It’s more than just sexy pictures, it is an empowering experience for any and all women.
TESTIMONIALS
It’s more than just sexy pictures, it is an empowering experience for any and all women.
Testimonials
Growing up- I was always the tomboy. I had a core group of girlfriends who were beautiful, skinny and the guys would line up just to be dating them. Then there was me…..the girl who was more comfortable with her hair up in a messy bun, a t-shirt and sneaks, and some type of sporting equipment. Sports over beauty was my thing. That made dating for me in high school almost non-existent. Sure, I had a boyfriend or two, but nothing major until the summer of my junior year. An older guy in school that had toyed with my emotions earlier in the year decided he really wanted to date me and I ran with it. We were together from that summer on and we eventually got married. Our relationship in total lasted 17yrs. However, those 17yrs were not all flowers and rainbows. He tested my emotions, made me question what little bit of confidence I had left in myself, and brought me to one of the darkest moments of my life. Yes, I know you are asking, “Why would you stay w/someone like that?”…but as I said earlier, there were never lines of guys waiting for me to be free. The high point of this relationship was the birth of my son-my greatest accomplishment. The body that I was never really proud of had created and grown this amazing little human!!! I even thought that having him would be the change my then husband needed to grow up, but instead the mental and emotional abuse continued, and he stepped out on our marriage- multiple times. The constant lying and cheating brought me to my darkest place. I remember comparing myself to every woman that I had found out he had been with. I would look in the mirror and would poke at what I felt were my imperfections. Telling myself if I had only worked out a little harder, if I had lost just a bit more of my baby weight, or if I was just a tad prettier this wouldn’t have happened to me. I was ashamed and alone. For a while I settled on the fact that it was going to be just my son and I from here on out. I began to accept that I was meant to be alone and I was just the “un-pretty” tomboy that I always was before. Then one day out of nowhere-Troops (my nickname for my boyfriend) walked into my life. He allowed me to let my guard down. He changed me without even knowing it, and has made me feel beautiful inside and out on a daily basis. He never questions what I am wearing or comments on my weight. Just someone who tells me that he likes me just the way I am…..which is what lead me to do this photo shoot. Not only am I doing this for him as a thank you, but as a giant FUCK YOU to anyone who saw me as anything less than beautiful, including myself. My girlfriend tagged me to like and join the LRP group and I am so glad that I did. I signed up that same day to do a session. Keep in mind there was 5mo. between from the time I signed up until my actual shoot and every single day I would go and second-guess my decision. The women in previous posts were beautiful, fierce and strong. It again made me question if I WAS BEAUTIFUL enough to do this?? Would I get the same response to my pictures as these other women did? The day before my shoot, I had even typed up an email to Lindsay telling her that I was cancelling. I signed my name and began to re-read what I had written, and for some reason I hit the delete button. I drove to my shoot the next day trembling in fear. It took all the guts I had to get myself to even walk up the stairs to the studio. As I sat in the makeup chair that morning, I still questioned what I was doing there. How was I going to be able to let complete strangers take pictures of all of my “imperfections”? Cue Erin, the beautiful makeup artist with the body and face that most women would kill for. As she is doing my hair and makeup, we get into talking about her past shoots with Lindsay. She begins to tell me about her insecurities and what she has always judged about herself. It was at that exact moment that I realized I was in the right place. The women in the studio that day brought out the best of me. They made me realize that all of us have flaws and imperfections, but those same things are what make us beautiful and unique. I can’t thank Lindsay and her team enough for making me feel as comfortable and confident as they did that day. This is an experience I will never forget!”
Ms. M.
Someone near and dear to me once said that when life throws you a curve ball, you have one of three options: run away from it, let it smack you in the face, or knock it out of the park. In the last two years, I’ve been thrown a slew of curveballs and according to my friends and family, I’ve apparently knocked them out of the park with poise and grace. But… what happens when you don’t feel like you live up to that image? What do you do when you feel like you’re not worth what everyone else thinks you are? I found Lindsay and her work in the middle of all of that, and her idea of self-love hit home for me. I had learned how to love my physical self, but I knew what I was struggling with was learning how to love all parts of myself. In reading the stories of the incredible women she’s worked with, I started to see parts of myself in them all. I bit the bullet and booked a session, and I’m convinced the deposit is what kept me from chickening out! My day being pampered by Lindsay and Erin and the images from the shoot showed me what everyone else sees in me; I am strong, I am fearless, I am worth something. Self-love is a journey that you can’t put a timeframe on, and putting pressure on yourself to lose the weight and then you’ll be happy, or change this and then you’ll be happy will make it harder to reach that point. I’m forever thankful for Lindsay and the incredible community she’s created.
Hailey G.
Haley G.
Someone near and dear to me once said that when life throws you a curve ball, you have one of three options: run away from it, let it smack you in the face, or knock it out of the park. In the last two years, I’ve been thrown a slew of curveballs and according to my friends and family, I’ve apparently knocked them out of the park with poise and grace. But… what happens when you don’t feel like you live up to that image? What do you do when you feel like you’re not worth what everyone else thinks you are? I found Lindsay and her work in the middle of all of that, and her idea of self-love hit home for me. I had learned how to love my physical self, but I knew what I was struggling with was learning how to love all parts of myself. In reading the stories of the incredible women she’s worked with, I started to see parts of myself in them all. I bit the bullet and booked a session, and I’m convinced the deposit is what kept me from chickening out! My day being pampered by Lindsay and Erin and the images from the shoot showed me what everyone else sees in me; I am strong, I am fearless, I am worth something. Self-love is a journey that you can’t put a timeframe on, and putting pressure on yourself to lose the weight and then you’ll be happy, or change this and then you’ll be happy will make it harder to reach that point. I’m forever thankful for Lindsay and the incredible community she’s created.
Erika T.
Calling her sessions “Body Love Experiences” may just sound like clever marketing, but I assure you, it is fact. My session was the closest I’ve ever felt to being a celebrity. I showed up in lounge pants and a tank, with a bare face and floppy hair and was immediately made to feel like a queen. I was treated to a boozy cup of coffee and sparkling water and we laid out my outfits. Then Erin put on some amazing music, had me hop up in her chair, and she got to work on my makeup and hair. I felt like an honest to goodness model. When I saw her gorgeous artistry on my face, I could hardly believe it. I looked like I’d stepped out of a magazine. I slipped into my first outfit and Lindsay got me all set up on a beautiful sofa with a faux fur throw. It felt very Game of Thrones and I was loving every second. Lindsay makes you feel like a rockstar. You feel sexy and confident and I wasn’t nervous for one second. She completely puts you at ease and coaches you during each pose. I could tell there were not going to be any “bad” picture of me, because she knows her shit so well, she was going to make sure I was radiant in every frame. When we were done, I was sad to leave! It felt like the coolest girl party ever. Before I even saw my proofs I knew I needed to tell every woman about this. As I type this my husband has no idea I’m about to pick up my art. I’ve managed to keep all of this a surprise for months, but in reality, I did it for me, not him. Yes, it will be a really fun surprise, but really this experience was completely for me. Here’s what I would like to get across to you…you are worthy of this experience. You deserve to feel this amazing too. As I’ve told women about this I have heard, “I’m too old.” “I’m overweight.” “I’m not sexy enough.” And so on. I hate to break it to you, but you are dead wrong. I’m about to turn 37 and have a son who is almost 13. I have stretch marks. I have crows feet and laugh lines. I’m currently at my heaviest, non-pregnancy weight. I’m super curvy. I had a C-Section with my son so my lower stomach has never fully recovered. I’m short with short legs. I’m generally fairly awkward and not sexy. But none of that mattered! I have followed Lindsay’s work for awhile and one of the reasons I chose to work with her because she does have such a diverse clientele and everyone looks so stunning in their photos. I look like a goddess in mine. I’ve shown some friends the proofs and they were blow away. A friend of mine even booked her own session after she saw my “teaser” pics. There is never a “wrong” time to have a session like this. You don’t need to wait until you’ve lost 20 pounds, or until your kids are older, or until you are married, or some other arbitrary thing you are telling yourself. Decide you are perfect and worthy enough right now to capture yourself at this moment in time. I cannot wait to keep doing this again at different points in my life. Yes I’ll have more wrinkles, and some grey hair, and all of that, but who cares? My body is amazing and carries me through life every day, so why not celebrate it? It’s never too late to truly love your body.
Allison I.
This took me a long time to write. I would like to say that I was busy (which I kind of was) but the truth is I had no idea where to begin or what to say. I wanted to write something that was deep and meaningful or witty and funny. I landed on writing something honest and hoping that at least one person found it interesting enough to look away from the current Snapchat filter of the day and read til the end. Let’s start by saying this, I am not a model. I am not even a person who likes to post gratuitous selfies in my bathroom mirror. TBH, that is partly because I don’t like taking pictures of myself and partly because I live in fear that someone will notice how long it has been since I cleaned my shower. But nonetheless, I went on this boudoir journey. I found Lindsay through a friend of a friend on FB and decided that I wanted to see if she could make me look like the obviously professional models she had already shot. I hope you, reader, know I am kidding. Lindsay makes everyone look like the goddess/model they truly are. It is incredibly difficult to be a woman these days. If you are strong and outspoken, you’re bossy… a bitch. If you are quiet and understated, you are uptight… a bitch. And don’t even get me started on the thin line we have to walk between slutty and modest. With all this in mind, I felt like I needed an excuse to take the pictures. They would be a gift for my future husband! Tada! See, its not really for me, its for him. The running dialogue in my head was that it was completely narcisstic and conceited to spend money on myself. And then to have pictures of myself hanging around my home?!?! I’ll never live this down with my girlfriends. In retropect, I should have worn my decision with pride. There is no joking about the experience the day of taking the pictures. Not that it isn’t fun or even at times funny, but I don’t want to make light of it. Lindsay and Erin are warm, kind, generous and completely comfortable with someone parading around in stilettos and little else. Their generous nature made me feel so comfortable that I was almost able to ignore my inner neurotic, trying to scream through the whole time. She broke through only a little when I couldn’t stop a slightly quivering lip. Lindsay assured me the camera couldn’t see it and she would make sure any glimpse of my nerves would be edited out. Once I was done I left feeling accomplished and excited. I also left with a full face of makeup and my hair done so I was feeling good and looking even better. Insert the raise the roof emoji here. Then, I slowly deflated. I had seen Lindsay’s pictures and I couldn’t possibly look as good as those women. Could I? They were skinnier, prettier, professional, more confident. I am so glad Lindsay does the reveal. I can honestly say that I almost didn’t recognize myself at first. Not because the photos didn’t look like me but because I couldn’t visualize myself to be as beautiful as Linsday had captured me. Lindsay assured me it was, in fact, me and that was the person she saw. Let me just say, if I had all the money in the world, I would have wallpapered my apartment with those pictures. I’d put them on my dishes so I could find me staring back from the bottom of my cereal bowl after my fruit pebbles were gone. It is not gratuitous and narcisstic to go through this experience. It is empowering. I stopped making the excuse that I did this for my husband. (Although he thoroughly enjoys the photos, as well.) I did this for me and for every burger and ice cold beer I continue to consume. I don’t need to be a certain size or have a certain skill level to look like the women Lindsay shoots because I am one of those women. I am in the company of a group of women who have made the conscious decision to love themselves and to surround themselves with photographic evidence of their beauty. Thank you Lindsay and Erin, you are truly special people with amazing gifts. I know I may joke, but this is worth EVERY PENNY. In fact, I am sure that if we did the math, I owe these two more. They have given me an invaluable gift. The gift of self-assurance and confidence in my own body. I am not sure I could ever repay you. – XOXO
KATHRYN M.
SABRINA T.
ASHLEIGH W.
MRS. C.
kayla k.
rebecca f.
holly s.
shaina m.
To my favorite photographer,
Where to start, well it began after seeing your work from a friend of mine. The way you captured her sexuality, confidence, and beauty, I just had to sign myself up! My initial inspiration to do it sooner than later was it is my 20th anniversary this year and frankly I am just about out of ideas, so I thought this is something I have never done, and he will love it. So it started out as a gift for him. But as time went by, and after watching the fantastic documentary, Embrace” I decided, yeah, I will give him the book, but I am doing this for me too! When I arrived for the session, fabulous music was playing, champagne was chilled and the first thing you said to me was,” You as so pretty’. If only everyone would greet me that way. I immediately felt like I was hanging out with two girlfriends, out in NYC for the weekend. I opened my suitcase which was filled with any panties, bras and lingerie I could dig out of my drawers at home. You asked me to choose my favorites and to my pleasant surprise they were also the ones you said would photograph best, then you said, “ You did good” Just another boost to my confidence! Next, I was transformed by Erin to a “Supermodel” with stunning hair and makeup, then made a quick change into “outfit #1” You so easily explained how to get into each pose, and to this day wish I could remember what you said to make me laugh, where you captured my smile in what ended up being one of my favorite photos, it was so natural. So the shoot goes on, easy, fun, relaxing, I never thought about how I was almost naked in front of two near strangers. To stand on a balcony in a bra and panties in downtown New York City and have your photo taken is one experience I will remember forever, and it was so empowering. So after a short two weeks, the “teasers” arrive in my inbox. I was going to keep the final product a surprise for my husband but I was so excited I couldn’t wait. His reaction, “Is that you?” I took that as a compliment. I found myself at stop lights opening the email to stare in amazement at the photos. It wasn’t a, “Look how hot I look”, well it was a little, but it was the whole thing, the art of it, the beauty of the light, seeing myself in a different view. Two more weeks passed and I had my reveal session via Skype. We had fun narrowing 200+ photos down to about 40. There was a particular photo where I am in a handstand against the glass window. I went to mark it as a “no”, and you with all your wisdom said, “Are you sure, that is one of the photos you will look back on and say look at what I did at 44 years old” And I was sold! Today I received the final proofs, and as I went through them, I was thinking, oh, I don’t like this, or don’t like that, then I realized, I was looking for the flaws, I wasn’t looking at the whole photo, the light, the background, the sexiness of the pose, the experience, and then I no longer saw the flaws and only saw one of the best experiences of my life.
Sincerely,
Shaina
alexa e.
sarah p.
In my heart I knew I needed to have this experience… I had gone through some loss, heartbreak and had lost my identity as a woman. Hell… I didn’t even feel like a woman anymore. I watched the blog and page for a long time…everyone’s stories rang true for me… and I knew I needed to experience this for myself…. Or the self I thought i would be in a year. Oh i was going to Lose weight for my session! Be in the best shape of my life!! You know the drill. Well a month before the session, i was the heaviest I’ve ever been in my life! I thought about canceling. I freaked out and cried convinced I ruined this opportunity. I had scheduled a styling session with Randi and Lindsay at the boutique. I thought they would see me and give me clothes that would Cover the train wreck of a body I saw in the mirror… I was so ashamed. They were so welcoming and set me at ease. They showed me some gorgeous pieces… but I was so scared to even come out of the changing room… these were beautiful, sexy, classy and revealing pieces. No way I could do this. Out Of the changing room I crept… totally flushed with nerves and insecurities. But they made me feel so gorgeous… i started to feel for the first time in a long time… sexy! The day of the session I had come to realize i needed to embrace the experience. I truly didn’t think I’d even buy any pictures…I went in thinking just the mere experience would help me open up. I listened to Lindsay and Erin’s encouraging words, the show tunes we had blaring and tried to push myself a bit. It wasn’t until Lindsay showed me a quick shot from Her Camera that It hit me… that face staring back was beautiful, confident. I couldn’t believe it was me (and after Lindsay had to reassure me a few times that yes It was truly me) I teared up. I had never seen myself that way. It was a revealing and humbling experience. Since the reveal, I’ve never felt more at peace with myself and my body. I respect the woman I am and am Proud to Honor my true self. I realize am enough and worthy… and that is a priceless revelation. I treat myself more kindly and feel empowered. Seeing yourself through Lindsay and Erin’s eyes is an experience every woman should gift for themselves. I am excited to have this art displayed in my home to remind me every day.
jessica l.
I’m not sure what I’m about to write or the direction it will take; but what I do know is that I am excited to share a little bit of me; what this experience has meant to, and done for, me; and the emotions that have run through my body since the moment I stepped through Lindsay’s door.
I have a tattoo on my back that means self-confidence, I got it to remind me there’s no reason I shouldn’t feel confident or secure in my body and with the person I am, but there are many times since I got this that I have…too many times in fact. However, this experience has reminded me of why I got it and I can honestly and wholeheartedly say I have never felt so strong, confident, happy with who I am, and proud of the person I am and the way I look. So much so that I want to show it off to the world.
I took a few big steps in doing this shoot, some I knew I was taking and some I did not realize I was.
For me to share personal feelings about myself is one of those big steps. I have a tendency to keep things inside. I don’t want people to know the bad or struggles I face or see the insecurities inside. I was always worried I’d be seen as weak or ridiculous for feeling how I felt. But when something makes me feel as incredible as my session with LRP has I want to shout about it from the rooftops and share everything with everyone.
A boudoir shoot is something I have wanted to do for a very long time, no one knew this, it was just one of those things I knew I’d love to do someday…someday when I felt I was physically ready to. No doubt I was ready physically at other times, but not in my eyes. I’d even pose in the mirror and envision myself doing it, but never actually made the leap to do it. I know partially because mentally and emotionally I wasn’t ready and also because I hadn’t found the right person to entrust and expose myself to both physically and emotionally. When I found Lindsay and looked at the work she and Erin do I was instantly in love; I felt they themselves and their work were breathtaking. After reading what all the incredible women were feeling and doing and the journey’s they had been on to get there themselves, it put a fire inside me. I had to be part of such an amazing group of women. I had found the people who could bring something out in me I had wanted to show and felt for so long.
So, I had to do it; I had to just book my session, stop making excuses why I couldn’t. I knew with LRP I was in good hands and could do anything. I just felt it. I was beyond excited from the moment I did.
I decided I was going to give the end product to my fiancé for Christmas, but ultimately this was something I was doing for me, the experience was for me…and Oh My God was it the experience of a lifetime. Life changing!
I planned to keep the fact I was doing this to myself till after I did it, I wanted it all for me, but that only lasted a couple days till I had to share, my excitement was too high, so I told my mom and a friend. It was what my mom said that really opened my eyes; she was shocked that out of her three daughters I was the one doing this. She also told me how incredibly proud she was of me for doing this. In my eyes though I was the one who was most likely to do it; it’s something I had wanted to do for such a long time, I had even wanted to get into modeling when I was younger; but she doesn’t see me posing in the mirror at home, however, what she has always seen are my insecurities, she’s one of the few people who I have always shown or expressed them to. I just never realized to what extent.
I have always been very judgmental of myself; telling myself I couldn’t do something, wear something, or show something, till I felt ‘perfect’. I’ve always been insecure about certain parts of my body; particularly my legs. There is nothing wrong with them and I see and know that now, but I have always had fuller thighs and a butt. And I didn’t like it. It bothered me. I wouldn’t even put on a bathing suit at my folks pool because in my eyes my body wasn’t perfect. I didn’t like this, I didn’t like that…and I didn’t want to show it, not even to my family.
What I heard from people was “you’re so thin”, what I saw was full thighs, cellulite on my legs, a bloated belly…how could I show that?!?! I was ashamed. I thought everyone would be so critical, not believe that I worked out, see the real me, and not like what they saw. All crazy thoughts I know, especially to think my family or fiancé would think this, but they were my thoughts and I knew there really wasn’t anything to be ashamed of but it’s how I felt and I couldn’t get over it. This has gone on in my head my entire life, no matter who said what, whether it was family, a love, or friend.
After my session I was telling my mom all about it and the excitement was pouring out of me. She was still surprised I did it and still incredibly proud of me. I admit I am surprised and proud of me too. But this experience has forever changed my life, I wish everyone could know this feeling…it truly is empowering and the self love that comes from it is indescribable. I love the way I feel, the way I look, and the person I am. I am proud of the way I look and am proud to show it off and if someone doesn’t like it that doesn’t bother me..to each their own…but I love who I am and it’s incredible.
For me, there are many end products that came out of this…the incredible photos are one, and that feeling of empowerment and true self love that I feel are another; both so amazingly beautiful and things I will have and hold close to me forever.
Whenever I think about this whole experience, talk about, or see one of my photos a huge smile comes across my face, my heart fills with love, a rush goes through my body, and I am on cloud nine. It’s such an incredible high! I feel I could go on forever talking about this, just ask my mom, anytime I talk to her about it I can’t stop. I truly believe everyone should do this and not wait!! If I could do a shoot with Lindsay and Erin everyday I would; and I cannot wait to do this again!!!
When I first reached out to Lindsay she asked me for the three words that define my version of sexy…I told her Strong, Confident, and Happy…well what do you know, this is me! Thank you Lindsay for helping me find and bring to life what I have admired in others for so long. Thank you for helping me fall in love with myself!!!
ms. h.
sara c.
donna c.
stacey h.
colleen f.
analise a.
katie r.
chris g.
erica s.
rachel g.
katey c.
amanda a.
melissa c.
maisie s.
lorena n.
I’ll be turning 40 this year and it scares me! I find myself staring in the mirror examining every wrinkle, curve, bump & stretch mark on my body. I do consider myself a confident woman but lately my confidence has been diminishing. Two years ago I underwent radiation for a brain tumor that left me nearly blind from one eye and lost all sensation from my left side of my face. Thankfully radiation worked. I’m back to normal but the radiation did affect my hormones. Making me gain weight combined with (not so pretty) skin issues. Don’t get me wrong I am so grateful that my sight and sensations are back to normal but the radiation side effects gets me down. It started affecting my relationship with my hubby & my daughter. My daughter has caught me saying “I’m so fat”, “I’m so ugly”, “My face is gross”, “My thighs are so nasty”. I realized that this NOT how I want to raise my daughter. I want my daughter to grow up confident no matter what shape she is. What make us beautiful is our character, intelligence and our perseverance.
I wanted someone to capture me they way I use to see myself and after obsessing over every image she posted I knew Lindsay was the one. I was hesitating in booking my shoot because of my size but I went through it any way. Lindsay is pure magic! From the moment I walked in the door she made me feel welcomed and in a safe place. Between make-up, hair and Lindsay I transformed to that woman I was once before and it felt sooooo good! I was reminded that I am a strong, confident vixen! I can conquer anything that comes my way!
I’m going to hang one of my images in my bedroom so it can remind my hubby how hot his wife is and when my daughter sees it she can appreciate her mothers strength, courage and beauty at any age or size. For me the image will serve as a reminder that I am confident and to seize each day like it’s my last!
Thank you Lindsay for awaking my inner goddess!
rachel g.
kaci m.
erin c.
jennifer h.
Since recently becoming a mother of two I have begun to hate my body. This was really starting to take a toll on some of my most important relationships. So one night I saw Lindsay’s video on the Self Love Experience and I thought that’s exactly what I need. In the beginning I was extremely nervous, this was something so far outside of my comfort zone. Lindsay was supportive through the whole process from picking out what to wear to poses. The experience was amazing, I left the studio with such a high and a new found love for myself. The best part I was able to view my images a few hours after shooting. I was shocked on how beautiful I looked, I had never seen myself this way and was so completely happy. This experience has helped me find the love for myself that I have been missing, it has opened my eyes to see that I am beautiful in my own way . I would do this again and again for myself!
tessa k.
mrs. michelle.
ms. lindsaY
HEATHER H.
KRISTEN B.
LIZ Z.
TARA H.
ANDREA F.
ERIN C.
LEAH b.
ARIELA A.
TARA H.
Lindsay has a stellar way of making you feel comfortable in front of the camera. Her direction is spot on and leads you through the whole time with an end result of photos you’ll cherish forever. She documented both my family and boudoir photos each complimenting each other in their own ways while capturing the two very different sides of myself. Thrilled for our next moments to capture behind the lens.
CARLEY F.
SARAH P.
I’ve long believed that a talented photographer is worth their weight in gold & Lindsay is a sublime example to prove it. I had the sincere pleasure of working with her for a bio & boudoir shoot this fall & the entire experience – from pre-shoot preparations to delivery of the final product – was fabulous. She offered considerable guidance on what to wear beforehand & suggested exquisite shoot locations for me to choose from. Day of, she made the entire shoot comfortable and fun, all the while capturing exquisite angles, lighting, & setups with a purposefully artistic talent. Turn around time to the final product was lightning speed & I was nothing short of delighted with the moments she captured. Thanks to her professionalism, creativity, & kind heart, it was an empowering adventure with fantastic results that I will truly cherish forever. I’ve already recommended Lindsay Rae Photography to friends & look forward to returning in front of her lens again in the future!