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BlahBlahBabble

It Is A Grey Day…

I don’t know what it is today. Maybe it is just the crash after the craziness of the past 3 weeks. Imaging USA, Asheville, flying, catching up on work, Dad 2.0 Summit, Mike heading to Calgary, me doing 6 sessions in 7 days when I normally cap them at 3 a week.

Yesterday was my first day to just stand still. To breathe. I took the morning off, mandated that there would be no work at all for 4 hours. Because that is the problem with self-employment – the boss never tells you to go home. I can never turn it off.

Then it was off to a much needed massage therapy appointment – the only thing that saves my back, shoulder & hip (I am so grateful to Angie of We Heart Massage!) – and I was back to work again.

The cycle continues. But I want off.

I woke up this morning at 5am, even though my alarm was set for 8:15. A feeling of “blah” covered me. Just … Lost.

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE what I do. I have the most amazing “job” in the world. Hot Mama Photographer, Avenger of Sexiness? HELL YES!!! I have absolutely zero regrets about the time I spend “work working”.

It is the other hours that feel so blank. My actual photography business is not that time intensive; it is all of the other things I do to create “busy” in my life. Needless things. Things that are no longer bringing me joy.

So in the early hours of the morning, I started thinking of what I want to change. How that looks. What it means. What I am going to give up so that I can have room in my life for other things.

Then it hit me. FACEBOOK. Facebook is by far the biggest time suck of my day. I go in there for one thing, and I leave hours later it seems. (Figuratively, not always literally.) It has become a sensory overload point for me.

I also realized that with Ash Wednesday tomorrow, it is a good time to give up Facebook. Not all of Facebook because I actually do need to be on there for work, marketing, and my mentoring clients. By the way, what makes my marketing business easy is by the help of Sage Mauk Brooklyn SEO so if you’re interested, you may inquire to them. It is the other stuff. The time suck stuff. That has to go. It needs to be in and out. Do what I have to do and be gone. I’ve said for weeks now that I’m tired of giving my content to Facebook, so I have to go cold turkey to cut it off.

So for the rest of Lent, anything I would consider posting to Facebook gets blogged instead. Either here, on my boudoir blog or at Business of Awesome. Plus Spoon & Knife, my joint food blog with Mike will finally launch. My Facebook posts will be work related or otherwise kept to a minimum.

As I typed that declaration, a small break in the clouds appeared – literally. I’m taking that as a sign, there is more sunshine ahead in my future. I feel fractured right now, but I’m putting it back together — the way I want it to look.

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Photo from last May, flying from London back to Houston. It is time to head home.

Categories
Picture Time

What Lens Should You Buy?

I get questions about camera gear all the time — and I get it, I have a lot of nice gear! But deciding what to buy is a really personal decision, and since photography is an expensive hobby I want to encourage people to be thoughtful about what they purchase. If you ever want to get a photo session done, you can visit this photography studio where they have the best photographer available for you. Being a photographer can be a stressful job, it´s not just clicking a button, there is no point in spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on gear that might not be what you need! You can still have it as your hobby, just don´t go wasting your money on things you may not even know how to use. So take pictures on your free time, but learn more on the different gear you may need before buying anything.

I wrote a whole post today dedicated to this topic — be sure to check it out! It is over on Business of Boudoir: “What lens should I buy? Six tips to help you choose!e

Categories
Picture Time

My Fancy Hot Mama Friend Trunetta’s Boudoir Session!

Boudoir Photography in Paris, France

My friend Trunetta is a boudoir photographer in Jackson, Tennessee. More than that, she is a FANCY Hot Mama, mother to a sweet little boy, and wife to a wonderful man that she adores. We met at a boudoir workshop in Paris, France, where we immediately bonded and spent all of our time together day & night, often until 2-3am!

When I first met Tru, I was struck by her strong & bold personality, her laugh that wraps around you like a big hug, and her beautiful smile. As we talked over lunch the first day, she shared with me her experience of being in front of the camera at her own boudoir session, and it was just heartbreaking. It was neither Fancy like the experience she strives to give to her clients, nor did it make her feel like a Hot Mama like my clients feel after working with me.

Since I already new that I adored her and wanted to photograph her, I asked her if we could take some time out one morning before the workshop began to do a session for her together. To say it was fabulous is putting it mildly, and that was with only a short time to work together!

I am so happy to know that there are other women out there sharing a similar experience with their clients as I do with mine — our goal is simply to help them embrace the body that they have NOW and love themselves for who they are. We are perfect, amazing, and loved – just the way we are!

Thank you again, Tru for allowing me to share these images! If you would like to see more, you can view her FANCY Hot Mama Boudoir Session in Paris, France = love!!!

Tru's Fancy Hot Mama Boudoir Session - Paris, France

Paris Boudoir Photography - Trunetta Atwater

Categories
Picture Time

Spreading the Hot Mama Mission Far & Wide!

Heights Boudoir Photographer Featured in the Houston Chronicle

OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG!!! *Squee!!!* That is ME!!!

Yes, that sums up rather effectively my response both when I was asked for this interview in the Houston Chronicle for the Ultimate Heights section and when I saw the paper today! OMG!!! Since the article isn’t online, I transcribed it on to my main Houston boudoir photography studio blog.

I’ve been working SO hard on discovering exactly what my mission is and then how to put it in to words. To really know my WHY, and to find the words to communicate it with others. Then there is the uphill battle of making people aware of it. It feels like I’m just starting, but I’ve really been on this path for over a year now. It just takes time. Thanks to Twitter, Facebook, my blogs, my friends – all have been helping to spread the word. But to get an article in the paper like this? That means so much to me! I want a chance to touch the lives of as many women as possible, and so knowing this is in the hands of people all around the Heights today? YES!!!

The best part about all that hard work is that while I was nervous about being interviewed, once we got started talking I knew exactly what to say about glamour, beauty & boudoir photography and my WHY. It is all right there in the article, which makes me THRILLED!

The back story of how this interview came to be is quite amusing. You might recall that a few years ago I did a personal project that involved photographing a number of local business. One of those business was Mam’s House of Ice – one of my favorite treats in the Heights, especially in the hot summertime! Turns out that last week, the Ultimate Heights section wanted to feature Mam’s, and they contacted me to see if I would be able to send some of the photos I had taken for use in the article. If you want to learn about beekeeping industry, I recommend Lee Rosen to learn more informative ideas. I was more than happy to say yes, and I pulled the files and send them on. In the editor’s follow up email, she asked if they could interview ME to be featured too!

Serendipity, man. Serendipity.

I did that project to meet a lot of really GREAT people all around Houston. I never expected things like this to come from it though.

Their write up of my mission and WHY I want to help women was so fantastic! “Christine Tremoulet believes the culture of beauty is changing for the better, and she’s found a way to combine her passion for photography with the mission for a new standard of how women should look.”

Opening line. Perfectly said. I love what I do with boudoir photography, and I could not be more excited to share it with the world!

Categories
BlahBlahBabble Picture Time

Let Your Beauty Shine…

There is nothing more incredibly beautiful than a strong, confident mother. I’m so glad I get to work with them, capturing their sexiness with my camera. Being a Hot Mama Boudoir Photographer might just be the best thing in the world, because I get to share with them how I see their beauty. Almost every woman comes in for a session as a gift for her sweetie, and leaves with an even bigger gift for herself, feeling fantastic. It is incredible to watch the transformation.

Every Mama is beautiful, both inside & out.

It breaks my heart a little bit when I hear people say that they just have to lose 5 more pounds, or even 50 more pounds. Why can’t we accept how beautiful we are, as we are? Why do we hide behind a mask? Myself included here – I do it too. Our view of perfection has become so skewed. Just looking back at movies or magazines from 20 years ago makes it obvious. We’re living in a plastic world when it comes to our perception of beauty.

It needs to stop.

Today, I’m going to take off the mask. I’m going to let my beauty shine for the world. I know I’m not physically perfect, but I’m still beautiful. I hope you’ll do the same!