Boudoir is dying

Hear me out. My grand opening is in 3 days. I'm a boudoir photographer opening a women's lingerie & wellness boutique inside the studio.

Why would I make the decision to open a business in a dying industry? Is it really dying down? Are people not interested in boudoir? Is it worth opening a niched studio & business? Is boudoir really empowering, or is it a money grab for local photographers?

Let's chat.

A photographer asked, is boudoir a dying industry? She explained her lack of boudoir bookings but consistent editorial bookings.

We are in a group chat with other photographers around the country and a few of them explained a similar situation. Boudoir isn't booking but their other sessions are.

Most of them blamed the current state of our country, others brought up the price of boudoir being a luxury service in what we say "the greater depression" era.

It definitely had my heart racing and my head spinning for a few minuets watching as all of these amazing boudoir photographers discuss their worries. I have spent the last few weeks putting in long hours and late nights getting ready to open my boudoir studio and lingerie boutique.

Should I be doing this?

Currently we are living in a very confusing time. Being told to keep moving forward daily while we watch our loved ones become divided over uncontrollable outcomes, watching friends and family fall ill to the unknown without cure, being drained of our individualities and creativity losing who we are and never being able to express ourselves, as ourselves.

So is boudoir really a necessity people are thinking about? Or am I putting my time and energy into a casket of sexy selfies.

Then I grabbed a hold onto myself, took a few deep breathes and remembered why I do what I do.

Most of the photographers having this struggle don't book boudoir as their regular sessions. In fact they are lifestyle photographers who offer portrait sessions and include a boudoir booking package for a few hundred dollars and only change what poses and outfits they are putting you in.

And that's okay.

That's how I started, though its not where I stayed.

I don't believe boudoir is dying, though I do believe it has become a saturated industry and its true meaning of empowerment has been lost.

In recent posts and blogs I have dove deep into what boudoir is, where it came from and where its headed.

But where is it right now?

Boudoir has become a portrait session that almost every photographer will claim they shoot. They may help you pick out lingerie, give you a few links to online stores to purchase lingerie or even handle the makeup and hair appointment for you.

These are all apart of a boudoir process and what you should at the very least expect from your photographer when booking.

However, boudoir is much more than strappy lingerie and sexy poses.

My take, women are looking for more than just sexy selfies outside the bathroom mirror. They are in search of meaning, purpose and fulfillment. Does a boudoir session give you all three? To some it may, as for the rest, it's what comes during and after the session.

Today's world especially in the U.S, true divine empowerment is needed now more than ever. People have lost connection within themselves, confidence has been crushed, uniqueness is frowned upon, and accepting yourself is "unacceptable".

My goal with each session isn't to just give you amazing photos of yourself to look back on. But to allow you to leave my studio with a new mindset about how you see yourself.

I think boudoir is almost at a breaking point. It started out as the name of a room in a house built in the 1700's to digital art in the 19th century. I would love to see boudoir take a new turning point away from portraiture and mainstream trends and fall back into its fine art & expression roots.

However I know there are photographers out there like myself who are keeping the boudoir name alive. Making the experience truly empowering and unique to each who steps into the lens.

I don't believe it's a dying industry, but an evolving one.

Boudoir is about you. Your mind, Your body, Your interests.

To me, boudoir is the start. Where you start falling in love with parts of you you cant stand to look at. Where you start to feel comfortable being in the body you wake up in everyday.

Boudoir is a tool to self love and for my clients, is carried out of the studio session into their everyday lives.

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Boudoir is dying

Boudoir is dying

Should I be doing this?

Then I grabbed a hold onto myself, took a few deep breathes and remembered why I do what I do.

But where is it right now?

Boudoir is about you. Your mind, Your body, Your interests.

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