ModernGear Women: Boudoir photography for YOU

Once upon a time when I was fearless and confident (to say nothing of about 20 pounds lighter), I was a nude model. Not for nudie mags, but for artists - sketch artists, sculptors and photographers. It barely made my heart rate rise (okay, maybe a little), to doff any stitch of clothing and stand in front of examining eyes for hours at a time. Now, not so much.

A few artifacts remain from that more carefree time in my life, and they serve as reminders of the woman I was before life took over.

(It's difficult to take a photo of a photo, but this is one of my favourites from those days...)

And that happens, doesn't it? Life happens. Mortgages and deadlines happen. Extra pounds happen. Cellulite happens. Wrinkles and lines and sagging happens. So I am happy to have the reminders from a time when I'd already really started living life my way, but before the extra pounds and all that other stuff.

Still, after all these years, I do think I could be brought out of my shell. It might take a bit - a glass of wine, say, and something fun to wear...and definitely, most importantly, the right photographer. Allow me to revel when I say, I think I've found her!

I stumbled across Boudoir by Cathy Empey just last night, and knew immediately this is someone I wanted to get to know, and someone I had to share with you. As the name suggests, Cathy Empey specializes in taking boudoir pictures of women. But these women, her subjects, are not models, they're not actresses - they're real, everyday women.

Women who probably dream, like I do, of feeling and looking carefree, playful, feminine, and sexy.
Cathy's ability to capture a sensuous, playful side of each of her subjects is really a testament to her ability to put a woman she photographs at ease. When you're talking real live, grown women - with our wrinkles and bumps, our shyness and our neuroses (probably borne of the images we are bombarded with of surgically enhanced and photoshop-assisted starlets), that is quite a talent.
But she knows what she practices - Cathy has six kids and decided to start her business after she experienced the magic that happened in a pregnancy photo shoot. She came away with an understanding that a comfortable and fun shoot, and amazing images that are captured can enhance self-confidence and lead to a realization that any body, at any stage, is lovely.
What I think I love the most about Cathy's approach is her web site doesn't say "Get photos done for your man!"...rather, she's all about self-empowerment for women. And something like this, though it would be a lovely gift for your partner, is really all about you.

I'm sold. As soon as I get back to Vancouver (Cathy lives in Langley), I'm booking a shoot. Extra pounds, lumps, wrinkles, and all.