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Why More Women Over 40 Are Booking Boudoir and Beauty Sessions in Grand Rapids Michigan

By: Valerie Visser

There's a confidence gap no one talks about. And I see it every single day in my studio.

A few years ago I did a horseback riding trip in Ireland. I was 51. I had done it before, 20 years earlier, and I really wanted to do it again but honestly I wasn't sure I could. It was a serious six day trip, riding at least six hours a day, walk trot canter with a lot of trotting (the bounciest stride, if you know you know). The first day was hard. The second day I still didn't know if I could finish it. But the morning of the third day something shifted and I knew I could.

That feeling of not knowing if you're capable of something anymore and then finding out that you are? I think about that constantly in my work.

I'm 57 now. Post menopausal. And I'll be honest with you, my body has changed in ways I didn't fully expect. It's hard to explain unless you've lived it, but it's a little like pregnancy in reverse. Pregnancy changes your body in ways you can see and feel every single day, and you have no choice but to make peace with a new version of yourself. Menopause does something similar, quietly and gradually, until one day you look in the mirror and think, who is that? The shape is different. The skin is different. The relationship you had with your own reflection is different.

I get it. Not from the outside looking in. From living it.

And here's what I know about women at this stage of life. On the outside everything looks fine. We show up. We take care of everyone. We look put together. But somewhere along the way a lot of us stopped seeing ourselves. We got busy. We aged out of the version of ourselves we recognized. We disconnected, quietly, gradually, without really noticing until one day we did.

And then the thoughts start.

"I don't look good enough. I'm not confident enough. Maybe when I lose the weight. I've been wanting to do something for myself but I am afraid I will not look like everyone else."

It affects everything. How we show up in our relationships, our work, our friendships. If we push to do the things we desire or if we stay stuck. Whether we feel worth seeing at all.

This is the confidence gap no one talks about. It doesn't announce itself. It just quietly takes up space until you decide you're done letting it.

I am a luxury boudoir and women's portrait photographer based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and I have spent 12 years and over 1,000 sessions watching women rediscover themselves inside my studio. Valerie Visser Studios is located at 2335 Burton St SE in Grand Rapids and has earned more than 200 five star Google reviews, making it the highest rated boudoir studio in West Michigan. But none of that is why I do this work.

I do this work because of what I watch happen inside my studio durring every single session.

A woman from West Michigan in a leather jacket laughs joyfully, with her hands in her hair.
Woman in a black gown holding pink 40 balloons on a white rug celebrates her birthday with a boudoir session at Valerie Visser Studios in Grand Rapids Michigan.
Woman with wavy purple hair wearing a white shirt with black trim, posing against a plain background at Valerie .Visser Studios professional studio in Grand Rapids Michigan

The women who walk through my door almost always say some version of the same thing on the way in. I don't know if I can do this. I'm not sure I'm ready. Maybe I should have waited until I lost some weight.

And here is what I want every woman reading this to know. You do not have to be ready. You do not have to feel confident. You do not have to know how to pose, what to wear, or what to do with your hands. Boudoir photography is not just for certain body types or certain ages. I work with women of all sizes, XS to 5XL, and all ages, and I have photographed women in their 20s all the way through their 70s.

Not every woman wants to do a boudoir session and that is completely okay. I also offer beauty portraits, a stunning and empowering option for women who want a gorgeous, confidence building experience without the lingerie. Same care, same preparation, same transformation.

That's my job. I take care of everything, professional hair and makeup, wardrobe, shoes, posing guidance, all of it.

 

You just have to show up.

Person in an egg chair surrounded by plants, assisted by photographer Valerie Visser during a photoshoot. in East Grand Rapids Michigan
Black and white image of a person posing in an Egg chair, legs raised, with patterned floor and chair background. in a boudoir studio in Grand Rapids Michigan

And many times, showing up is the shift.

They don't leave their session with those same thoughts.

They leave with images of themselves they never expected to see. They leave standing a little taller, with a extra smirk they didn't walk in with, a little more attitude in the best possible way, a pep in their step that wasn't there before. Something shifts and they feel it to their core.

Native American woman with short blonde hair posing and smiling, resting her head on her hand, wearing a black top and necklace in a boudoir pose.
Woman with curly hair, wrapped in a sheet, sitting on a bed in a softly lit room. Black and white photo.
Woman in purple lace lingerie poses confidently in front of an ornate mirror with green plants in the background in a professional Studio in East Grand Rapids Michigan.

 

The women who book sessions at Valerie Visser Studios come for all kinds of reasons. Some are celebrating a milestone birthday or anniversary. Some are on the other side of a divorce or a health battle and ready to reclaim themselves. Some are empty nesters stepping into a new chapter. Some are brides wanting to feel stunning before their wedding day. Some simply decided that after years of taking care of everyone else, it was finally their turn. And some just want beautiful images of themselves at this exact moment in their lives, exactly as they are right now. Boudoir and beauty portrait sessions are for every woman, every age, every size, every reason. There is no wrong reason to show up for yourself.

 

If you have been saying maybe someday to yourself, this is your nudge. You don't have to have it all figured out. You just have to be willing to show up for yourself for once.

And right now there is even more reason to do it. I am running a limited time offer, half off everything, with only a handful of spots left before it ends April 30th.

It's your time.

Call the studio 616-229-3424

Or fill out out contact form here and watch your email (spam folders too).

valerievisserstudios.com

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