I became a boudoir photographer by accident when I was 21 and started a freelance boudoir business at 22.
(My headshot for the Pink Blush Website in 2011)
In 2011, I graduated from the photographic technology program at NAIT in Edmonton and got a job as an editor at a portrait studio. I enjoyed my first job out of school, editing behind the computer and not really having to interact with clients. Although, in school I was ambitious with my photography projects, outside of school I was afraid to go out into the real world. I wanted to be a photographer so bad that I was afraid of venturing out and failing. I wasn’t the most outgoing young adult and I hadn’t quite found my niche yet. But when my boss asked me if I wanted to test out boudoir photography I was excited about the idea.
What turned into a “let's try out it out project” with one girl, turned into a full day marathon. We were trying to test run a fully booked boudoir marathon day and see what it looked like. My coworker eventually asked her friends if they wanted to get free boudoir photos which enabled me to practice the art. We rented out The Victorian Room at The Fantasyland Hotel, we hired a hair and makeup artist, and for 10 hours I photographed 12 girls in this massive hotel room! It was so much fun and my mind was coming up with new poses and new ideas after each boudoir session.
A week later, we invited the girls to the studio so we could do a mock sales session with them. This included showing them a slideshow of the photos taken during their session, a mock album and the opportunity to look at every photo individually. I was surprised that all of the girls loved their images and wanted to buy extra prints and some even built their own albums with us.
There was one girl, though, who’s reaction changed the way I looked at boudoir entirely. What happened when she saw her images was something I would have never suspected. When she saw her images, she grew quiet and started to cry. At first, I thought, 'Oh my god, she hates them!’ But it turns out she was crying out of happiness. She started to explain to me how she recently lost 100lbs and has been struggling with seeing herself as this new beautiful and healthy woman. She said that every time she looked in the mirror she only saw the old her but after seeing the boudoir images she said it was like a switch flipped and she saw all of her hard work finally pay off. She felt she could look in the mirror and see a beautiful and healthy Megan. It's like she let go of the past and was finally accepting her present.
When I went home that night I couldn't sleep. I was so moved by what I experienced earlier that day. I had NO IDEA that a photograph could make someone feel THAT good about themselves. To me I was just doing what my boss told me to do but to someone else they just went through a powerful vulnerable experience. Obviously, they are getting half-naked in front of a stranger who is taking intimate photographs of them! But after I showed Megan her photographs and saw her reaction, something inside me changed.
My coworkers and I started a boudoir business together called Pink Blush Boudoir. For the first year, we had so much fun learning how to build a business, how to make clients feel comfortable and how to become better boudoir photographers. Even though Pink Blush Boudoir was growing into a successful business I just had to move back home and create my own company under my own vision.
In the spring of 2012, I started Lush Studios. Lush Studios brought me a creative outlet where I could learn to be a better photographer and celebrate the immense beauty of all women. I felt that my clients were the kindest humans ever. It led me to truly see the power of boudoir and the philosophy behind the experience. Owning Lush Studios has taught me the power of self-love, loving who you are right now in this moment and how important it is to take care of yourself every once in a while.
(My last headshot in 2017 before I took a year off to start Sweet Dee's Flowers, a pink flower truck business)
I do not know where I'd be in my photography career if I never got that photo editing job but I am filled with joy that I became a boudoir photographer by accident.
Much Love,
Diane
