Ten Reasons to Have Professional Boudoir Photos Taken

There are many reasons to have boudoir photographs taken. Each women has her own special combination of reasons that inspire her to take that leap of faith to do these photographs... but to help you with your decision we have compiled a "Top Ten" list to help get you excited and understand just what boudoir is, and what it can do for you and your significant other!

Top 10 Reasons to Have Boudoir Photographs Taken

10. Celebrate a milestone. Getting married? 5, 10, 25 year anniversary? Just turn 25, 30, 40? Just enter into a relationship? Just end one? Hit a goal weight? All perfect reasons to have A M A Z I N G boudoir photographs done. A boudoir photography session will make you feel amazing about yourself in this moment right now, whatever milestone you may be celebrating.

9. It will shock your friends! They are going to see the images of you looking incredible, and be insanely jealous. Most likely they are going to have their own session done too after they see your photos and how it made you feel. You may even start a movement of women who are incredibly sexy and have the photos to prove it.

8. Every woman should have at least one photo (or a whole set of them) that makes them feel so gorgeous that they just get giddy inside!

7. Putting together the outfits is a blast. Sneaking away your man's sports jersey, buying lacy, frilly, pretty new lingerie, or maybe even a costume. Coming up with looks that you love is a really fun part of the whole experience.

6. Because he won't be able to pick his jaw up off the ground! Trust us, speechless won't even begin to describe it. Seeing the woman he loves all done up glamorous and gorgeous is enough to bring any man to his knees. Plus, do you think he would rather have another new tie or shirt... or pictures of you wearing that shirt... or maybe just the tie...

5. To reconnect with the more intimate parts of yourself. Life happens... between school, jobs, kids, husbands, families, friends, volunteering, etc... its EASY to lose sight of the intimate parts of ourselves and our relationships. What better way to rediscover that fire than with a boudoir session?

4. Its about feeling sexy... not getting naked. There are few feelings more powerful than feeling sexy. That can be done a myriad of ways. From barely there lingerie or nothing at all, to shorts and a camisole and sports socks or a football jersey, all can create incredibly fun, flirty, and sexy images. The point is, that decision is up to you! Some girls want to bare it all, some want to bare a little, just remember you are in control. The amount of clothes isn't whats important, its the feeling of being Sexy that we are after. If you feel it, you will look like it!

3. You don't have to do it alone! Everybody is different, some women will want to bring their friends for support, others will want to share the whole experience with somebody and do a dual shoot, still others will want the whole experience to be about them. Whatever the case, we will make it happen. If you have a friend that wants to come along for moral support, bring them! We will give them a comfy place to sit, watch, and comment, and may even have them hold a light, or a reflector, or fan your hair, or something! Heck, even better, book a dual session and share the whole experience. The only thing we discourage is bringing husbands, boyfriends, or otherwise significant others. Half the point of doing this for them, and keeping things under wraps until the images are finished is the best way to really knock their socks off!

2. Because professionals will make you look gorgeous! Ever wonder how the girls in the magazines look SO amazing??? Teams of professionals, that's how! With our most popular packages, from the moment you step in our studio you are being pampered, cared for, coached, primped, plucked, and polished. We work with some of the premier makeup artists and hair stylists in the Hays Kansas and Central Kansas areas. We are familiar with their boudoir work, and its incredible. As a professional boudoir photographer, its our job to take your new glam look to the next level. We will coach your posing and expression until its perfect, and lighting will be done just right to accentuate your best features while diminishing anything you are self conscious about. Full professional retouching is also done to every photograph before you ever see it. We don't change who you are, but we do nip, tuck, smooth, and polish the image to the level you see every day on billboards and magazines. As a husband and wife team who do this for a living, professionalism is paramount to us. We have different viewpoints, and a male and female eye at each session is somewhat unique to us in the boudoir photography profession. We are complete goofballs, and the mood in the studio will be fun and light, and your nervousness will turn into confidence and you will be hamming it up before you know it.

Women Deny Their Age or Compete With Daughters

The following comment was made in response to one of my articles about "mid-life "mean girls" behavior"

Great advice! As one who is in her forties I avoid the middle-aged gripe club and referencing my age all time. But I have a question. Maybe the answer is in your e-book, but what do you say to people who claim that doing what you prescribe is denying their age? And what do you think about women who say having a youthful vibe, particularly in dress is "trying to compete with your daughter?"

Let's agree on this: It's stupid to deny your age or that you are aging.

Let's also agree on this: While it's stupid to deny your age or that you are aging, it's smart to engage in deliberate defiance of the vicissitudes of aging. That said, it's not easy to make the effort to fight decline because our human nature prefers ease over effort and the leisure oriented senior culture mindset and lifestyle compound the issue.

When "up there" in years, little is worse than being dependent, particularly if dependence results from failure to engage in positive acts of defiance early on. An example of a positive act of defiance is starting an exercise routine while you still have the strength and capacity to bend and stretch, and sticking with it year in and year out. Continuity of effort produces amazing results needed most in the older years.

As for the charge of "trying to compete with your daughter" - let's face it - many older women DO look as good as their daughters, and can wear their daughters' clothes and look great in them, but I don't think women consciously or deliberately try to compete with their daughters.

When a woman makes a negative comment about another woman's appearance or clothing choices, it may be envy. Or, maybe not. Perhaps it's an honest opinion that something "on trend" for a young woman looks silly on an older woman. For example, older women wearing dresses that seem to be made of barely (no pun intended) a yard of fabric. Upon seeing such sights I am often tempted to utter a childhood expression applicable for confused fashionistas:

"I see London, I see France, I can see your underpants". (And sometimes, even more!)

Perhaps you are not old enough to have heard that expression but as a first grade six year old (waaaay back when) I heard it a lot. A cute classmate's parents owned a clothing shop for young children and Jacqueline always looked picture perfect in her short short flouncy Shirley Temple dresses, a sight that motivated gleeful little boys to let her know they could see her picture perfect lace-trimmed underwear. Never seen a Shirley Temple dress? If you have watched teen idol Selena Gomez energetically bounce up and down around the stage in her short short flouncy dress (to the delight of panting pre-pubescent boys), you have the picture.

I digress. If you are making an effort to hang on to as many youthful attributes as possible, good for you! Do what it takes to keep and improve what you have now. Don't allow disparaging remarks from envious or misguided women about denying your age or competing with your daughter deter you from achieving your goal of healthy, independent, DEFIANT agelessness.

What Fun Is a Clothing Budget?

I have had a budget for about 20 years, and when I took a break for a few years, I gradually started spending too much, and realized that I felt guilty no matter how much or how little I bought! When I started budgeting again, I saw the benefit of keeping track of what I was buying, which made me feel much more in control.

Use a Spreadsheet

My husband and I started a household budget when we were first married, and we used Microsoft Excel, but there are other spreadsheet and budgeting products. Even paper and pen will work, just use what you like.

Save Receipts

I save receipts for everything that I am budgeting for--clothing, shoes, jewelry and accessories. I don't include beauty products or appointments, because they aren't as difficult for me to control. Create categories as you see fit. Keep receipts from these categories in your wallet, or designate a basket or bowl in a prominent place at home, which works well if you are budgeting as a couple for your household. This helps to have them handy for returns as well. If you do return something, make sure you credit your spreadsheet.

Record Purchases Once a Week

Choose a time, for example, Sunday evenings, and sit down, gather your receipts, and record the purchases onto your spreadsheet. This will give you your current balance. If you do this, you will always have a number in your head that's available to spend.

Set a Monthly Budget Amount

This is the hard part, and it's different for everyone. Obviously, you need to be able to afford it, but beyond that, try to come up with what you would like to be spending. You can make it quarterly or weekly amounts if you'd like, but monthly seems the right timing for me.

Keeping my clothing purchases within a budget has helped me to shop more intelligently. I shop at a variety of stores, such as Target, Nordstrom Rack, and consignment, as well as traditional clothing stores. Budgeting also helps me make better use of the clothes I have in my closet, by wearing them more often, but mixing them in different ways. I am more careful with what I buy, making sure it is the right fit and color, and that I really love it. It has helped me to be aware of major store's sales and keeping some money available for those sales.

Using a budget allows you to save up for large purchases you otherwise would think are too expensive or you would feel guilty about. As you purchase items, be very sure you want to keep them and wear them. This can take some time and trial and error, so always save receipts and invest the time to return items that you decide you don't like. Also, if something is in good condition, and can't be returned, sell it at a consignment shop and use that money for new clothes.

Way to Get Rid of Cellulite

There are many other remedies around. The major ones are massages, cream, oils, going under the knife, and detox. This is a complex concern and it's really not unlikely if you're a little exhausted to know what system to take. This really is understandable since there are numerous ways and each one swears it is the best solution.

Due to this dilemma, lets look at the issue so it is understandable and then it'll be easier to realize how to solve the true problem.

First...

The Problem 

The reason 90 percent of women have cellulite is because of atrophied muscles. Atrophied muscles are un-toned muscles fibers. Ladies young and old can get cellulite and it's due to a mixture of hereditary and lifestyle conditions. The atrophied muscles, or un-toned muscle fibers, have this way from soft and un-tight connected tissues. (The good news is that this can certainly be undone but not from cream or anything such as that and you will see why!)

The problem lies beneath the skins surface therefore how can creams, oils, etc. solve the matter? Well, they can't! But what they will be able to do is fix the symptoms on the skins surface, which is the bumps and uneven surface appearance known as cellulite. Unfortunately, this only attempts to fix symptoms while masking the true root issue.

So how should you fix the real problem, and not simply the symptoms?

You get rid of cellulite naturally.

How do you get rid of cellulite naturally?

The solution 

You get rid of cellulite naturally mainly through specific calisthenic movements. Secondarily, by eating specific foods.

That's it.

There's more information for you to know, but that is the blueprint to clear out cellulite naturally.

Here is a small example of the complete plan...

Specific calisthenic movements:

Back Kicks 

Start on all fours onto a carpeted ground. Back flat, legs and arms at 90 degrees to floor, and look forward.

Lift your left leg up and horizontal with your back. Hold for several seconds, you will feel your hamstrings and glutes being exercised. Let your leg down to the floor and move onto the right leg. Complete two sets of ten for each leg.

Plié Squats 

Stand upright with your feet flat on the ground. Set your legs a lttle bit wider than your shoulders. Keep your arms in front of your legs.

While your upper body straight, begin to squat down. As you are squatting, position your knees directly over your toes. This will work out your glutes. Complete three sets of approximately twenty reps.

How to Find Bras for Small Breasts?

Intentional or not, media -which include manufacturer advertising-- has portrayed that bigger breasts are more desirable than small or medium ones so women's preference for large breasts is quite commonplace. True or not, women with rather small breasts want to make them look bigger, if not actually larger, to conform to this 'ideal'. That is one reason bras for small breasts are popular. Where there is a need, there is a market for products, already made or not.

So what are the best bras for small breasts? Many women will automatically reply, 'push up bras', or maybe 'padded bras'. Both answers are often correct, but there are also bras made particularly for small breasts and not just minimized versions of the popular sizes. The latter bras do not consider the possible wearer's physique and other physical configurations, so that wearing that inappropriate bra often results in discomfort.

Hence the best bras for small breasts are those that fit the wearer as a bra should.

The problem is, like the others, in finding those bras.

To do that you need to take several steps. First is, have yourself measured. About 85% of women is said to use the wrong-size bra, mostly unintentionally because they did not know their sizes. So to get the correct bra for small breasts you must know your measurements.

Next, decide on what you want. Is it a push up bra? Push-inward? What padding: air, water, foam, gel? Or do you want a simple, no-frills bra that is nice and comfortable to wear all day? By knowing what you want you can narrow your search for your bra to only a few styles and brands, instead of looking over all available bras.

Check the designs you decided on, to imagine how they may fit you. Searching online is the quickest and simplest way, where you can see the pictures of bras for small breasts and their descriptions. Doing so will further narrow your search parameters and ease your efforts, as well as give you a glimpse of the possibilities bras for small breasts can give in terms of looks.

Understand the right way to put on a bra. Slip the bra on without hooking it, bend forward so your breasts hang down, and put your breasts into the cups, moving the bra as needed. Without straightening, close the clasp at the back, then straighten and adjust the band. It should be about midway between your elbows and shoulders and horizontal. You must be able to insert into the band only a finger or two, but the band should feel only snug, not tight.

Finally, go to the stores and test fit their available bras for small breasts in the designs you want. You must be comfortable wearing it even for a short time, since if not, it will be less comfortable in the longer run. Be sure to get the bras that flatter your breasts and physique, like the balconette design, and with just slight padding, since to make your breasts look two sizes bigger will be preposterous.

4 Ways to Handle Your Modern Wedding Invitation Creation

But while the proposal was something more or less out of my control (all women have a few tricks in that area of course) the invitations were my chance to express my own individual and my personal feelings and excitement towards the big day. In honor of all the people who helped me through that process, and for everyone else looking at it for the first time, here are the major four ideas most people go with for their wedding invitation creation.

1. Getting a stock, preformatted invitation. I hesitate to write this, but if you are looking for invites that are cheap and fast, this is your option. The downsides? Always order samples first because you might not know whether or not what you order is the same quality as what you expect. Also, customization is what makes your invitation unique to you and your wedding-don't just pick a preformatted style and plug in your own words on a form.

2. Local custom creators. Visiting your local wedding expo you can often find semi-professional wedding invitation designers, many of whom work from home. Every individual is different and has different pricing, services, and availability-but the advantage is in the personal touches. Typically these individuals can find you the ink, paper, and create the images and accents that you are looking for so that your project can be totally unique.

3. Online creation. Big props to MiDesign@Michaels.com a for this one. Creating invitations online has never been easier, or more fun. Basically the technology has caught up with imagination so that you can easily use starting templates and formats, order samples to see if they are what you are interested in, and then customize EVERYTHING. Want different color ribbon? Done. Different ink? Same price. Need to change the wording or formatting? You can mess with the files as many times as you want before ordering and having the invites shipped to your local Michaels or to your home. The advantages are price, convenience, customization, and professional quality. The downside? You still have to stuff them all-but that's just how it goes for all wedding invites.

4. DIY wedding invitations. For those of us who are themselves rather crafty, do-it-yourself can be a great option for saving money and getting the exact results that you want without negotiation with a company or individual. The disadvantage would be time involved, as cutting, printing, and tying pieces together for even a hundred invitations can take days after you figure out the design you want. The process can be sped up significantly by ordering pre-cut DIY wedding invites parts and pieces from MiDesign@Michaels.com, still saving some cash but also letting you sidestep some of the more involved steps in putting your invites together as you want them.

The Gothic Dress Corset and Its Role in Fashion

Your Fashion Statement Can Reflect the Real You

If a person is described to have a Gothic style of fashion, people almost always have this notion that it is a morbid one. Reason being that women who prefer this kind of look often have their natural light brown hair color dyed into a deep black one. In addition, they color their lips black, apply dark eyeliner and complement their overall look with dark make up but a pale visage with dark/black nail polish and clothing. The use of Gothic dress corset, in addition to your own Gothic dress collection, if you already have some will often prove to be a good decision in the end. For some women, adopting this kind of fashion sense is their way of expressing their deepest thoughts. Some wanted to be radical and go against the usual norms of society, adopting the Gothic fashion. Some would just want to stand out above the rest. While the reasons may vary on women observed to have a Gothic style of fashion, a Gothic dress corset is a must have in the closet.

What is a Gothic Dress Corset?

Did you know that the Gothic dress corset has its roots dating back to the Victorian era? It is a style of clothing designed to flatter the shape of a woman's body, much like that of an hourglass. From the early ages of fashion history, it is evident that this style of clothing is actually used to enhance the sexuality of women. It places high regard on a woman's figure, hence it enhances it.

When the use of Gothic dress corset became a word of mouth among women and married couples, it is not at all that comfortable to wear one. But gradually, through time, the designs were refined to make it more comfortable to wear and provide ease of movement. The fabrics used then were softer and as much as possible should not cause rashes or irritation on the skin. There are a number of Gothic dresses that one can choose from such as fishnets and lace trimmed long skirts and match those with your choice of silver ornaments. Fishnets can be worn as jumpers and shirts; as well they can also be worn on the legs and arms. If accessories would be needed to complete your Gothic look, a wide brimmed dark hat or a black umbrella would be a good addition. Actually there is no specific standard to follow in order to achieve that Gothic look, as it all depend on the person's creativity. Thus, it is safe to say we could only be limited by our very own imagination.

Enhancing Your Sexuality With Gothic Fashion Sense

It is very evident that Gothic fashion as well as Gothic dresses seems to give women a certain level of power, of mystery and of desirability. It makes them all the more attractive and bewitching and this is an important aspect to look upon in order to keep a long and lasting relationship. There are various kinds of Gothic dresses that one can choose from, here are just a few to pick from:

• Gothic dress corset 

• Fishnet stockings 

• Gloves 

• Gothic symbols go for your accessory (skulls, ankh, pentagrams to name a few)

As earlier mentioned, a Gothic dress corset flatters a woman's figure. It helps define her sexuality and this kind of Gothic clothing is used mostly by couples who wanted to add more life and excitement to their married life. It creates an aura of dynamic persona in a woman wearing it, helping her to take things under her control and under her command.