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By Ana Santos, Contributor
Julianne knew exactly how she wanted to celebrate her 35th birthday.
She was going to have her very own boudoir shoot.
“I had no idea what boudoir photography was. I
just knew that I wanted to have partially nude photographs of
myself. I wanted it done in a way that was sensual and evocative,
rather than sexual and outright provocative. Some thing like the
difference between art and porn,” Julianne laughs. “I didn’t
know that there was an actual term for that kind of photography
until a friend of mine told me about it.”
Boudoir is a French word meaning a lady’s
private bedroom, sitting room or dressing room. It comes from the
French verb bouder, meaning “to pout.”
As a photography genre, a boudoir shoot is an
artistic way of photographing the female form. By capturing a woman
during a private moment—undressing, in nude or semi-nude poses,
the woman’s best physical assets are sensually highlighted and
photographed.
Boudoir photography is fast gaining popularity
in countries like the United States and Australia as ordinary women
in all shapes and sizes plan out their own boudoir shoots. Some want
to fulfill a personal fantasy and go all out on costumes; some want
to immortalize the way they look before the onset of aging and
children (or even after!); some want to compile the pictures into a
boudoir album to give as a gift to someone and some women, like
Julianne, simply want to celebrate their bodies.
Julianne talks about her motivations and tells
all about her love—hate relationship with her body.
“Ten years ago, may be even five, I looked at
the age 35 as ancient. I thought to myself that by the time I reach
that age, I would be over the hill—old, tired and sagging from
having kids. You know how it is, gravity is directly proportional to
age,” Julianne says, laughing.
“It was a surprise, mostly to me, that when I
rounded up the corner to 35, I felt empowered by my body and just
amazed at the things it was capable of. It was as if I finally
unashamedly. I got to know my body and myself. I learned what my
body takes pleasure in, what it looks good and bad in [I could
forego the latest fashion trend simply because it wouldn’t suit my
body type and not feel like I was left behind] and yes, even what it
likes in bed. I guess it’s all about knowing what you want.”
“Working out, of course, has helped. The
self-confidence, sense of achievement when you start seeing results
and the natural high that it gives you are incredible. But it would
be an understatement to say that was the only thing. The intense
love-hate relationship I had with my body goes way back to
pre-adolescence.”
“You see, I was born with a huge birthmark,
right smack across my belly. It resembled the shape of the African
continent and its size might as well have been the same. I was
teased about it growing up. My parents would always tell me that it
was their genetic insurance making sure that I would never wear a
bikini or other revealing articles of clothing. It made me feel
‘trapped’ and a bit freakish about my body. I looked at the
patch of darkened skin in the middle of my belly like it was some
kind of deformity.”
“When I had enough money, I had it surgically
removed. It was blasted off my skin through a series of laser
treatments. It took more than a year, but finally the birthmark was
erased. Then, I realized that I still had to contend with stretch
marks. As it turns out, whatever genetic mishap I had was no match
for stretch marks. Those viciously, deep dark red veins that erupt
because literally your skin is expanding to previously unreached
lengths. They fade over time, but still leave skid marks, deep
indentations—like cracks on your skin. With stretch marks,
there’s simply no denying that you were once that fat.”
“Well, apart from my stretch marks, my
daughter is also proof that I was once that big. I gained a little
bit more than 50 pounds when I was pregnant with her. It’s ironic
that I am at a stage when I am actually proud of this body of mine
now
. . . now that I have permanent scars on my
belly. [Stretch marks which can only be lightened, but never really
obliterated even with the surgical help]. It’s still far from
being perfect or model worthy, but it is my body, the only one I
have. I wanted my boudoir photos to somehow capture this time in my
life when I am proud to show off my body, imperfections and all and
still be proud to call it mine. I dare say that I never before felt
this good about myself or my body. So I though, my body won’t look
this way forever so I looked for a way to commemorate it and
celebrate it its achievements—like the life it gave to my daughter
and the sustenance it continued to give her for the first few months
of her life.”
”Looking at the photos, I felt even more
validated. A boudoir shoot was the perfect way to embrace my body,
celebrate its scarred imperfections, hormonal mood swings and
erratic dips on the weighing scale and wish it a happy 35th
birthday.”
For details, call Inner Light MultiMedia at
0917-8555679 or e-mail ilightmultimedia@gmail.com.
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