When Erin started thinking about how she and her husband could celebrate their 10-year wedding anniversary, she wanted something that felt a little more them.

Something fun. Something different. Something they’d actually remember.

Couples boudoir checked all those boxes.

But there was another reason Erin wanted to do this session—one that had a lot more to do with her relationship with herself than her relationship with her husband.

She’d been thinking about doing a boudoir session for a while because she wanted to see her body differently.

So when she booked during my Black Friday sale, she eventually talked her husband into turning it into a couples session while still keeping part of the session just for her.

Ten-year anniversary photos for them.

And maybe, just maybe, a chance for Erin to see herself a little differently too.

Couple looking at each other on a bed during their anniversary boudoir session

Couple lying together on a bed during an intimate anniversary boudoir session

She Already Knew Exactly Who She Wanted to Photograph It

Erin originally found me through TikTok, which led her to Instagram, which led her to Facebook, which led to the classic internet rabbit hole. 😂

She'd been following my work for more than a year before booking boudoir—but this actually wasn't the first time I'd photographed the two of them.

Back in January 2022, they booked a couples cosplay session with me.

Erin loved those photos, so when boudoir started becoming less of a maybe someday idea and more of a holy shit, I think we're actually doing this idea, she already knew she wanted me to photograph it.

During their consultation, we talked about what they were into, what they wanted from the session, clothing options, and what everything could actually look like.

For Erin, that was when shit started getting real.

They weren't just talking about doing a couples boudoir session anymore.

They were doing it.

Couple posing with a riding crop during a spicy couples boudoir session

Except Erin Had Planned to Lose Weight First

This is the part of Erin's story I think a whole lot of people are going to recognize.

When she originally booked her session months in advance, she fully intended to lose weight before getting in front of my camera.

Then she got sick.

Between being sick and everything that came afterward, the weight loss she'd planned for didn't happen.

And suddenly her session was getting closer.

Erin told me she was excited—but she was also nervous and worried she'd look like a “blob” in her photos.

In her own words:

“People always say I don't look as big as I say I am or I carry my weight well. And sure, I probably do. But when I look in the mirror, I see a blob. At least I did.”

That's why her solo photos mattered so much.

She wasn't just adding a few individual photos onto their anniversary session.

She wanted the chance to look at photographs of herself and maybe see something different from what she'd been seeing in the mirror.

And she did it without losing the weight first.

Couple posing with a black lace mask during their Jacksonville couples boudoir session

So We Started With Her

Instead of throwing Erin and her husband straight into couples photos, we started with her solo set.

Partly because she wanted those photographs for herself.

Partly because it gave her a chance to get the nerves the hell out of the way. 😂

And it worked.

She said she probably felt nervous for the first ten photos or so before something started to change—and her husband noticed it too.

Once Erin settled in, taking photos together became easy.

There was no standing around trying to figure out how to look sexy together. I guided them through what to do, they trusted me, and eventually they could just focus on each other.

Even her husband got comfortable.

Which Erin described much better than I ever could:

“It was like spending the day with a friend who just happens to be taking sexy photos for you!”

I'll take that review. 😂

Couple embracing in dramatic red lighting during a couples boudoir session

Turns Out, It's Hard to Look Serious When You Keep Making Each Other Laugh

Erin described the actual session as:

“AMAZING!!!! I had so much fun! We laughed and took great photos! Even my husband was comfortable!”

And that pretty much sums up these two.

Yes, we made sexy photos.

Yes, we made some spicy ones.

But there was also a whole lot of laughing—which occasionally made getting the more serious photos a little difficult. 😂

And that's what I love about couples boudoir.

You don't have to suddenly become two completely different people because there's a camera pointed at you. The way you laugh together, fuck with each other, connect, and make each other comfortable is part of the story too.

After ten years of marriage, these two didn't need me to manufacture chemistry for them.

They already had that part handled.

Woman laughing while wrapped in a white sheet during her boudoir session in Jacksonville

Woman laughing while lying on a bed during her solo boudoir portraits in Jacksonville

But This Wasn't Only About Their Marriage

Once you get past the anniversary, the lingerie, and all the sexy photos of Erin and her husband together, there's another story happening in this session.

Erin was learning what it felt like to be photographed in the body she had right then.

Not after losing weight.

Not after changing something.

Not after finally reaching whatever imaginary point would've made her feel “ready.”

She showed up in the body she'd been worried wouldn't photograph well and let me photograph the hell out of her anyway.

And somewhere between being nervous about looking like a “blob” and actually seeing these photographs, something shifted.

She didn't have to rely on someone else telling her she looked good.

She could see it herself.

Woman laughing in black lingerie while posing inside the greenhouse during her boudoir session

And Of Course We Had to Make It Weird

If you've spent any amount of time around Hype Girl, you know I'm never going to complain when somebody wants to bring something nerdy, creative, or completely them into a session.

And cosplay was already part of Erin's story with me.

Remember that first couples session I photographed for them?

Cosplay.

So yes, we absolutely made room during her solo portion for Asuna from Sword Art Online.

Because your boudoir photos don't have to look like everyone else's boudoir photos.

Bring the lingerie.

Bring the cosplay.

Bring the thing that makes you ridiculously excited even if somebody else doesn't understand it.

These photographs are supposed to look like you were here.

Woman dressed as Asuna from Sword Art Online posing on a white bed during a cosplay boudoir session

Woman wearing a white and red Asuna cosplay outfit reclining on an outdoor bed

“They Are Me.”

This is the part that matters most.

Afterward, Erin said she went through her photos multiple times—and somehow loved them more every time she looked at them.

“I love how my body actually looks good in my eyes! Not just having someone tell me I look good but actually seeing it myself!”

And in the review she left after her session, she said something that has stuck with me:

“My photos are amazing. They are me. Not photoshopped, not covered up, not blurred. They are me.”

That doesn't mean one boudoir session magically fixes every complicated feeling you've ever had about your body.

But for Erin, it gave her something she'd been struggling to give herself: a chance to actually see herself differently.

She didn't lose the weight first.

She didn't magically stop being nervous.

She showed up anyway.

She celebrated ten years of marriage with her husband. They laughed their asses off. They made sexy photos together. She got to bring some cosplay into the mix because of course she fucking did.

And she walked away with photographs of herself that she actually loved.

As Erin put it:

“I feel good about myself. I love having these special photos of my husband and I. They are just amazing.”

That's a pretty damn good anniversary present.

Thinking about doing this with your person? You can see exactly what a current couples session includes on my Couples Boudoir Photography in Jacksonville page.