Why I Shoot Boudoir Photography | Best Boudoir Photographer In Charlotte, NC

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 inner door. I believed I could show any person see what I see through my camera. Women tell me they feel they can’t look “that beautiful” because they feel too tall, weigh too much, or have too many stretch marks. I loved showing them the photos from their shoot and showing that they CAN, in fact, feel beautiful. Seeing their reaction 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 show you that shames you, but he 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 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 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 projector 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, they are smiling so big and they can’t wait to tell all their friends about what they just did.

A LITTLE PIECE OF MY STORY

From a young age I have had significant body dysmorphia. I thought I was fat when I truly was too skinny and never wanted my picture taken. I struggled with acne for the longest time. I was prescribed Accutane at the age of 31 and finally got my skin under control but with acne for 15+ years I was left with scarring. My face isn’t terribly scarred but my back is covered in them. These scars made me continue to be insecure. I also HATED my lips and to this day still feel self conscious about them sometimes. When I was 12 I was told that they were HUGE and nobody would like them the way they are. (Thanks for that adult male that just wanted to bring down a child…)

Fast forward to finding boudoir photography and so many of my insecurities have changed for the better! I began shooting boudoir photography in 2019. I have been obsessed with it ever since i found it in 2010. I attempted my own pictures at that time and with my flip phone and self posing they didn’t come out the best.. I started my photography career in 2013 and always dreamed of doing boudoir but I didn’t want to take that on until I knew I was ready to give women the experience they deserved and not make them feel worse about themselves. I dove fully into boudoir in 2019. I learned all the aspects of posing, lighting, editing. I also poured my soul into learning about ways to work with and exactly how to treat women so they feel safe and secure with me. I wanted to create a space where anyone could come to me vent, share their darkest secrets and allow me to photograph them knowing that their images and stories were safe with me! I am goofy with ADHD and need background music to focus but we always have the best time! I have photographed over 100 women at this point and I have so many amazing experiences and memories with every single one of them!

I waited to have my own shoot done with someone I truly trusted and admired. I didn’t want just anyone taking my pictures as I wanted to LOVE them. I wanted to walk away feeling amazing and love myself in a way I’ve never been able to! I reached out to this photographer who was also an educator for me and setup a consult call for booking my own session. On the call I had all of my questions answered and felt so excited to schedule my shoot. Thankfully she offered payment plans so I could break the cost up over time and could afford exactly what I wanted. I knew I wanted to shoot a specific set, i wanted wall art to look at in my closet everyday to remind my baggy-eyed-tired-ass in the morning (or let’s be honest sometimes middle of the day) that I can in fact be a queen. I also wanted an album to gift to my husband and his reaction when he saw it was priceless! (He asked if it was a bed time story and had the goofiest most adorable grin on his face). Although it was nice giving him the album ultimately I knew I wanted to do this shoot for me. I wanted to heal broken child/teenager Rachel that was beaten down so many times. I wanted to prove to myself that everything I’ve been through no matter what it has made me stronger! I wanted to remind myself that the stretch marks on my stomach I earned and they brought me the 3 most amazing babies I could’ve asked for! I wanted to remind myself that every scar was just a page in my story and all that I had been through was what made me the person that I am today. I wanted to prove to myself that even at my heaviest I had ever been that I was in fact beautiful. I wanted to experience what i had been shouting from the rooftops for 3 years that boudoir is for everyone including me!

YUP! THAT’S ME ABOVE!

Although i shoot boudoir and know exactly how it goes I was SOO nervous going into the shoot. I had been shooting boudoir for about 3 years at this point and had never done the full experience for myself. I was worried I would make stupid faces, not be able to position my body correctly and be able to see how much weight I had gained and held onto after having my 3rd child. I always know I am going to get incredible images of other women but for some reason that thought couldn’t translate to myself. I would always say damn, if I could just photograph myself I feel like I would like them but I didn’t trust just anyone else to take my pictures because every image up until the day of my shoot that someone else took made me feel worse about myself. If always pick myself apart and was worried that I would do that with boudoir even more so since you see more skin…

I walked in hopeful but figured even if I only got 2-3 pictures that I can tolerate at least I can share them with my husband who will make me feel better and will hopefully hype me up. I asked my husband what he liked about my body for a reference for them to go on and he said “your face, neck and ears” great. That’s less than helpful because 2/3 of those things I was actually hoping to not photograph at all. 😅

BOY WAS I WRONG!!

From the moment I walked in I felt so comfortable. I had my hair and makeup done and was feeling myself! I picked out my outfits and tried on a few to make sure I got exactly what I wanted. The photographer instructed me on poses, played music, hyped me up, and made me feel sooo comfortable. I left for lunch feeling nervous all over again knowing I would be going back to see my images and unsure if even one of them would turn out decent. When I got back we went through my images and I was SHOCKED! I had never seen myself that way. I saw pictures of my face for the first time and absolutely loved them! She took a picture focused on my lips and it is one of my absolute favorite pictures from the shoot! I left feeling so confident! I finally had the experience I had given to so many women before and being in those shoes made me appreciate it that much more! I am addicted and have since learned how to take selfies with my camera at the studio. (If you’re in my VIP group on FB I’m sure you’ve seen some of them!) Ever since that shoot if I ever feel like I’m less than I look at my metal wall art or app on my phone of the images and remember how badass I truly am! I whole heartedly believe boudoir is for every body and it is something that every woman should experience at least once in their lives!

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *