few photos from each session to share with you, but this one – I just couldn’t hold back! I can’t explain to you how amazing this woman is to those around her, even me! I told her numerous times that she was so inspiring to me, and that we created ART! She saw the art in everything I was doing, and was so blown away every step of the way!

I love clients that can see the art in what I do. I feel like each and every client is a work of art. And, my photographs showcase that beautiful, amazing and WONDERFUL art!

She has messaged me countless times to tell me how fabulous this entire process was for her. And, we made an agreement – she has to come back every year! I would have her in front of my camera constantly. She’s a “girl’s girl” – she’s so positive, uplifting and encouraging. She gave me a boost that I needed in my creativity and I’m so appreciative and thankful for you! The rest of this post I’ll leave to her – she gave me some quick feedback about her session that I’m sharing here!

And now, onto this beauty:

1) Why did you decide to invest in a boudoir photo shoot? I thought it would be a special surprise birthday gift for my husband.

2) How did you feel about yourself before your photo shoot? Somewhat self-conscious about my body & face.

3) How did you feel about yourself after your photo shoot? I felt like a supermodel!

4) Describe your session in 3 words? Uplifting, empowering & fun

5) What was your favorite part of the boudoir photo shoot? Maura’s energy

6) What would you say to other women who are considering a boudoir photo shoot? Think no more. Book it! It will be life-changing!

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March 15, 2018

Liberating

What’s your reason? What’s the reason YOU want to get photographed? Is it for you? For someone else?

Guess what – it doesn’t matter WHAT your reason is to push you to do a boudoir session. I’m going to knock your socks off regardless of that, because at the end of the day the experience I give to my clients matters most to me. A lot of my clients come in because they need a gift for someone, but they weren’t prepared that the session was a gift to themselves! And, that’s probably why I have so many clients that come back over and over again for sessions. They’ve realized that the shoot is something they need to embrace and release all the negative things they are dealing with! Have I mentioned lately that I LOVE MY JOB!!! haha – Nope, you’ve probably never heard that before! 🙂

Today’s beauty. Gosh, I don’t have words. From the start of her session I knew it was something special – SHE was something special! I love her spirit, her personality, her uniqueness, and those never-ending CURVESSSSS! 🙂 Read what she had to say about her session:

1) Why did you decide to invest in a boudoir photo shoot? I’ve been in need of a confidence booster. It’s something I wanted to try in general.

2) How did you feel about yourself before your photo shoot? I know I have a great body shape but I also get very self conscious as I was labeled the “ugly friend” in grade school. I was looking forward to this to kinda bring it into the universe through pictures that MaRissa Boros is hot as hell!

3) How did you feel about yourself after your photo shoot? MaRissa Boros is hot as hell haha But seriously I felt rejuvenated and happy!

4) Describe your session in 3 words? Inspiring Sexy Liberating

5) What was your favorite part of the boudoir photo shoot? Just doing something for me. I’m always going out of my way for others and putting my needs on hold. I enjoyed being the center of attention and showcasing my sexuality and curves.

6) What would you say to other women who are considering a boudoir photo shoot? Do it for you, do it for fun, whatever reason you have do it because it’s worth it.