The tale thus far: Taking romantic pictures of Dawne started out as an effort to show her what she looked like through my eyes. The plan involved sneaking around in the middle of the night doing things I would rather not explain, then convincing her that this was all for her own good… If you are just joining us now, you may want to go back and read part one of “Taking Romantic Pictures of Dawne“.

Having dropped the whole “surprise” aspect of my grand plan as hopelessly impossible, I was left with an only slightly less challenging task: Convincing Dawne that she should pose nude for me. Allow me to interject something here, if I may, just to help your understanding of the proceedings that followed; when need demands, I am capable of being a bit of a sneaky bastard. You see, our camera does not do well in low light conditions. Normal room lighting at night is often enough to make it lose focus. Using this as my argument, I told Dawne that initially, we would only do an test run, just to see if the camera was up to the task, you understand. As predicted, a “test run” was something that Dawne could agree to.

DAWNE: I thought he wouldn’t be able to get anything at all on the camera, so being nude wouldn’t matter: I could be dressed just as easily and you would still ask, “What’s that weird blobby thing in the picture?”.

What I didn’t point out to Dawne was that the camera only loses focus some of the time. The rest of the time it’s fine, and is capable of taking a darn good picture…

DAWNE: Yeah… I’d forgotten completely about that…

When the appointed time came, we set up in the bedroom for our “shoot”. I had previously turned the heat up in the room for her comfort, and had a few props that we had agreed on ready (a couple of scarves, and possibly one of my dress shirts). Dawne stripped down and sat on the bed, nervous but willing to give it a go. For lighting, I had just our 60 watt overhead light, which I already knew would be insufficient.

I once read somewhere that professional photographers will routinely take upwards of 100 shots, just to get one or two good photos, so with this in mind, I started clicking. As predicted, the camera’s ability to focus in those conditions was deplorable, but that wasn’t my aim at that moment. While I clicked away, I talked to Dawne. We started conversing, and as she got used to the camera, and her mind became engaged in the conversation, she began to relax and look more natural in the viewfinder. Suffice to say that for one reason or another, the first 50 shots were terrible, but I began to get a feel for how to shoot her in such a way that she might begin to see herself as I did, and she not only began to relax, but even get into it, if only a little.

As she relaxed, I began to get a little more intimate with the angles and perspectives; which is to say, I began to take closer photos of specific areas of her body, as opposed to the full body or head and shoulder photos that I had been up until now. I focused in on closeups of her breasts, hip, or waist. Wherever and whatever the muse dictated, I clicked. Once I felt that she was sufficiently comfortable with the proceedings, I had an “idea”. Again, I didn’t tell her that I had actually had the idea a few days previously, just that I had an idea.

“I wonder if the side light will add enough illumination for the camera to focus properly?”, I mused aloud. Much to my delight, Dawne simply leaned over and turned it on herself! I was so excited my hands began to shake. Now to be fair, a good portion of my excitement was also due to having a stunningly beautiful woman spread out, fully naked, right in front of me… I don’t know how the pros do it, really I don’t…

DAWNE: I trust Marc with every part of my life, including my life. If he says that something is good for me it usually is. If he’s insistent that I try something, which with me means he gently keeps bringing something up, then it must be important. I say this because after the weight I gained from the drug, I was very, very body shy. I wouldn’t let Marc see me more than was absolutely necessary whenever I was nude. As Marc talked to me and I got a little more comfortable and I watched him, I realized he was really loving looking at me. I mean really loving it. The only way that would happen was if he really thought that what he was looking at was beautiful to him. When that thought crossed my mind and I let myself accept it, at least for those moments, I felt I must be beautiful and started to want Marc to look at me and hoped that some of the photos would come out all right.

Suffice to say that the rest of the evening went very well, with about 200 photographs taken, of which perhaps 20 or 30 were keepers. The end result was that my plan was an absolute success. Of the keepers, there were several that allowed Dawne to see herself as I do: A beautiful woman who is sexy, desirable and as hot as hot can get! It was such a success in fact that Dawne immediately began planning our next shoot, suggesting solutions to our lighting problems and other props that we might want to use.

DAWNE: I felt lighter and nearly liberated (my body image still needs a little work). However, it truly was a turning point: As I saw those photos that came out well, I realized that maybe Marc really had a reason to see me as beautiful and wasn’t just blinded by love, which is what I always attributed it to. I stopped hiding my body from him and started to let him touch me again and by that I mean explore. I let him know my body for the first time, really know, in our entire marriage because I KNEW HE found it glorious (his words). Even if I had my doubts, he certainly didn’t: Maybe my extra padding was ok and perhaps actually attractive and possibly I really was sexy.

I can honestly say that this experience started to change my ideas about myself. Marc’s lead was gentle but firm and determined to guide me to a revelation of myself and it was. I began to see myself very differently and to believe Marc when he told me how sexy and beautiful I was. Now, I ask him if he likes the things I do as a woman and I’m hearing the words and enthusiasm I heard only when we were first together. I know I’ve changed; I can really believe him now and that in turn has given me courage to let more of myself out of my box. As I do, Marc finds me more and more compelling, fascinating and well, hot. We talk more. We cuddle more. We connect more. Quite frankly, that’s pretty ridiculous because we’ve always been close. Now, we’re beyond that and we’ve only just begun.

I cannot recommend enough this simple idea: if your wife has body issues (as many women do), and simply telling her repeatedly how beautiful she is, showing her might just be the ticket you need. There are several books available on boudoir photography, such as “Digital Boudoir Photography: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Fabulous Images of Any Woman” (Amazon). For my initial run, I didn’t purchase this book, as my original plan involved an element of surprise, but it’s on my shopping list as we pursue this new hobby for two.

In the meantime, here are a couple of tips that have worked for us.

First, make sure that the room temperature is comfortable for your subject. Remember that she will be naked, so what feels comfortable while wearing clothing may not apply. Set the temperature half an hour to an hour ahead of time, so that the space you are shooting in has plenty of time to warm up. If you are uncertain if the room’s temperature is warm enough, set it, then strip and check it for yourself. A final note: too warm can be as bad as too cold, causing both you and your partner to be uncomfortable.

The second tip is lighting! Good lighting is essential. Overhead is bad, as are (usually) harsh shadows. A handy cheat for those of us who are unwilling to invest in a pro setup involving strobes and high-power flashes, an inexpensive solution is to use an ordinary work light, such as the type used on construction sites. We picked ours up from the local hardware store for about $12. Just be careful, those suckers get very hot! Safety first, people! This really comes into play if you want to mask the light for a softer effect. Side tip: softer lighting is more flattering, especially on a not-18-years-old-anymore body type.

The last, and most important tip is this: It’s all about her, not you! Make sure that she is comfortable, not just in the room, but with the proceedings in general. Talk to her, crack a joke, and take your time. This is a fun thing for couples to do together, not a high stakes fashion shoot with reputations on the line. Help her to relax, and have fun with it. All you have to do is practise photographing her in a way that allows her to see what you see.

I had the good fortune of extensive photography instruction, whether I liked it or not, so delaying the purchase of the books was ok for us. If your photographic skills could use a bit of a brush up, don’t be shy about investing in a book, or doing some independent research on the web, as I did. Your beautiful lady deserves to see herself through your eyes, and that is just a skill that can be learned, like any other. So, stop talking, start learning and most importantly start taking romantic pictures of your lover.

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