If you have seen my Muse campaign floating around and wondered what the catch is, this post is for you. I want to explain, in plain words, why I am giving eight Melbourne women a luxury Melbourne boudoir photography experience valued at $1,299, and what I am hoping for in return. Because there is something in it for me too, and I would rather tell you honestly than let you wonder.

Seven years of quiet

I have been photographing boudoir for more than seven years. In that time, I have kept a fairly low profile on social media. Most of the women who come through my studio in Footscray are returning clients, or they were sent to me by a friend, a sister, a colleague who whispered “you have to do this” over coffee.

I have always loved that. Word of mouth is the highest compliment a photographer can receive. It means the experience mattered enough for a woman to put her name behind it.

But it also means that for seven years, most of my work has lived quietly in albums and on bedroom walls, seen only by the women in the photographs and the people they love. And this year, something in me shifted. I am on a mission to bring this work into the light, to show more women what Melbourne boudoir photography actually looks like and feels like, so that the woman who has been quietly thinking about it for years can finally see herself in it.

That is where the Muse campaign comes in.

What this Melbourne boudoir photography experience includes

I am selecting eight women in Melbourne to receive the full Muse experience. Each woman receives professional hair, makeup and styling, a full luxury boudoir session in my private studio, my signature Angel Wings bonus set, a $250 credit toward her collection, and complete posing and expression guidance from start to finish. You never need to know what to do with your hands. That is my job.

All up, the experience is valued at $1,299. You do not need modelling experience. You do not need to be a certain age, size or shape. In fact, the women I most hope will apply are the ones who have spent years putting everyone else first and have quietly wondered whether something like this could ever be for them.

So what do I get out of it?

Here is the honest answer: content, and connection.

As part of your Muse session, we may capture some behind-the-scenes moments. Think footage of the hair and makeup chair, the studio being set up, the laughter between poses, and if you are comfortable, a short on-camera interview about your experience. Selected images may be shared on my Instagram, Facebook or website.

This helps me show real women, in real sessions, having a real experience. Not stock photos. Not models. Women like you, being seen properly, some of them for the first time in years. That is the kind of content that gives the next nervous woman permission to reach out.

And it is genuinely mutual. You receive a luxury experience at a fraction of its value, and if you would like a copy of the behind-the-scenes content from your session, it is yours to keep as well.

Where I draw the line, always

This part matters more to me than anything else in this post, so please read it slowly.

Nothing is ever shared without your explicit written consent. Not one image, not one clip, not one word from your interview. You will see everything before it goes anywhere, and you choose what is shared and what stays private.

And I will never, under any circumstances, share anything uncensored or revealing beyond what you are completely comfortable with. Every piece of content that leaves my studio is one you have approved, one you feel proud of, one you would be happy for your mum or your boss to stumble across. If you are not comfortable, it does not exist publicly. Full stop.

The behind-the-scenes element is also entirely optional. If you would love the full experience but the idea of being on camera between shots makes you nervous, tell me in your application and we will talk about it. You stay in complete control, always. That is not a marketing line. It is how I have run this studio for seven years, and it is why my clients come back and send their friends.

Who I am hoping will apply

The woman I keep picturing as I write this is somewhere between 30 and 55. She has built a life around other people, her children, her patients, her clients, her team, her family. She is capable and generous and quietly tired of feeling invisible.

She has thought about a boudoir session before. Maybe more than once. And every time, the same voice pipes up: after I lose the weight, when I feel more confident, when the timing is better.

Here is what seven years behind the camera has taught me: there is no more perfect version of you coming. Your body is not a before photo. It is the whole story. You do not need to change first. You just need to be seen.

If that lands somewhere in your chest, you are exactly who this campaign is for.

How to apply

There are eight spots, and applications are reviewed personally by me. If you would like to be one of my Muses, or you simply have questions before you decide, you can find all the details of this Melbourne boudoir photography experience and the application form here: Become a Muse at My Story Boudoir.

I want you to walk out of my studio seeing yourself the way I see you. And I promise, what I see will take your breath away.

Michelle
Melbourne boudoir photography at My Story Boudoir · Footscray
www.mystoryboudoir.com.au · @mystory_boudoir

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