Hi everyone, this is Tyler! I’ve taken over Dale’s blog today to talk about … myself. Or rather, my last maternity shoot. A boudoir maternity shoot.

First, though, let’s talk about boudoir in general. If you would have told me two years ago that I’d do a boudoir shoot at all, let alone a boudoir maternity shoot, I would have said you were crazy. I mean, stripping down to my skivvies and posing in front of a camera? Isn’t that what we’ve been taught all our lives will get nice girls into hot water?

Find a photographer who makes your feel comfortable

Here is the thing with boudoir: your comfort and safety and well-being should be the #1 factor in shooting. If you, for any reason, feel uncomfortable with your photographer, do not pass go, do not collect $200. You need to find a new photographer. Unfortunately, there are some Creepy Carls out there masquerading as professional photographers. It’s okay to feel uncomfortable with the subject matter; I mean, Dale is my husband now, and still, the first time I sat for boudoir, I was nervous. Dale is an actual professional, though, and the nervousness faded almost immediately.

Here’s the advice I’d give to every woman: sit for at least one boudoir session in your lifetime. Because let me tell you: if you find a great photographer, one you trust and with whom you feel comfortable, boudoir can be one of the most empowering shoots you ever do. You’re able to look past the wrinkles and the rolls and the stretch marks and the uneven skin, and suddenly, you see yourself. You begin to see the you that everyone else sees, not the you that’s been slowly torn down by your harshest critic: yourself.

Boudoir Maternity shoots can be so empowering!

Looking through the images from the first boudoir shoot, I remember silently scrolling along in the computer, one image after the next. It finally hit me. “I look quite pretty, don’t I?” And I don’t say that from vanity or from a place of boastfulness; I saw someone familiar, but still different, and my goodness, I thought she looked fierce and beautiful.

And when do you feel more fierce than when you and God are creating a new life together? I know, I know, there’s a lot of symptoms associated with pregnancy that are admittedly less than glamorous. I’m right there with ya, sisters. When you get down to the nitty gritty, though, you are a badass warrior goddess, and that is so, so worthy of being captured.