My Boudoir Journey

Oida Images Boudoir
Feb 24, 2016
3 min read

Four years ago, when I was planning my wedding, I went to a bridal show with my mom. We walked from booth to booth sampling cake, and chatting about flowers. There were a zillion photographers there, and just when I was about to walk past another photography booth, something caught my eye. It was a little black book filled with bridal boudoir, and it was beautiful! But... weddings are crazy expensive, and I knew that I didn't have one single penny to spare in my budget, so I walked away.

My mother and I continued to chat and I mentined something to her about wishing I could do a photoshoot like that. I wish you guys could have seen the look on her face. It was a look only a mama can give, and it said "Are you out of your mind???" She said "Is that really what you want your grandkids finding in your attic when you die?" I thought about that, and I guess it sounded like a reasonable argument. Was that something I wanted my grandkids seeing? And who else might see it? My conservative upbringing won out, and I let it go.

Flash forward three years.

It's 2014, and a lot has changed! I got married, moved to Mississippi, had a baby, and was loving life as a stay at home mom. One day, a few of the girls from my Zumba class started talking about BOUDOIR. My ears perked up at the word. I had thought about boudoir photos from time to time over the years, but the reasons not to always outweighed the idea that it might be fun. I was busy. I couldn't afford it. It was scary! I was working hard to lose the baby weight, but I was not where I wanted to be. But I couldn't help but join in the conversation at the gym that day.

I started looking up boudoir photography online, and there I found gold. It was an absolute turning point for me. I read an article written by a woman who had tried boudoir for the first time. It said:

"I'm only going to be this young, this healthy, this beautiful right now. When I die, and my grandkids are cleaning out my attic, I hope they find my boudoir photos and think 'dang! Grandma used to be hott!' I am so glad I captured this side of myself to live on when I'm gone."

I couldn't believe what I was reading! It had never occured to me that anyone could make my grandkids finding photos of me in lingerie into a positive thing. But there it was.

A few weeks later, I found myself looking at my budget, trying to figure out where I could cut corners to save up enough money to surprise my husband with boudoir photos for Valentine's Day. I booked a session at a boudoir marathon with my two friends from Zumba, and that was that.

The day of the shoot I was all nerves. I gossiped and laughed through hair and makeup, trying to push my nerves aside, but I thought I couldn't possibly look sexy behind the giant wall that was my lack of confidence. Boy, was I wrong! A few weeks later, when I saw my pictures, I was in love! My photographer did a great job of putting me at ease, and even though I felt like I didn't know what I was doing, that didn't transfer into my images at all. I looked at them and felt beautiful and sexy! I couldn't wait to give them to my husband for Valentine's Day, and I could not beleive it had taken me so long to suck it up, and book a session.

I walked away from that experience with two things that changed my life. The first was confidence in myself that I hadn't experienced in a long time. And the second? I walked away with the desire and the drive to make every single woman I encounter feel that amazing about THEMSELVES! So after 11 months of research, and dedicated practice, I launched my own boudoir brand. I am absolutely thrilled to be in a postion to remind gorgeous women like YOU of your worth, your spontenaity, and your beauty, one photshoot at a time.

See you in the studio!