Body Image and the Art of Misbehaving
In the pleasure garden with Natasha Kaufman
This year, I’m diving deep into a single word: pleasure. For me, pleasure is a powerful way to connect with myself, with my body, and with the whole of life. I believe that for women, especially at midlife, pleasure isn't just important. It's revolutionary.
Each month, I’ll share a new interview with a woman who opens up about what nourishes her, the self-care rituals she practices, and what pleasure means to her.
Misbehaving. For boudoir photographer Natasha Kaufman, it means refusing to wait until your body looks different to feel sexy. It means rejecting the idea that aging steals your desirability. It means seeing yourself as already enough, right now.
In this transformative conversation, Natasha opens up about what happens when women finally see themselves as confident, sexy, and fully alive. She shares the moment during a session when everything shifts, why rest can be as rebellious as sensuality, and her belief that to be turned on by life, we first have to be turned on by ourselves.
Spend time with Natasha and discover why misbehaving can be a pleasurable rebellion.
Can you share a glimpse into your world right now. What’s lighting you up these days?
I’m in a season of change - divorce, rebuilding, and reimagining my life - and what excites me most is how it’s all coming together through my work, which at its core is about Misbehaving.
It began in my boudoir studio, where I’ve photographed over 550 women misbehaving against age and beauty standards. From there it’s grown to include rest coaching and Yoga Nidra, where misbehaving means rebelling against hustle culture and learning to honor bodies and minds we’ve been taught to criticize.
Now I’m expanding into a podcast, courses, and retreats: spaces where women can create a deeply rested sexy life, and ADHD entrepreneurs can boss themselves better, honoring their unique needs and building profit on their own terms. At every level, my work is about using rest, play, and creativity to reclaim confidence, pleasure, and freedom.
What are three pleasurable words to describe yourself?
Playful, untamed, juicy.
Where do you find inspiration?
I’m inspired by rule-breakers: artists, poets, and business owners who carve their own path. Mary Oliver’s poetry and the philosophy of Yoga Nidra remind me to slow down and see the world with fresh eyes, while mantras and affirmations help me ground myself. And when I need a visual spark, I turn to my Pinterest boards, which remind me that possibility and creativity are always within reach.
Is there a book, podcast, or resource that has deeply influenced you?
I return often to Mary Oliver’s poetry, the book Do Nothing, and Tricia Hersey’s Rest Is Resistance and Rest Deck. They remind me to anchor myself and reimagine success beyond hustle. For everyday guidance, I turn to the Daring to Rest podcast and the I Have ADHD podcast.
Name a person, past or present, real or fictional, whom you admire and look up to.
I deeply admire my ADHD coach, Kristen Carter, and my photography coach, Sue Bryce. Both have taught me the power of meeting myself where I am, honoring my unique brain and talents, and removing people-pleasing from the equation.
What are the first things you do every morning?
Music is always first. It gets me out of bed and shifts my energy before anything else. My self-care routine makes me feel like myself again: hydrating my skin, choosing playful earrings from my collection, swiping on purple lipstick, and picking out an outfit that sparks dopamine, whether cozy or bold. Then I step outside with my dog - feeling the grass, listening to birdsong by the lake, soaking up sunshine - before heading back in for movement. Some mornings it’s a kitchen dance party, other mornings I bounce on my mini trampoline. Finally, I settle in with hot tea and a crunchy, sensory-satisfying breakfast that grounds me for the day ahead.
Is there a ritual you could not live without in your day?
Morning coffee and evening book.
What are some favourite ways you nourish yourself?
I nourish myself through small pleasures that delight and comfort my senses: colorful squishmallow pillows, a rainbow shower curtain, boho rugs, soft blankets. Creative outlets like painting, drawing, photography, and dance also feed me in ways that go beyond work, giving me space to play and express myself. And sometimes nourishment is simply allowing unstructured time and the freedom to rest without guilt.
How do you define pleasure?
Pleasure is being fully in my body—whether through delight, like dancing, playful colors, or purple lipstick, or through comfort, like soft blankets, rest, and time without guilt. It’s also sensuality—feeling confident, sexy, alive in my skin. For me, it’s permission to enjoy what feels good, in the moment, without apology.
What’s one surprising way pleasure has shown up in your own life or work that you didn’t expect?
The most surprising way pleasure has shown up for me is through rest. As someone with ADHD, I used to see lying down as wasted time, but practices like Yoga Nidra taught me that stillness can be sensual, grounding, and even rebellious. Rest has become one of the most pleasurable things I do for myself, and it’s changed how I show up in life and work.
What stories about female pleasure do you want to rewrite through your photography?
So many women walk into my boudoir studio thinking sexiness and pleasure have to look one way or worse, that they’re reserved for men. They’ve spent years believing their bodies should look different, or that aging means their desirability is fading. In those first few minutes, I often see the nerves: stiff posture, awkward laughter, uncertainty.
But then something shifts…a little coaching, a little laughter, music…and suddenly she’s moving differently, letting go, even enjoying being photographed, truly seen for the first time in years. That shift, from awkward to embodied, is the moment she discovers that to be turned on by life, by our work, and by the people we love, we first have to be turned on by ourselves.
Photo by Natasha Kaufman
Is a boudoir photo session a pleasurable experience, both for you as the photographer and for your clients?
Yes, but the pleasure shows up in layers.
For my clients, it begins with the atmosphere on session day: being greeted by me and my team, having their hair and makeup professionally done, laughing over music and conversation, and playing dress-up in a space where they can finally be the center of attention. Then comes the moment of surprise: when I show them images as we go and they whisper, “I can’t believe that’s me,” sometimes with tears after years of self-criticism.
That moment is where the pleasure is for me too: witnessing the shift as they finally see what I see. And the final layer comes when they hold their finished album or canvas and are still in awe of themselves, realizing that both the woman in the photos and their everyday self are equally real, equally beautiful, equally sexy, and equally worthy. That’s when pleasure turns into pride, expanding their self-belief, their self-trust, and the way they see themselves moving forward.
How do you invite women into pleasure during a session, especially when vulnerability is so present?
I invite women into pleasure by creating a space where play feels safe. We laugh, move to music, and try simple poses so it never feels like performing. I also guide them to physically connect with themselves - running fingertips along a collarbone, cupping their face mid-laugh - small gestures that many have never given themselves. At first it can feel awkward, but often it becomes transformative, a way of truly inhabiting their body.
As I show images along the way, they begin to see what I see, what their partner or best friend sees, their beauty and personality reflected back. My goal is always to create images that not only look like them but feel like them. The shift happens when they stop overthinking and realize they are already enough, and that’s when pleasure begins to unfold.
How do you see the experience of boudoir photography transforming women’s relationship with themselves?
Boudoir photography shifts the way women see themselves, literally.
Many walk in carrying years of shame or the belief that their body has to change to be desirable, or that age has stolen their sexiness. During the session, they feel cared for and playful, and they begin to see the sexiness and confidence their partner or others have seen all along reflected back with undeniable evidence.
That moment of “I can’t believe that’s me” is where transformation begins. And when they hold their images in their hands—an album or a canvas—it becomes proof they can’t ignore: they are already sexy, already confident, already enough. From there, they learn to trust their own reflection, soften toward their body, and carry that confidence into their relationships, their work, and their everyday life
I’d love for you to share about microscopic pleasures that you have recently experienced:
A taste: hot cauliflower pepper jack soup, or a perfectly crunchy meal that satisfies my ADHD sensory needs.
A sound: the click of my camera shutter at the exact right moment.
A sight: rainbow light spilling across my room in the morning, thanks to the prism film I put on my window to make sure the rainbows always show up.
A smell: lavender from an eye mask or weighted neck wrap calming my nervous system midday.
A touch: the steady weight of my dog leaning and breathing against me.
Natasha Kaufman is a boudoir photographer and Business & Rest Coach whose work is rooted in the pleasure of misbehaving.
For over nine years, she has photographed more than 550 women in her Morgantown, West Virginia studio, giving them a reason to misbehave against age and beauty standards and rediscover their sexiness and confidence. Her work has since expanded into rest coaching and Yoga Nidra, where misbehaving means rejecting hustle culture and learning to honor bodies and minds we’ve been taught to criticize.
Now she’s expanding into courses, retreats, and her upcoming podcast Made to Misbehave—all centered on helping women create deeply rested, sexy lives and supporting ADHD entrepreneurs to boss themselves better, build profit, and move from burnt out to turned on.
Website: Boudoir by Natasha Anne
LinkedIn: Natasha Kaufman
Instagram: @boudoirbynatashaanne
