It was no longer a gift for my husband. It was all for me': four women on how boudoir photography changed their lives

"I was like: OK, we're on this trust path.' She undressed. The photographer, JoAnna Moore, covered Witt with body oil and squirted her with water, then asked her to crawl across the floor with my full trust, Witt says. I did so. The pose was nude, and it was completely open. I wasn't covered with a sheet. It was all out, it was all open, and it brought that worst level of self-doubt. I was terrified."

"I had a very masculine aura. I showed up in strength, she says. At school and work in the construction side of the oil and gas industry she was type A scheduler, planner, had everything together, kind of led the group. A turbulent home life when she was growing up led her to develop robust protection mechanisms which, in adulthood, acted as a block to relationships issues she had been addressing with a life coach. But in that moment, on all-fours in Moore's studio: I felt those protections stripped away."

"There was nothing to hide behind, literally, figuratively. The resulting photograph is one of her favourites. It was the combination of everything I was, and it looked phenomenal. You can tell who I thought I was in that picture. And what box I thought I fit in but also all the things I didn't think I was, and which that picture allowed me to be. It's a strength position. But you also have this intense vulnerability and openness, softness and beauty. It's the picture that captured everything."

Brittany Witt agreed to a boudoir shoot that shifted into complete nudity after a trust-building moment with the photographer. The session involved oil, water and a vulnerable crawling pose that provoked intense self-doubt and terror. Witt's past as a competitive weightlifter and a masculine professional persona contrasted with the softness the image revealed. A turbulent childhood produced protective mechanisms that later blocked relationships and required work with a life coach. The photograph captured both strength and openness, allowing Witt to see dimensions of herself previously boxed out. Boudoir shoots are increasingly sought, sometimes costing several thousand dollars.

Read at www.theguardian.com