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 into 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 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 CA N, in fact, feel (and look) beautiful just as they are. Seeing their reactions to their pictures changed me. From that moment on, I knew I found my passion.


It was now my job to be a mirror for my clients, not the mirror that the world shows you that 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 women 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 starts. 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 big 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, and how their spouse sees them. I get to be their mirror. When they walk out that door, they're 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 July of 2023. I found a lump in my breast and it changed my outlook on life forever. Having lost my mother to breast cancer just a few short years prior, my doctors took it seriously. So seriously in fact that they rushed me through a physical, a mammogram, an ultrasound AND a biopsy all in ONE very unexpected day. If you know anything about cancer you'll know these are usually all done in separate appointments. To say it felt like the day was a whirlwind might be an understatement. I went into the hospital one morning for a check-up, and I left that afternoon with a breast cancer diagnosis at only 33 years old. I was stunned. I was shattered. I was so very pissed off.


I wanted to hate my breasts. I didn't want to fear them. I've always been a little bit on the larger side up top and its always bothered me. I've never felt in proportion because of it, and I've always disliked my chest size. I've always been active and a little more on the athletic side and they always seem to be in the way. After years of living with a post-baby body, I had learned to love it, stetch marks, c-section scar and all. I could walk proudly at the beach in a bikini without batting an eyelash even (this was a self-love journey that was years in the making). However, I had never quite learned to love the size of my chest which no amount of weight loss ever seemed to fix. Now, I had a new reason to hate them.


Even so, not knowing how long I'd have them for, I decided maybe I'd want to document how I looked now in case I ever want to look back. How does a boudoir photographer document herself when faced with breast cancer? That's right! I did a self-portait session . Fully expecting to be angry at the images looking back at me, expecting to hate and resent what I saw, I was surprised as I was going through my images. Instead of seeing breasts that betryaed me, I saw the soft curves of womanhood. The strength of all it had been through, and the beauty of my life all wrapped into a self portrait. I saw a body that created and fed my children, a body that swam the ocean, climbed mountains, ran hundreds of miles even. Instead of hating my body and breasts, I became freinds with them. I admired and appreciated myself in a way I never had before, and in that moment I found peace instead of anger and fear.


Then in that moment, I knew that boudoir was more than just a pretty picture. It's an opportunity to see yourself in a profound new way. Its NOT just a confidence booster or way to feel sexy and beautiful, its a way to reflect on yourself and heal parts of you that you may not know needed healing.

Yup - That's me at my self-portrait boudoir shoot!


My body has been through a lot. Between kids and cancer I bare scars but what's next? Where will the road take us?


I started to think about the photos I was in, and how my kids would be able to look back and remember me if I wasn't around anymore. Would I want them to remember me being ashamed of my body for the scars I got while carrying them? Or worse would I want them to remember me being afraid of the same body that grew and nursed them? So scared that it's going to betray me and take me from them that it cripples my spirit and changes our lives? The answer is absolutely, NO. I want them to remember me as happy and carefree. I want them to remember me as strong and fearless, proud and confident in my body, mind, and spirit no matter what. Maybe one day when they're older they'd even Appreciate the photos where I wore my scars proudly.


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 victories, and all that they've been through. Let me show you your sparkle. Let me help remind you how to love and be proud of yourself and your body.