Jenny {A Boudoir Story}

I wanted to do a boudoir shoot for my husband and my anniversary. This is something totally unexpected of me to do. But once I started picking out my outfits and trying them on before hand, I realized I needed to do it for myself as well. I have very low self esteem when it comes to my body even though my husband brags on me and compliments me all of the time. For once I wanted to see myself the way he does, a beautiful, sexy woman.

I still don't like my body that I saw in the pictures, and I probably never will, but I do feel so much better about myself after seeing all of them. Having my hair and makeup professional done and talking to Katie while getting it done relaxed me so much and made the shoot so much easier for me. Katie explained every little thing she was going to do and told me how to pose perfectly. Everyone's body is beautiful no matter the size of it and that beauty comes out in Katie's photography. I am so glad I did this not only for my husband, but myself as well.

Ashley {A Boudoir Story}

My advice for other women would be yes, a boudoir session might seem a little weird at first but at the same time the outcome of the final photos are drop dead gorgeous. Katie walked me through everything and it was really great. I had fun and it was a big self esteem and confidence booster for sure!

5 out of 5 stars

Andrew and Ashley {A Couples Boudoir Story}

We had done a couple's boudoir shoot a few years ago, but some of the photos and poses were a little awkward, so we wanted to do another one with a different photographer. Ashley was also having some confidence issues with her body and we felt that a photo shoot would be a perfect confidence boost, which it most certainly ended up being.

After a quick Google search, we found Katie, and her website looked great, so we filled out the intro questionnaire, and Katie got back to us very quickly. She was super nice and helpful and got us excited for our shoot.

On the day of the shoot, we were both a little nervous and excited at the same time, and while Ashley was getting her hair and makeup done by the FANTASTIC makeup artist, we had plenty of time to sit and chat with Katie to ease our nerves. Once we started shooting, everything felt completely natural, almost as if Katie wasn't even there. We just focused on each other.

Our favorite part of the boudoir experience was the shower scene by far. It was a first time for both of us having professional photos taken of us naked, and it was exhilarating.

Seeing our photos for the first time was very impressive. We almost couldn't believe how amazing they all looked, and knew instantly that we wanted to get a book along with digital copies of all the pictures.

We absolutely loved working with Katie and definitely want to book another session in the future, it was just so much fun!

Sarah {A Boudoir Story}

I have always wanted to have a boudoir photo shoot. But I also wanted to be at the goal weight I had my mind set on. I had lost 50lbs back in 2019 but during Covid I had put 20+ back on. So I had been feeling down on myself for not maintaining that lost, for not handling stress well, and just feeling bluh.

So when I saw the questionnaire I was like ok I am going to fill it out because I was like I need to do something for me. I was so nervous days getting closer to photo shoot. And day of I was excited but nervous. I was afraid that there wouldn’t be a good picture because I don’t see myself as sexy and too overweight to be taking photos in lingerie.

Katie made me feel comfortable and at ease. She directed me on poses and did so many there would have to be a good picture in one of those. When I finally got my images I was shocked. Not only was there one good image but there was so many. I saw myself looking sexy, confident in my skin, and happy.

Tamara {A Birthday Boudoir Session}

I have always been a big girl, but I learned how to love myself for me and for no one else. I wanted others to see how confident I am in my skin. Society makes it to so hard for someone my size or bigger to even go out in public and enjoy ourselves because there is so many judgmental people around.

So, I had been looking for Boudoir photo sessions and came across Katie and I was impressed by her work. I contacted her to do my photos for me as a 30th birthday gift to myself. I was nervous and didn’t know what expect when I arrived, but Katie made me feel comfortable and I felt empowered about myself throughout the session.

The reveal of my pictures blew me away because I knew I was already fine, but Katies photography had me looking fine as hell. If you want to do something out of your comfort zone and want to feel confident in your own skin, then Katie is the person to go.

Carrie {A Boudoir Story}

I am not a fan of my body. I never have been. And its been many shapes over my 43 years and 3 kids. This year, I wanted to do something fun for my 10 year anniversary but I also wanted to do something for me. Something outside my comfort zone but also flattering that I could "accept" to maybe get a boost in confidence.

And BOY, did Katie do that for me. Self Love is so hard, but Katie makes you WANT to be sassy, empowered and feel beautiful. I was not disappointed in how I felt about the entire experience from makeup to the shoot. It was something I will never forget and when I need a reminder that I AM IN FACT beautiful as I am, I have a visual reminder.

Thank you Katie for helping this middle aged mama feel like a million bucks, even if it was for only a few hours, I have the reminder to last me forever!

Niki {A Boudoir Story}

Katie and I have been friends for years and you would have thought I would be the most comfortable because of that. I was terrified. Being naked and vulnerable for someone you don't know seems so much easier then someone you will have to face again. Katie brought down each level of my anxiety and before I knew it I trying all kinds of new outfits, poses and sceneries. She knows exactly where to start with you, how to ease you into it, pose you just right and make you feel sexy. And BOOM! It all comes together just like that. My only regret was that I hadn't done it sooner!

Dont wait until you're "ready". You will always be at your best when you are in her studio, feeling like a million dollars no a matter what. I want to post my pictures everywhere, show everyone, but they are a little risky, if you know what I mean!

Haley {A Boudoir Story}

So going into this I was terrified and extremely nervous. I was doing this shoot to get out of my comfort zone and do some self love. words cannot explain how empowering it is to get your pictures back and not even see the flaws that you see everyday. And to look at your pictures and think damn I look good and want to show people pictures of you. that is a huge deal for me and I highly recommend doing this for yourself

Kercia {A Boudoir Story}

My thoughts about soviet beauty standards is everyone should have a vixen body. Everyone you see on TV has a slim waist, perky boobs and a big booty! I wanted to do this shoot you feel beautiful at any size! I recently lost 80 pounds to gain my confidence back and to be more healthier. I still see myself as I was before the weight loss and I wanted to do this photo shoot to celebrate my hard work and prove to myself that the weight loss is real! My biggest fear was to see myself in photos half naked! After the shoot I’ve learned to embrace my body as it is currently! My body confidence before the shoot was probably a 3; after the shoot 7. I was definitely nervous, Katie helped by saying “yaassss” when she got that perfect shot then showing me a sneek peek of that photo right then and there! When I de my photos for the first time o had to say to myself... IS THAT ME?!?! I really enjoyed working with Katie and look forward to working with her in the future. I would tell those that are thinking about a boudoir photo shoot to GO FOR IT!!! Such a great experience!! Very professional and a great photographer.

Jessica {A Boudoir Story}

Katie is so magical to work with!

I have now done two boudior sessions with her and each have been absolutely amazing!

My first session was a Valentine's Day gift for my then boyfriend (now husband) and I loved them so much I returned to her to have a bridal boudoir shoot done when my husabnd and I got married.

Katie truly makes you feel so comfortable throughout the whole process ams each time I have been so pleased with the outcome!

I seriously can't believe how sexy and confident her work makes me feel and look! It is such a confidence boost and of course my husband loves all the photos. I framed a few and hung them in our bedroom to remind myself that I am a badass, sexy woman everyday!

Andrea {Another Boudoir Story}

While I have written my story before, my story is still continuing and I still have constant struggles to overcome especially when it comes to self love.

I was bullied in school for my weight even though I honestly wasn't fat. I had gained weight from stopping gymnastics since I wasn't as physically active but it wasn’t too bad. But I was made fun of for it and made to feel like I was fat and ugly. Because of that I became bulimic. I was sexually assaulted at the age of 13 and raped at 16. After the rape, I had an even worse view of my body and myself as a whole. I felt dirty and disgusting. No matter how many baths I took, I couldn’t become clean. No matter how deep I would cut myself, it would never be deep enough to take the guilt and disgust away. I finally spoke up about the rape a year later, in 2009 ... my senior year. I was looked at like I was filthy by some people. My health was also declining due to chronic migraines and had me hospitalized for a lot of my high school years but it was getting worse because of my stress and depression. I was in so much emotional and physical pain that I felt like I was drowning and taking my family along with me. One thing led to another and I tried to commit suicide. I stabbed myself in the abdomen and had to be rushed into emergency surgery where the doctor barely saved my life. I have the scar from the stab wound but I also have the huge surgery scar that has made me feel even more self conscious and honestly ... ugly. It has taken many years to try to train my mind to not think that way, but it comes natural to me to put myself down. Not but a little over a year after that, I ended up losing our first child. The one thing that my body is supposed to be able to do, the one person that my body is supposed to create and protect ... it failed. I failed. My body couldn't keep my own child alive. That is when I really started to hate myself. I felt helpless. Two months later, I got married .... to a man who not too much later became abusive and cheated on me. If my own husband can't even love me, how can I love myself? The abuse and cheating went on for years and I ended up divorcing him in 2014. I felt like I had nothing going for me. I failed in my marriage and I had failed as a mother. I still felt trapped but by my own emotions. I felt worthless for so long that I didn't know how to think differently. But I have ended up getting stronger and trying to reset my mind and way of thinking to learn to give myself plenty of patience and some much needed grace. But one reason why I have done multiple sessions with Katie is because I still struggle some with suicidal thoughts and how I feel disgusted with myself and how I have "let myself go" in how much weight I have gained.

All of this has been what has caused me to have the view of myself that I have. I have slowly been changing that and by some happy circumstance, I was led to Katie. I had always wanted to do a boudoir photoshoot but it would have been for my husband. After learning about what Katie does, I knew that this had go be for myself. I needed this for ME.

I was quite nervous going into my first session as I had never done anything like this before. Jessica helped pamper me with doing my makeup and hair and then Katie helped make me feel comfortable and sexy as I was doing the photoshoot. She gives you great directions and suggestions on what poses to do and let's you rock it in your own style. She helps make it comfortable and you end up having more fun than you imagined. I love all the kinds of different props that can be used and the different colored backgrounds that help give a different vibe to each look. So not only is it fantastic to be in lingerie and feel drop dead gorgeous, you have a photographer who brings you in as a client but then you end up leaving as a friend. To me, that is one of the most valuable things that I have taken away from these photoshoots. Katie is so encouraging and caring in real life and it spills out into her photography. She puts care and love into each of her clients's sessions and photographs. And when you see the finished products, you will be in awe of the fact that it is YOU in those pictures. It is YOU in that lingerie looking sexy, beautiful, gorgeous and worthy. YOU!

These sessions and pictures help keep me motivated to pursue better for myself mentally and emotionally. It is an encourager and a confidence booster. This was the starter to my self love journey and has helped me so much. If this can help me in the way that I needed, I know that it can help you too.

Emily {A Boudoir Story}

For so many years I wanted to do a boudoir session and I never had the confidence in myself to even attempt it. The past 5 years have been the most life changing years I have ever been through, not in a good way. I was destroyed mentally and emotionally for years until I finally said enough. I started from the bottom twice, lost everything and I have finally begun to stand on my feet again. During that time I gained excessive amount of weight, stopped taking car of myself and dove head first into work and making sure my two daughters were taken care of.

Then came 2020... I was on my feet and things were finally falling into place but I needed to focus on myself. In March, I was diagnosed with two forms of cervical cancer and that lead to a hysterectomy in July. I was upset but I did what was best. During this time I began working on myself and pushing myself to be better. I have lost 40lbs so far, I make sure to put on makeup everyday and I make my bed every morning (I know a lot of people do, but I never did, and the difference it makes is amazing). I constantly push myself to do better even when I am ready to give up.

Through all of this I started to love the person I saw in the mirror again... and it had been a long time. I scheduled my boudoir session with Katie after I saw a posting from her on Facebook. I figured, why not? I had such a great time and Katie made the experience great!

Miss Y {A Boudoir Mini Story}

I have been contemplating to come to Katie for a shoot for a while now. I decided to make the jump and schedule a mini session so I could see if I’d like to do a full and as a Christmas gift for my boyfriend. I’m in the military, train dogs, and go to school for engineering so my normal day look is a messy bun, leggings, and a hoodie or my uniform. I’ve never thought of myself as beautiful, hot, sexy, etc but Katie made me feel so at ease and comfortable.

I was highly impressed how proficient she is and how many amazing photos she was able to capture in such a small time. I love my photos so much I bought more on top of what was included! The icing on the cake though was seeing my boyfriends face Christmas morning. He was speechless and just smiling and couldn’t muster up words just the ability to hold and kiss me til he could say how happy he was. So thank you Katie for helping me feel like my old self again and making it a Christmas that’ll be hard to beat!

My Why

Today I’d like to talk a little bit about our “why”. You know the one. Why do people choose to have their boudoir pictures taken. Most of them are summed up in a few words, “For a gift,” “Because I’m turning 40 (or 20 or 80!),” “Because I want to feel sexy after (insert event here).” But I’m here to tell you my story today because even if you can sum it up like that, it always, always goes so much further than that. So, so much further.

For me, my why is very hard to admit, especially on a public site, especially with my profession of uplifting women, especially because I still sometimes slip back into my old ways of thought. It’s a story of self worth and where I think I lost it and how I got it back, but still sometimes struggle, and that’s ok. Back story: This past spring, my boyfriend of 4 years and I broke up. I have been devastated and feeling unworthy because of it, but honestly, it goes way farther back than that.

Mom, Dad, stop reading now and move on along to another blog post please.

The breakup wasn’t what did it though. To be perfectly honest, in terms of where I lost my self worth, it was years prior. We were no longer intimate and as every lady knows, that means trouble. Was it his bad work schedule, was it the weight I gained, was it just because it became routine? Who knows, but y’all, I blamed myself SO HARD. There were so many questions. Was I not pretty enough, was I not good enough in bed, was I not trying hard enough. Obviously he was still capable. I thought every awful thing I could think of. I had gained weight, I hardly wore any makeup or did my hair, I wore sweat pants in the house instead of cute things, he didn’t love me anymore, he just wasn’t interested, he was finding it somewhere else. It was all because of me, or so I told myself. Don’t we always do that, ladies? Go to the worst case scenario and place all the blame on ourselves and none where it might belong? And it’s most heartbreaking because NONE OF THAT MATTERS. Literally none of it. And I can’t stand myself because I 100% believe that each of my clients is beautiful right where she is in her journey but I couldn’t see myself like that. I had lost that belief in myself, that I was worth anything at all.

Yep, that’s right. Me, the one who yells “YAS QUEEN” during sessions and helps people of all shapes, ages, colors and sizes find their groove. Me, the one who genuinely can’t wait to show women how sexy they are when they don’t believe it. Me, the one who does everything I can to uplift people I don’t even know. I didn’t see myself as anything worth having. FOR YEARS y’all. Even after I was out of the toxic environment, it didn’t help. I’m not 20 anymore, there weren’t men lined up around the block waiting to be with me, and the ones who were there were young and dumb or were only looking for a quick lay (…men right…). Nobody magically started telling me I was beautiful and worthy and so my negative self talk continued right along. It was as if my self worth was tied so directly to whether boys wanted to sleep with me that I had forgotten literally everything else about myself.

So, one day I was helping my amazing and talented friend Anna with her mini sessions and during some down time, I was telling her about this new dress that I had gotten for the studio. A dress for some other beautiful girl who was pretty and had confidence and was ready to rock it. Not a dress for me, the one that nobody wants, the one that had on no makeup, hadn’t brushed her hair that day and was 110% not ready to be in front of the camera. She told me to go home, get the dress and come back, she had an opening and wanted it to be me. I cried. Not right then, but on the way home to get the dress, I cried because I didn’t have time to call my makeup artist and get my face taken care of. I cried because I couldn’t shower and curl my hair. I cried because I felt like I was wasting her time and they were all just going to go in the trash because I was so not prepared.

And y’all, with only some foundation and eyeliner hastily and clumsily put on (and then cried off a little bit), with hair that I tried to curl but failed, with a dress that I didn’t feel skinny in…I’m a FUCKING GODDESS. How did I EVER let men (or anyone for that matter) determine my self worth like that? How did I lose myself so completely to the negative self talk and blame for things that were totally out of my control? Why did I think that not wearing makeup and a few extra pounds took away all of the amazing things that I have to offer? I’m so much more than my body, and while I still struggle with the mirror and doubt sometimes, this body is AMAZING and I’m so thankful for friends that remind me of myself. Check out more of her work here.

So, I want to hear it. What’s your “why”? The real one, not the cliff notes version.

Miss A. {A Boudoir Story}

A short and sweet anonymous blog is up for you today! There’s nothing more heartwarming than people trusting me from a google search! No connection, no friend recommendations, just purely about my work. <3

This was a spontaneous decision for me. I decided it was something I wanted to do, did a google search, found Katie, and booked within a couple of days.

I had a moment of uncertainty, like 'do I really want to pay money to just have pictures of me?' But, I have to say, that I am so happy that I did.

Day to day, I am very low key.. very minimal makeup, nikes, and jeans, that’s me. Looking at my photos, it almost feels like looking at a different person. I was so happy with the end results and know that I will keep these pictures forever!! I recommend this experience for everyone.

Naomi {A Boudoir Story}

If you would have told me that at 8 months pregnant that I would be doing a sexy boudoir shoot I would have told you that you were crazy. I've struggled with how I look and being this pregnant on top of it really just made my anxiety at an all time high with doing this shoot. Actually, I had a bit of a panic attack on the way to the shoot!

Of course when I got there Katie made me feel so welcomed and just so comfortable that my worries just kinda started to melt away. Granted, getting your make up done and hair to look so on point helps a girl feel 100 times better too! Now when I started that anxiety did try to come back, it’s always the what if's that try to creep into your brain saying to yourself, "You’re not feeling sexy enough" or the one that happened with me is "This belly is all in the way".

Katie being the wonderful human she is however was just so encouraging and even would show me a few shots of myself telling me how sexy I did actually look and wow! I did look sexy! I started to really feel myself in those moments which made me so elated! Now I will say moving from pose to pose being 8 months pregnant was no easy task but Katie was more than willing to help me get situated every time, which was great because we would just crack jokes about it.

When I got the pictures back from the shoot I was absolutely blown away! I just thought to myself, "Look at this amazing beautiful pregnant body that I have!". Seeing myself in that light made me realize that I could look sexy even being 8 months pregnant. I cried when seeing them because I needed that positive reassurance, I am a mother but I am still a beautiful strong woman. She made the whole experience for me one of the best and I really cant stress that enough.

I've already been on a bragging spree to any of my friends that will listen to me! Do boudoir, do it at whatever point you are in your life and I promise you that you will feel so much confidence from seeing your beauty, strength, and raw power in your sexuality and every woman deserves that in her life.

Lindsey {A Boudoir Story}

I never thought I would have the confidence to do a photoshoot. Especially one where I was wearing nothing! I have struggled with body image and self love for most of my life. I have always compared myself to others and wondered why I couldn't measure up. Kids to adults have been cruel throughout my life. I have had many people try to bring me down for different reasons from my teeth before braces to my weight changes.

I have struggled with eating disorders, depression, anxiety and self harm. I have to choose every day to fight to rise above it and have realized life is more than trying to fit in and measuring up to a certain "standard". I also reaIized the standards I've had for myself are unrealistic because everyone is unique in their own way.

Another thing I've struggled with is different health issues from 9 years old being diagnosed with a thyroid disease and at age 25 being diagnosed with bells palsy. Dealing with this has honestly made it hard to not lose confidence in myself but I try everyday to be positive, take care of myself and love myself because if you don't love yourself and see yourself as positive its hard to do the same for others.

I randomly did this shoot with Katie because I wanted a special Christmas gift to my husband. I felt nervous about it at first because I was afraid how big my body would look or if my nerves started spasming in my face how funny I would look. But after seeing the pictures I smiled and looked at myself differently seeing my beauty that Katie captured made me feel good. I would highly recommend Katie, she is so sweet and makes you feel comfortable and gorgeous and takes amazing pictures!

Mary {A Boudoir Story}

A short and sweet blog post for you today. I always tell my clients that this experience is all about THEM. It’s about breaking down all those barriers and misconceptions that women hold onto so tightly. While society is getting better about showing people of all sizes and abilities in advertising, it still highlights the need to be “skinny” or “have perfect large perky boobs” or whatever attribute that is socially most attractive at that time in history. It makes it super hard to be confident about ourselves no matter what our body type is because we always focus on what we think that we lack.

While most of my clients still come into the studio thinking that they are giving a gift to someone else, it ALWAYS becomes a gift to themselves as well. The images might make a great gift to a significant other, but the EXPERIENCE is all about you, about making you feel smoking hot in the body that you’re in, about embracing your “flaws” and highlighting the things that make you you.

Without further ado - I give you Mary: “I thought I was doing this for my husband's big birthday that's coming up. I think it was actually more for me! I felt so beautiful and the photos turned out so amazing! I'm thrilled I decided to do this for us. It will be something I can look back on for years to come.”

Jessica {A Journey to Self-Love}

Breasts. It seems in our society, that's what defines a woman. They've been used to sell everything from lingerie to burgers. They command attention and seem to determine rank amongst your peers. I've never had them, I should know. I spent the majority of my life being self conscious about being less than "endowed". I've heard "but you have this or that" but it still didn't change how I felt about my body. It wasn't until I was in my 30s that I realized it didn't matter. I didn't have to let boobs (or lack thereof) define me. I started to accept myself and love myself.

Then everything changed. It started with a lump in my right breast. Luckily, benign. Not so for my sister. Hundreds of miles apart, I was getting good news while she was getting the worst news- she had stage 4 breast cancer, triple negative. No treatment, no chance of recovery. The aggressive nature and inability to treat with conventional methods made her battle short lived. She passed a week before her birthday. My life was forever changed.

How did this happen? Why? She was so young. No one had answers, just more questions. What's your family history? You need genetic testing. You have a genetic mutation, what are you going to do? It was dizzying. I couldn't even handle the information. It looks months (and a lot of self examination) to decide on a prophylactic mastectomy. Then I literally had no boobs. And I couldn't do simple tasks like showering or dressing myself or brushing my hair. Talk about a hit to my self esteem. But I knew I did what I needed to do, and the support I had was invaluable.

I had always admired Katie's work and had always wanted to work with her. I finally booked a shoot, mid-reconstruction. In this body that doesn't even feel like my own? With these awful tissue expanders where breasts once were? After I've laid around for months in recovery, eating Chinese takeout and not even considering a workout? Was I crazy??? Nope. I cried when I saw my pictures. I felt so beautiful and so proud of myself.

All the nervousness I had before the shoot was uncalled for. Katie made me feel amazing (and her artist made me look amazing!) My scars are beautiful. They will forever remind me that I got to live. What better gift can you ask for? I still have another surgery to go, and I may never feel whole, but I'll learn to love myself again. Beauty comes from the inside, not from having a perfect body. Thank you Katie, for helping me and so many other women see that

Daily Choice Recap

With fall quickly approaching, it is time to reflect on the year so far and plan for 2019 (scary, I know!) As much as I'm not looking forward to winter, I do love this time of the year for my business. I'm such a planner and the process of analyzing how my business is doing, what's working and what isn't is such a therapeutic process for me. I love to plan out new things for future years and try to be the best that I can for my clients.

This is also my time of year to give thanks, for my clients, for the groups that encourage me so much, for my mentors and friends who stick by me and help me to grow out of my comfort zone. Today I'm especially thankful looking back at all of my Daily Choice Awards from AIBP (a boudoir association full of some of the most AMAZING boudoir photographers around the country). It's amazing to think that some of my images are listed among the talent that is found in this group. Below is a trip through the year of awards.

Thank you all for being a part of my journey, my passion, and my life.