“If you don't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?”…RuPaul

Our daughter is addicted to RuPAUL on the TV so we have heard that expression a thousand times and everytime it resonates in the most powerful way.

Sometimes when we get nervous, we make up excuses not to do something. Of course, for many, the thought of being photographed causes real anxiety so the excuses come thick and fast. ‘Don’t have the time’, ‘Not at my ideal weight right now,’ ‘Not feeling sexy’, ‘don’t have the money’, - Mostly our excuses are just a way of saying, we don’t love ourselves. That RuPaul statement is so true. One of the biggest problems we encounter is that people don’t love themselves, they believe all the negative lies they’ve told themselves over the years, that they’re ‘not good enough’ and then that negativity starts to rub off on the people around them.

Well, we believe a Madison Bou Boudoir Photoshoot can change all that and help you see yourself much more positively ….

10 TOP POSES FOR BOUDOIR ANYBODY CAN DO

The best boudoir poses have one thing in common - They can be done by any woman, any shape, any age, any size!

No matter what the pose, we will help you every step of the way and pose you from your fingertips to your tippy tippy toes.

The poses below work fro pretty much everyone with any body shape but there are a whole load more that work better with certain body shapes more than others. We will pay careful attention to your unique curveswe pay careful attention to your unique curves and work with your natural mobility and flexibility and pose you accordingly. Rest assured you will always be posed to perfection.

Modest Boudoir is a type of photography that celebrates a woman's femininity and sensuality without being overtly sexual.

It's about capturing the beauty and grace of a woman's body without showing too much skin.

Modest boudoir is all about celebrating the woman herself, rather than her body. In truth we photograph all our clients in the style of ‘modest boudoir’ for at least part of the session, often at the start to help ease the initial nerves and sometimes at the end of a Boudoir Session, we might venture outside and wear dresses or get some thing away from the traditional bedroom environment.

How much do you love yourself.?

Specifically the way you look in the mirror?

Do you feel proud and have complete confidence?

Most women we meet don’t have confidence at all. In fact, one of our leading questions is “what do you love about yourself?” and while we may get plenty of personality traits “I’m kind, generous a good mum`” etc, we rarely get our clients loving physical attributes. “ I love my legs” “breasts” etc.

When I compliment Jayne and say how beautiful she is (Which is everyday) she almost laughs it off and changes the subject. Why do women do this?

Women find it very difficult accepting compliments. The negative stuff in their head is so much easier to believe.

Our Mission is to make you feel like a true Goddess

When you step into our space and in front of our camera, there is no negativity allowed.

Everything we do and say is about encouraging a positive attitude. No more dismissing the compliments you receive, no more being tough on yourself and we allow you to be the centre of attention for once without having to feel guilty about it. It’s a powerful thing, this positivity and soon, you’ll be swept up in it.

Here’s a surprising fact we’ve learned from 20 years photographing women.

When we first started out, we found willing subjects everywhere. Few people objected to having their picture taken.

Fast forward through a generation of rapidly increasing Social Media and things have changed.

Many people have fears about having their picture taken, in fact even the thought of having a photographic session is enough to drive some people to a panic attack.

The irony is that we all have so many pictures of ourselves out there now, on mobile phones, taken by friends with little or no photographic experience on wide angle lenses and we see so many bad pictures of ourselves that our anxiety has naturally increased. Bad pictures on social media and mobile phones are the reason we have so much fear about being photographed. Plus, of course, we see so many ‘beautiful’ people setting the standards of beauty that we can never aspire to that we always seem to come up short somehow. Of course, nobody is perfect and no one wakes up up in perfect makeup with perfect hair, but that’s the story that social media sends us.

Overcoming the fear of being photographed can be a challenge, but That, in a nutshell, is the point of a Boudoir Experience and in this article we give you our 5 step plan…

We know boudoir isn’t for everyone—and that’s okay.

But here’s the thing… if we were to ask you what you love about yourself, what would you say? (be honest)

It’s highly likely, based on our experience, that you will find it difficult listing anything you love about yourself that’s a physical attribute.

You’ll list things like you’re kind and generous, hard working, a pretty good mum and friend, but how far down the list will it be before you praise any aspect of the body or physical looks. Of, course, it’s true that looks aren’t everything but if you hate the way you look when you stand in front of the mirror each morning, well’ that feeling can be pretty debilitating.

Every woman we meet needs a little more ‘self love’ and this is the power of a Boudoir Photoshoot.

There is a certain freedom that comes with vulnerability—with being able to express your sexuality and finding comfort in the skin you are in. An experience that can unlock those kind of doors for you can be life changing—which is exactly what you deserve. We know because we hear it from so many of our clients.

The women we work with are brave, strong, yet oftentimes terrified to be vulnerable in front of the camera.

All of these women leave their photoshoot feeling empowered, literally giddy with excitement from their own bravery, and dying to see the final images.

Boudoir isn’t the only style we do. A few years ago we started a Mum and Daughter Experience at Hazlewood Castle we have great pleasure in announcing we have just relaunched our Mum and Daughter Photoshoot Experience for Spring and for those who are not familiar with this, it’s a perfect excuse to spend some quality time together and create some lasting heirloom memories.

Hair and Makeup is provided and extra family members can join the shoot as well. Much of the shoot takes place outdoors if the weather is kind and we even provide a light lunch. Every Mum and Daughter Experience is customised completely around you and there’s no limit to your number of outfits. It’s a guaranteed fun day. Have a look at some of our past clients and their experiences below in this article.

Can you relate to the feeling of ‘Mum guilt’?

(i.e feeling bad when you spend money on yourself, not your children)

Over the years we have photographed hundreds of Mums.

Many of these Mums would often tell us that it would be hard to justify spending so much money just on themselves. They needed a better excuse than simple self indulgence. (Maybe they could justify it as a present for Dad )

These Mums constantly put themselves after their kids and after their partners.

In other words, these women accept themselves as third class citizens in their own household.

This is far more common than you might think.

It’s hard to spend money on yourself when you need to think of the family too! It feels selfish somehow. After all, every Mum wants the best for their kids and loves to treat the kids. The thought of prioritising themselves doesn’t seem right, somehow.

However, if you consistently neglect your own needs and wants, the impact it has on you can be dramatic and be negative for the whole family.

Pretty soon you will lose touch of who your really are and of of course, who you used to be. Our clients often tell us they feel like they’ve lost their identity and become a slave to the family.

Yet, Imagine what a powerful statement it will make to the kids if you come across as being happy with the way you look and being confident in your own skin. Some of that positivity about yourself will inspire them to be positive about themselves.

We hear all the time from women who tell us they can’t do this experience because they’ll never be able to look as good as the women on our website and that is the greatest lie you can tell yourself. It’s not us that your lying to either, it’s you!

Effectively, you’re telling yourself, you’re not good enough, not worthy of something like this, not confident enough and yes, we understand how people can feel like they’ve lost the confidence to do something out of their comfort zone but thinking you’re not good enough is something that needs to be addressed.

Anxiety needs work to overcome but simply, not feeling ‘good enough’ is the lamest excuse of all. I’m here to tell you that we are all ‘good enough’. Everyone is beautiful and if you don’t feel it then you need this more than anyone else.

Since becoming a Mum have you been suffering from a serious case of lost identity?

Or maybe it’s a midlife crisis? Or a little Postnatal depression?

Maybe you’re feeling tired, like, all the time! You look in the mirror and feel like you’ve let yourself go a little. That Mummy tummy just won’t go away. Everyday you feel like you can’t finish the laundry or squeeze your butt into your jeans and you feel that all you are is ‘just a Mum’. You like you’re disappearing into nothing…

You used to care about how you looked. You ate well, exercised regularly, showered every day and put makeup on. You’d look at hashtags on Instagram like ‘outfits for Summer’ and pin cute outfits. Now, though, you wear hoodies and oversized sweaters and black and grey t-shirts. You grab your clothes off of the floor every morning and wear them again.

Does this sound like you?

WARNING!

EXPERIENCING BOUDOIR PHOTOSHOOT MAY RESULT IN:

• HIGH SELF CONFIDENCE

• INCREASED SENSE OF SELF WORTH

• FEELING LIKE AN OVERALL BADASS

Women who come to us for a Boudoir Session are generally looking to gain body confidence and feel empowered. We work closely with all our clients to create fully customised experiences tailored to their individual needs. It’s a team effort but we make sure to provide a safe and comfortable environment for every woman to be able to feel free to express their creative side. It’s a huge boost to their confidence.

Some of our clients are looking to go to the next level and pose with little or no clothing….

WARNING!

EXPERIENCING BOUDOIR PHOTOSHOOT MAY RESULT IN:

• HIGH SELF CONFIDENCE

• INCREASED SENSE OF SELF WORTH

• FEELING LIKE AN OVERALL BADASS

You’ve been thinking about booking a Boudoir Session and found us after searching online, or been recommended us by a friend.

Fabulous!

So what’s next?

Well, Now is the time to start dreaming a little bit about the perfect photoshoot for you.

Everyday for us is totally built around each client and the kind of photos you want to create. Nothing is ‘conveyor belt’ everything is custom.

What kind of experience do you want from your boudoir experience?

Are you celebrating something special? An Anniversary, birthday, a milestone or maybe wanting something as a wedding gift for your partner.

Are you wanting to invest more in your own self-love? (So many women come to us to help them find themselves again. To learn to love themselves again)

Maybe you simply want to throw on some fabulous wardrobe pieces that you would never normally get to wear on a daily basis. (Maybe sexy lingerie doesn’t feel right with the kids popping in every ten minutes)

Whatever your motivation or ideas for your session, we will make your fantasy a reality.

This is a truly liberating boudoir experience in Yorkshire