Marnie
As the Experience and Empowerment Director at Studio 34 Boudoir, one of my greatest joys is guiding women through their first boudoir photo shoot. Recently, we had the pleasure of working with Marnie. We learned on our consultation call that she was nervous–understandable considering she had never experienced a photo shoot like this before–but she was equally as excited to be on this boudoir adventure!
Marnie had lots of questions, about what she should wear, how she should pose, what she needed to do and bring. We listened and talked her through every aspect of her experience and the longer we spoke, the more I could see we were beginning to put her at ease.
It’s important to us to really get to know our clients, so we also had some questions for her. We discussed how Marnie was a newly-wed, and that she and her husband were Phillies sports fans. She loves to read and cook and bake. From there, we talked about how we would incorporate Marnie’s personality into her shoot and suggested she bring with her items that spoke to who she was, such as her favorite book, a cute apron, and one of her husband’s sports jerseys. We also asked her to bring her wedding veil and some of the silk flowers she had saved from the big day so we could incorporate a mini-bridal shoot into her experience!
When Marnie arrived at the studio I could tell that the unfamiliarity was causing some butterflies. I reassured her that she was in safe and caring hands. We paused, took a deep breath, and shared a yummy mocktail together as we settled her into our Starlette Dressing Room. Soon, our hair and makeup artist Anu greeted Marnie with a big smile and open ears to hear about how she wanted to look for her photos. Amid the chatting and pampering Marnie began to feel at home in the studio and soon it was time for her to get into her first outfit.
When Marnie came out of her private dressing room in a beautiful white silk robe she looked absolutely amazing–and the Studio 34 team told her so! Marnie realized she was surrounded by a professional, supportive and kind team who was there to help her shine and was so encouraged by our words that she spontaneously struck a pose right there in the doorway! A totally natural, beautiful and empowering moment, all captured forever for her with photographs.
We all laughed and smiled at the fun spontaneity of the moment and, from there, moved to our first scene in the Pink Champagne room. I asked Marnie to sit comfortably in a velvety chair. With each click of the camera, she began to come more and more into her own sense of joy and self. I offered gentle, trauma-informed posing suggestions, helping her to find movement and poses that made her feel both comfortable and beautiful.
And don't just take my word for it! Check out these photos!
At Studio 34 Boudoir, it is incredibly important to our team that we create a trauma-informed, empowering space. We understand that for many clients, this experience is more than just a photo session—it’s an opportunity to celebrate themselves and can even be part of a healing journey of claiming or reclaiming one’s body and sense of self.
A couple weeks later when Marnie returned to Studio 34 for her reveal party, we couldn’t have been more thrilled with her reaction to her images. When she saw the photos of herself, her eyes lit up. They were everything she had hoped for—sexy, beautiful, and full of her powerful self. Her partner’s reaction was the icing on the cake; he was just as in awe of how her beauty and strength were captured in the images. It was such a joy to witness her transformation, and I’m honored to have been a part of her empowering journey at Studio 34 Boudoir.
