Why I Photograph Boudoir

Boudoir is such a personal experience, even for the folks who photograph it. We’ve all grown up with diet culture and we’ve all processed it differently. We all have different relationships with our bodies. Just like life, there is no one set experience.

Growing Up

I had a lot of important messages impressed on me as a child. I was raised to know that being naked isn’t wrong. Nudity has never bothered me. I also saw my mom trying to shrink herself for others. I took every physical class I could, I was terrified of ever being fat.

Fast foward through life, medication side effects, and a million other things and here I am. Fat. And the world didn’t end. I didn’t stop being desirable to folks. I still had value. It was wild to me. All the fears I had in my head were unfounded.

Let’s Do This Thing

A friend of mine asked if I had ever considered boudoir as she wanted to gift a session to her partner. I looked up some poses and we tried it out, but I wasn’t sure if it was for me.

I always joked that I wasn’t “mature enough” for boudoir. Honestly, at first I was right. My mindset was wrong, my approach was amateur and I could have done better. I thought everyone needed to be a model. I wasn’t seeing photos of fat folk or brown folk and figured that was just the way things were. Don’t fix what’s not broken, right?

How Philadelphia Changed my Mind

I already knew that I wanted something different for my business. I didn’t know how I’d do it or if it’d be worth it, but I knew I had to try. On a whim, I signed up for Cheyenne Gil’s workshop and it transformed my entire mindset.

I learned about posing for mobility and movement instead of being focused on the size of someone’s body. I learned about the fat liberation movement and the black women whose backs it was built on. It changed my entire outlook on the industry and transformed my business in ways I never imagined.

Walking the Walk

I attempt to have my own boudoir photos taken once a year. Some years I’m too busy and others I have the same doubts and insecurities that have maybe caused you to say ‘no’ to the session. I just try to get up and do the damn thing anyway. Because who wants a boudoir photographer who hasn’t been on the other side? I don’t, at least.

I try to travel or be photographed by several different folks so that I can see how others see me. I’m always blown away that it’s me behind the screen. Yes, even still.

My belief is everyone who wants them should have boudoir photos taken

Good Bodies is built on the belief that every single person should have the ability to have beautiful photos of themselves taken. No age (except under 18) or gender matters.

It’s a celebration of who you are right now and I’d love to be the person to show you how good it feels in your skin.

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