The Sweetest Love Note

“When I decided to become a boudoir photographer in 2011, I found Stacie’s website. She became someone to aspire to shoot like. Her work has a quality unlike any other photographer–it’s the lighting, the posing, the pure attitude she’s able to coax out of all sorts of women, a certain magic. On top of that, she was kind to me, answering some technical questions about lighting by message. So many other photographers were completely the opposite. She was obviously good people as well as an amazing photographer.

In 2012 I found myself as her friend through a series of Facebook groups. And when I hung out with her during a photography conference in Vegas, I learned she is one of the most caring, sweetest, funniest people I know. We’ve become good friends, and I love her dearly.

Over the years, I have made a bucket list of photographers who I want to be photographed by. Stacie was at the top of my list. When I finally booked a session with her, I wanted to make it special. I wanted to do it for the right reason, not just because I was in Vegas for a photography conference.

Fast forward a few years, and I did not feel good about myself. At all. I was almost 49. I was 30 pounds overweight. My husband and I had been through a lot. My teenage daughter and I had been through a lot. Hell, I had been through a lot in the previous few years … all of which had zapped my energy and my connection to myself. I just didn’t feel sexy any more. I felt old and fat and frumpy. It was time to reconnect with myself through a boudoir shoot. That can sound counterintuitive, but I know through my own work that boudoir photography sessions are a gateway drug to self love. I needed to love myself again, and to have the physical proof that I was not all of the bad things I said to myself.

This boudoir session was just for me. I didn’t even let my husband weigh in on my outfits. I barely told him I was doing it.

I could have booked with anyone local to me, or one of the hundreds of other boudoir photographers I know. It had to be Stacie. And she blew me away. I knew she would. That’s why she was at the top of my bucket list.

Part of Stacie’s magic is her inherent ability to see the woman in front of her camera and pull out those things she may not see herself. Her beauty, her sexuality, her fierceness. She certainly did this for me. Being photographed by her reminded me that I am all of these things, and more. She allowed me to be silly, too (which is also part of me). When I picked my photos, I selected one silly shot from every set we did. My favorite: One where she is reflected in the mirror. We are both cracking up. It is a photo I will never forget.

She also captured one of the most beautiful photos I’ve ever had. I’m in the huge soaker tub, and it shows off my curves and both of my tattoos–which are deeply meaningful to me. The fact that she even got this shot is a testament to her technical abilities because I kept sliding around. That photo is now on a 16×24 metal in my master bath.

The other day, about 6 months after my shoot, I was feeling like crap about myself again. I pulled out my album, and slowly went through it. The fact that I am sexy as fuck hit me hard. I am beautiful. I am almost 50 now, and I am vibrant. It’s one thing to love your photos for the first few weeks you have them. It’s quite another to put them away for a while, then be blown away again.

Stacie is a pleasure to have as my friend. These photos she made with me, of me, are one of the greatest gifts anyone has ever given me.”