Julie never believed that she would book a boudoir photoshoot or that she could love photos of herself. She had always felt more comfortable behind the camera than in front of it and thought of herself as quite shy and un-photogenic. But when her husband heard about Sally Pepper's boudoir photoshoot on BBC Radio 4 she was intrigued...

She joined our private group on Facebook and was soon inspired by the photos and stories the ladies shared. She booked a shoot for her birthday and began to plan her photoshoot with us. By the time she arrived at the studio, her fears had subsided and we had fun! Now she looks through her beautiful photo album whenever she needs to be reminded of the beautiful, strong woman she is. Channeling her inner Vixen!

"I’ve never felt particularly comfortable in front of the camera, I much prefer being behind taking the photos. I think I’m still quite shy but also I never thought I looked that good in pictures. My husband told me about the shoot that Sally Pepper did with Foxlow and I was intrigued so I joined The Vixens of Foxlow on Facebook.

“I thought I would treat myself”

I never thought I would book a shoot because no-one would be able to take a beautiful photo of me, but after reading the blog and looking at the photos in the group I thought I would treat myself to a shoot for my birthday.

What had I got to lose, after all, I never had to show any one the photos! From all the messages from Danielle and posts in the Vixens Facebook group, I knew I was in the right place. She was easy going, friendly and made me feel so comfortable; I had no thoughts about going anywhere else.

“Danielle gave me lots of advice”

Danielle gave me lots of advice on the sort of things to wear and I checked out as many of the photos on the website as I could to see what the other lovely ladies had chosen. It was then time to go shopping and to be honest that was the most challenging part of the process. I’m a difficult size so it was a case of checking out as many of the shops as I could. There was lots of choice of sexy underwear about but none of it was in my size.

Perseverance paid off and I got a couple of things from M&S, some more from Yours and a brilliant men’s dress shirt for £5 from Boundary Mills! It was important for me that I bought things I would wear again, so I topped it off with a swim suit from Asda with a beautiful lace overlay.

“I had a nice relaxing start to the day”

I thought I would be nervous before my shoot but I wasn’t. I’d taken the day off work so I had a nice relaxing start to the day and pulled together all of my gear, couldn’t believe it filled my weekend bag - who’d have thought I’d have so much to take with me!

“Louise was so friendly”

When I arrived I was met by Louise who was so friendly and if I’d had any residual nerves they would have gone straight away. She took me upstairs and offered me a drink, something alcoholic was asking for trouble so I decided on a nice, safe coffee.

Louise then settled down to do my makeup and hair. I don’t usually wear much makeup and I was a bit apprehensive that I might look fake but I needn’t have worried, I looked much better than I thought possible. Louise was so chatty that the time flew by and it was a great start to the experience.

“I instantly felt comfortable with Jon”

While I was having my makeup and hair done both Danielle and Jon came in to introduce themselves. Danielle was so bubbly and enthusiastic, just like when we chatted on line, that I felt I’d known her for years. Jon was just as friendly and I instantly felt comfortable with him and he was no longer the scary photographer, just a really nice guy who happened to have a camera.

“I did hide behind the curtain for a minute”

So to be honest when I walked into the studio I felt totally at ease, just how you would want to feel. Danielle had a look through the outfits I’d bought with me, picked the first one and then showed me to the changing area. Once I’d got ready I did hide behind the curtain for a minute, much to Danielle and Jon’s amusement, but I was encouraged out and the shoot began.

I’d had a preview of one shot during the shoot and I was so excited to see the others I just couldn’t wait. I brought my husband to the reveal so I was a bit nervous as to how he would react. He was fully behind the idea of the shoot and he sent me a supportive message on the day, but the big reveal was a very worrying time.

“The photos were way beyond my expectations”

Silly me, I had no need to worry at all, the photos were amazing and way beyond my expectations even after seeing the back of the camera shot. It was lovely to see so many wonderful photos and a nice mix of colour and black & white.

It was very hard to choose which ones to have as ideally I would have liked them all. Danielle was really helpful choosing the best ones to include and throwing in some of her favourites to consider. It’s great having someone there who is unbiased and just looking at the photos without all the emotional attachment that I had. She picked some that I didn’t initially choose and I'm so pleased that they ended up in the album! In the end we had a wonderful set for the album, my husband’s favourite for the cover and joint favourites for the wall art.

“The photos show the relaxed, unreserved me”

I love my album and I still find it hard to appreciate it's me on the cover! The photos we chose really sum up the experience and tell the story of the day.

There was lots of laughter and you can see how much I enjoyed it by looking at my smile, I rarely smile like that in normal life. The photos show the relaxed, unreserved me and every time I need reminding about this side of me I look at the photos, perfect.

“I feel more confident in my own skin”

Since my photoshoot I feel more confident in my own skin and if I have something nerve wracking to do I just channel my inner Vixen!" Julie