A Few Thoughts on Boudoir

I love shooting boudoir photos for clients, and have been so lucky to have had the last month full of them! Alex Evans Makeup Artist and I have been busy preparing for a lineup of them this winter in San Luis Obispo, and I thought I'd share a few thoughts on boudoir photography!

The concept of the store Victoria's Secret is a lot like that of boudoir photography; it's all about the personality and beauty that's covered up under the every day, whether that be defined by clothing, work, routine, or those phases of getting really into sweatpants. Now, let me make it clear that when I say this, I am not saying that a woman should liberate herself by starting to dress in barely anything every day; I honestly feel quite the opposite. Call me a grandma for my age all you want, but I think a lot of girls and women these days are so caught up in the idea of claiming themselves to a feminist ideal [often a misconstrued one, thanks Jezebel], that they don't value the idea of that 'secret' any more; that sparkle of lovely confidence that shines through from their actions and every day life, not something that's thrown in the face of everyone they meet [or who looks at their Instagram feed]. There are a lot of boudoir photographers out there, and each to their own; but my personal goals when working with a client are to make them comfortable in their own skin, and to let the 'real' side of them show in a natural way - not necessarily in the sense that they're wearing less, but in that they have a unique personality. Who wants to give a photo to their husband of themselves, when it doesn't even look like them? 

It's safe to say that a large fraction of my boudoir clients are either aspiring models, or are taking the photos for themselves, rather than for a special someone. It's so fun to be taking photos, and suddenly see that confidence click in a client. We see ourselves in the mirror every day, and EVERYONE [ranging from the popular girl you went to high school with to the woman who's been married for fifteen years] has things they are self-conscious about. Sometimes, all you needs is to see yourself from another perspective, rather than your own!

I'm happy to include some photos I snapped of Alex Evans herself, last week! She's so fun to work with both behind and in front of the camera, and after a string of natural light boudoir sessions, I thought it would be fun to take some that looked more like they should be in the pages of NYLON. 

Thanks for stopping by! If you'd like to hop on the boudoir bandwagon, Alex and I will be hosting a day of boutique boudoir photos on the Central Coast on December 7th. For more information, please email alexandra@alexandra-wallace.com - space is limited.

-AW