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
