Love Letter for a Goddess | Montefiore Hotel TLV Boudoir : Maya Kramer

When I first met Maya Kramer, she was a TV host on i24 News, and she interviewed me for a segment on air! What I didn’t know at that time, was that Maya is a wellness expert and influencer, yoga teacher, and guide for thousands of people around the world.

If you check Maya’s social media accounts, you will see that she isn’t afraid to put herself out there in an authentic way. So when Natalie Mann and I created the Love Letters for Entrepreneurs series, we knew that Maya would be the perfect fit.

Our project combined business and boudoir photography to help women discover their own inner voice and communicate their values to their audience. Part of the process included writing a love letter to yourself, and it was transformed into a unique piece of art by calligrapher, Malka Klein. The end product, of course, was an incredible boudoir session, a culmination of the entire journey.

We met early in the morning at the gorgeous Montefiore Hotel in Tel Aviv to begin hair and makeup with Malkah Esther Botnick. It was such a beautiful day…

Entrepreneur : Maya Kramer

In collaboration with Natalie Mann Design Studio

Calligraphy : Malka Klein

Makeup and Hair : Malkah Esther Botnick

Wardrobe : Taly Basha and Semi Romantic

Venue : Montefiore Hotel

I don't want my body back | Maternity Boudoir : Rebecca

The first time I got pregnant, I was only 20 years old. I thought, “You get married, and then you have babies.” 

Thinking about my gorgeous 10 year old daughter and my beautiful 8 year old son today, I honestly would not have it any other way. I am endlessly grateful these incredible souls are in my life.

I can’t lie, though. There were some hard years that followed those pregnancies and births. Mostly because I was not connected to my own inner truth or my body in the way that I am now. 

I felt really lost.

After the birth of my son, I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression, but truthfully, I had been feeling like that for a long time. 

My diagnosis forced me to take a really good look at myself. Instead of running away, which I had been trying to do for several years, I knew I had to run toward myself. Towards all of the parts of me, even the dark ones. 

When I started my boudoir photography business, I asked my husband to do a session for me. I wanted to experience what my clients were thinking and feeling when I photographed them. There was a picture that he took of me completely nude. I was laying on my side and it was a gorgeous, full-length shot of me from the back. 

I looked at that picture with such amazement. 

It was really so beautiful. I had never seen myself in that way before. Especially during a time that was emotionally difficult for me, I was really appreciative of the opportunity to see myself from this perspective. It shed a light during a really dark time and helped me shift my mindset as I continued to grow my business...

Fast forward 7 years. 

After a lot of healing and growth, my husband and I decided we really wanted to bring another little soul into the world. 

This time, everything was different. 

Just the fact that we were more rooted in ourselves and made our own decision about another baby, without factoring in what others would think about us or what society expects of us, was so empowering.

Over the years, I learned a lot about what it meant to really love myself. I knew that through this  pregnancy I needed to hyper focus on self-care to feel good, but also for my physical and mental health. Self-care for the sake of self-care was not on my radar 10 years ago, but now, I knew how important it was, and I made it a priority. 

This maternity boudoir session was something I dreamed about for years, and it was something that I considered a part of my self-care and emotional journey. I even joked that I had to get pregnant again JUST so that I could do a maternity session, which I hadn’t done for my first two pregnancies! 

Even though I’m generally not a beach person (you can find me in a forest or the mountains any day of the week), the beach was calling my name for this shoot. I imagined myself curvy, embodied, and free alongside the ocean. 

My daughter who wasn’t yet born, is named Ma’ayan, which literally translates to “a spring of water” in Hebrew. She was also named after my late grandmother Mary, who was often referred to as Queen of Sea for love of travel and the beach. 

I didn’t realize it at the time, but this shoot was truly for my daughter and created with her essence. The element of water was truly healing. It even played a role in my actual labor and birth, from a meditative bath to an actual leak in our attic to my water breaking shortly after the Sabbath arrived. Water flowed through me, for me and for this precious new life being brought into the world. 

When I look at these pictures, I am so proud of the woman I became since my first pregnancy. I am so in awe of myself and my body.

After women have babies, there is this term that everybody uses. “Getting your body back.” 

“I hope I get my body back.” 

“Don’t worry. It will take time, but you’ll get your body back.”

“I never got my body back.”

Actually, I resonate with the last phrase the most. Through pregnancies, my body completely transformed each time. It didn’t get worse. And it definitely didn’t need to be fixed. 

I don’t want my body back.

What my body became was so much more beautiful, so much more awesome, so much more resilient than ever before…

Hair and makeup by Jaquelyn Lawrence

Photography by Yehoshua Sigala

Growing into Herself | Florentine Boudoir : Abby

“I heard about Rebecca Sigala from my personal trainer and coach, Tova Eastman. After a workout one day, she said to me, “Listen, I think a boudoir session would really help your self-confidence.”

I had never heard of boudoir photography before. I’m not the kind of person to just get naked in front of other people. I have struggled with body image issues, and at the time, I was recovering from my endometriosis surgery.

I was really curious so I contacted Rebecca, and the rest was history…”

Since Abby’s first session, I have had the honor of witnessing her journey of exquisite and radical self-love. When we spoke for the first time over the phone, she had no idea boudoir could even be a meaningful experience, and now she’s done three separate boudoir sessions, and I even got to photograph her wedding a year and a half ago.

To be able to see a woman flourish over several years and become who she was always meant to be is truly one of the most inspiring parts of my work…

Hair and Makeup by Rhonda Lev

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