Brooke booked a session with me because she wanted to have a contemporary glamour portrait of herself that her daughter would cherish once the little girl was older. Brooke has such an image from her own mother and she understands it’s important to exist in photographs for the ones you love. But she also wanted to do a boudoir session to celebrate her life as it is now—she recently lost weight, ran a marathon, and got divorced.
I’m sure you know by now that I start all of my boudoir sessions with my clients fully clothed so they DO have portraits they can give to their children, and most clients want to start their session wearing the included dress rental (Brooke was no exception).
Below you’ll find Brooke’s client interview. Now, you’ll only find two images from her session in this blog post because, as I’m also sure you know by now, my clients are the one who decide what I can share publicly, and Brooke asked that the majority of her images remain private.
Please read through her responses to her interview, and if you find you can relate to her, please contact me today to schedule a consult.
Before | Shannon Hemauer Photography
How long have you been wanting to do a boudoir/contemporary glamour session and what made you decide now was the time to do one?
I have always admired these photos and thought they might be amazing to do. It was probably the last three or so years that I really thought, ‘You know, I’d like to do this one day’ and with recent weight loss, a race accomplishment, and a divorce, I thought it was now or never. I had also wanted to capture a timeless portrait to gift to my daughter for some time as I have one of my late mother (old-school Glamour Shots) and grandmother and I’d like to collect the women in her life.
What made you decide Shannon Hemauer was the photographer to work with to do your boudoir/contemporary glamour session?
Shannon’s name and reviews were the first thing that I read and what popped up when I googled ‘boudoir photos in Central PA.’ I wanted my photos to be classy and timeless. After visiting her website and speaking with her, I had no doubts about working with her or going anywhere else.
What was your favorite part out of the entire experience? The planning, the session, the reveal?
Hmm, my favorite part was the session and laughing with Shannon, Nath, and Dianna, as well as along with the reveal and being blown away by the images.
Did you leave your session worried about your hair/makeup (Maybe you thought the makeup was too dark or your hair didn’t look like you.)?
I definitely got home and looked at the makeup and thought ‘Wow, this was a lot of makeup,’ and wondered if it would even look like me or if I would look years older than I am. I never wear lipstick so I was intrigued to see how that would look in the photos. I only wish that I had been better prepared with decent makeup remover for afterwards.
Did you leave your session worried that the posing felt awkward?
The posing didn’t feel super awkward to me and it wasn’t too much of a worry.
What were you more nervous about–the session or the reveal?
I think I was more nervous about the session when I first got there but literally the nerves disappeared after about 15 minutes. Going to the reveal was exciting!
Did you arrive to the reveal worried if you’d like your images?
A little bit. That self-doubt creeped in and I wondered if I would like the images or if I would be disappointed and look ordinary.
What did you think when you saw that first image of yourself?
‘Wow, oh my gosh. I look amazing and powerful and I can’t believe that’s me.’ Its definitely empowering to see a beautiful photo of yourself because we often zoom in on our problem areas and criticize ourselves and someone capturing your full beauty makes you realize that others see you quite differently in the world.
If you had been worried about the hair/makeup/posing, did you like what you saw in your portraits?
The makeup looked great—definitely a lot but looked great with the outfits and images.
How did shooting this session with Shannon Hemauer change your outlook on yourself? Are you more confident?
Confidence increased 100%. I can see how far I’ve come and how proud I am. I am able to use these photos to show others in my life you can be beautiful at all sizes and stages and love yourself.
Before this experience, did you feel you were photogenic? If no, do you feel you are photogenic now?
Ehhh, I don’t know about photogenic. I love to smile and with that, my squinty eyes tend to close, so I don’t know how photogenic I was with a regular camera. I have learned helpful tips for beautiful future photos from Shannon.
Before this experience, what concerns did you have in regards to hiring a photographer?
I didn’t really have any.
Were you surprised at how much fun you had planning your session, shooting your session, and seeing your images?
I didn’t expect to be so emotionally blown away at the reveal and that took me back a bit. Doing this for myself was worth it.
Why should other women do a boudoir/contemporary glamour session with Shannon Hemauer Photography?
Because they won’t regret it. Because it is empowering. Because Shannon and her team are experts at what they do and they care wholeheartedly about the person and their individual journey through this process.
Is there anything I could have done to improve upon your experience?
Nope 🙂
A big thank you to my lead stylist, Nath Kreider, and of course to my assistant, Dianna, for assisting.
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