Welcome to my Boudoir blog! For my first post, I figured I would share what got me into boudoir photography and why I am so passionate about it.
Anyone who knows me knows my biggest passions revolve around human sexuality and healthy living. While my college degrees did not center around these (there wasn’t a human sexuality degree when I attended the University of California Santa Barbara. If there were, I would have earned several at the rate I was going!), I learned a tremendous amount and grew significantly as a person during my university undergrad. Partially responsible for this growth were my Sex and Relationships Peer Health Internship, writing for UCSB’s comprehensive sex-education website (www.sexinfoonline.com), grading for UCSB’s human sexuality course, and my mentors and instructors, Janice and John Baldwin. Thanks to these experiences, as well as my degrees in Communication and Sociology, I not only deepened my knowledge about sexuality and health, but also learned more about myself. I learned how to communicate more effectively with those around me, how to empower myself and others, as well as the importance of living in the moment. Some of the most important things I learned include active listening, compassionate communication, understanding the roots of jealousy, the true meaning of feminism and to eliminate ‘fat talk’ from my vocabulary and life. I have an immense desire to help people build their self-esteem, as I am a true believer that people who have high self-worth are happier, and make better partners and friends. I believe people with good, healthy self-esteem are not afraid to make mistakes, because they understand mistakes are necessary for personal growth. Boudoir photos are an opportunity to celebrate your self and your body, and to show appreciation for it. Due to the daily images society bombards us with, many of us end up being incredibly hard on our bodies, and easily forget all the great things our body does for us. My purpose is to create a safe and fun environment. To pamper you, to celebrate your accomplishments, highlight your strengths and navigate through your weaknesses. To nix the negativity and embrace the moment, and capture you as you are in the present moment. Part of the pampering includes a phenomenal hair and make-up team, and a great photographer to capture all your best angles and features. I found something that combines my deep interests and my creativity into one art form when I began photographing boudoir almost a decade ago. I hope you join me in a journey of self-discovery, exploration and fun. Here’s to strength, unabashed confidence and sensuality. And to being unapologetically human.
Xoxo, Karen P.S. Since it would be unfair to talk the talk and not walk the walk, here’s an image from my own personal boudoir session...
Thank you to Nicole Wasko Photography for this image.
