The Most Important Thing to Know About Your Gallery Reveal...

Let’s be honest, we all feel a little (or maybe a lot) nervous before we get our picture taken, let alone undergo a professional photoshoot! But what about what comes after that? During the photoshoot you’ve been able to shake out the nerves, get more comfortable in front of the camera, and settle into yourself so much that before you know it, you’re actually having a blast! So a few weeks later, when the awaited art is finally ready to see… why are these nerves all of a sudden back again?

First off, let me start by saying that you are not alone in the pre-reveal jitters. There is so much excitement wrapped up in seeing yourself in these images, but sometimes anxiety can sneak up and take over out of nowhere. Every single client I’ve had has experienced this to varying levels before. And do you know what I’ve told each of them?

This. Is. Normal.

Think about it! A professional photography experience isn’t something you do every day, and we’re used to seeing ourselves in the usual selfie poses or group pictures that are familiar to us. A boudoir session is empowering and liberating… but it’s also very vulnerable. And when it comes time for you to view your images, of course you’re feeling all the feelings! Because your brain is reacting in a completely normal way to a situation that isn’t familiar to you. It’s used to seeing you cheesin’ with your friends, but maybe not a more serious (dare I say fierce?) facial expression. It’s used to how you look in the mirror, but not how you look perched on a rock by a river or laying down in the grass gazing up at a camera!

Before we look at a single image together, I always take time to ground us in the moment, and allow space for any feeling to come up. I set the expectation that there aren’t any expectations. As your photographer, I’m not eagerly waiting for you to burst into tears of joy and jump up and down seeing your gorgeous self featured in a gallery (although of course you are more than welcome to ;) )… I am here to sit with you and honor your experience really seeing yourself in a completely unique way. We all come to the table with our own relationship with our bodies. The way you react to seeing yourself isn’t right or wrong, it just is.

And that’s why I make sure we do gallery reveals together - so I can cheer you on for the “Holy shit that’s ME!” moments, and so I can hold space for you to work through a not-so-fun emotion that may come up in others. I’m not just here to take pictures then drop them on your (virtual) doorstep, because that’s not where the boudoir experience starts and stops. I honor your trust in me and your bravery for stepping out of your comfort zone to give yourself an experience that will celebrate all that you are… because that’s where the real magic happens <3

Moody & Rainy Boudoir Shoot on the James River

It was a dark and stormy night…

Well, technically it was late afternoon, but that’s so much less fun to say. After texting back and forth reassuring each other “If you’re still down, I’m still down!” my client and I met up in Forest Hill, and like clockwork, as soon as we stepped out of our cars it started to rain. We laughed it off and decided to embrace it as we made our way down to a favorite spot along the James River.

Some people may think that rain on a shoot day is bad luck, but I respectfully disagree. Rain is so…liberating. My client and I had no choice but to surrender to the moment and see where it took us, and wow did it take us somewhere spectacular. Perfect hair? Who cares. Full face of makeup? Don’t know her. Rainy days give us that little extra push to really let go and just be ourselves!

As we settled in to the boudoir session, thunder got louder and there was even a flash of lightening or two (in the distance, but I don’t know about yall, I see one flash of lightning and I take it seriously). My client and I nailed the communication game - constantly checking in to see if we were still comfortable to continue, and set boundaries for when we would stop and retreat to our cars and try to wait it out. Almost as if it knew we were respecting its power, the storm eased on, continuing to drift eastward and out to the coast.

My favorite part of the boudoir session experience is the transformation my clients undergo each time, without fail. By the end of this shoot, my client truly was a water nymph in her final form! Pure joy and happiness was coupled with peace and serenity as she splashed in the river and hopped from rock to rock. I can’t help but smile as I write this because I’m remembering her smile the entire time.

This boudoir session was my first in the rain, but it certainly will not be my last. I may be biased, but now a part of me will be crossing my fingers for it every time I venture back to the dear James for a photoshoot <3