Why I Specialize in Boudoir — Evansville Indiana Boudoir Photographer

I left school with a degree in art education and a plan to build my own business.

I started taking photos of my friends on a Nikon D3500 that my mom gifted me for my high school graduation. Well, really I started taking photos on a disposable camera as a kid. I would pose my stuffed animals on our couch and snap away, and as I got older I started taking so many self portraits on my iPod touch. (I’m not that old… but that sentence made me feel absolutely ancient.) I even had an Instagram account in high school dedicated to my art and “photography” (photos taken on my iPhone [#iphoneography iykyk]) which has been deleted from the internet for a hot minute now. I even took my own senior photos on the beach in Florida with my iPhone… and I was really into filters and editing photos with apps. They’re hilarious, and like a little time capsule of who I was when I was 17, and I absolutely love them.

I got my start professionally while I was in college in 2016 trying to balance my schoolwork, being an RA on campus, and having a social life. My first job in the photography industry was as a part time photography assistant, which I thought was just a side gig to make some extra money. With my RA contract, I could only work about 10 hours at an off campus job. Little did I know at the time, but that position (along with being fired from my RA gig, which is a different story for a different day. totally changed the trajectory of my life.

After about a year as an assistant, I began second shooting weddings and boudoir. It was around this time that I had a realization one day… I don’t think I want to be a teacher anymore.

I absolutely loved going to work, and would work as much as I could. Work was so much fun, and in my last year in school I found myself having to drag myself to class but being stoked to go to work. Once I realized that I loved going to work so much more than class, I realized that my goals for the next part of my life had shifted without me even realizing it. I had always wanted to run my own business, but that dream fell away as I got older and really zeroed in on my goal to be an art teacher. It was then that I realized that I wanted to be doing this work all the time. I loved boudoir the most; there’s something so sacred about being a part of someone’s self love journey and seeing their confidence grow and expand in front of the camera and beyond. Not only that, but the longer I work for myself the more my own confidence grows.

So why did boudoir become the type of photography I wanted to pursue?

Can I be real with you about this one? There was a point in time that I wouldn't post on Instagram without photoshopping my body to hell and back. Any perceived imperfection got “fixed” before a photo could get posted. I feel so sad for that version of me who felt so incredibly not enough that she went to those lengths.

It is so hard to admit that that used to be regular for me. I hear a lot that babes look up to me for my self confidence and self love, but not that long ago I was heavily editing my photos because I wasn't happy with my body. I had been surrounded with messages that being thin is better, with images that only showed thin women being sexy and sensual, that showed happiness in mostly smaller bodies. Too many non-verbal messages that I wasn’t good enough and an impressionable mind that is still not fully developed led to that routine.

Even now, there are always days that I struggle with my body image, but I think we all have those days regardless of what size pants we wear, what age we are, or where we’re at in life. Confidence comes from within, and if there's one thing I've learned since then it's that it's all in your mindset. (ugh, I know that’s such a cliche thing to say, but it’s so true)

Part of changing your mindset starts with small changes, and I’ve made more than a handful. I started editing my photos wayyy less, and I don’t do any body altering editing to my photos now. I've begun following influencers who look like me and who talk about their struggles and self love journeys openly. I’m forever working on changing my thoughts just by consciously consuming different messages about midsize bodies like mine, and my own boudoir sessions helped me see that I’m just as incredible as anyone else.

This experience helped me realize that it was never about my body.

No matter what body I inhabit, no matter how my body might change, — my body is just how I maneuver through the world, it isn't who I am. I realized my self love and confidence shouldn't come *only* from how I appear in the world. It's hard, and it's a battle every day. But I love myself, and I won't apologize for it. Just like I helped myself by adjusting my mindset, I want to support you on your journey to self confidence too. No matter what you look like, what size pants you wear, how old you are; I want you to know that your body and your sexuality aren’t shameful things. That you are whole exactly as you are.

There is something so sacred about the experience of figuring out how to feel at home within yourself.

I shoot boudoir because I know firsthand that this experience can help you discover and truly know that you are incredible, powerful, and beautiful exactly as you are. I shot my first boudoir marathon with a few of my friends in a local Airbnb almost 5 years ago. We did our own hair and makeup and made a whole day of it, and it was absolutely magical. Those same babes have booked sessions every year since then (one of them just booked her fourth session!!) and I’ve had the privilege of watching their self confidence multiply.

Though of course those changes aren’t due exclusively to boudoir, as we’ve all changed and grown since those college years. But I know that this experience helped them gain confidence in themselves and see themselves in a way they hadn’t before. We know that we can be uncomfortable, do challenging things, and thrive. My friends are chasing their dreams, leaving things and people that don’t serve them, and leveling up their lives. I feel so lucky to have seen their love for themselves explode and to watch them thrive, and I want that for you too. <3

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I would love to have you in the studio so you can have an experience like this for yourself! Whether you’re all in and ready to go, need some more info before we get started, or are on the fence and want to talk things through before you commit – I’m here for ya! Click the button below to get in touch!