“I like camp.”

Do you ever read google reviews and wonder about the people who wrote them? Curious about what their photos looked like? Here is a picture of her review and my experience photographing her.

During her pre shoot consultation, she said “I like camp.” Which I misheard as “I like camping.” I launched into this whole supportive explanation. I said “that’s cool – we can figure out a way to incorporate that into a shoot. I’ve even photographed a client with a log before. Her husband is an arborist.” 

Anyway. She very kindly listened before saying “no, like CAMP, like CAMPY.” As in the Oxford definition “absurdly exaggerated, artificial, or affected in a usually humorous way.”

OPE.

She also loves the Golden Girls, Reading Tarot, and Astrology. She gets a little twinkle in her eye when she talks about Brenden Fraser of the Mummy, but she also enjoys a little Rachel Weiss. She’s passionate about financial literacy for women. My kind of girl.  

Not only was she a riot during her entire shoot, but she brought her WHOLE SELF to the shoot. Brought absolutely gorgeous outfits that matched her personality to a tee. I mean. That bull skull. It screams power and sensuality. Is it campy? Not sure. It’s definitely not camp-ING. 

To finish up her shoot, she freestyled topless in a long fluffy pink robe with matching slippers while I photographed her. She even karate kicked at the camera. We were both HOWLING. It was amazing. 

To empower someone to be unapologetically themselves-that is my superpower. And it brings me so much joy. You don’t have to karate kick topless in a pink robe during your shoot if you aren’t feeling it. But whatever your unique idea of sexy is? I’ll capture that for you.  

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A is for Authenticity

A came to me because she wanted to be captured as her authentic self.  This is 100% my jam.  It’s what I live for.  I firmly believe that in order to really break away from the crushing societal burden of unattainable perfection, we have to start BELIEVING that everyone is beautiful.  And in order to believe it, we have to  be willing to be our own authentic selves so others can see it (and have permission to believe it too).  

We need to see authenticity everywhere.  Not just on the occasional ad using a “plus size” or “older” model.  Not based on some sort of gender binary. Everywhere.  You are not too old.  You do not have too many stretch marks.  Your body is not too big, too small, too flat, too curvy.  Your proportions are not wrong.  Your skin does not have too many stretch marks or too much cellulite.  

You are perfect.  

My passion with this work I do is to show everyone they are beautiful.   And every step towards breaking the narrative of “ideal” is a good one.  It’s why this work is so important to me.  

Here is what A had to say about her shoot:

“Melissa I want thank you very much for the wonderful day!  It was such a freeing experience and I cannot wait to work the photos into my daily self love journey.  I now know what a true boudoir experience feels like.  I am passionate about representation and I think it’s great people are loving these pictures.  I am very happy with what we created together and I cannot wait to get the photos!” 

Thanks A, for trusting me with your authentic self.  You are beautiful and perfect.  

Hopeless Romantic

I have always been a hopeless romantic. As a teenager I was obsessed with the poetic words of ee cummings (I carry your heart, I carry it in my heart). It didn’t stop there- add in lyrics to indie love songs (me and my girlfriend don’t wear no shoes, her nose is painted a pepper sunlight), romantic novels and movies (Lloyd Dobler anyone?) and you have a full blown hopeless romantic. Maybe that is part of why I love boudoir so much-the romance and beauty of it all.

When you are getting married, a boudoir shoot us such a beautiful way to celebrate your wedding. You get to take a few moments for yourself to get pampered, feel sexy and take a break from all the craziness of wedding planning. You walk out the door with an incredible sense of self love, feeling more confident than ever (good as hell, as Lizzo would say). THAT is a true gift to you and your partner. And if that isn’t enough, you and your partner can look back at your gorgeous album every year on your anniversary, for years to come.

Bombshell

I love it when clients come back for a second (or third, or fourth) shoot with me. Each time you learn a little bit more about yourself, you love yourself a little bit more, and you learn to embrace and trust the process. And the afterglow is just as amazing every time.

This absolute bombshell came in to shoot with me for the second time recently and we had so much fun! Her last shoot was just before I moved out of my last studio so she got an entirely new look this time. This is what she had to say about her experience:

“If you have ever considered doing a Boudoir shoot, whether it be for yourself (which is what I did) or as a gift for someone else… DO IT! And not only that, but please make sure you do it with the best in the business, Studio M! Melissa made me feel so comfortable, and so so beautiful! Seeing my pictures afterwords brought tears to my eyes because Melissa was able to capture images of me that I didnt know were possible. I’m so excited to see my book and will forever be grateful for my experience with Melissa at Studio M! I am already looking forward to doing another shoot with her in the future!”

Listen to Miss N. Treat yourself. 🙂 I’d love to work with you too!

Congratulations, beautiful.

So, I’m definitely not going to claim responsibility for this, but this gorgeous babe DID get engaged after her photo shoot . . . . .

In all fairness he didn’t even see the photos until after he’d asked her to marry him. She is insanely cute and even sweeter that you could imagine, and they are going to be so happy together. This sexy collection of photos was just icing on the engagement cake.

She has already booked another shoot and I can’t WAIT to come up with some insanely beautiful ideas for her to share with her new husband. Congrats, K. I am so incredibly happy for you.

Stand in Your Power

So many boudoir shoots are about reclaiming your power. The inner beauty and mojo that you KNOW is there but have somehow lost. Sometimes it is a monumental life event, like walking away from a terrible marriage. Sometimes it is losing yourself in motherhood. Sometimes you wake up one day and wonder who you are and where your old self went. These are my favorite types of shoots. Reconnecting with yourself, loving yourself, celebrating yourself. We all need it. Here is what miss C said about her shoot:

“Melissa! Thank you!!! You showed me a version of me that I never knew was actually there, and you showed me the beauty of standing in my own power.”

Her images are so stunning and I can’t wait to deliver her album just in time for the holidays! A gift, indeed.