Why I Chose Boudoir - Tiffany J
The past few blogs I’ve written have been chock-full of tips and tricks for your boudoir session! And, while I know that those can be super helpful, I wanted to take a bit of a turn this week and get more personal with you. After all, boudoir is one of the most personal things there is! When you book a boudoir session with me, you are allowing yourself to be vulnerable. Therefore, it’s only fair that I extend the same courtesy to you!
Let me give you a little insight into my history with boudoir. Let me tell you my why.
Growing up, I can honestly say that I didn’t think I would make a career out of photographing beautiful ladies in lingerie. In fact, I went through a few different career goals before landing on photography. In elementary school, like most kids I feel like, I aspired to be a veterinarian. It actually wasn’t until middle school that I started becoming an art kid!
This is when my dreams changed to becoming a manga artist, and eventually evolved in high school to being a high school art teacher. I mean, I had some really amazing women in my life like my high school art teacher and my step mom, an elementary art teacher, who to this day have both contributed more than they know to the women I became. (Shout out to Mrs Smith & Susan!).
It’s crazy that I went from originally wanting to be a vet or art teacher, to actually becoming a boudoir photographer. Instead of being in a sterile room with blood and guts, or a highly unsterile environment teaching teenagers, I’m now spending my days empowering women and helping them remember how beautiful they are. Sometimes, I can hardly believe that this is my life! Seriously! I spend my days around jaw-droppingly beautiful people in an amazing and fun environment.
I often get asked WHY boudoir. I mean, it’s not exactly a common career choice! And honestly, until I was asked to shoot a session like this, I didn’t even know it existed. My love for photography, specifically photographing people just eventually grew and grew, until I began really trying to make this a business.
Picture this: I got an email inquiry from an ad I posted on Craigslist (yes, Hype Girl Boudoir technically started out on Craigslist!!!) from an amazing young woman. She wanted to get some Valentine’s Day photos done for her boyfriend who was stationed elsewhere. We talked a bit about what she was looking for, and it sounded fun, so we set up a session! Y’all, I love this client so much for trusting me even though I was NOT GOOD. I adore the photos, and they weren’t the worst, but she opened my eyes to the possibilities of boudoir.
During our session, we had a freaking blast! I know it’s crazy to say that, considering how nervous clients are before their session. And believe me- we were both a bit nervous! But we laughed, joked, and had fun going through all the different outfits she brought. We looked up posing ideas together, and by the end of it, the seed was planted. A few months later, my husband and I moved to Virginia, and that’s where my business truly started. Within a few months of living there, I went from her being my first client to working with 10 amazing women.
They say when you find the thing that makes your heart happy, you just know. There is just something about it that feels good, and that is exactly what happened with every single boudoir session. Even though my clients always started off a bit nervous and a little shy, it wasn’t long before we were having just the absolute best time of our lives. And I was given the opportunity to show these women how beautiful they are! Women who didn’t feel sexy or confident would leave my studio just radiating happiness. It's so hard to explain how mutually beneficial these sessions were to both my client and to me. I mean, not only was I allowing women to truly embrace themselves and see themselves as art, but every single client also inspired me, empowered me, helped me grow and see my own self as beautiful.
Whenever anyone asks me why boudoir, there is not one clear cut reason why. At the end of the day, the more time you do something, you will quickly come to realize if you like doing it or not. I never hit that wall with boudoir. Every session, every woman I photographed, every time someone was inspired to believe in themselves, it never left me wanting it to end. These sessions are so meaningful to me. Being able to connect one on one with my clients, guiding them through every step of the experience, having the best time with them, and then being able to show them how beautiful I truly believe they are has given me an entirely new purpose and outlook on life itself. It’s something that I never want to end.
This is why I do boudoir. This is why Hype Girl exists. And I will continue to empower women and remind them of their beauty and strength for as long as I am around.
