My “Why” for Shooting Boudoir
Why Boudoir Photography?
Sometimes I find it hard to put into words why I shoot boudoir photography. To me, it is so much more than photos. It’s about self-acceptance, body positivity, and art. It is about getting glammed up and laughing your butt off. It’s about the transformation that takes place between the time you walk in my studio and walk back out that door. It is about feeling beautiful, and that is something I believe every person deserves.
I started shooting boudoir photography because I saw the beauty in everyone that came in our door. I believed I could show any person what I see through my camera. Women tell me they feel they can’t look “as beautiful as the other girls I photograph” because they feel too tall, weigh too much, maybe feel too old or have too many stretch marks. I loved showing them the photos from their shoot and showing that they CAN, in fact, feel just as beautiful as all of the women I work with! Seeing their reactions to their pictures changed me. From that moment on, I knew I had found my passion.
It was now my job to be a mirror for my clients. Not the mirror that the world shows you and shames you, but the one who sees past all of the lumps, bruises, and imperfections. The one that shows you your sparkle.
The Transformation
The transformation that took place in our studio is the best part of the whole experience for us. When a woman arrives in my studio, most of the time she’s nervous, sometimes even visibly nervous. Shaky hands and voices, sweaty hands and faces are things I see all the time. Once they sit in the chair to get their hair and makeup done, the transformation begins. The client slowly starts to shed those signs and feelings of nervousness and anxiousness.
Then the shoot would start. The first series is to get you all warmed up. When I show the client the back of the camera after the first series, I usually hear “OH MY GOD, that’s me? NO WAY that’s me!” As we go into the next series and then the next, the laughter and smiles start to come out. Then she starts to feel sexy. The sexy eyes come out. And you can tell that it’s starting to click with them.
By the time we finish the session and go into the reveal, we’re friends. We’ve just shared an experience that they will always remember. We’ve laughed and shared stories about our lives.
Once I show them their pictures on the screen, their jaws drop. They see themselves like they never have before. This is one of the amazing things about boudoir photography. I get a chance to show them how I see them, how their spouse sees them and be their mirror. When they walk out that door, their smiling so big and they can’t wait to tell all their friends about what they just did.
A little piece of My Story
I didn’t quite grasp the gravity of what I was accomplishing for women until October of 2021. I had been in and out of the hospital since June of 2020 for a stroke and vertebral artery dissection, as well as a few other health issues. We worried about repeat strokes from the dissection or possible bilateral dissection. I had to go through alot of it alone, because it was during COVID, when it was running rampid and they wouldn’t allow anyone into the hospital with you to see you. I had to receive the news alone, being told “We think you had a stroke, from a spontanious VAD. It is rare and not likely to happen again”. I thought to myself, “Ok, but it just happened to me. What if it spontaneously happens again?!”
The next 2 weeks were a blur. I was sent home while still symptomatic. Since COVID was running rampid, they needed the rooms in the hospital for other patients. So, I was sent home terrified it would happen again. Crying the entire drive home because my head wouldn’t stop spinning and my left side went numb. I spent the majority of the next month in bed. I thought the worst was behind me, then 3 months later my artery completely occluded and closed itself off. So I have permanent damage and blood flow to only one side. I went through alot of depression following the stroke.
Yup! That’s me at my boudoir shoot!
Having new permanent damage is usually not the best for confidence. But I also know it could have been worse and I could possibly not be here! It is evidence of me going through the most challenging part of my life. It keeps me humble and lets me connect to people on a whole different level. I am PROUD of myself, for surviving. I am PROUD of my body and how it fought and won.
I started to think about the photos I was in, and how my daughter would be able to look back and remember me if I wasn’t here anymore. Would I want her to remember me being ashamed of my body and hiding from the camera? Nope. Would I want her to not have any photos of me at all? Absolutely not! Maybe one day when she was older she’d even APPRECIATE the photos where I overcame what was meant to destroy me.
For me, boudoir photography is a celebration of your body and who you truly are. I take pride in being able to help show women how to celebrate their bodies, their battles and their victories they’ve been through. Let me show you your sparkle. Let me help remind you how to love and be proud of yourself.
Interested in a Boudoir Experience with me?
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