We wanted to do a couple's boudoir shoot to show not only our vulnerability but also our deep love for each other. There's something very vulnerable about having the person who knows you intimately be there with you. There's nowhere to hide but also, I had my safe person there so it felt comfortable to be more vulnerable.

There are tons of different body types, but our physical body doesn’t have to be an emotional hurdle to get over. In fact, we should all be honored to be given this life to live in our skin.

So, I did this for myself. To help me love my body as I am today, I got undressed and recorded it. But, I also did this for other women, so they can feel confident about themselves and know that boudoir is for every body.

I’ll say it until I’m blue in the face — if you make one investment in yourself in your lifetime, make it boudoir. Don’t wait until you lose that last 20lbs, or until you get rid of the cellulite on your ass. Don’t do it for your partner. Don’t do it for valentines. Do it for you.

I decided to do a boudoir session for one reason: radical self love.

A few events sparked my motivation to begin this journey, however. I'd just come out of an emotionally abusive relationship that left me feeling unlovable, ugly, and with the lowest self esteem I've ever had. I was frustrated that I wasn't feeling the way I knew I deserved to feel about myself.

We at Catalyst want to celebrate bodies of all types, and for folks that are queer, trans, and genderfluid or non-binary, these bride-centric ideas of femininity that have come with bridal boudoir simply don’t apply. That doesn’t mean we want to banish boudoir. Quite the contrary, in fact. We want to see it reclaimed.

Our goal for this shoot was to have fun and highlight color and love! Our theme was Girls! Girls! Girls!, and we were able to put together an amazing team of women, The Richmond Association of Boss Babes. We thought, what would a real life couple do when they woke up together on the day of their wedding? Morning sex, obviously! Boudoir images are usually just of one woman, and even less often do you see images of lesbian boudoir featuring an actual couple. We wanted to capture our girls in their element, being themselves together, whether that was dressed or undressed.

For this photo shoot, I got in touch with Ashley, from Ash+OAK to create a flower dreamcatcher, and I asked her to create something as unique as every woman and to use reds. Red symbolizes strength and confidence, and it is a super sexy color. She included local wild flowers, bold reds, moss, and sticks into the design of the dreamcatcher and the bouquet.

I've shot many couples' boudoir sessions before, but when Monique and Rochelle first expressed interest in being photographed, I realized this was our chance to do something different, something a little more wild than I had ever done before. I did everything I could to establish a safe environment for the session, but mostly let this amazing couple do their own thing. I did receive one of the best compliments of my life after the session: "Kinzie! You're so easy to get naked in front of!" But really, the magic was all them; I was just there to document the journey.