Plus Size Boudoir Photography- Why You Need To Stop Waiting

An open letter from boudoir photographers to curvy girls around the world

First off, the phrase “plus size boudoir” makes me crazy. The whole plus size thing is ridiculous, separating people into categories according to how closely they fit our arbitrary cultural ideal; so they’re words I don’t usually use.  But if we don’t talk very specifically about plus size boudoir it often leaves women looking through galleries of women who don’t look like them and wondering if boudoir photography is something they can do.  If the photographer is going to be judging them. If it’s safe to make themselves vulnerable like that. If plus size boudoir photos are even a real thing.  So, today I’m using all the words.  Plus size, curvy, voluptuous, All About The Base- and of course my favourite, “beautiful.”

Boudoir photography is for every woman who wants to take her clothes off and rock what she’s got- but that’s too easy to say, isn’t it. And therefore, too easy to doubt.  So today I’m talking to the curvy girls. The ones who aren’t sure if they’re the wrong shape to do boudoir.  The ones who are wondering if I’m going to judge their faults and their rolls and their stretch marks.

I’m talking to the women who have trouble finding lingerie because lingerie stores seem to think a size ten is extra large.  To the women who look at plus size models and wonder, if that’s plus size what the hell am I??

The answer:  You. Are. Beautiful.

You are vibrant. You are sassy. You are sexy. You are voluptuous. You are smart. You are worthy. And you are worth it.

Here’s What You need To Know

Yes, boudoir photography is for you.

No, you don’t have to lose weight.

Yes, I genuinely believe you are beautiful.

No, I am not judging you.

Yes, you are going to love your photos.

I don’t care if your waist is 20 inches or 50 or less or more.  I want you to feel beautiful in your skin, I want you to feel confident, and I want you to see the amazing woman that the people who love you see.  I want you to set aside for an hour or a day or a week- or a lifetime, if you can- all the old hurts and the mean words and the self-doubt you are carrying.

What are you waiting for?

Maybe you want to get fitter, eat better, lose weight- that’s fine. But don’t let it hold you back.  It’s time to love yourself the way you are now.  Don’t wait.  Don’t waste another minute of your life feeling like you’re not good enough. Beauty is not a dress size or a waist measurement. There is no number that defines beauty. Beauty is an attitude. Beauty is a choice, and I want you to make it.

So go right now and find a boudoir photographer you can trust, and take your clothes off.  Being naked, or nearly naked, in front of someone you barely know is going to change your life.  Okay, yes, it’s also terrifying, but a good boudoir photographer is going to help you through that.  Choose someone who has done boudoir for plus-size women before, who has curvy girls in her portfolio, and pay what you’re worth- the real pros aren’t cheap and in the words of my friend Denver Boudoir Photographer Brooke Summer, when you take your clothes off for someone is cheap really the way you want to describe the experience? It’s an investment, and you are worth it.

I have photographed women of every shape and size, women who have been told they were fat and women who were told to eat a cheeseburger and women who were told they were male at birth and women with A cups and M cups and folds and ribs and you know what? Every single one of them is beautiful.  Beautiful, complicated, powerful and amazing.  So in the end, and I’m sure you guessed this, it’s not really about plus size boudoir photography- it’s about woman-size boudoir photography.  Curvy or flat, tall or short, it’s time to stop waiting.  It’s time to give yourself permission to embrace that beautiful complicated powerful and amazing self and love her just the way she is.

(Special Feature: Click Here To See How The Photos For This Page Were Chosen)

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READY TO BOOK YOUR OWN SEXY, CONFIDENCE BOOSTING BOUDOIR SESSION?

Looking for a photographer you can trust to do your curves justice? Sure, I’m great (and modest, too!) but if you’re not in Alberta don’t despair. Just look through portfolios until you see one with people like you. Don’t assume that a photographer knows how to flatter everyone- if you’re a curvy woman, look for a portfolio that showcases plenty of curves. If you’re a black woman, look for black women. Then once you’ve found one you like, talk to the photographer either in person or on the phone and see if you click. You’re choosing to be really vulnerable with someone, you should like and trust them! And if you want more advice on how to pick your boudoir photographer I’ve got you covered.