Got a nude photo shoot coming up? My tips on how to feel brave, strong & sexy.

It’s not every day that a master photographer (who also happens to be an energy worker and healer) says to you:

“I’d love to photograph you. Buck naked.”

OK, maybe those weren’t her exact words. But when Danielle Cohen asked if we could do a nude boudoir photo session together, I knew my answer was:

“YES.”

It was scary. It was weird. It was silly. It was sexy.

It shed a light on my strengths, as well as my insecurities.

Would I do it again? Absolutely.

Did I learn some things? Most definitely.

If you’re doing a nude shoot…

Here are my tips on how to feel brave, strong & sexy:

: You will be nervous. Breathe. As a smart man once said, “Fear is excitement… without the breath.”

: Get your hair done. Make up, too. It’s all part of the experience & you’ll be glad that you did.

: Think about someone who loves you when you look into the camera. (That “someone” can be a partner, a spouse, or maybe even… you.)

: Get a silk kimono robe. Or four. It’s just a good idea.

: Focus on how you want to feel (“luxurious, playful, fierce”) rather than how you want to look.

: Laugh. Especially when your neighbor flings open his curtains at exactly the wrong moment, staring straight into your bedroom while you’re writhing around in satin sheets. Oops.

: Get a big fan. Windblown Beyoncé hair is really fun.

: Eat some flan. There is literally no reason for me to include this “tip”, other than the fact that “flan” rhymes with “fan” and it makes me happy to say those words out loud. Fan. Flan. Fan. Flan.

: Be yourself. If you’re a bubblegum pink lipstick kinda gal, rock it out. If you would rather die than slip on a pair of stilettos, don’t.

You always look your best when you’re just being… you.

: Be stronger than you think you are. Don’t let the vicious, critical, negative voices win.

If you’ve made an appointment to get photographed, don’t flake out two days before it’s scheduled to happen.

Even if you think you’re “not ready”. Even if you think you need to “tone your stomach” or “lose ten thousand pounds first” or whatever other nonsense pops into your head.

Keep the date. Let it happen. Savor it, in all of its scariness & weirdness & silliness & sexiness.

Feel your feelings. The pleasant ones & unpleasant ones, too. It’s all good for you. It will make you even stronger.

“It’s sexy and beautiful to be strong.”
–Lindsey Vonn

Oh, and if nude photography just isn’t your thing?

That’s perfectly cool.

After all…

“You don’t have to be naked to be sexy.”
–Nicole Kidman

Clothed, unclothed, in public, in private, or somewhere in between…

Go be you — and let yourself be seen.