Unposed or Boudoir?
This is an ode to my multiple session with Niki, and photos of our most recent unposed session together. We have now had three sessions together as she responded to one of my first ever model calls last summer (and promptly told me she hated doing photoshoots outside), but wanted to do it anyway to push her comfort level. Then this winter, we did an in home session where Alvin, her doggo was the star of the session. And then this unposed session.
When I shoot with Niki I take a million photos because we are so busy chatting and being friends at this point that I have to make sure at least one doesn’t have her mouth open from talking. But it also means I get photos of the full bellied laughter as she laughs at me falling off rocks and squealing when the shot is just so good.
But what I actually want to talk about is the beautiful differences and transformation between boudoir and my unposed work, because now Niki has done a little bit of both. And I want to talk about why I think both are so important and why I love both of them equally.
Boudoir is a space to step into sensuality. Its a space where I pose you. Where the photos are soft and sensual and they give you permission to embrace your sexuality in a way that society doesn’t always allow us to do. It allows us to take up space sexually and maybe be a little shocked at how we look when we’re posed in a way that displays that. And I firmly stand on the hill that it is okay to want to feel hot af and have photos that display that. I want you to walk away from a boudoir session with a little more swagger, and little secret smile and photos that you can look at when you need a little boost. And while I have come to love unposed work for myself (Forrest Leo Photos— take all my money lol), I am also remembering how important it is for me to have photos of myself that are sexy, where I can celebrate that side of me, where I can remember that despite my chronic pain and the way my body has changed, that I can still feel powerful in my sexuality. And I think boudoir does that better than unposed work does. It simply serves a different purpose. One that is equally as important. And you will find Niki’s boudoir mud session all over my website. I love them so much.
And then there is unposed work. Which I would say is a love letter to learning to love what your body looks like in movement, what it looks like and feels like when you aren’t trying to have it look a certain way. Unposed work is playful, it is relaxed, it is throwing impulse control out the window. It can be silly. It often has a more artsy vibe to it in the photos. They most of the time aren’t sexual or sensual. It is a love letter to nudity that isn’t inherently sexual. It’s a love letter to you in a space that feels like coming home. Whether that is a forest and the moss between your toes, or playing at the waters edge and doing handstands in the sand. Or maybe its just closing your eyes and soaking up the sunshine on a warm summer evening. And that’s what this session with Niki was. I got to watch her soak up the sunshine and laugh and not think about posing but just being.
So which one do you do? Well I would say do both. But it is really up to you and what sort of photos and experience you’re looking for. They are both beautiful and oh so special in different ways. I think sometimes one fits a certain time in our lives better. I have been on an unposed kick for photos of myself recently. But I am realizing that I need to make more space for more boudoir because currently that is what my mind and body need a little more celebrating of. So before you book a session, pause and think about what your mind and body and soul need in this moment in time. And who knows, maybe you need a little bit of both :)
