You deserve to love your body (again)

We all have body insecurities. Yes, even that person in the corner that you think is perfect, they very likely doesn't like something about their body. Those can become bigger and bigger everyday and can really impact your life on a daily basis. But it doesn’t have to be. If there is one person can hit the brakes on those, it is you.

 
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In order to develop body-acceptance and give yourself a break, there are a few things to consider and myths to debunk:

No, You don’t have to “LOVE” your body all the time (and it’s really hard to anyway)

With movements like body-positivity being spread around and sometime, used as a marketing tool, it is very easy to believe that if you don’t love your body every single day, then you’re “failing” at it. To be honest, we believe that it is impossible to love your body constantly, because we, as human and especially as women, are not feeling the same constantly.

We work in cycles, are guided by hormones & emotions and Those fluctuate on the daily, as they should. So you’re gonna have good days, and not-so-good days, and it is absolutely normal.

Instead of beating yourself up, spiralling and thinking that you’re just an ugly duckling during the not-so-good days, aknowledge them, remind yourself they will pass, try to stick to a healthy routine and give yourself a break.

Your body changes all the time.

On top of having our moods changing from one day to the other, our bodies can change on an hourly basis. Take our tummies for example, usually a soft spot for many people: you can wake up with a fairly flat belly and boom, 2 hours later, it’s doing its things and you’re bloated. Your body is always working and we need to stop being hard on it for doing so.

Instead of focusing on just the way your body looks, focus on nourishing it and giving it what it needs. By just doing that, you will slowly start to appreciate it more and more, and your vision will change on the positive.

Enjoy those pleasantly surprised looks in the mirror you will experience soon enough! 😉

 
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You don’t have imperfections, you have a map of memories.

When you really think about it, isn’t your body a keepsake of everything you have been in life?

Scars, stretch marks, and other various changes, they are here to witness what you have been through.

  • Stretchmarks prove the ability your body has to adapt to a new you.

  • Scars are here to remind you that you can heal. You’ve done it before, you will do it again.

  • Wrinkles are a testimonial to how much you've laughed, cried, smiled. How much you’ve been LI-VING. This should be celebrated, not criticized and shamed.

Work on detaching from the media’s beauty standards.

One of the best ways to start appreciating your body is to listen to what YOU want to do and not what society says you SHOULD do. Wear whatever you want, change your hairstyle, get tattoos, get physically stronger, shave, not shave, put makeup on and so on. If you feel like walking around naked for the hell of it, then so be it.

Decisions about your body and appearance are yours and only yours to make. Re-read that, write it down, staple it somewhere!

You will be much happier the minute you start making decisions about yourself for yourself. So go, dye your hair blue, wear that dress you love, stop shaving your armpits if it makes YOU happy.

By the way, A boudoir shoot is a great way to say “screw it, my body is pretty awesome”. 😉

If you're tempted but are not sure what to expect, sign up below to get our secret pdf with all of the answers! ⬇️

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Why your photos shouldn't be edited

In the photography industry, editing has always been a major part of the final images. We make the skin looking perfect, make sure everything symmetrical, we adjust bodies… Even to the niche that boudoir is, many photographers play by those rules. We personally don't. We don't believe people should be edited on photos and here is why…

 
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Reason #1: because it’s not you.

One of the many reasons why you may be in front of a lens would be to get comfortable with your image. If said image is altered, what’s the point of even doing it? You may look back on those photos and say “I look great" but you will always have this after thought of “but that’s not really me". If anything, it may end up making you sad that you are not version.

Keeping your images editing and filters free will teach you to appreciate your appearance the way it really is.

And what does that lead to? Self-confidence, yay!

Reason #2: because those perfect bodies don't exist.

We say it, we read it: perfect bodies don't exist. But yet, some days, it is easy to forget, especially on social media with all of those accounts saying “look at me, I'm just like you, an everyday person!” but yet every single photo is perfect looking.

Real bodies come in all shapes in sizes. They come with rolls, with scars, cellulite, wrinkles & stretch marks.

We have been taught for way too long that all of these are flaws while they are just normal. It's about time they become the norm and are showed more often.

Reason #3: because the more we show reality on our end, the more the media will pick up on it and do the same.

We can say every negative thing about social media, there is one positive angle: they are what we make them. Meaning it is also in our power to turn them into something positive. Many companies (the smart ones!) have changed the approach regarding marketing to their customers thanks to what has been trending online such has body-positivity. Of course, that also came with sneaky companies pretending to be a certain way when they're not, but that has been happening since the beginning of time.

There is a true craving for authenticity for every single market, and it is a beautiful thing (most of the time).

 
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So, what do we personally do as photographers?

Our editing policy is simple:

1) we pose you accordingly in flattering poses, for your body.

2) we remove anything that is temporary, such as blemishes, bruises, scratches and so on, with a very mild skin smoothing edit to remove any shininess. Anything that isn’t part of you every day.

We used to be a bit more “open” to editing, especially while doing certain poses that could make body parts bigger for example. But we have never executed this, because we never felt the need to and our models never asked anyway!

Seeing edited images constantly feed everyone's body insecurities. If it feeds yours, remind yourself that you have the power to change this outcome. Everytime you share a photo of you that's not touched up, you are inspiring someone else to feel comfortable the way they are. Pretty neat, right?

Looking to feel better in your own skin but not quite ready for boudoir? Sign up below to get our “what to expect for your boudoir shoot” PDF! ⬇️

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