Ritual Intimates

Late September makes me feel like this 🍂🪽✨

🥀 punished by love 🥀

from the After Dark archives, one of my forever favorite types of offerings 🕯️

we’re teetering closer & closer to after dark season - the weather today has me ready to nestle up in my studio and make some amazing, moody art this winter and I hope you’re ready too 🍂

There are so many reasons people end up in my studio and “I just want sexy pics” is rarely the whole story

I’ve photographed people marking birthdays

People meeting themselves again after something ended

People documenting bodies that carried babies

People celebrating bodies that carried them through really fu***ng hard years

People who spent years behind the camera and finally wanted photos of themselves

People who wanted to feel hot

People who wanted to make weird art

People who didn’t have a life changing reason at all, they just wanted to do it

That’s something I love so much about this work, is that each session is different from the other, different reasons, different vibes

You don’t need to come here with a profound explanation for why you need photos of yourself, every reason is enough

💌

🥀🥀🥀

One of the coolest parts of being in art is that all of the pieces that make you YOU come with it

because photographing you also means holding space for you & making a safe place to exist in your body and in art

Sometimes there’s some deep sh*t, sometimes it’s all fun, sometimes life has been throwing curveballs, most of the time it’s a mixture of it all. Whatever it is, it’s welcome here ✨

Sarah wanted to share some pieces of her experience

a love letter to the ones learning how to be softer in a hard world 💌

Who have learned how to endure & carry things no one else sees

the ones who became good at pushing through, at getting it done, at saying ‘I’m fine’ because explaining the whole thing felt harder than carrying it yourself

It’s really brave to be tender & realize you don’t want to spend your whole life braced for impact

and maybe softness looks different now -

maybe it’s resting before you’ve earned it, or asking for help with something
letting your body set the pace
changing your mind
making room for pleasure even on hard days
wearing the thing anyways
taking the photos
letting yourself be cared for

maybe you’re learning that strength doesn’t have to require your own exhaustion

I think there is a lot of courage in staying tender after life has given you plenty of reasons to harden

In learning the language of your body again
In figuring out what it needs now, rather than punishing it
In letting yourself have beauty and desire and joy without needing your life to be perfectly healed first

So this is for the ones figuring it out as they go

I love a black and white photo, it’s like monochromatic magic 🤍🖤

I love color grading and the color versions we cook up, but b&w edits have a way of conveying a feeling. A handful of black & white versions are usually included in a gallery, and I love going through your photos & noticing those moments ✨

“I’ve been following you forever”

~ I hear this a lot ✨ (and I’m honored tbh)

Sometimes forever means six months, two years, maybe even 6 years

Maybe you’ve opened the website, looked at the photos, checked the investment, closed it, came back, saved another post, thought about what you’d wear, closed it again

And if that’s you, I don’t think you need another person yelling JUST DO IT!!!

Booking something vulnerable, expensive and completely outside your normal life can take time

But eventually there is a different question worth asking -

“What am I actually waiting to change before I let myself do this?”

Your body? Your confidence? Your age? Your schedule? Permission?

If you’ve been circling this lil corner of Ritual for a long time, maybe your next visit to the booking link gets to end differently

And whenever you’re ready, I’m stoked to welcome you into your realm of art ❤

Ritualintimates.com if you’re leaning in ✨

Neons or candlelight? ✨

After-dark sessions are some of my favorite sessions everrrrr, we all need pops of colors like this ❤️‍🔥

𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔰𝔦𝔯𝔢𝔫𝔰 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔯𝔦𝔳𝔢𝔯 ⚔️

It might sound silly, and I know anytime we gather that it’ll be magical, but I am always blindsided by how full my heart feels afterwards. Like I didn’t know how much I needed it. We laughed a lot, and shuffled around the river, and killed a big ass horse fly with a sword lol, and my feet were SO SORE

But wow is it worth it - for the art, the togetherness, the presence, everyone existing together without any pressure

When the world feels like it’s on fire, I think about days like this

I’m excited about these photos 🤍 and so grateful to make art like this with such amazing people