The Healing Benefits of Having Yourself Photographed

The Healing Benefits of Having Yourself Photographed

The beginning of Affirmation Sessions

Several years ago, I started noticing clients approaching me before, during or after personal life changes, wanting to document their growth or use photography as a mental health boost. The concepts were so unique and creative, but all had one thing in common: they were choosing to book a photo session to celebrate themselves. Boom, Affirmation Sessions were created.

The Research Behind Having Yourself Photographed…

Research shows the benefits of viewing photos of yourself, and some therapists actually use “Therapeutic Photography” methods to supplement their regular therapy sessions. Judy Weiser has spent 25 years putting her “Photo Therapy” into her practice, I recommend reading through her techniques on her website if you are interested! Portraiture can be a powerful way to document and celebrate the amazing journey that you are on, whether that be with your body, your heart, your family or your career.

An Inspiring Example of Healing Yourself Through Photography

Today I want to highlight one client in particular, Pauline. This was such a powerful shoot for me to be a part of, and it really solidified WHY I choose to do Affirmation sessions. Sometimes a boudoir, branding, or creative portrait shoot just doesn’t reach far enough. Sometimes my clients need a healing opportunity led by a neutral third party. Disclosure: I am not a trained therapist (yet), just an empathetic soul who is passionate about people. I want all my clients to reach as far as they can in every direction and feel for the parts of themselves that they love, and start building upon those things.

Photoshoot for Mental Health

Pauline came to the table with inspiration from foreign music videos, from old 60’s animations about shapes (see here and here), from modern 2d geometric painters… it was all so avante garde and inspiring, I was so thrilled! Creativity is an incredible healer, connector, and it's just FUN. Pauline had plenty of ideas and inspiration, but was also totally open to mine. She had direction and excitement for her concept, but also loved input into how to translate things into a photo shoot. She was specific but not overbearing. Even with the makeup artist we hired (shoutout to Linko Macklem!), I had Pauline draw an idea of what shapes she wanted on her face, but she was very persistent in telling the makeup artist to do what inspired her and to have fun with it. 

The Reason Why

A few days before the shoot Pauline and I had a craft day. Armed with all the materials we could find, we built the props together while snacking on pizza and listening to music. For a typical client I would have done this on my own, but knowing how artistic she was, I gave her the option of helping build the scene and she accepted enthusiastically! I really got to know her better also, after our craft date I felt so much closer to her personally and really got to know who she was and why she was doing the shoot. She was excited that she had a recent win at work, and she had always wanted to do a creative shoot for herself. She was splurging on herself. She graciously shared so many wonderful reasons that I will keep close to my heart. She knew she would love the photos for years to come and they would help her appreciate herself more. So many great reasons to dote on oneself!!

Celebrating Your Body, Overcoming Trauma, and the Creative Soul

During the shoot the conversation topics flowed: overcoming trauma, celebrating her body, letting her creative soul lead, giving into her truest self, sharing her innermost creativity with the world, letting her visuals speak for her... She said "I want to be like a statue in a geometric rose garden", I was taken aback by her openness and was so grateful to be a conduit for her. I never force topics or conversations from clients and I ask them beforehand (in my questionnaires) if there are any topics we should avoid. My goal is to make an Affirmation shoot a safe space where any emotion is welcome, and by documenting the different feelings we acknowledge them, give them space and feel the power to move through them to the other side of healing.

The Legacy of having yourself photographed

Having the photos for years to come, I hope she can look back and remember how much of a wonderfully creative inspiring badass she is, and that she deserves to let her creative voice speak!

Booking a Boudoir Shoot? Here's What You Need to Ask Yourself...

I am going to let you in on something: everything changed for me when I started sending out boudoir questionnaires before all of my boudoir sessions, and here’s why:

It gave my clients time to reflect, recognize their growth, and open up to me. I got an inside look at their worldview.

Ideally, after I book a client, I will email them this questionnaire before we meet for a zoom consultation session so I can get to know them a bit better, and make the most out of their zoom consult time. I also want to get these questions fleshed out to be able to save time for new ideas and questions.

If you are a potential boudoir client reading this, welcome!! Allow these questions to take you on a journey inside your future shoot, and always keep your boundaries in mind. Think about where you’re at with your body right now, and if you are not yet ready to get to a place of appreciation, let’s work towards a place of neutrality. You are so much more than your body. Boudoir can heal that rift between what we THINK we should look like, and having grace and joy for what we physically present. What matters is that you are here, thinking about documenting your physical presence, and that takes strength and courage and a whole lot of fun brainstorming, and I am elated that you are thinking about it. I hope the experience is everything you hoped for and more, and that you look at the photos afterwards and go “ok, damn. I see myself now. I am amazing.”

If you are a photographer reading this, I just want to say: your list of questions might look a lot different than this. You may want to take this and add or subtract to it, but overall I just want you to make it your own! Think about your boudoir sessions and how you want to get to know your clients. Keep in mind you want to value your clients time, as well.

Don’t forget you can always reach out to me if you’re in the greater Seattle area (I work everywhere from Bellevue to Port Orchard to Eastern Washington. I don’t mind traveling and I love meeting new people).

So! Without further ado, I give you my Boudoir Questionnaire!

You:

• What are your main goals with this boudoir session? What is the “why”?

• Any words of inspiration we can aim for when shooting?

• What are your favorite features about your body?

• Where would you say you are on the journey to self acceptance?

• Would you like to share something you are proud of that your body has done for you?

• Think about using this session as a way to get to know yourself and your body, even a healing opportunity. Are there any words of affirmations we can say while shooting? 

• Is there anything you want me to know about your journey with your gender or sexual identity? Do you want to explore those dynamics visually?

• Is there anything you want me to know about you and/or your body? Anything you want to highlight or hide in photos? Anything you want me to edit out? blemishes, stretch marks, scars?)

• Is there anything else you want me to know about you?

Questions about your style and aesthetic:

• Do you prefer a more even toned, softer aesthetic? Or a high-contrast, deep shadows, crispier aesthetic?

• Do you have any visuals you want to share that really encompass your style/vibe/look? Movies, music videos, abstract art, sculpture, a muse, etc?

• Are you drawn to any particular textures, materials, or elements? Ex: bubbles, paint, smoke, dirt, netting, saran wrap, honey, powder, water, light patterns, fire, leather, mirrors, wax, etc.

• Which past decade do you most relate to?

• If you could own any piece of art to display in your home, what would it be?

The shoot:

• What type of look/feel do you want to encompass? Boudoir is wonderfully broad, so we can go in a lot of different directions: moody/fun, pinup/realistic, day/night, indoor/outdoor etc. We can start narrowing down your boudoir style by putting together a mood board! (feel free to pin photos that aren’t even boudoir! If you like the vibe, put it in there. These visuals are so that I can get a better feel for your style and preferences.)

• Location: Do you want to shoot in your home or would you rather book an Airbnb or Photography Studio? If shooting at home, let's chat about locations within your home, backgrounds, bedding, curtains, etc... 

• Do you want to hire a hair and makeup artist?

• What is the date/time we are thinking of starting? Let’s make sure to factor in hair and makeup, setup time, and if we are going for a natural light look.

• What is your overall budget?

• Do you want to sign an optional model release? The photos and behind-the-scenes videos will be used in my marketing materials so that more people can see how a boudoir shoot with me works!
  
  

-Courtney