Boudoir; often mis spelt as buodoir, budoir, bodoir, boudior is a branch off of portrait photography but the image gives a more sensual and sexy feel than traditional portraiture. It doesn’t have to mean lingerie, high heels, stockings or full nudity. It can be whatever you need it to be and taken to a level of comfort that you have. If lingerie is your jam then I’m happy to photograph you in it. But if you just want to dip a toe into boudoir you might feel comfortable wearing our in studio white shirt instead which covers you up entirely, or using a white sheet to keep yourself more hidden. There are so many ways to incorporate boudoir into your photo sessions. So I thought I’d let you know what boudoir at Donna Duke-Llande Photography looks like:

1. It’s a way to feel empowered and to appreciate your feminine form. They did it in the Greek and Roman days, and it’s time to bring that appreciation back for all female body types.

2. It’s something that’s done just for you. It’s an incredible feeling knowing that you’ve done something out of your comfort zone, and while you might gift the image to a partner we all know it’s really something for you.

3. It’s about being a bit more sensual in the imagery than traditional portraits. It’s about looking classy and creating something artistic that you will love.

4. It’s about showing a bit of skin, but how much depends on you. The pose is just as important as the outfit and actually a jumper with the shoulder pulled down can be boudoir and just as sexy as being fully nude or in an incredible lace bodysuit.

5. Your comfort is paramount and that’s why I work with an all female team who will make you feel comfortable throughout. We can close the set down if you prefer to just you and myself but rest assured your comfort always comes first.

6. Boudoir can be part of your photoshoot if you want to try it. It doesn’t have to be the whole session.

Valentine’s Day is always an interesting date on the calendar isn’t it?

It’s the first proper event day as such on the calendar after Christmas, and it happens during the hardest few months of the year. Those months where we cling to any form of excitement because the dark days are long, cold and bitter. So even if we don’t actually intend to celebrate Valentine’s Day there’s no denying that it is a date that slowly creeps in.

The frustrating thing about Valentine’s Day is that it traditionally relies upon us being validated by someone else. And as lovely as that can be, it’s actually very damaging. Because what about those of us that don’t have partners? or those of us who feel forgotten on Valentine’s Day. Those of us that are going through difficult life issues and then feeling the pressure of this particular day looming?

Which is why for many years I’ve realised that Valentine’s Day should be about yourself. It should be about reconnecting with who you are and learning to love her and see her value. Nobody should validate who you are. Only you need to validate yourself.

A lot of how we feel about ourselves comes from the way we portray ourselves to the world. If we’re having a ‘good’ day we feel happier and more confident, but if we’re having a day where we feel less than comfortable it’s really hard to love ourselves during those moments. If those bad moments last a long time it really starts to affect us mentally.

As we get older and our bodies adjust and change it can be hard for many of us to love what looks back at us in the mirror. After all we’re bombarded daily by celebrities and models that have that ‘perfect’ body type. 

But let’s be honest, if you’re alive then your body is absolutely perfect in all senses of the word. It doesn’t matter if there’s a little wobbly bit here or there. Or you have a scar that runs along it. Or you have stretch marks. Or your boobs aren’t quite in the same place they were in your 20’s.  And yes while those celeb bodies might look amazing in magazines, we don't actually know what body hang ups they have themselves that we're unaware of.  

For those of you that have come in to see me, I've no doubt shared my post kids tummy with you- I like to show you that we all have parts of us we don't like.  Outwardly I look fairly petite and small but I have a body that will never wear a bikini ever again! But actually it doesn't matter and I've come to accept that part of me- although it took a long time.   

Your body will and does change, and it will continue to do so to keep you alive, well and healthy.

And you need to love it and yourself the entire time, not just on Valentine’s Day. But make this the Valentine’s Day where you step out of your comfort zone and really see yourself. Embrace just how wondrous and beautiful you truly are. Just like my gorgeous client did in this image which we took as part of the 40 over 40 project. She wanted to step out of her comfort zone and to see her body properly so she could learn to let go of the negative thoughts she has had over it for many years.

Every time she starts to think badly about herself this image is there for her to remind herself how incredible, brave, resilient and beautiful she truly is.