More Than Just a Photoshoot | Jaffa-Tel Aviv Boudoir : Lee’at

May 23, 2022 Rebecca Sigala

On a sunlit, late summer morning in Yafo, I had the honor of photographing this breathtakingly beautiful woman.

Her boudoir session felt light and easy. One set just flowed into another.

I had photographed Lee’at once before, several years ago. This felt different.

There was a presence, a depth, and an unspoken language between us.

Just like every woman I photograph, Lee’at has her own unique story. Her own journey towards body acceptance and self-love.

When her keepsake album arrived at her doorstep, she left me this voice note…

“I don’t even know where to start. Looking at the photos again was like looking at them for the first time. I realized that I needed to look at them on my own because it was about me. The whole thing has been about me.

I’m going to cry.

I saw me and everything I wanted to document of myself. It’s a reflection of what has been and what has passed.

I was able to see me.

When I looked at those pictures, I saw a vulnerability and a strength. The strength wasn’t so much the physical strength. It’s the strength that I’ve needed out of necessity and out of sadness.

They’re beautiful, soft, strong, vulnerable, mature, and sexy, but not provocative. Anyway, I’m crying as I’m walking to the gym. I love you, and I thank you for giving me that. It was so much more than just a photoshoot, and it means the world.”

Keep reading to get a glimpse into her story…

“I wanted to share a little background about this shoot. Because it didn't happen from a good place. In fact, it's a result of my sadness and part of my journey out from underneath the shadows.

I've been working out consistently for about the past 4 years.

When corona happened, my personal and business life crashed around me.

Working out became more than just about keeping healthy. It was my escape. My therapy.

For one hour a day, all my worries vanished. My mind, instead of being weighed down by worry, was occupied with picking up the heavyweight at my feet.

Gradually the purpose of the my workouts changed.

Instead about being about my physical health and weight, it became about my mental health and literally getting stronger to lift big. It was the activity itself that I craved to succeed in, not the result.

As a result, my physique changed. A lot.

My appearance now gets stares in the streets.

I have been asked by complete strangers in the street if they can touch my arms. Friends and family ask dubiously whether I like the way I look and when am I going to stop.

Even my husband's friends ask him if he still finds me attractive.

It's made me question myself. My appearance. Am I too bulky? Too masculine? Unattractive? Do I have to stop doing what I love?

The answer is hell no.

I need this. I want this. I love what I do too much to even consider stopping. I need my escape in the mornings. I need somewhere where all my burdens and troubles don't follow me. The gym became my safe place. I'm not giving it up.

What everyone else thinks is not of my concern. I need to love and accept my new body. Most of the time I do. Other people's preconceptions about strong women need not bother me. This is something I have to learn to deal with.

This is where Rebecca came in…

We had already one boudoir session a long while ago when I just got back into training.

This time around, I told her everything. I told her how I wanted to feel. That as a strong woman, I can still be an attractive, sexy, sensual woman too. It doesn't have to be one or the other. Rebecca heard me and understood me.

And as if everything was intended, we were able to set up a session within days.

Which I think made this so right. The intention and the moment were there. I felt I needed to act on something immediately, and we were able to.

Rebecca SAW me. She saw me as strong, but vulnerable. Strong and feminine. Strong and sexy.

I think Rebecca captured everything and more here.

For that I am grateful. And proud.”

Makeup by Mel Atias Bueno

Letting Go of the Voices that Were Never Mine | Boudoir : Maya

January 5, 2022 Rebecca Sigala

“Like most people, my relationship with my body is complicated. I live with chronic pain because of multiple diagnosed and undiagnosed illnesses. This past year I received a new diagnosis which, on the one hand, gave me a lot of clarity and answers to questions I’ve had for years. On the other hand, has changed my day-to-day life. I now wear a medical corset, a knee brace, and have accessibility aids around my house. Though I’ve been in pain my whole life, this new diagnosis has put me in an emotional battle with how I view my body. I was feeling that this was just another way in which my body has betrayed me.

After a few months of navigating this new reality, I decided to book this boudoir shoot with Rebecca. I had this vision for what I wanted this to look like. I didn’t want only the classic beautiful pictures. I wanted it to feature my corset and brace, and for the shoot to take place in my house…”

“My aim was for this shoot to be authentic to where I am right now, and that includes my fabulous support aids. They are part of who I am and it’s important for me that they are celebrated. They can be more than a symbol of betrayal, they can be an extension of me, but I needed to see that.

I wanted to see and experience my body in a nuanced and multifaceted way. Strong, sexual, beautiful, delicate, loved, supported.”

“I wasn’t too nervous leading up to the day of. It was all planned out, and I knew Rebecca would be supportive, excited, and not phased by whatever I brought to the session.

The photoshoot itself felt so fun and free! The makeup artist, Rhonda Lev, was an absolute pro. I loved her artistry. The time she spent doing my makeup, while the three of us were just casually chatting, really did help calm the jitters before the shoot.

It honestly felt so special to be the center of attention, to be complimented so much, and just to let my body be in that moment. It’s obvious how much Rebecca loves her work. She was in great spirits, and I had so much fun being photographed by her.

She made me feel so comfortable and beautiful throughout the whole experience.”

“When I received my gallery of images, I was so happy and in love with what I was seeing!

But then was hit with something unexpected…”

“Out of the many gorgeous pictures that I received; I saw two (only two out of over a hundred) that triggered this vile voice in my head that I didn’t recognize. It came out to say that I was huge, ugly, and fat. I was shocked. This brief moment stunned me.

I didn’t recognize the voice – what was that? I don’t use that type of language with myself, and obviously “fat” is just a description, not an insult. So why was this voice coming up? Why was it talking so negatively to my body?

I sat with the pictures open and started to journal these thoughts. Giving them space, not judging but trying to understand where they were coming from. At this moment I started to realize the depth in which diet culture and hyper-sexualization of young girls’ seep.

These voices were not mine, but rather the voices of my childhood.”

“Growing up I was told, “it’s a shame, you’d be so pretty if you weren’t fat.”

At young ages, think even before the age of 14, I was coerced to diet out of this notion that “I could be a model if I weren’t fat.” At the dinner table, I would be told that I should stop eating so much, at times pieces of bread would be taken out of my hands.

Before my Bat Mitzvah, I was taken to wax the blonde hair off my arms, legs, eyebrows, and mustache.

As the tall and curvy girl, I was told that I was being inappropriate or dressing in a sexualized manner, just because the clothes didn’t fit properly on my growing body. Or because my legs were longer and, therefore, more visible. Or my breasts were larger and, therefore, more protruding. For years I wore only baggy jackets over baggy shirts and skirts, in order to try to minimize those comments.

Looking at my family then, and still until today, the diet culture is deeply rooted. Sitting for any meal is consequently met with the inevitable conversation of “the diet starts tomorrow,” “I need a juice cleanse after this,” etc. Conversations that are inherently ablest, may I add. But I digress.

Reflecting on all of this made me realize that those voices, the ones I heard looking at those two pictures, were never mine. These photographs are a rebellion against Every. Single. Thing. I have ever been told, and those voices were the “reaction.”

This realization gave me a sense of release. As if I took a deep breath of fresh air for the first time in a long time.”

“I am leaving this session with a newfound sense of awe. I am in awe of my body’s resilience. My body lives with chronic pain, survived random illnesses and injuries, overcame endless obstacles, and is living through a pandemic. My body provides me with wonders, and I am so grateful.”

“I would recommend this to the women who are feeling drained in their day-to-day lives.

Women who recognize that they might need an external push to take care of their physical and mental state.

This boudoir session gave me that external push to take care of myself, even though work is hard, and things are stressful.

This experience brought to the forefront of my mind how important it is to invest in myself, to take that time to appreciate everything that brought me to this moment in my life.”

Kodak Film // Processed and scanned by Panda Labs

Hair and Makeup by Rhonda Lev

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

November 28, 2021 Rebecca Sigala

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

All Women are Beautiful | Tel Aviv Boudoir : Sheerle

September 14, 2021 Rebecca Sigala

When I came across Sheerle's Instagram page, I could literally feel her sensual, goddess-y, Divine feminine energy coming from the screen. It wasn’t only her breathtaking beauty that struck me, it was the way that she honored her body and her being. It was the unapologetic way that she embraced her womanhood with love and confidence. I sensed it was coming from a deep place, a place where she’d been through shit and came out stronger on the other side.

In the past I’ve told people, “I don’t photograph models, I photograph real women.” Well, funny enough, models ARE real women.

Some may fit more into the imposed beauty standard, but we still don’t see the full picture when we open up a magazine. We generally don’t see stretchmarks and body hair. We don’t see women with bare faces. We don’t see the layers of body image issues, eating disorders, trauma, or other struggles that this woman may have gone through.

So while Sheerle has modeled professionally over the years, this shoot wasn’t about working or selling anything or fitting any of kind of mold. It was about creating a space for her to embrace her femininity on an even deeper level.

It was about her saying, “I don’t want any makeup,” and me supporting that.

It was about her saying, “fuck it, I don’t want to shave my armpits today.”

It was about her connecting, moving, feeling, and appreciating how far she’s come on her journey…

Sheerle is incredibly insightful and has so much wisdom to offer the world.

I was honored to able to sit down and ask her a few questions about this special experience we shared together.

Sheerle said, “Photography in the past has actually been traumatic for me. I’ve had photographers who didn’t respect me or the art we created together so I’ve learned to really be specific about who I work with.

I use photography as a way to document my journey but as well as share it with others. It’s a glimpse into my essence.”

How was this session different than those traumatic experiences you’ve gone through?

”Firstly, I loveeeeeeed that you were or are religious and a woman.

It was a dream being able to find commonality and passion for liberation of women and their bodies.

Before the session, I felt excited. During I felt soooo comfortable and seen and beautiful. And after I felt really free and beyond happy with the outcome.

I feel I gained a deeper sense of sisterhood.

I really loved that you, Rhonda, and I were a team of badass women and our intention behind the creation was just love for our bodies and to create art out of that love.

When I saw the pictures the first time, I was honestly shocked at how incredible they turned out. Being captured by a woman is so different than men. I felt you captured a more wholesome version of me whereas with many men they capture the version of me that they see which tends to only be sexy.”

What message do you hope these images convey to women?

“I hope my images will convey self-love.

Despite what your body looks like, it’s still your home. If you can start loving your home now you’re more likely to take the steps that feel aligned with you to truly honor it. But it first starts with being able to say you love your body.”

That is so beautiful. Can you tell me a little bit more about your relationship with your body hair? I really loved that you chose to embrace it for this session.

“So I believe all of us have body hair shaming deeply engrained in us, and I am a truth searcher.

I always ask myself, do I truly believe this or this societal programming? With the body hair, I came to understand it’s both. I love having no armpit hair, but I also love not shaving.

I like spending my precious time doing other things honestly. Just like men are accepted with hairless chests or hairy chests women should Have the same freedoms. It comes down to you making up your mind that despite what anyone else thinks you’re going to be okay with yourself.”

How did you feel about posting these images or posting nude images in general?

“I’ve done a lot of work around judgement and nudity. I overcame it a long time ago, and these days the people who don’t like it have already unfollowed me and created space for new followers who truly love me for me to enter. My followers are amazing and respectful and for the few who aren’t I try to communicate kindly, but if I see they don’t respect me, I just block them and move on with my life.”