Hi! I’m Erika. I’m a Regina intimate portrait photographer. I hear a lot of excuses about why women think they shouldn’t or can’t have an intimate portrait session done. You’ve probably come up with some of those excuses, yourself. Well, I’m here to tell you you’re wrong, and that all of your excuses are bullshit. Sorry, ladies. 😉

“I just need to lose another 5… 10… 20… pounds”.

NOPE. Out of ALL of the excuses I’ve heard in my career, I hate this one the most. Losing 10 more pounds isn’t going to change the way you feel about your body. How do I know that? I recently lost over 60 pounds. My self esteem didn’t change all that much from when I was 200 pounds, to when I first weighed in at 135. I had intimate portrait sessions done at BOTH times of my life. If I’d have let that excuse stop me, “just 10 more pounds…” well, I’d never have done either of them. And I’d have missed out on the amazing experience of working with both photographers that I’ve had the pleasure of being photographed by. The number you see on your scale has nothing to do with your worth as a person!

“I’m not pretty enough”

SERIOUSLY?? Look, I get it. We’re bombarded left and right with pictures of flawless celebrities that we’ll never measure up to. Buy this wrinkle cream, that mascara, and these scented socks and every man will fall all over you! Barf. If you think you’re “not pretty enough” to do an intimate portrait session… I have a challenge for you. Get up off your butt, go to your nearest mirror, and look yourself straight in the eyes. Find ONE thing to compliment yourself on. Be it your hazel eyes, beautiful freckles, or even the cute jeans you’re wearing. Do that once a day for a week, and see how it makes you feel. Then try for two weeks. Keep going until you believe it! Treating YOURSELF with kindness is the first step to bumping up your self-esteem. So, please. Stop being so hard on yourself. Confidence comes from within.

“I can’t look like those girls in the pictures”

JUST. STOP. Every single woman in my portfolio (with the exception of the lovely Erin from my milk bath shoot last year) is a regular lady just like YOU. They’re not models, and most of them had NEVER even been photographed by a professional before. All of the images you see in my portfolio were created out of the hard work posing from my clients (ARCH ARCH ARCH THAT BACK!!), years and years of industry experience, constantly educating myself, and a willingness to take some risks from everyone involved. None of those women walked into my studio fully knowing what to do, or expect. You CAN look like the women in these photographs, because you ARE the women in these photographs! I believe in you, and you should, too.

“I can’t afford that luxury / I can’t spend that kind of money on MYSELF!!”

Nope, don’t like that excuse, either. Yes, an Intimate Portrait Experience is a luxury service, much like getting your nails done, or heading into a fancy salon for a cut and colour. Those little services sure make you FEEL good, don’t they? As with most luxury services, you don’t NEED them to survive, but they sure are nice to have or experience. With our session pre-payment plans we have options for the budget of every client. The best part about our print services? You only go home with the images you can’t live without. ❤️

To make saving up for an Intimate Portrait Experience easier on my clients, I offer two types of payment plans. I won’t go into them in detail here, but if you want to read up on your options, click this link! I may not be the only Regina intimate portrait photographer around, and it can get a little confusing because we all offer different things! Don’t worry… I’m happy to answer any questions you have before, during, or after your session.

“I’m too nervous”

Nice try. 99.9% of the women I photograph report at least SOME kind of nerves when they first walk into my studio for their session. Guess what, ladies? Those nerves go away pretty quick once you’ve changed into your first outfit. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I take pride in making the women I photograph feel comfortable, even if that means making myself look like a fool because I set my camera down for the 10th time and can’t find it again. (Seriously, it happens more often than I’d like to admit!)

Feeling nervous before your intimate portrait session is a TOTALLY normal and natural response. You might find though, that once we get warmed up and into your session, that it’s suddenly ending because it went by so fast, and you’re not even nervous anymore! So cut yourself some slack, you got this. ☺️ Besides, THIS Regina intimate portrait photographer will show you exactly how to pose!

What are YOUR excuses as to why you can’t or won’t do an intimate portrait shoot? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments – maybe I’ll address it in an upcoming blog post!

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I’m Erika. I’m a Regina intimate portrait photographer. Want more, or want to get to know me before your session? Head over to our Facebook group and join the conversation!