Boudoir Photographers International
A boudoir photography referral site by THE BOUDOIR DIVAS
We LOVE it when boudoir gets recognition in the news and media outlets! Check out this cool interview with The Boudoir Divas’ – featured on the Celebrity Wedding Reporter blog!
Oh, and… in case you were wondering… YES, that IS Tenley Molzahn from The Bachelor! We’ll be posting more of her images SOON – so check back!
WHAT IS MICRO FINANCE?
Micro finance is an amazing way to change our world. It is a hand up empowering people living in poverty to create small business and jobs. It’s not just a hand-out. We have chosen Opportunity International, a reputable charity that we have trusted with our money for years now. We are going to let them explain why they claim micro finance can “END GLOBAL POVERTY.” A bold statement but very exciting when you hear the concept. Here is what they say…..
“You will frequently hear us say that we can help “End global poverty. Faster.” A bold statement, but what does it mean, really? If you’re serious about it, it means you have to approach the problem in a whole new way.
You have to believe in new things. You have to make each step work smarter, not harder. And you have to ignite the passion we believe is inherent in every human being on earth.
We call this approach the “Multiplier Effect.” Everything it touches is compounded and transformed for good. Every act creates a new chain of good that reaches well beyond any physical constraint.
When you give your money to OptINnow, we call that “funding a loan” for good reason. We don’t just hand that
money off to a person in need. We use it to empower entrepreneurs. With greater support in hand, businesses grow. Entrepreneurs hire others in the community, allowing them to provide for their individual families, affecting change where it is needed most. We look for people with the passion to make a difference and a vision for success. We train them on business principles that help them work their way out of poverty.
But even this alone doesn’t end global poverty faster. It’s a matter of starting something bigger than you are. Starting something that never ends. Everything you do compounds. Every person you touch expands. The multiplication is exponential, reaching more families and transforming more lives.
The Multiplier Effect isn’t about money. It’s about people. It’s about taking a simple tool like a donation and empowering an entrepreneur. That person makes an impact on the community: church, school, bank, store… you name it. Those outcomes seed larger outcomes. Our repaid loans in turn help more entrepreneurs. And you have the power to start it all.
And the next thing you know, we do “End global poverty. Faster.”
So we say… LET’S DO IT TOGETHER!!!! Those of us who love boudoir photography and small business, let’s come together and share our love and passion with needy, hopeful entrepreneurs who aren’t even given a chance to pull themselves out of poverty because there are no jobs and the small business they want to start is just an impossible dream. Impossible because banks refuse to lend them needed start-up funds. Sometimes all they need is a simple $50 dollars. So let’s lend them the money together!!!
HOW WOULD THE PLEDGE WORK?
We would ask that you commit to giving $5 from each boudoir shoot that you do, put that money aside and then the first of every month (or a date you choose) you update our donation page http://www.optinnow.org/fundraisers/boudoir . We have been doing this same thing with our clients, and we have labels we have printed that we stick on their invoice so that our clients know that a small portion of what they have paid is going to an amazing cause. Here is an example of what the label could look like. You can adapt ours or make your own.
If you commit to the pledge email us at info@theboudoirdivas.com and we will add your link to the Opportunity International post. Note: You do not have to be a member or Boudoir International to participate, you don’t even have to be a boudoir photographer. You can just commit if you love the cause.
There is no written contract saying that you are going to participate. If you even need to stop donating we will completely understand. If you are more comfortable making a one time donation we welcome that as well.
$10,000 IS A CRAZY GOAL? CAN WE DO IT?
Our studio (www.theboudoirdivas.com) has earned $3500 in the past for World Vision’s Girls in Crisis Fund and now we are ready to push with fellow boudoir photographers for a larger goal. We love to dream big and believe that God will meet us halfway if we humbly trust him and are in line with what he loves. So let’s do this together everyone!
WHY MALAWI AFRICA?
Opportunity International allows us to choose the country that we want to donate the money to. We love that because Kimberlee and I (Marissa) have some ties to Malawi through church and family and feel strongly that, Lord willing, we will have many opportunities in our life to visit that special country. Opportunity International Int is so amazing because once there, they will set up a visit so we can see specifically how our donating has helped small businesses, and therefore families and communities, thrive. We love the idea of being able to do photo and video and show off exactly how your generosity has helped.
IN ACTION
Millicent Wahiga one of our two million clients working their way out of poverty through access to Opportunity’s microfinance services. Millicent runs a business making and selling children’s clothes out of a shop at the Uhuru market in Nairobi, Kenya. Loans from Opportunity have enabled her to increase her income, which she and her husband use to provide food, clothing and schoolbooks for their two children.
We love this new boudoir-wave. And we love it when people make boudoir their own and put a fun twist to the typical sex-appeal. Below is a quirky pirate inspired boudoir shoot by The Boudoir Divas. We encourage you to chat with your boudoir photographer about putting a fun twist on your shoot to give it that editorial boudoir vibe, and while they may not be cool with dragging a bed to the ocean with you, they may love it if you bring it some special items to personalize your shoot.
It all started when I watched the Victoria’s Secret Superbowl commercial. It got me thinking that I have never really had the chance to feel sexy, really girly sexy. I mean, I am okay and all, but I definitely do have the typical woman complaints. Enough to keep from loving my body. So something about that commercial made me want to have sexy photos of myself. And after mulling it over I think one of the main reasons was because I wanted to not only feel sexy, but prove to myself that I was and am beautiful and a bit too hard on myself after all these years. Maybe create a turning point to make peace with my body. That sounds kinda dramatic so being honest I want to say that in the overall picture of life, feeling quote unquote “sexy†is not necessary to my survival. I get that. But, after being bombarded by the media with images of hot women constantly, it sure would be fun to be “Victoria’s Secret†sexy for a day and have proof of it in an album to boot.
So once I convinced myself that I wanted a sexy lingerie shoot, I hit Google like a mad woman in hot pursuit. I discovered that when I Googled “sexy lingerie photo shoot†that “boudoir photography†sites popped up. And after a little more research I realized that this was exactly what I was looking for. What I gathered was that “boudoir†is a private and classy approach to sexy photos for the everyday woman. That the boudoir photographer’s job is to professionally guide their client in all things sexy; flattering posing, expression and outfit choices. I loved looking around at all the photographers sites, seeing all the different styles and reasons why each photographer loved doing what they do . Even though the photographer I chose was a bit a of drive, I selected them because I felt like they would really take care of me during this nerve wracking yet very fun process. I booked my shoot about 6 weeks out and even though they told me over and over that losing weight was soooo not a necessary component to being sexy, I wanted to do just a little toning up to feel my best. Oh and more than anything I wanted time
to go shopping!
I arrived at their studio without make-up and with butterflies so strong in my tummy I wanted to turn around and go home. Not to mention I had experienced a bit of a rough start to my day (I forgot one of my outfits and had to turn around and go home to grab it). When I arrived I was greeted with warm smiles, offered champagne, there was fun music playing and as soon as hair and make-up started the past concerns were gone. I asked the MUA (I learned that stands for make-up artist) to give me a bit of “Bond Girl†look. By that I meant big hair and smokey, sultry make-up. I was having a blast already!
My make-up was done, and I adored it! I would never have thought I would love the look of intense shadow and eyelashes, but man I looked so hot. I don’t even know if my friends would recognize me like this since I am just a flip-flop and jeans sort of girl. Next the photographer helped me pick out outfits and we talked about the “look†that I liked. Then it was time to shoot. The photographer (who was great by the way) kind of gave me a bit of a pep talk before. She told me there was no right or wrong. To just look confident and relaxed and that she would show me the pose and make adjustments as she shot . We took pictures for about an hour and half, which may go down in history as the most fun hour and a half of my life! I felt so beautiful and sexy, and I felt such trust for my photographer during the shoot. I already want to go back and do another shoot on their other sets.
A little bit later I saw my photos and purchased an album and a big black and white print for my bathroom. I was floored by the images. Wow. I am SO thankful that I decided to book a boudoir photo shoot. I will always remember my boudoir shoot as the turning point in my life when I realized that I was just as hot as any cover model out there.
Ladies who are considering a boudoir shoot, GO FOR IT! You are totally worth this pampering, confidence-boosting experience!
-Becky
