Angie : Kansas City Boudoir Photographer

Want to know one of the first things Angie said to me when she called? "I'm very athletic, so it's going to be hard to make me look sexy." I kind of beg to differ. It was ridiculously easy. I would say more, but we'll just let the pictures speak for themselves on this one!

Lori : Kansas City Boudoir Photographer

I really can't say enough good things about Lori. She booked back-to-back with a friend, and I'm so glad that she didn't call and cancel like she said she had thought about doing :) I loved all of the outfits she brought, and she had some damn cute shoes too! I know I've said this before, but I'll say it again: I love it when clients bring things that are personal to their husbands for their sessions. Lori rocked her husbands motorcycle jacket (and everything else she wore). I also need to go back and figure out why one of Lori's images violated the terms of use of Photobucket, because they blocked out a photo collage of hers. Hopefully I'll have some new photos up when I get caught up on editing albums & a couple new sessions!

Ashley & Stacey : Kansas City Boudoir Photographer

I realize that the title here could be misleading. Ashley & Stacey booked their boudoir sessions back-to-back on the same day, not as a couple's session, so don't get any ideas. :) I love love love when girls book back-to-back sessions. Having a friend at the session helps with nerves, can bring on more real laughter, and can bring on some good pose variation ideas. Plus when you book back-to-back, you get a free gift with your order :) (It is currently a 5x7 desk calendar, but I'm looking into changing it because of some restrictions on ordering that I don't love).

Anyway, Stacey & Ashley are both Army wives with deployed husbands. Having been in that position at one time, I always love when girls choose this as a gift for their deployed loves. It's obviously something he'll love while surrounded by a whole bunch of guys, but it will help YOU feel sexy too!

(So I found out today that an image in one of these collages violated the Photobucket terms of use...I'm mildly angry and could write a really long vent about it, but you know what? It's Photobucket's loss because I'll be finding a new place host my photos that won't label boudoir as pornographic. Sorry about that big ugly red image that was on here today).

Julie : Kansas City Boudoir Photography

I just want to say this: if you look at these pictures and do not think that Julie is stunning, I will come punch you. Or never speak to you again. Or most likely I'll just think that you are crazy because Julie, you are drop-dead gorgeous, and anyone who doesn't think so is weird. I'm writing this post on June 25th (seriously, I still think it's AWESOME that I can schedule posts to publish on whatever date I want) because I'm so excited about these pictures. But these are a FANTASTIC birthday present for Julie's hubby so I wanted to wait until after she gave him his album to post them. If you ask me, Julie set a pretty high standard for birthday gifts in the future.

I also think Julie should be awarded points for wearing a Nebraska shirt for her honey.

Julie's husband loves to sail, so she stole the jib and brought it to the shoot. I adore it when a client brings personal touches to a shoot - we had fun with this sail and the cute bag it came in.

Kristen : Kansas City Bridal Boudoir Photography

So you probably recognize this gorgeous girl. If you don't, you don't have a good recognition for faces since this isn't her first time on my blog. But I'll forgive you for that because I'm not great with names (and have been known to forget birthdays). We shot Kristen's session in March as a wedding gift and I have been DYING to blog them since then. I also have been dying to move to the country and have property with a cool old barn and no neighbors and a farmhouse with gorgeous light. We were both disappointed that it was way too cold to shoot outside (thanks, Kansas and your unpredictable March this year) but I'm about 110% sure that we still rocked it out.

If this picture (all of them really) says anything, it's, "Don't mind me, I'm just a FREAKING SUPERMODEL." Seriously Kristen, you're gorgeous.

This one is also a favorite. Kristen is a KU fan. If you know anything at all, you know it means she loves Matt kind of a lot to be in a K-State jersey for him. I think she looks good in purple and should switch to our side.

Erin : Kansas City Boudoir Photography

I knew that Erin would be fun to shoot when her voicemail started out with, "I know this might be crazy and you can totally laugh at me, but..." (the crazy request was a rush order, don't be getting any weird ideas). She brought a friend to the shoot, which really is so much fun. Why? Look at these smiles! I don't want you to be afraid to smile during your shoot. If you don't have a friend who knows exactly how to make you smile, I'll make you fake laugh with me. It's cheesy and gets some real laughter, but bringing a friend is a little bit more fun for you. And isn't Erin pretty much the most perfect person for boudoir? Seriously.

Tamra : Kansas City Boudoir Photography

Tamra and I had scheduled a shoot in February. It got snowed out. We rescheduled, and Jackson got sick. We rescheduled again for March, and got snowed out AGAIN. So we rescheduled, actually got to shoot, and then I had a major memory card malfunction that resulted in the loss of all of the gorgeous images from her shoot. I freaked out, but Tamra was great about it and we rescheduled again - which got rescheduled due to her oldest girl getting sick. So two sick kids, two snowstorms, and one malfunction later, we got some gorgeousness for me to share! Tamra, thank you for being so fabulous about the memory card problem, and thank you for being gorgeous!

Privacy Matters : Kansas City Boudoir Photography

This post was prompted by some e-mails I received requesting passwords to my private boudoir galleries, and I just wanted to let you ladies know how seriously I take your privacy (I take all privacy seriously and will not blog anything or use it on my website without permission, but especially boudoir privacy due to the nature of the shoots).

All images on my blog are used with permission from the women I've shot. You by no means have to allow me to blog my favorites from your shoot. I'll love you forever if you do agree to it, but there are no hard feelings if you are uncomfortable.

I never use first and last name combinations in any way - file naming, gallery naming, on the site, on the blog, etc. I do everything on a first name basis. If you prefer that I do not use your entire first name, I can refer to you with the first letter of your first or last (or even middle) name - just using my initials, for example, I could be Miss C, Miss J, or Miss R. I name my files based on your first name only (Jane001, for example), so nobody could search Jane Smith and come up with JaneSmith001 and find your photo. Basically what I'm saying is this: people won't search your first and last name and come up with your photos on my website.

Since I have made the switch to in-person rather than online ordering, I am able to protect your privacy even more - boudoir galleries no longer go online for proofing except for marathons and any out of town sessions. I will have printed proofs to show you at your ordering session (and these are shredded if you do not purchase them, they are not just casually thrown in the trash).

If you do opt to have an online gallery (or are part of a marathon or are an out of town client), your gallery is always password protected and I DO NOT hand out this password to anyone but you for ANY reason. Ever. Sharing the password and gallery is at your discretion - if you would like to show your friends, you are more than welcome to, but I will not ever give the password to anyone except you.

I take your privacy quite seriously. I will go to all of these measures and any more that you can think of to protect it. You are not required to let me show off how gorgeous you are on the blog or on my website.

And a big thanks to Kathleen for letting me use this fabulous shot so I don't have a post without a picture :) Loooove her hair, the curls were perfect - they look so messy sexy in this picture! And if you aren't jealous of those eyelashes, I don't know if I can speak to you again!

Kansas City Boudoir Marathon

{40 minute shoot}

{6x6 gorgeous album}

{2 outfits}

{additional discounts}

{$350}

Perfect for:

-Father's Day gift

-birthday gift

-groom's gift

-any day gift

-late Mother's Day gift (yeah, you Dad. Buy her a spot at the marathon or for a session that'll make her feel gorgeous AND you get something out of it. Perfect!)

I know, I know. It's a little bit late notice to get things going on this marathon! This is a great gift for the man in your life - and you'll raise the bar for your next Mother's Day gift, I guarantee it :) I have 11 spots open for this marathon day. If you can't make it on May 15th (I do know Rockfest is going on that day), the special is good for sessions booked by June 1st to take place on or before August 15th. This special is open to non-moms as well but only applies to boudoir sessions. If you are wanting your album by Father's Day, your session MUST take place by May 20th. There will be a $100 deposit due to hold the special pricing, whether you are booking for the marathon or for another date. If there are any other questions, let me know! And tell all your friends :)

Bridal Boudoir

I'm coming back from my bad blogger hiatus with a post on why bridal boudoir is a good idea. I know I already touched on some of my feelings about boudoir in this post. Boudoir gets a bad name - some photographers post about it on Craigslist looking to get young girls scantily clad, and nobody leaves the shoot happy except for a creepy photographer. Some photographers don't know much about posing for boudoir, and bad camera angles or inappropriate poses leave a woman feeling much less confident and maybe a little bit trashy. Sometimes when a bride hears boudoir, she automatically thinks, "No way, my fiance will not be needing any naked pictures of me, thankyouverymuch."

But boudoir is SO much more than naked pictures. Really, nudity is totally optional and is not pushed on anyone. And I think that they should never be trashy. Boudoir should be a great experience all around - your photographer should have fun and know what they're doing and in return you will have fun and get some romantically sexy images that leave you feeling like a supermodel, no matter your body type.

And why do I think brides especially should have a boudoir shoot? I'm not sure where to start organizing my thoughts, so I guess I'll start with some reasons I've heard for brides to NOT have a boudoir shoot and then I'll counter them.

No way! I hate my body! I'm not a size two, why would he want pics of me?

Let me tell you a little secret: he loves your body. He wants to see it as often as possible and in as little as possible. A lot of brides work out before the wedding and are in some of the best shape of their lives - why not show that off? It's not only a gift to him, but also preserves how hard you've been working! And here's a neat use for a boudoir album: if he's pestering you to wear a cute little nightie some day and you just aren't feeling it, you can slyly hand him the boudoir album and say, "Remember page 7?" Then he'll be able to look at you in a nightie and you can sit in your sweatpants with your legs not shaved - perfect!

I don't have time before my wedding to get everything done, I can't squeeze in an extra shoot!

Taking this hour or two for yourself before your wedding can actually be a great way to de-stress. Schedule a shoot the same day as a girlfriend (you'll both get a discount) and you can have a relaxing girls day. Or you can do it by yourself and just have time to feel like a supermodel and unwind a bit. It'll take your mind off of some of the stress, and then seeing your sexy self in the pictures afterwards can boost your pre-wedding energy. Orrrrrrr (and this is my favorite) you can schedule a boudoir party and have the perfect groom's gift AND the perfect bachelorette party! If you'd like more info about the parties, check out my boudoir website.

You're on location and my apartment is tiny and not gorgeous.

I do prefer to be on location but am able to shoot in my small "home studio" (ok, it's a spare bedroom but it works really well!). Your home does not have to have damask furniture and sexy striped walls like a Victoria's Secret catalog to be perfect for a shoot. We can also talk about a hotel room for your shoot - I have a few recommendations, and some special rates with a great downtown hotel.

I just don't want to spend the money.

Ok, I really don't have much of a counter for that since I'm not gonna provide everything for free. I will say this though: spending money on a boudoir session is NOT something that you or your fiance/husband will regret. I still feel new confidence when I look at my Coquette pictures by Kelley Photo & Design. And my husband definitely still loves them. It was worth skipping out on an oil change and turning down a few dinner invitations. This is not a wedding gift that will break, will go out of style, or will be put aside and forgotten about.

And here is a picture that I haven't gotten to share yet. Not a bride (since I can't share those until after some weddings), but still beautiful!

Jess

Can we talk about something? First of all, let's talk about how I'm jealous of Jess and how fantastically long her hair is and how I wish I could pull off bangs like hers! Second, let's talk about how boudoir does not equal scandalous images. Sure, some can be more risque, but look at these pictures. Jess does not look skanky or trashy in any of them. I don't shoot skanky or trashy boudoir. Don't you think implied sexy is so much hotter than just laying it all out there? I'm not saying that nude photos are all trashy, because some people can do them very artistically. I'm just saying that sometimes it seems like boudoir = adventurous or boudoir = only for the brave or boudoir = scandalous. And it doesn't. Boudoir = beautiful. Boudoir = classy. Boudoir = FUN! And of course boudoir = sexy. So whether you are adventurous or shy, a sex kitten or waiting til your wedding, boudoir really is for you. It's about you being gorgeous and whatever degree of sexy you want to be. Look how Jess looks AMAZING in a purple sundress. That wasn't lingerie. Waaaaait. She isn't really wearing lingerie. An adorable nightie? Yes. A button down shirt? Yes. Pants? No. Garter belts? No. I could go on like this for a while, but all I'm really trying to say is this: boudoir really is for anyone (over 18, that is. And female).

See? Beautiful, classy, sexy. Nothin' skanky about it! And now that I've said skanky four times in one blog post, I'm out.

Amanda

Whaaaat? Two posts WITH PICTURES in two days? I can't promise this kind of productivity all the time, but it sure feels good right now. It's partly because my boys are out of town. They went to Michigan so Jake can go to a banquet and so that Jackson can spend some time with his grandparents up there. So here I am, being productive (and avoiding cleaning the house. You don't want to see this pile of dishes I need to tackle).

This shoot is a little out of order, I wanted to blog Jess's pictures first but those will come in the next few days. I was testing out a new workflow after the PLAYshop and I pretty much love it. So gorgeous Amanda's pictures are ready. The question is, are YOU ready? This is the blog's debut boudoir post and all I have to say is MEOW (I actually want to make that sexy purr noise that you've probably heard me make if you know me, buuuut that doesn't exactly type out very well - purrrrrrrr? rrrrrrrrrrrrrr? see? - so meow will have to do).

Told you she's gorgeous :)