At Home in Her Body | Lifestyle Bohemian Boudoir: Danielle

After a long break from blogging, I’m finally back—and it feels so good! There are so many breathtaking sessions and deeply inspiring stories I’ve been holding onto, and I can’t wait to share them with you.

To be honest, at first, I hesitated. Would posting these sessions months or years later be too late? But as I clicked through each folder, I felt overwhelmed with emotion. I was reminded, yet again, of how stunning my clients are, how meaningful these moments were, and how truly timeless these images will always be. I can picture my clients looking back at them decades from now, cherishing the way they felt and celebrating the evolution of who they are. So why in the world would I think it’s too late now? Silly me.

This session I’m about to share with you took place just before the war began, in September 2023.

My client, Danielle, is such a special, kind, and creative soul…

When she first reached out to me a few years ago, we had a stunning session in my studio. I still remember our first call—she was so nervous, afraid she wouldn’t like any of the pictures. But deep down, she knew she wanted to push past that fear, step outside her comfort zone, and celebrate exactly where she was in life at that moment.

Her first session was pure magic. She let herself be seen, and the results spoke for themselves. When she finally saw the images, she couldn’t believe how much she loved them. It was such a beautiful moment—watching her shift from doubt to pure joy.

When Danielle reached out about having another boudoir experience, it felt like a full-circle moment. She shared how much the photos from our first session had meant to her—how, as her body changed over time, those images helped her embrace and love herself in ways she never had before. Now, in a completely different chapter of her life, she wanted to continue that journey. This time, it wasn’t just about taking beautiful photos—it was about stepping into deeper self-acceptance, letting go of old expectations, and celebrating herself with openness and joy.

As we talked, I immediately started picturing the session—her in her beautiful home, with a more lifestyle vibe. As an interior designer, her space is a direct reflection of who she is, a sanctuary that tells her story. And with its modern bohemian vibes—textured fabrics, earthy tones, and an effortless, curated feel—I connected with it so much. It was totally my style too, which made capturing her in that space even more fun.

So, on a quiet morning, I headed to her charming neighborhood with my incredible hair and makeup artist, Rhonda Lev. Over coffee, soft music, and easy conversation, we created gorgeous art together—an experience that felt effortless, joyful, and deeply true to her…

Kodak Film // Processed and Scanned by Panda Labs

Hair and Makeup by Rhonda Lev

For Danielle’s gorgeous work: www.daniellebielski.com // www.instagram.com/daniellebielski.design

Empowered and at Peace | New York Boudoir : Rebecca

This breathtaking session took place last year, in October 2021. I know, I know. I can’t believe I haven’t posted it yet either!

As the first cold breezes flew through New York, my makeup artist and I arrived at our gorgeous Airbnb to begin the first of many boudoir sessions.

In my client’s words, “I’ve been speaking with Rebecca for years now trying to work with her. Splitting time between Israel and the US, conflicting schedules, and of course, Covid, we were finally able to make it work. This was years in the making!”

When my client, also Rebecca, walked into the Airbnb for her boudoir session, she lit up the room. After all this time, I could not wait to photograph her.

Through the pre-session process, I had the chance to get to know Rebecca more and help guide her through the physical and emotional preparations. I remember her telling me about her journey, sharing her feelings about her body, and giving me all the details of her stunning tattoos. Her coaching call gave us the opportunity to have a collaborative vision for her experience and the art we wanted to create together.

Afterward, she said, “This was the most intimate and personal set I have ever done in my life. Rebecca made everything so personal and important in all the best, happy, and healing ways. She makes you look within and asks the questions you are afraid to answer. I felt so much lighter and empowered after talking with her and spending time with her makeup artist, Rhonda.

Film photography has always been my favorite and most personal because of my late Aunt, so I’m not surprised that seeing the developed rolls, I feel at peace. I loved every second of this experience.

I feel at peace. I hope everyone can find that.”

The session really flowed so beautifully and naturally, and I see how that energy came through in the portraits…

I love traveling to new places and having different backdrops for the sessions. Even through the window, you know I’m not in Israel anymore!

Her eyes and the connection shots just totally blow me away.

When Rebecca saw this picture for the first time, she said, “This is the one photo I would want to represent me for the rest of my life. My jaw is on the floor. I can’t believe it.”

I’m so grateful for the opportunity to have photographed you, Rebecca. Thank you for trusting me with these intimate and vulnerable moments on your journey.

For those of you who are in the U.S. and want to have this unique experience, there are still some openings left for the first week of May 2023 in New York. Feel free to e-mail me at rebecca@rebeccasigala.com to explore the possibilities together. xoxo

Follow my incredible client, Rebecca, on her Instagram page. @embersofbecca

Makeup and Hair by Rhonda Lev

When Women Rise Together | Dressed by Danielle : Tel Aviv Boudoir

I first came across Danielle Williams, founder of Dressed by Danielle, while I was scrolling through Instagram one day. A woman, in Israel, running her own business, empowering women, and promoting body positivity?!

It gave me so much joy to see her posts about embracing her own body and how she was helping other women do the same through her gorgeous pre-loved clothing. I immediately reached out and made an appointment for my 10-year-old daughter and I to have a personal shopping session with her. Hitting her pre-teen years, my daughter has surpassed my own height and shoe size, and I wanted to give her an empowering experience where she could find clothing that she loved. The fact that Danielle offered a body-positive environment made all the difference, and over a year later, my daughter still talks about how incredible that day was.

As Danielle and I got chatting, we realized how aligned our values were. We realized that although I am a boudoir photographer and she is a personal stylist, what we do for women is actually very similar. We are both blessed to be able to witness women when they are their most vulnerable and authentic selves and help them actualize the power that is already inside of them. Her with clothing. Me with photography.

And part of that vulnerability is women coming face to face with their bodies exactly the way they are.

We spoke about how we are on our personal body love journeys alongside our clients and that our businesses really helped us grow into the women we are today. That our clients constantly inspire us, and that self-love is an ever-evolving journey. You don’t just wake up one day and love everything about yourself, it’s something that you have to compassionately work on.

And so the idea for a creative collaboration was born in hopes of creating another safe space for personal and collective healing.

Danielle posted after the session, “As we were shooting, I asked Rebecca to get some close-ups of my tummy rolls and stretch marks. If you had told 2020 Danielle that 2021 Danielle did such a thing, she would be shocked. I’ve spent many years of my life hating my body and even editing my photos to hide all the things I considered to be imperfections. But I’ve come to realize this year that you can’t hate yourself into a version of yourself that you love.”

This image inspired us to collaborate further with artist and calligrapher, Malka Klein, who brought these words to life…

Danielle wrote this beautiful letter to her body to go along with the image above,

”Dear Body,

I love you. ⁣

I love your stretch marks because they remind me of the time when we shed a massive amount of physical and emotional weight. ⁣

I love your cellulite because it reminds me how voluptuous and sexy we are.

I love your hairy skin because it reminds me how we’ve begun to embrace all that we are, as we are.

I love your flabby stomach because it reminds me that someday we will literally create humans inside of us, and that’s freaking magical.

I love everything about you, because you are me. You are the one and only vessel through which I will get to exist and experience life, and for that, I will always be grateful to you.
⁣
I am sorry for all the negative things I have said about you.⁣
⁣
I love you. ⁣”

Being part of this collaboration and witnessing Danielle in her power, just like we do for our own clients, was an incredible honor.

Special thanks to Rhonda Lev for the beautiful hair and makeup, and my husband and business partner, Yehoshua, for making sure all the working parts of this project came together as they did.

In collaboration with Dressed by Danielle

Hair and Makeup by Beauty by Rhonda

Calligraphy by Malka Klein

Kodak Film // Processed and scanned by Panda Labs

In the Name of Love | Bridal Boudoir : Sylvia

I remember taking an online photography course years back, and a piece of advice that has always stuck out in my mind was, “Your ideal client is someone who you’d want to be friends with.” While every session is special, and I actually do find connection with all of my clients, meeting and photographing Sylvia seemed serendipitous.

Sylvia initially contacted Sigala Photography, our wedding and portrait photography business, run by my husband, Yehoshua, and I, about photographing her wedding. We immediately fell in love with her and her fiance, Paul. Not long after, Sylvia and I began talking about her bridal boudoir session. At first she went back and forth, with the time and expenses dedicated to wedding planning, she wasn’t sure she could make it happen. As we spoke more, it was clear how much doing a boudoir session meant to her, and since Paul was usually the one designing elaborate surprises, this was going to be a surprise for him!

After the session happened and the afterglow of her beautiful wedding died down, I was able to ask Sylvia a little bit about her boudoir experience, and believe me, you’re going to want to read this…

Why did you decide to do a boudoir session, and what were you hoping to get out of it?

The original "trigger" that made me want to do a boudoir session, was wanting to do something special for my fiance as a gift on the night before our wedding.  Paul is the first man I was ever with that truly respected and admired my body, and persisted every single day of our relationship to make me love my body too.  As myself and many other women know, this is not a guarantee when it comes to significant others! Past boyfriends would tell me they preferred if I straightened my hair, or would ask me to put more make up on before going out.  I was also in one very abusive relationship when I was younger that basically destroyed my self-esteem.  When I met Paul, I couldn't even believe him at first when he would encourage me to leave my hair natural or beg me to not put any make up on.  "You are so beautiful the way you are, and you never need to change a thing" he would say…

Slowly, over our almost 4 years together, Paul has helped me rebuild my confidence and regain my sense of independence and strength.  So, in celebration of getting married to my best friend, I wanted to do something that would show him and thank him for bringing me to a point where I felt confident and sexy doing a boudoir shoot.  Doing this session was proof to myself that I was where I wanted to be in regards to my mental perspective, that I loved my body.  Having Rebecca do this shoot for me was a little treat for my soul, and a little treat for the one who helped me learn to love myself again.

Were you nervous leading up to the session?

A little bit. But after speaking with some of Rebecca's previous clients, everyone said they also felt a bit of nerves beforehand, but that the second I would start, I would love it.  This couldn't have been more true! 

How did your session go?

On a scale of 1 to 10, my session was a million billion trillion.  I loved spreading out on my bed, or leaning against a wall in my hallway and just feeling naturally sexy.  My thoughts throughout the session went back and forth from excitement about myself, and excitement for Paul to eventually see the results! I can't believe I kept it a complete surprise for him.  On the night before the wedding, (we weren't seeing each other for a few days) my maid of honor called him with directions on where to find the album in our apartment.  We decided not to speak until the wedding, but he couldn't help himself. He texted me and said it was the best gift ever! He loved the photos and said they were beautiful and sexy.

Did you get anything out of the session that you didn't expect?

This is a bit strange, but I actually had a very special moment with my mother after I received the photos and showed them to her.  She smiled and said she was proud of me.  She was happy to see her daughter love and respect her body, and she was happy for me that I was marrying someone who loved and respected my body too.  Definitely wasn't expecting that reaction from her, but it really meant the world to me.

Did your boudoir session have an effect on your perspective or body image?

Yes, an incredibly positive effect.  And the effect grows stronger each and every time I look back on the photos and remind myself to love and appreciate my body and all the little marks and curves.

Would you recommend this experience to other women? If yes, who would you specifically recommend it to and why?

My mother! I'm hoping to gift her a session for her 65th birthday.  My mother is one of the most hardworking and independent women I know, plus she is the best example when it comes to loving your body.  In her 60's my mom isn't worrying about chasing her wrinkles or fighting the aging process, instead, she became a half marathon runner.  She wakes up every morning before work to run, stands on her feet each day for a 12 hour work day, and cooks all her food herself and eats extremely healthy.  She never touches her hair or puts on make up and has always encouraged me to follow her example of loving my own natural beauty. I think she deserves a few hours of pampering and special photos to hold on to! 

Photographing this absolutely gorgeous, loving and sweet woman right before one of the most meaningful milestones in her life was an honor. Her reasons for embarking on this boudoir journey was a personal one, and yet, her story is a celebration of all womanhood. Being in a place of self-compassion and truly knowing that we are worthwhile enough to be in healthy and fulfilling relationships is everything.

Makeup and Hair by Jaquelyn Mowszowski Lawrence