Somebody asked me the other day why I shoot Boudoir, and it got me thinking. It’s a difficult question to answer because it’s such a huge part of my life at this point, but I thought it might make a good subject to cover in a blog post.

The first few years of my photography career were spent photographing families, pets and children for a high street studio. It was during this time that I had my first experience shooting Boudoir. As a young, relatively inexperienced photographer I was thrown in the deep end when the studio had an enquiry from a lady who wanted a Boudoir shoot following her double mastectomy.

I knew how important it was that I did a good job of the shoot and made sure she had images that celebrated her new body. I did the best I could, creating a selection of images that helped this lady to feel better about the new chapter in her life. 

Something that became clear to me over the course of this shoot was just how powerful Boudoir photography can be. How it can change the way you perceive yourself, how it can help to boost self-esteem and improve confidence in both your body and also in everyday life. I knew it was something I wanted to explore more and that I was passionate about.

I didn’t get to shoot much more boudoir over the following couple of years but I began seeking inspiration from other photographers I admired, and working on developing my skills and posing technique, as and when I could.

Boudoir photography started to become more and more popular in the UK over the following decade and I got more opportunities to photograph women, who for one reason or another, wanted to do something for themselves, and to have portraits that were both sexy and sensual, but also tasteful. The days of ‘Glamour’ shoots with Vaseline smeared on the lens were long behind us and smutty ‘lads mag’ photo shoots that sexualised women for the pleasure of men were (correctly) looked down upon by society.

Boudoir was developing and evolving and I was proud to be part of a new, growing movement of photographers, who were providing confidence boosting photo shoots that ladies could be proud of, that they could share with their friends or partner, but most importantly, that they could feel good about. Images that could help them see themselves in a whole new light.

In 2018 the opportunity presented itself to join forces with Danielle and to set up our own studio. Danielle shares my passion for Boudoir, for empowering women and for making them feel better about their bodies. We knew when we opened the studio that boudoir would be one of our main focuses. We opened our doors in January, shooting families and pets, and by March we had our first Boudoir ‘test shoots’ to see what we could do with the space we had, and to develop some of the many ideas we had for how to produce the best images, and provide the best service to our clients.

In April we began filling our diary with Boudoir shoots and within a year that became our specialism and our passion. Shooting boudoir and seeing the transformation of our clients, and watching their confidence grow is such a powerful thing that before long we became a Boudoir exclusive studio. I read a wonderful Russian proverb that says ‘He who chases 2 rabbits catches neither.’ If we wanted to provide the absolute best service to our clients, we would need to make that our only focus, with no other distractions.

Over the last four and a half years, since we opened Foxlow Photography and created our Facebook group ‘The Vixens of Foxlow’, we have had the pleasure of photographing hundreds of ladies of all ages, shapes and sizes. Every one of these ladies has their own unique story and reason for booking a boudoir shoot, and it’s been a pleasure getting to know them all. 

We’ve been privileged to be a part of these ladies stories and to help them see themselves as others see them. To help them see the beauty they often tell themselves isn’t there. Something I never lose sight of is what a big thing it is for someone to take that leap of faith and throw themselves out of their comfort zone by booking a boudoir shoot. This is the reason I take my job very seriously when it comes to making sure everyone feels comfortable and safe in our studio. We’ve created a ‘happy place’ where there is never any judgement. 

I truly believe that every single woman deserves the opportunity to look at a photo of themselves and say ‘I look beautiful’. I want everyone to have an album full of beautiful boudoir photographs that can give them a confidence boost when they’re having a crap day or feeling down on themselves. I want people to look at their boudoir photos and say ‘If I can do that I can do anything’.

I’ve said before that I’m not clever enough to be a scientist, I’m not funny enough to entertain a crowd and I’m not tall enough to help old people in supermarkets, but if I can help some people in some small way to feel better about themselves, then I’m happy. 

I’m immensely proud of our Facebook group and the fact that we’ve created a pocket of the internet/social media which is filled with body positivity, messages of self love, and which is full of women inspiring and encouraging each other. It’s a place that is full of positivity and that’s something the world desperately needs. 

I love seeing the transformation from the lady who walks into our studio so nervous she nearly spills her coffee, to the Vixen who walks out with her head held high. I love seeing people’s reactions when they see their images for the first time and can’t believe that they look like that (yes, most ladies think they’re not going to like their pictures and they’re always wrong!).

I love how many of our clients stay in touch with us, and stay in the Vixens to support and encourage others, and who tell us what a difference their boudoir shoot has made to their life or relationships. There are so many things I love about what I do and what we’ve created at Foxlow, that I could talk for hours but I’ll finish up here before I start to waffle.

The next time someone asks me why I shoot Boudoir I can tell them it’s because it helps people. Until I get cleverer, funnier or taller - it’s the only way I know how.