In our Victoria BC Boudoir Studio, we prioritize celebrating your sensuality, and creating unique transformational one-of-a-kind experiences for our clients. Adding a shower set to your session can take your experience to the next level. Here are some reasons why we love our shower set, and why adding it on to your session might be the extra sparkle you need!

1. Unleash Your Confidence: Showering is an intimate act that often symbolizes cleansing, renewal, and self-acceptance. When you incorporate a shower set into your boudoir session, you're not just revealing your outer self; you're also incorporating another way to explore and connect with your body.
   
   
   

   2. Dynamic Poses: A shower set offers unique opportunities for captivating poses. With flowing water, glistening skin, and various props, you can create dynamic and expressive shots that are impossible to replicate elsewhere.
   
   
   

3. Natural Elegance: Boudoir photos in a shower set exude a raw, natural elegance. Water droplets on your skin and the play of light and shadows create stunning, timeless images.

4. Emotional Storytelling: The shower set allows you to infuse your boudoir session with narrative and emotion. Your photos can tell a personal story, making them more meaningful.

5. Symbolic Liberation: Showering can symbolize liberation, both physically and emotionally, allowing you to wash away self-doubt and embrace your true self.

Incorporating a shower set to our boudoir photoshoot can add sensuality, authenticity, and depth to your boudoir session. It's a chance to celebrate your body, boost your confidence, and create empowering images that will be cherished for a lifetime. Don't miss the opportunity to make your boudoir experience unforgettable by adding a shower set.

Picture this:

You’re in the middle of a private villa in the rice paddies of Bali. The stars are dancing over head, brighter than you’ve seen in years. You’re butt ass naked in a private pool, surrounded by new friends who you have connected with on a soul-level. You’re all laughing a big, deep, belly laugh. The kind of laughter that makes your tummy hurt and your eyes start to water. And – the best part – you’re not thinking about what your body looks like for one second. You’re in the moment. You’re present, enjoying the feeling of the cool water on your skin, the jungle sounds in your ears, and the delightful smell of the natural earth and rice fields around you.

Sound like a fantasy?

It isn’t – this was our reality for our 2022 retreat in Bali this year.

When I started burlesque 8 years ago, it gave me so much more freedom to exist in my body than I ever thought possible. It taught me how to be present in my bod, how to trust in my bod, and how to observe my bod in ways that transformed my relationship with my self. The woman who helped facilitate this growth was our local Victoria BC burlesque matriach, Rosie Bitts. As my business grew and grew, helped largely through the confidence I obtained through burlesque, we started to realize how well our offerings and mission to the world lined up. Through our shared passion of travel, facilitation of healing and transformational spaces, burlesque, and body love – our retreat company, Bare Soul Retreats, was born.

Our retreats offer a space that invites you to explore all of you. It invites you to step into your true powerful self. It’s an unlearning of how we’ve been taught to be at war with our bodies. It’s a shedding of toxic beliefs and ideas that have been planted in our minds by a manipulative system. It’s a trust-fall into a place of unapologetic self-celebration, self-respect, and self-love. It’s a space full of community, connection, and holding each other tenderly in your hearts. And, most importantly, it’s a space for you to let go, relaaaax, and have the best f*cking time that you deserve.

We chose Bali as the backdrop for our first retreats because there’s a certain innate magic to the jungle. It’s hard to explain until you get there – but the island of Bali is simply transformational. The people are some of the kindest humans you will ever meet. I’ve travelled a lot, and no where comes close to the warmth, kindness, and sheer joy that the Balinese people exude.

It is the perfect backdrop to bring a group of women and feminine souls to play, heal, and transform together.

There’s so much the island of Bali has to offer, from cleansing water temple rituals, to adventure tourism including snorkelling with manta rays and some of the world’s best diving, to tranquil and serene rice paddies – the perfect setting for meditation, reflection, and inner work.

Each year we go back, I get to fall deeper in love with the island, and watch our beautiful retreat attendees do the same.

Bali was the perfect setting for Rosie and I to cultivate the ultimate body bliss itinerary.

And when I say body bliss, I mean:

• being present in your body

• playing, laughing, dancing with your body (not thinking about how it looks, thinking about how it FEELS)

• feeling safe enough to be still and quiet in your body

• forgetting that you even let your body hold you back before this

Because yes, you are so much more than a body. But the relationship you have with your body is the longest one you will have in this life. And you deserve to have that relationship be one that sparks joy and sets you free.

Watch a behind the scenes of our 2022 retreat

If you’ve been feeling curious about the transformational potential of either boudoir or burlesque, and have a penchant for travel, and containers full of community, support, and growth – then one of our retreats might be the right fit for you. We only take attendees based on an application system, to ensure each attendee is the right fit for our space and to ensure you get the most out of your experience with us.

If you want to join us on our next retreat, click the link below for more information!

Boudoir photography allows our clients to capture their inner beauty, sensuality, and confidence through stunning imagery that makes them look and feel like works of art. Whether you're preparing for your first boudoir photo shoot or you're a seasoned pro, choosing what to wear is an exciting part of the process that helps you get prepared for your boudoir experience.

Note: what you wear ultimately is not as important as we like to believe it is! Whether you are booking with us, or just shopping around, a seasoned professional can capture anything you wear in a way that makes you shine.

Our first and biggest tip when it comes to choosing what to wear is make sure it makes you FEEL good – and fits right. Nothing kills the vibe like lingerie that doesn’t fit you, that you need to keep adjusting, and therefore feel self-concious in. The first step is to FEEL fire, and then you will LOOK fire. Promise.

With our preamble aside, in this blog post, we'll explore various outfit options to help you feel (and look) your best during your boudoir session.

Bra and Panty Set

A classic and go-to choice for boudoir photography, a well-fitted bra and panty set can highlight your curves and accentuate your figure. When selecting this option, consider colors that complement your skin tone and make you feel like your favourite self. Whether you prefer lace, satin, staps galore, or something more minimalistic (or spiccyyy), a carefully chosen bra and panty set can help you exude confidence!

Body Suit

A body suit is a versatile choice that can provide both coverage and allure. Body suits come in various styles, from sheer and lacy to sleek and modern. Depending on your comfort level, you can opt for a full-coverage design or one with strategic cutouts that add an element of spice and tease to your shoot. When picking a body suit try to opt for something without a racerback as those can be limiting to posing. We love a good bodysuit in the studio that you can also wear with jeans or a skirt for date night after your shoot!

White Tank Top

Sometimes, simplicity is best. A plain white tank top can evoke a sense of casualness and realism to your session. Pair your white tank with the shower set or our wet set for the ultimate sensual combo! Lace bottoms, Calvin Klein’s, or nothing at all are great bottom options for your white tank. We call the white tank + no bottoms combination the “winnie the pooh” ;)

Accessories that Make You FEEL GOOD

Accessories can play a significant role in personalizing your boudoir shoot. Whether it's a favorite necklace, a pair of fishnets, a special pair of heels, or a statement piece of jewelry, incorporating accessories that hold sentimental value or make you feel empowered can add a unique touch to your images. Remember, boudoir photography is about celebrating YOU!

Nothing but a Sheet

For a more artistic and sensual approach, consider draping yourself in a satin sheet or sheer fabric during your photo shoot. This can create soft, romantic images that emphasize your body's natural contours while maintaining an air of elegance, and feel like you just stepped out of a renaissance painting. By far one of our favourite outfits, and a specialty in our studio.

Still don’t know what to wear? Rely on our client closet!

Our studio has a small client closet in sizes ranging from XXS-4X. Not sure what to wear? Message us about options in the client closet in your size range! We have lingerie sets, as well as harnesses, robes, feather fans, and so much more to play with and incorporate into your experience.

Nothing at All

Lastly, the most empowering option of all is to bare it all, posing confidently in your own skin. Going au naturel during your boudoir photo shoot can be a liberating and transformative experience. It's a liberating act of self-confidence and body celebration. By far one of our favourite outfit options, and one our clients say is their absolute favourite! Going nudie is of course not mandatory, and we are here to help you if you feel nervous or unsure about this option and want to ask more questions and feel it out slowly.

Conclusion

Your boudoir photo shoot is a chance to embrace your sensuality, boost your self-esteem, and create beautiful, legacy images that will leave you feeling like a damn work of art every time you look at them. Ultimately, the most important thing is to choose outfits that make you feel confident, beautiful, and empowered. Whether you opt for a classic bra and panty set, a body suit, a simple white tank top, or something more daring, the key is to embrace your uniqueness and celebrate your favourite self. Your boudoir photographs will capture the essence of your confidence and sensuality, allowing you to cherish them for years to come.

Ready to celebrate your damn self?

Let’s get connected.

As a predominately natural light photographer, I tend to start my sessions at 10:30AM to allow for the best natural light in the studio.

I love a good routine, and keeping most of my sessions around the same time allows me to provide a consistent and magical experience to each wonderful soul who walks through my doors.

But I’m also an artist, and routines for artists can sometimes become a little stagnant.

That is, of course, unless you’re making space to play

and shake sh*t up.

Enter: the importance of scheduling in creative sessions.

Making space to play, be creative, and do something entirely different helps keep your artistic brain on its proverbial toes. It’s important to throw everything you’re comfortable with out the window, and get wildly uncomfortable (and tbh probably a little bit frustrated) in the name of art.

It’s in these spaces of newness and discomfort that we find growth, expansion, and playfulness.

I will forever be grateful for Alison, my hair and makeup artist, for always being up for my creative whims and rolling with me when I say “I have a weird idea” or “I bought a new light” or I “I want to try something”

Have you stepped outside your comfort zone lately?

We love a solo session in our studio.

But.

We equally love the power and intimacy of a couples session.

The two experiences are so wildly different from one another!

If you’re feeling any sort of way before your session (nervous, a lil terrified) a couples session is a great way to help ease those nerves. Because you have your person there with you, and you’re in it together. Lovin’ up on one another, smoochin’ the day away, and gigglin’ your butts off. All while having your love (and steaaaaam) captured for years to come.

A couples session can be a great precursor to a solo session, or a beautiful follow up. Nothing is more beautiful for us to watch than someone who came in and rocked their own solo session, and is now ready to help guide their lover through a session together. Showing them the ropes, and encouraging the the whole damn way.

We are big advocates for exploring and documenting your love in front of the camera! Your love deserves to be shouted from the roof tops.

I absolutely LOVE taking maternity photos! It is such an honour to photograph and create art that celebrates the incredible, and beautiful form of the body during pregnancy. This is such a monumental time in life and should be celebrated in all its glory!

There is only up to 9 short months to feel the little flutter of the first kicks, see your tummy move, think about names for this sweet, precious being that will be joining theworld soon.

This amazing babe wanted to document this moment in her life and said that this session was about embracing her body, the female form, and all the hard work of growing a baby.

In her words:

“Being pregnant has really showcased for me the wildness that our bodies can do this, and that I am carrying around a little human being. It has helped put things into perspective - largely being that my body isn’t an object to be judged and critiqued by others, but a human form that carries my life, and that of my growing child’s.”

“I would say that to anyone considering a session like this, that any hangups they have about their body, or the idea of taking the time to treat oneself with a photoshoot, would quickly be eliminated the second they entered the room. I was amazed at how the overall experience truly felt empowering and once I have baby, will be booking again for a just me session.”

Creating life is such a precious gift; its wild, natural, raw, joyful, beautiful, and powerful – but it can also be hard – swollen feet, morning sickness, doctors’ appointments, feeling uncomfortable and stressful. This time in your life is filled with all sorts of emotions and bodily sensations that it can be overwhelming.

You session is customized for you, we will take our time, be gentle, take breaks, pamper you, and help you feel beautiful in this radiant, magical moment. This session can help you take time to connect with the marvel that is creating life, ground into your body as you prepare for the upcoming birth, and indulge in some time for yourself before your precious babe arrives.

I always take extra care for anyone expecting because posing can be extra challenging on your body when you are creating life, so please know that I am here to offer you a safe and supportive space for your session.

Maternity Boudoir is a powerful way to document your journey through creating life, and all the wonderful changes that happen along the way.

I look forward to helping you showcase this special time in your life with images and memories that you can look back on, and will last a lifetime.

With love,

Anne Marie xx

Inquire for your own maternity shoot below!