Savannah Boudoir Photography // ...and a little whiskey, too, featuring Becca

Becca has been one of my best friends since I was in the 7th grade. When I called her up a couple of months ago and asked if I could use her gorgeous downtown apartment as a backdrop for this big, crazy, busy marathon, I knew that she’d say yes without hesitation. Even though she asked nothing in return (being my best friend and all!), I wanted her to have the experience of a boudoir session.

I knew we’d have fun with her session! We had so many things going for us—best friends (no embarrassment or nervousness here!), her own space that she’s comfortable with, and, hello, she’s gorgeous! We had time to play with themes (note the bottle of Jack, which was a totally impromptu prop!) and outfits and the session was super relaxed.

"I had a blast doing something I wasn't sure I would be good at!” says Becca. And her advice to other ladies who would like to have boudoir photos done? "Have fun with it! You’re in good hands, so don't be nervous."

Savannah Boudoir Photography // A Country Chic Boudoir Session featuring Brittany

I am so excited to kick off a series of blog posts featuring the ladies from my recent boudoir marathon in Tulsa, Oklahoma!

The longer I’ve been away from Oklahoma, the more I’ve grown to love (and miss) it. We do things a little slower in Oklahoma, but with a level of care and grace that you don’t find just anywhere. So, I was pretty excited to host and enjoy a full 2-day boudoir marathon in Oklahoma, knowing just the group of ladies I wanted to work with and what would make this event memorable for them. A lot of these ladies were close friends or family, miss Brittany included.

Brittany is my country-loving, cowboy boot wearing, fiery red-haired cousin! We grew up riding four wheelers, swimming and watching fireflies on summer nights, and camping in the field by her house. She was always a lot more daring, a lot more “country” than I am, so when she decided to do a boudoir session, I was super excited about the idea of doing a country theme. I knew that Brittany would absolutely rock it, and of course she did!

"I was extremely nervous beforehand,” Brittany admits. "I had a baby 8 months ago, and my body is not the same nor does it look the same as it did before. Allowing someone to see your flaws on a personal level is very nerve racking. Emily had me start my shoot with an outfit I was most comfortable in. This set the mood for my comfort level. Once we started the shoot, I forgot all about my flaws and had a good time.”

Brittany did an awesome job on picking outfits that photographed well and fit her style perfectly. I was especially a fan of the emerald green lingerie set from Victoria's Secret, which looked amazing with her red hair!

How does she feel about the end result? "I personally feel that every woman should have a day to feel amazing about themselves!" Brittany says. "Emily is the one that made that happen for me, and I am very grateful for that."

And I'm so glad you decided to do it, Britt! <3

Mothers: Tell your daughter you're pretty.

My one-year-old daughter is in that stage where she attempts to repeat everything I say. The other day, I was thumbing through a catalog and she heard me exclaim, "Ooh, pretty!" She grinned and repeated—“Ooh, pri-iy!" It just tickles me to death to hear her repeat words back to me with such clarity and conviction, so I couldn't help but encourage her over the next few days. "Bug, can you tell the doggy she's pretty?" "Gee! Gee pri-iy!"

In our culture, we put a whole lot of emphasis on pretty. Because of this, as mothers, we want our daughters to feel pretty. When my little bug gets out of the bathtub and sees herself in the mirror, I always catch myself saying, "Who is that pretty girl? It's you! You're such a pretty girl, Liv!" Until recently, the impact of those words never really occurred to me. I just felt that I was encouraging my daughter because, after all, don't we all want to feel and believe that we're pretty?

My sweet little Liv. She's very "pri-iy!"

This morning, an interesting TED Talk came across my news feed. It was titled, "Why thinking you're ugly is bad for you." Bad for you? I thought. Well it's not a good thing, but is it really bad for you?

In the 12 minute lecture, Meaghan Ramsey discusses how feeling ugly negatively effects all of us, right down to test scores and job placement. The truth of it is, because our culture puts so much emphasis and effort into aesthetics, when we feel ugly, we feel less valuable, and so we don't perform as well. As I watched the video, I thought about my little girl. Of course I want to change the world; of course I want pretty to mean less, or at least something different. But for the next twenty years, as she's growing up and she's impressionable to her peers and how they see her, what can I do to prove to her that she's worthy—or, in modern words, "pretty?"

All of my parenting books tell me that my daughter is a sponge. That she will observe the world around her and what she absorbs will form her personality. And, above all, she will mimic how my husband and I live our lives and see and treat ourselves. So, if I don't think I'm pretty, will my little girl believe me when I say she's pretty?

"Mom, stop it, you're embarrassing me with all this talk about how pretty I am."

One thing I love about working with mothers on boudoir sessions is that giving them a confidence boost, showing them how incredibly beautiful they are, will spill over into their everyday lives. When I was growing up, I never heard my mother compliment herself. She would always agonize over being fat, wrinkly, or some other aspect of herself that she hated. And so, though I was always thin and "pretty," like most girls, I still nit-picked at myself. I still hated my tummy and my crooked teeth and when I looked in the mirror, those were the first things I saw. I have to wonder—if my mother had told me she was beautiful, would I have had a different idea of beauty?

Food for thought, ladies. Happy Monday! Do something awesome this week!