• It only takes $100 to reserve your date!
• Sessions may take place any time between now and Feb. 14, 2011!
• Time is running out! Reserve your session by 11:59pm on Oct. 31 to take advantage of this great discount!

You deserve to give this to yourself.  Even if the photos are intended as a gift for your sweetheart, the real joy you will receive is the feeling of sexiness you will have when you view your photos.  You’re hot enough to do this NOW: without losing 5 pounds, without flawless skin, without conforming to an unattainable ideal of what “beauty” is supposed to be.  Go find a mirror: THAT is what beauty looks like.  Book your session today, and let me show you.

Anne Ruthmann is offering a limited number of $300 boudoir sessions on Saturday, November 13th and Sunday, November 21st.  Anne is based in Boston, so she’s a much closer option for those of you on the east coast.  She’s also a brilliant wedding and portrait photographer who has had her photos featured a few times on Offbeat Bride.  I’ve followed Anne’s work for years, and I have oodles of respect for her (which is why I am sending a shout-out to her on my blog even though I suppose I could think of her as competition!)  I realize that Seattle is too far away for many people to make it out here to take advantage of my 2010 holiday boudoir promotion, so maybe Anne’s boudoir sessions would be an option for some of you east coasters.

Also, a note to boudoir photographers in other areas of the country: please drop me a comment, email or tweet to say hello…especially if you have examples of plus-sized clients in your portfolio.  I get contacted on a fairly regular basis by individuals who want boudoir photos, but can’t afford the trip out to Seattle.  If you work with plus-sized clients (and show that in your portfolio) I’m happy to make referrals. 

Seattle, WA — Every time I hear someone talk about “six degrees of separation,” I shake my head and laugh, wondering at how people manage to get six WHOLE degrees between themselves and another person.  See, in the queer community, we don’t get to have that.  We’re such a small community anyway, that most of our friends have slept with the hottie we’re currently crushing on.  Or if they haven’t slept together, they’ve worked at a non-profit together, or answered each other’s Craigslist ad, or their good friend knows them, or…………

Point is, we’re all fishing in the same tiny pool, and sometimes it seems like it doesn’t matter WHERE you go or what city you move to, because we all still know one another.  Depending on your perspective, this is either somewhat amusing or extremely annoying.

Ms. Loaf and I are no exception to the, “Every Lesbian Knows Every Other Lesbian In The World,” phenomenon.  When she contacted me several months ago, I recognized her online pseudonym because she used to write a blog about the wedding that she and her partner were planning.  (Yes, friends, your humble photographer here used to be a little obsessed with reading wedding blogs.  Don’t ask.)  I tried googling until I could google no more, but I couldn’t find the blog.  I replied back and asked if she happened to be the same “Ms. Loaf,” who authored a lesbian wedding blog.  She was, and from there we figured out that we shared a mutual friend that she had known since high school (and who is good friends with my best friend.)  She had randomly come across my website when looking for a boudoir photographer, and we both looked at this serendipity as a sign that we were supposed to work together on this project.

Last weekend, Loaf hopped on a plane from Utah after spending 15 hours with one of her clients in labor (Loaf is a doula-in-training).  It was so cool to finally meet her!  Aside from the miles on the plane from Utah, Loaf had a long journey getting here.  When she was writing her wedding blog, she was butch-identified, but as her relationship ended she started finding her inner femme.  She wanted to do this photo session as a gift to herself, to challenge herself to really look at herself and embrace her sexiness.  She wrote a wonderful post about it on her blog, which actually made me get choked up.  I LOVE being a part of someone’s path on the road of self-acceptance.  That’s why I do this work.  It’s not just about taking pictures and running a side business: it’s about helping people feel awesome about who they are.

One of the cool things about Loaf’s session was that she really wanted to have her hair and make-up done before the session.  Typically I tell clients that if they don’t normally wear make-up, that there’s no reason they should for their session.  However, Loaf really wanted to have the ultimate femme pampering experience and I think it turned out so well!  I don’t feel like anyone NEEDS to have their make-up done for a session, but after seeing the results of Loaf’s beauty treatment, I have to admit…it looks pretty awesome!  If you’re considering booking a session and want some hair and make-up recommendations, please let me know and I’ll hook you up. 

Enjoy the slideshow of Loaf’s pictures.  And then ask: what are YOU waiting for? Don’t you deserve to be a sexy vixen for a day, too?  When you book a boudoir session with me, you will see a positive change to the way you relate to your body, and you will own your beauty like you never have before.  Get in touch ASAP about booking a boudoir session in order to lock-in your 2010 holiday boudoir discount!

I am offering special rates for boudoir sessions booked during the month of October.  Your session may take place anytime between now and Valentine’s Day (February 14th, 2011), but it must be scheduled and reserved by 11:59pm (PST) on October 31st, 2010.  Book a session now to have your luxury boudoir products ready in time for the holidays, or purchase a gift certificate to surprise your partner with a session for you both!

Sessions in the greater Seattle area include viewing & ordering following your photo session. I will help you select the best images for professional editing and printing. You can reserve your session date with a retainer fee of just $100, and payment plans are available for all of the sessions; just ask for details when you contact me!

DIVINE BEING SESSIONS - $599 Sale! $499
Divine Being Sessions are my premiere package, and includes top-of-the-line boudoir products for you to have as keepsakes or give as gifts to your sweetie.

What’s Included

• Three hours of photography at my studio or another location that we arrange**
• Same-day viewing & ordering session
• Private, password-protected, online proofing & ordering gallery
• Basic image processing on all images
• Advanced, artistic edits and retouching on your best 50 images
• Leather-bound, keepsake DVD Folio of the images selected for advanced editing
• My signature leather-bound 5×5 “Little Black Book” of your best 40 images
• One 12×18 print of your choice, professionally matted and framed

INGENUE SESSIONS – $399 Sale! $329
Ingenue Sessions are my most popular package and includes my signature “Little Black Book” for you to have as a keepsake or share with a sweetie.

What’s Included

• 2 hours of photography at my studio
• Private viewing & ordering session within two weeks of your session date
• Private, password-protected, online proofing & ordering gallery
• Basic image processing on all images
• Advanced, artistic edits and retouching on the best 50 images
• My signature leather-bound 5×5 “Little Black Book” of your best 20 images

SOVEREIGN SESSIONS – $199 Sale! $179
Sovereign Sessions are a great choice if you have a limited budget. I will work with you to create awesome images in a shorter time-frame, and you may order products a-la-carte. Sovereign sessions are available on weeknights only.

What’s Included

• 30-60 minutes of photography at my studio
• Private viewing & ordering session within two weeks of your session date
• Private, password-protected, online proofing & ordering gallery
• Basic image processing on all images
• Advanced, artistic edits and retouching on the best 25 images

Payment plans are available for all of the sessions; just ask for details when you contact me!

For the last several months, I have been working hard to revamp my boudoir product catalog.  As my busy season kicks into gear, I’m really excited to finally get to share them with everyone!  I will be making a series of blog posts to highlight my new products.  If you’re a previous client and you’d like to order from my new catalog, please let me know!  If you haven’t booked your boudoir session yet, what are you waiting for?  This is the perfect time to get your session booked to have your products in time for the winter holidays.

The  product I want to highlight today is my new Little Black Book.  This book is unmatched in print quality and craftsmanship. Starting at $149.99, the Little Black Book is available in 5×5 and 8×8. The cover of your book may be enhanced with foil stamping.  (Foil stamping is only available on leather covers.)  My signature Little Black Book is specially printed just for you in a classic and friendly square-format, 20-page hardcover book with a black leather cover. Designed with one full-page image on each page, this hinged book lays flat with a slim, sleek design.

Little Black Books are included in the price of my Divine Being Boudoir Session and the Ingenue Boudoir Session.  They make perfect keepsakes for you to remind yourself of how sexy you are, and they also make wonderful gifts.  The 5×5 size is discrete enough to toss in your purse and share with friends, and the 8×8 book makes a striking impression when given to a sweetie.  If you can’t narrow down the image selection, additional pages are only $5/ea.!

Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions, or if you are ready to book your boudoir session today.  What are you waiting for?  Holidays are just around the corner!  Book now with a $100 retainer, and we can work out a payment plan for the rest of the session fee.  Just think of the look on your sweetie’s face when they unwrap their gift this year.  (And after they unwrap the Little Black Book, they can unwrap you!  Oooh la la!)  You are hot enough to do this now.  You don’t need to lose 5 pounds or go to the gym.  You look fabulous enough TODAY, so take the leap!  You won’t regret it. 

My most popular product by far is my DVD Folio.  Folios are covered in a red, vegan “leather,” and I also added a new option: custom photo covers!  Custom photo covers may be added for an additional $25.  All folios are packaged in tissue and stored in a black box.

With high-resolution digital files of all images selected for advanced editing, files included on the DVD may be printed for personal use only. The cost of this offering is $99.99 purchased alone, or $49.99 with print and product orders totaling more than $500.  For customers who require only one digital image, a single, high resolution file may be purchased for $19.99. And because I believe in protecting your investment, I include care instructions for your files and for creating high quality prints up to 5×7.  I ask that you print anything larger though me so that I can ensure the archival quality of your final prints.

In addition to images included on your DVD Folio, you may purchase single digital images. Individual files are available from your online proofing and ordering gallery, and you may also purchase additional image edits in a batch.

You can buy digital downloads at a variety of sizes. A digital download is simply a copy of the image file, sized in one of three ways.

A Mini is roughly 1 megapixel in size. In English, that means a square 1 megapixel image would be about 1,000 pixels wide and 1,000 pixels high. For comparison, the most common resolution for computer monitors is 1024×768. So a Mini file is a bit larger than common monitor resolutions. If you are looking for a web-ready version of one of your images that does not include a Fat Bottom Boudoir logo, this is the option for you. Mini images are $4.99.

A Print-Ready file is 4 megapixels. This is a size that allows for quality printing at most reasonable sizes. If you want to print at really large poster sizes (larger than 8×10), you would probably want a larger image than this.  Print-Ready files are $19.99.

A Large-Format file is the exact image as uploaded by me. It is the original size of the image, identical in every way.  Original images are $99.99.

Sometimes clients find that they like so many images from their session that the number of final images included in their package is simply not enough! I offer clients the ability to order more finished images in a batch so that you can enjoy all of the images you love.  You may order an additional 25-50 images from your session for $249.99.  These images will be included on your photo DVD (if you ordered one) and uploaded to your proofing and ordering gallery at no additional charge.

DVD Folios are included in the price of my Divine Being Boudoir Session and may be purchased with any other package.  They are great for maintaining an archive of the images for your session so that you may always make smaller prints for personal use.

Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions, or if you are ready to book your boudoir session today.

For my part, it was an exciting summer to be fat: to get to see actors that looked like me on TV (or, okay, streaming on my computer monitor, in my case), was both incredible and terrifying.  Many people in the fatosphere refused to watch the show because they were sure that they would be disappointed.  That somehow we were being tricked; lulled into a false sense of security over our excitement at seeing people who LOOKED LIKE US on TV, only to find that the moral of the story is that we’re all much happier when we lose weight.  Fortunately, that wasn’t the moral of the story at all.  On the contrary, the show really seemed to be setting out to say, “These are some of the experiences of being a teenager.”  Period.  Yes, some of the characters are fat, and some of the content is about that, but not in a body-shaming or self-loathing way.  More in a matter-of-fact, this-is-how-this-character-experiences-life sort of way.

There was a point during the season where I got a little bored with a few of the episodes, because it was really just your typical teenage drama and didn’t have much of a political message attached to it.  Until I realized: THAT in and of itself IS political and revolutionary.  It has a normalizing effect to see fat characters just interacting as individuals, not talking about their fatness, and just being people.  It reminded me of one of the reasons that I work with clients of ALL body shapes and sizes: because seeing bodies that represent a range of sizes and shapes next to each other helps send the message that all bodies are beautiful just exactly as they are.  And that’s what I’m trying to do here, with my little photography business: make everyone feel as beautiful as they are.

Go read the interview with Savannah Dooley over on Fatshionista, and then come back over here and tell me what you think.  And then let’s book your session so we can rock your self image through photography. 

Want to see future seasons of Huge?
ABC has not yet said that they plan to produce further seasons of Huge. If you want to help make sure we continue seeing this kind of body diversity on television, here’s what Leslie recommends:

Huge’s future continues to be unclear. If you want to help ensure a speedy return, please let ABC Family know you want more fat on your television by contacting them directly:

Send an email through the ABC Family feedback form letting them know how much you dig the show, and that you want a second season.

Hit ABC Family with your Twitter-based demands for more Huge at @ABCFHuge and at @ABCFamily. Or give them a shout on the Huge Facebook page.

Send a dump truck of mini-muffins to ABC Family’s physical address at:
ABC Family
500 South Buena Vista St.
Burbank, CA 91521-6078

Personally, I live pretty close to the Hostess factory in Seattle, so maybe I’ll send them Twinkies. 

Seattle, WA – Last spring, Jocelyn contacted me about a surprise photo session for her sweetie.  See, Jocelyn has given photos of herself to him for a variety of occasions (holiday, birthday, Valentine’s day, etc.), and has usually employed her sister or friends to help with the process.  They’ve always had fun and creative ideas, but the photos themselves frequently turned out to be disappointing.  (Which is difficult to imagine, I know!  Look at the awesome raw material they were working with, right?!)  I was more than happy to help, and I was especially excited because Jocelyn has such a striking and unique look.  I felt like I was working with a modern day Bettie Page!  And just to drive that home, we included some pin-ups with the rest of the images from her session.  If you’re interested in doing some pin-up images with the rest of your session, let me know!  They’re a lot of fun, and really showcase your cute outfits. 

Jocelyn chose to bring her friend with her to the photo session and also to her proofing and ordering session.  For those of you who are considering taking the boudoir plunge, I DEFINITELY encourage this!  People who are close to you (a friend, a sister) can really make you feel comfortable and get you laughing.  One other distinct advantage is that sometimes they catch details that you and I miss.  They might notice a hair out of place, or a garter that is twisted.  They can also come over and brush your hair or make adjustments without me losing my angle on the image we were trying to capture.  An extra set of eyes and hands is extremely useful!  If you want to bring someone with you, just let me know so that I can make sure they have a cozy place to hang out while you’re looking hot!

Enjoy Jocelyn’s images, and be sure to leave a comment letting her know that she’s smokin’!

First off, I need a space for my mini-session marathon on Saturday, August 14th. I’m open to renting an art studio space, but what I actually LOVE is working in someone’s home.  Here’s what I’m looking for…

Must have:

• Approx 450 sqft. in the room where photos take place
• A bed we can use for folks to pose on
• White walls (1 wall of color might be okay, depending on the arrangement of the space)
• Wood floors (concrete is fine, too)
• Wheelchair accessibility
• Reliable, well-placed electrical outlets

Ideal:

• Big windows/good light
• Brick wall
• Two additional rooms similar to the main room in terms of size and light

Studio apartments circa 1920s actually tend to hit a lot of what I’m looking for (though the accessibility can be lacking if not on the main floor), so I’d especially like to chat with anyone who is willing to open up your apartment for a day of sexy, fun, fat photography. 

If this sounds like your space:
Get in touch!  Comment below, or email molly [at] fatbottomboudoir [dot] com. If you can send me photos of your space, that would be extremely helpful!  If I end up selecting your space, you (or you and your sweetie) get a FREE personal boudoir photo session with me on Friday, August 13th!

PLEASE feel free to pass this along to folks that you think have what I’m looking for and would be willing to open up their home for the day.  I’m also open to using a photo/art space, so if you have recommendations or resources, please send those, too!

Thanks, Portland!  Can’t wait to see your sexiness strutting for my camera!

PS: I’m also interested in some recommendations for good photo equipment rentals in Portland, so please let me know if you have those, too. 

Seattle, WA: In March, I had the pleasure of photographing Nancy D., who was referred to me by some very dear friends of mine.  Nancy has been celebrating this year as a really special one, because she hit the big five-oh.  That’s right.  The hotness you see before you is 50.  Can you say “Wowza?”  When I look at these photos, I can’t help but think, “50?!  No freakin’ WAY!”  Ladies: let me tell you, there is no “too old” for a boudoir session.  Talk about Hottie McHotterson!

When Nancy asked me to photograph her to celebrate her 50th birthday, I was SO thrilled!  I love helping people celebrate their special occasions through great imagery.  Maybe it’s because I used to photograph weddings, but I really enjoy the process of capturing a momentous occasions in a person’s life.  Nancy is extremely active, always hiking, climbing and doing (what I consider to be) outrageous activities.  (Like, you know, jogging and whatnot.)  Not really my bag, but I have to admit: she looks freaking fantastic!

One thing I love about Nancy is that she is so proud of her athletic figure.  You can tell just by looking at her that she’s strong…maybe strong enough to pick you up and toss you across the room, if you’re not careful!  Female bodies are so rarely valued for being strong in our culture, and are often maligned by accusations of being unfeminine in some way.  I think Nancy’s session makes it abundantly clear that there is NOTHING unfeminine or unattractive about being a strong, athletic woman.  A woman at 50 who can rock a Harley Davidson leather jacket as easily as fun, turquoise lingerie is sexy in MY book, any day!  It’s all about attitude, and Nancy knows how to rock what she’s got.

Who else out there is up to the challenge?  Are you ready to show me what you’ve got in your own session?