Multiple times a week I get this question. “What got you into boudoir photography?”
Branding photos by Katya Vilchyk
I had been shooting weddings for a couple years and one of my brides asked if I could do a boudoir session as a gift for her groom. When she asked, I had only heard the word “boudoir” a few times. This was almost a decade ago and boudoir wasn’t as popular and well known as it is today. I agreed because it sounded fun and I knew if I didn’t love it (or if I wasn’t good at it) I could just mark it off my bucket list and continue on as a wedding photographer.
Spoiler alert: I LOVED IT. I loved it so much in fact, I immediately started researching how to make this my full time career. I took weddings off of my website and started asking all of my friends to model for me. I spent hundreds of hours learning this craft and practicing how to pose and light clients. I contacted one of my friends from high school that I knew was starting her journey of becoming a makeup artist. Shout out to Maggie!
That first year was a rollercoaster. I got a small studio in Alpharetta thanks to one of my regular customers at the restaurant I was waiting tables at. Yes, I was still a server at the time. I enjoyed that job because I really am a people person but I wanted to build a business that was my own. And one that didn’t make me smell like grease when I left. I had 2 young kids at the time and waiting tables and shooting weddings meant my evenings and weekends were for work. This just wasn’t jiving with them going into school soon. I kinda wanted to be able to spend some time with the little monsters.
I was honestly surprised at how many women wanted to book with me at first. Boudoir was still so new to the mainstream that I think it was this fun, novel experience that really took off. I look at those sessions from the first year and of course I wish I had moved my client a little to the left or fixed her bra strap or brushed her hair out of her face. But if I let go of criticizing my newbie skills, I am proud of what my clients and I created. Maybe their tag was sticking out I didn’t yet know how to photoshop it out, but they looked beautiful. And happy. And I felt excited.
Now, eight years later, I am so grateful to boudoir. It has allowed me to meet and get to know over a thousand people. I’ve learned how to read a room. I can tell when my client is nervous or when they want to push through their fears. I’ve heard some tea. A lot of tea. I’ve been there through wedding planning, divorces, scandals, pregnancies, miscarriges, promotions, relocations, and the best and worst life events.
My clients fill my cup. They trust me with their insecurities and secrets. Being a boudoir photographer has given me patience and empathy. No two clients have ever been alike or have had the same exact story. Getting to really see and hear my clients has been the biggest gift.
Every single person that has stepped foot into my studio has had at least one insecurity about their physical appearance. The majority of them have struggled with even booking their session because they didn’t truly feel like they were worthy of the attention or the money spent.
Why? Why are you not worthy?
You deserve to enjoy new experiences.
You deserve to be seen.
You deserve to do something that makes you feel alive.
You deserve to spend money on yourself.
You deserve to receive attention.
You deserve to feel sexy.
I shoot boudoir because too many women don’t feel like they deserve these things.
That’s me! Thanks to Melissa Giles
Anytime I get to be on the other side of the camera I’m reminded how special this is. I get to feel like the hottest woman alive for a few hours. And then you know what? I find that it lasts a lot longer than those few hours. I get to be reminded over and over again that I am a whole human with many different sides. I am a mom, wife, friend, sister, daughter, business owner. I am also a woman. Powerful, smart, kind, sexual, passionate, stubborn, creative, and funny.
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Our women only Facebook group is a great resource for my studio but it’s so much more than that. So many friendships have blossomed from this online community and I’m so proud of what it’s become!
Our professional boudoir photography studio is in Canton, Georgia. We have clients travel to us for a boudoir photoshoot from Atlanta, Woodstock, Marietta, Alpharetta, Roswell, Acworth, Kennesaw, Buckhead, Cumming, and many other surrounding cities and states!