A beautiful story of transformation and body acceptance as Shoshana navigates having Diastasis Recti, the ongoing war, and overcoming our engrained diet culture mindset.
Read more10 Reasons Why It's Probably Not the Right Time To Do a Boudoir Session
1. You just started a new project, a new educational track, or perhaps, you got a new job.
I feel ya. There are a lot of changes happening right now, and going outside of your comfort zone to do a boudoir session sounds scary AF. You might even feel like you don’t have the actual time to do this. Firstly, the journey you’re about to embark on through my boudoir experience can be integrated into your everyday life. The actual investment of time is relatively minimal. Plus, the fact that you don’t have much time for yourself right now is exactly why carving out time for yourself can elevate your quality of life and a deeper connection to your body.
2. You are pregnant or just had a baby.
I’ve been through 3 seasons of this myself. One day you wake up and love your body and the miraculous things it has done, and another day you wake up and hardly recognize it. Or yourself. The beauty of the boudoir experience I offer is that it will help you re-establish that connection with yourself. Not in 1 or 3 or 5 years from now, but now. A meaningful relationship with your body is available to you at this very moment. How cool would it be to honor this chapter of your life as sacred and really f-ing beautiful? This time will pass much quicker than you think, and a documentation of pregnancy or postpartum stages will be something very special to look back on.
3. You don’t feel good about your body right now, and you’re not really taking care of it.
I’ve been there, girl. What if you saw this boudoir experience as a tool to feel better in your body and inspiration to start to take care of yourself with love? Because that’s exactly what I help my clients do. Many of my clients tell me that as they prepare for their session, they already start to feel better about their bodies because they begin to tap into their innate worthiness and are being intentional about their self-care. The coaching call, which is included in every package, helps my clients gain clarity about where they currently are, and how they envision themselves as they cultivate more confidence and self-love. We then work together to create a practical plan on how to get where you want to be.
4. You have fitness goals.
Your body is worthy and beautiful right now. Just because you are working towards fitness goals, doesn’t mean that your body doesn’t deserve love in the process. Actually, studies have shown that self-love and compassion help you reach your goals. Shame is not an effective motivator. So let’s celebrate the journey. Because, truthfully, there is no final destination.
5. You don’t really have a reason or a milestone to celebrate.
You do have a reason. You want to do this. It’s fun and luxurious. It’s meaningful and transformational. It can help you grow and connect with yourself on a deeper level. It will give you more confidence in your everyday life. What’s that I hear about needing to get married or have a baby before you do something for yourself? Sounds like societal BS to me. ;)
6. You’re super focused on your career or growing your business.
One thing I’ve learned about building a successful business over the last 10 years is that there is nothing more important than truly taking care of yourself. Whether that means physically, emotionally, or spiritually. It could show up as making sure you’re getting enough sleep or drinking enough water daily. It could also show up as creating boundaries and protecting your energy. And many times it shows up as carving time out for yourself outside of work. So that you can show up fully at work and in every other area of your life. This boudoir experience allows you the opportunity to carve out that space and time, while working on yourself, for yourself and nobody else. Except, yeah, it does kind of help people around you when you are your best, authentic, and fulfilled self.
7. You’re going through a hard time emotionally.
I’m always compassionate when I hear this, as everyone experiences that ebb and flow. And sometimes, there are circumstances that throw us totally for a loop. No matter what you are going through, you are worthy. You deserve to feel good in your body. Focusing on yourself, in this really special way, can help you connect with who you are and gain clarity about what you want to be doing next. The space I give women is a safe one where all feelings are welcome.
8. You’re “too young” or “too old.”
No such thing. Next!
In all seriousness, I’ve photographed women in their early twenties to women in their 70’s. Sexuality and feeling good in our bodies is not something that should be reserved for a certain age group. Claim what you deserve, and don’t let societal messaging hold you back from connecting deeply with yourself.
P.S. This is assuming you’re an actual adult. :)
9. You have a lot of other things you want to invest in.
This one is up to you, babe. But if you’ve been thinking about this for months or years, and I know a lot of you have, it’s probably because it’s a little scary. And that’s ok, but just be aware it might be your brain playing tricks on you. You can always come up with a million things that are more “important” than boudoir, but do you really want to? It might just be time.
10. It’s just not in the budget right now.
This is similar to #9. Boudoir is a luxury. A meaningful, deep, luxurious experience that I hope every single woman gets to experience one day. This is why I am super flexible and creative with payment plans. If this is something that you desire, we can make it happen for you.
If you’ve been thinking about boudoir and telling yourself it’s not the right time, consider this your sign. Our minds can always find reasons why not, but that thinking just holds us back from our personal growth.
I offer free 30-minute discovery calls for women who are ready to explore the possibility of boudoir. I absolutely love connecting and helping my clients realize what they truly want out of this experience. Click here to book a discovery call.
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
A New Boudoir Experience | Tel Aviv Boudoir : Batsheva
When Batsheva originally contacted me last Spring, she told me that this would not be her first boudoir experience. This is rare, as most people are venturing into the boudoir world for the first time! It was really exciting, though, because I was able to help her explore different sides of herself. We took it as an opportunity to get creative about our shared vision, which made everything that much more fun!
In Batsheva’s words, “I did two boudoir sessions previously, one was a pinup boudoir session in 2015 and another one in February 2020. I did them because I love taking pictures and creating themed photoshoots. In May, I came across Rebecca Sigala’s work on a thread in a women only Facebook group. I knew I needed to book. I loved Rebecca’s work. The artistic style of the black and whites (later I learned Rebecca works with film, which I totally adored). I am complex, on the one hand I love taking pictures, making Tik Tok videos, I am into acting. However, I still have my insecurities regarding my body. Even though I learned to embrace my imperfections, they sometimes made me feel uncomfortable. Yet that didn’t stop me from setting up two sessions with Rebecca. In June and in November 2020.”
These beautiful images were the result of our first session together…
“I honestly couldn’t believe it was me! I have been photographed many times, and I have never been so satisfied with the final images.”
“I enjoyed every second of my boudoir session with Rebecca. Even if I was shy or embarrassed at times, thinking how I would look… It was empowering, uplifting and amazing.”
“I didn’t expect that I would gain more self-love from this, but I did. I am oftentimes very critical towards myself, asking myself whether I am good enough (especially after experiencing heartbreak and romantic disappointments), feeling not fit enough, etc. The shoot made me feel I am worth it. I am out there, and I deserve self-love!”
Batsheva, thank you for choosing me as your boudoir photographer. I am so honored that you trusted me, and I absolutely love what we created together.
Stay tuned for more pictures from our second session…
Hair and Makeup by Tiferet Lehrman