I feel like I have sat on these images for too long and then not long enough. I have so many thoughts about this whole day and what led up to this project. And yet at the same time, I feel I have very little to write because of how I feel these images hold power within themselves. For as long as I have wanted to do boudoir, I have also wanted to showcase "authentic", "raw", "real", and every other variation of "normal, everyday" you can think of. For almost 3 years I have talked about doing this project and I never *did* it for a myriad of reasons and every excuse in the book you can think of. But in June I was talking over my desire to show that boudoir is more than just the dress up and the glamour and I have this project I truly want to do. She immediately told me no more talking, it was time for the DOING.

I reached out to past clients and friends to see if they were willing to come be a part of this vision I had. So many women responded! I am so grateful to every woman who said yes, whether you were present or had other obligations prior to me reaching out, the fact that this idea resonated with so many and you were enthusiastic means an incredible amount. It allowed me to see that showcasing women as they are, in the raw, was not a solitary idea I felt passionate about!

When it came to this morning, I asked every woman to wear black for their underwear and bra, and bring a white button up shirt. It didn't matter whether it was lingerie, their favorite sports bra, or even a body suit. Bring what was theirs and what they loved wearing. As everyone trickled in, the air didn't feel heavy with nerves, rather it felt almost like a sisterhood coming together. And it was beautiful. Everyone cheered each other on. We laughed, we shared hugs, and small moments. And now looking at these incredible images, I still feel the same feeling of sisterhood.

My goal in these images was to convey that the beauty is not the makeup, the glamor, or the pretty clothes we put on. The beauty is all ready there and everything else accentuates it. The worthiness, the value, the humanity, and the beauty is all ready present in the skin we are all in. We all know that our culture and "beauty standards" will tell us that we need to be different, we need to buy these products, take these pills, do this routine, wear these clothes, be this size, change our looks, on and on, before we are truly beautiful and worthy of even existing. All of these women are all ready beautiful just because they exist. All of them have incredible stories of triumph, joy, love, and sadness. All of them deserving of love and good things.

I hope when you look at these images you are reminded that you too are beautiful in your skin. And you don't need to add, take away, be more, do less, or anything else to be beautiful and worthy of loving the skin you are in. You, authentically you, is enough.