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Hey Skinny Dippers! I hope your 2016 is off to a excellent start. Two things:

1) I now officially have an Intern. Yes, a real human intern. Her name Kaitlyn and I am so excited to have her on board. She’ll be popping up on the blog regularly and helping me with some of the behind the scenes stuff at Skinny Dip. And no, she and Joe the Intern won’t be stepping on each other’s toes. As it turns out, they have completely different skill sets. As proof that Kaitlyn is in fact, a human being, I’ll let her tell you a bit about herself –

2) I’m convinced that the Sex & Relationship Blogging “Force” is strong in this one. For her first post, Kaitlyn has bravely volunteered to write about what it was like to do a boudoir photo-shoot with her boyfriend…and even share some photos!

As an FYI, I’m mildly obsessed with boudoir & pin-up photography. I think this Pinterest board is testament to that. While there’s definitely something to be said for glamourous, over the top erotic photography a la Dita Von Teese, I also really enjoy photos that are more raw and show people in their natural habitat – like the subject(s) are just being themselves and we’re interloping on an intimate moment.

When I saw Kaitlyn’s photos for the first time I remarked how they “look like just an everyday, sexy couple that are into each other!” The slightly grainy quality of the photos give them a candid, voyeuristic feel that’s really sexy. It also doesn’t hurt that Kaitlyn is gorgeous! I hope you appreciate Kaitlyn’s photos and post as much as I do.

This past Christmas break my lover and I were reunited for a week, family free, just two horny teenagers that hadn’t seen each other in a month.

My lover and I have been together for six years, so we are no stranger to getting down and dirty. Given the opportunity to use my roommate’s new Canon T5 and my new telephoto 18-200mm lens, I wanted to take advantage of our empty apartment, family & oh-too-curious dog free week. So, I proposed we do a boudoir shoot. Now before I begin, my lover is a very private person. He cringes at the idea of PDA or letting his buddies in on what happens in the bedroom, and I’m okay with that. Because in the end, when we are all standing around discussing the new Star Wars trailer and giggling like school girls, I get to look at my boyfriend (the only one who is sexually active) and think “I wonder if we will make it to the bedroom tonight?”

So when I proposed the idea of us taking semi-nude photos together, he thought “together” meant I was in front of the camera and he was behind it. Boy was he wrong. After about a half hour of repeating “take off your shirt, move a little to the right, take off your shirt, crouch a little, take off your shirt,” I was tired and aggravated at his reluctance to get in front of the camera with me. Like every other insecure girl, I was a little hesitant on hoping in front of the camera in nothing but a robe. But, for my slim, Popeye muscled boyfriend it shouldn’t be a problem, right? Wrong. After a few failed attempts trying to get over the giggliness that we felt like we were shooting a porno, I laid in bed defeated.

Unaware I was sporting a pout, my lover sighed and stroked my arm and confided in me saying “I don’t have a model body.” I looked at him incredulously, my collection of stretch marks, acne scars and red bumpy skin coming to my mind.

Of course we see each other differently through each other’s eyes, and of course I wanted good photos, but the more I thought about it I began to realise what I really wanted out of the photoshoot: to have fun. I was expecting the awkwardness of the situation and looked forward to it – that’s just who we are as a couple. I’m the weird creative one, and he’s the intelligent nerdy one who sits on his butt all day but has guns like a pro wrestler. (Yeah I know I don’t think it’s fair either).

While we laid in bed, I couldn’t sleep. All of a sudden, inspiration hit me. I ran around in a robe moving my furniture around, setting up a tripod, while trying to be as graceful as a ninja not to wake my lover. Next thing you know, the self-timer is on and I’m running back and forth from my camera to my balcony door, posing and trying not to look as out of breath as I felt. (Easier said than done.)

I was a few shots in, when I heard my lover snickering at my ungraceful ninja prances, as I rushed to make it in front of the camera before the timer was done. Thanks to my awesome harassing skills, I finally managed to get him to join in on the photos…and well, that was interesting.

We had 10 seconds of standing there awkwardly trying to figure out where which arm goes where and wondering things like, “am I showing too much boobage?” and “what if my neighbours are getting a good view?!”

The first few shots we appeared really stiff, and you could tell that we were both uncomfortable and awkward. Understandingly, by the time I got the camera focused on my lover, pressed the button, ran to the camera, angled ourselves and posed, we were down to about four seconds of camera time.

This resulted in some of the shots being all blurry and grainy due to movement. The other photos of us looked it looked like our faces were smushed and some invisible force was smacking our heads together.

After about 10 shots like that, I decided to be more spontaneous. Instead of giving my lover a little peck on the lips, I kissed him like I meant it. And that’s where I realised I was taking the shoot too seriously and forgetting to just relax, be natural, and most of all have fun with it.

If there are three things I’ve learned from doing my first boudoir shoot they would be:

1. Be comfortable with yourself. No one is going to see how uncomfortable you are any better than a camera. Everyone has their good sides and bad sides, it’s all about accepting the bad sides and making the most of them. Hey, maybe even make a little album of “blooper shots” where you can save all your double chin, or “I forgot to shave there” photos.

2. Have fun. Wing it if you have to, but don’t wing it too far out of the ball park. There is fine line between classy boudoir photos to, well…not so classy. Go on a pinning spree, or talk to your loved one about what they think would be sexy and would like to have for a little keep sake.

3. Don’t do your own photos. My lover wouldn’t have been okay with the idea of someone watching us make out and take photos during it, so if you’re in that predicament too, then there is nothing wrong with using a self-timer. It’ll just take a little longer to get the perfect shot. When hiring a professional photographer to do your shoot they want to make the experience fun and as less awkward as possible. Or get your lover to do your photos, it would be a great bonding experience, and could possibly lead to some even greater moments afterwards (if you get my drift.)

Thank you for sharing your experience Kaitlyn! For more Kaitlyn, you can follow her on Instagram.

Have you ever taken any boudoir photos? What was your experience like?

If you’ve caught any of my recent Instagrams, you might have guessed that I am on vacation this week! While I’m enjoying some down time in the beautiful Okanagan, my friend Sara has stepped in with a guest post. I hope you enjoy Sara’s savvy advice. These are all things I wish I’d had tattoo’ed on my arm when I was a 20-something. Since writing about how Carrie Bradshaw is the most unrealistic freelance writer, ever, I think most of these tips are still very relevant to those of us who are now 30-somethings (& beyond!)

There has been a series on Skinny Dip about the things we all wish we could say to our twenty year old selves. We’ve talked about love and loss and today, let’s talk about money. If there’s one thing we can probably all agree on is that we wish we were smarter with our money when we were twenty.

College students are virtually preyed upon by credit card companies. They set up tables on campuses and harass students passing by to fill out applications. They talk up great deals and the importance of building credit. The problem is that very few students understand how to approach credit correctly. Even if they understand, intellectually, that a credit card isn’t “free money,” they often give in to the temptation to simply pay the minimum amounts due. After all, they can make bigger payments later when it’s more convenient, right?

We’ve all been there. We’ve all been tempted by the siren song of credit, especially when we are young and we want to be able to keep up with our more well off friends.

Unfortunately, for most of us, what this does is set us off on a path toward a terrible credit rating—one that will prove problematic when we grow up and want to buy homes, start businesses, etc. When you’re starting up your first business, you’re going to be trying to find investors and will likely need a business credit card.

I wish I had access to a list of the best cash back business credit cards in order for me to earn rewards while funding my purchases. I had to learn about managing money through my own mistakes back then. But now I’m older and wiser.

So here’s what I’d say to my 20 year old self about money

-Get one card. One. That’s it.

-Pay at least $10 more than the minimum amount due on your credit statement

-Pay your bill as soon as it shows up in your email box or in the mail.

-Remember the physical limitations of your dorm room—can you really fit all of the things you want to buy into it?

-You are not a lesser person if you don’t have the most current fashions, accessories, electronic gadgets, etc.

-Share—share music, share movies, share books. Share instead of buying your own. You’ll look like a genius when you help your friends save money too.

-Saving is not stupid. Putting even $5 a week into a savings account is better than nothing.

-Take a course in personal finance and learn about saving, investing, retirement plans and basic economics now. You’ll look like a genius when you already understand all of that stuff your friends probably won’t bother with until they get their first jobs.

-Get a job and pay off the interest on your student loans each month. Yes, it isn’t due until later but you’ll be thousands of dollars ahead of the game come graduation time.

About the Author: Sara is freelance writer who most often writes about personal finance. In her spare time, she enjoys maintaining a healthy lifestyle through swimming and practicing yoga.

What are some of the financial lessons you wish you had learned when you were 20?

What To Expect From Your First Boudoir Photo Shoot

Guest Post | Lessons for my 20 Year Old Self: Be Careful With Your Money

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