A Dallas Boudoir Blog
The Friday before heading out to San Diego I had a conversation with a beautiful woman who was all of 63 years of age. It was Friday and I walked into the camera rental store to pick up the 24-70mm lens that I would be using for my San Diego trip. “Martina!” she greets me, “Where are you going?!” with a smile so big that anyone could get lost in. I was renting the lens for a full week and not the typically weekend so of course she knew I wasn’t staying in town.
“I’m going to a boudoir retreat in San Diego" I replied.
“Wow! That’s pretty cool. Are you going to learn some new thing?”
“Yes, I’m going to learn how to better use and utilized studio lighting and get some tips about running a proper business from the best in the industry.”
She smiles then yawns. “I’m so sorry Martina. I have been so tired. Recently my husband and I have been staying up to 2AM, but then I have to get up at 6AM and come back here again. We are working on a video project. However, I’m really not going to complain. I’m 63 and I am so happy to be doing what I love at my age. Many women my age are sitting around and complaining about life. But I’m not. I get to come here every day and speak to all the young new photographers. It keeps me young and vibrant. I feel young being around you guys. The fact that I feel young makes me feel sexy. Many women my age no longer feel sexy. Women have a tendency to define sexiness by men and the media when in fact we should define what being sexy is to us. We don’t need to validate our sex appeal by people who aren’t us. When we own that we will always be that.”
Never before had I ever thought about her age when I came in the shop. She was right. She always came off as a beautiful and graceful woman. Even at an mature age I can totally see what attracted her husband to her. She has beautiful full blue eyes, a sexy frame, and gorgeous silky gray hair that could only belong to an artist. I would liken her to a sexier version of Helen Mirren. We all know how hot Helen Mirren is at 68. She would be Helen Mirren’s hotter younger sister.
“I had to warn my daughters that one day their beauty was going to fade and I don’t want them to be thrown off by that, but I wanted to let them know that sexy is not physically beauty. It’s how you carry yourself and how you see yourself. If you don’t feel and carry yourself as beautiful. No one else well. No matter what age you are.”
She made me think.
What is beauty?
During the retreat I was informed that the photographer is the one that defines beauty. The Photographer decides what is to been seen an how it’s to be showcased. However, I think it’s half and half. Society influences the media just like the media influences society. It’s the Yin-Yang effect. How about we as a society change how we define beauty? Once we do that, the media will have to turn face as well, because the point of media is to change with society. As a society we have say in what beauty is therefore we must (re)define that.
My goal with Wonderland Boudoir is to show through my work that every woman is beautiful. Your age, complexion, or dress size does not validate if you are beautiful in this world, but your confidence and how you hold yourself does. Let’s stop letting the world define what beauty is. Let’s define beauty to the world.
I know that at the age of 63 I don’t want to be in a retirement home and not feeling beautiful. I want to be out in the world giving the young girls a run for their money.
In the comments below let me know what beauty means to you.
