natural boudoir portraits | don't you dare tell me 45 is anything but incredible

When I asked Melissa what brought her to boudoir, she said, “I don’t appreciate my body enough […] at the age of 45, I’d like a record. It can’t be too far off when I shall think wistfully of the body I struggle to love.”

And ain’t that the damn truth. I often speak with women who are able to appreciate their past bodies and admit that they were beautiful and much too hard on themselves when they were younger. But wouldn’t it be amazing if we didn’t need hindsight to see ourselves that way? It’s so upsetting that we’ve somehow all learned to judge ourselves and our bodies rather than appreciate them. Whatever experiences we have that taught us that, let’s tear that shit down. I think Melissa is amazing for wanting to capture herself and make that record so that it exists in more than wistful memories later in her life.