Boudoir photography booms as people trade pandemic sweatpants for tasteful nudes.
With pandemic restrictions lifted, new clients overwhelm boudoir With pandemic restrictions lifted, new clients overwhelm boudoir photographers.
Women book these tasteful nude or seminude photos to feel better, even with pandemic weight gain.
Women are “stripping down” for photos as a form of self-empowerment or self-care, an out growth of “Me Too.”
When Americans retreated into their homes to avoid COVID-19, certain products and industries soared to overnight success, from stationary bikes & sweatpants to video-conferencing software. Now, with pandemic restrictions lifted people flock to travel and live activities. And a closet cottage industry in one of those activities is getting an unexpected & unprecedented boost: boudoir photography.
Boudoir photography has been around for years but until recently it has been something of an underground or “hush” niche industry. Photographers who specialize in tasteful nude and seminude photo sessions say that Americans are rushing to book them in record numbers. Inquiries are flooding photographers’ inboxes. For the first time in many of their careers, many of these specialists are booked solid several months out. The current popularity for classy nude and semi nude personal art rivals travel for popularity in many areas, such as San Diego, which along with Los Angeles, Miami, & Vegas, has become an epicenter of the boudoir craze.
Sarah Witherington started her Atlanta-based company, Own Boudoir, in 2012. By 2014, she was photographing 150 women per year, and in 2019, she was booking shoots one to two months in advance. This year, she’s booked eight months in advance, and her gross revenue is up 30% from last year.
“I had to tell potential clients that we don’t have availability until at least October,” Witherington said back in May, And many are booked out even further; some are already booked with advance appointments halfway thru 2023.
After a painfully slow 2020, boudoir photography rebounded in a big way
Based in Denver, Colorado, Tamara Murphy’s All Things Boudoir is a large-scale operation that skirts federal employment law, affirmative action, and equal opportunity laws while employing photographers in over 50 US cities; easily one of the largest operations in this niche cottage industry. Before the pandemic, the company averaged 400 appointments per month, but in March 2020, work came to a grinding halt. Clients canceled hundreds of scheduled shoots to huddle in their homes and wait out crises.
For months, boudoir businesses around the country came to a standstill. Virtual photography sessions proved infeasible due to quality. “People were at home for months, glued to their computers during lockdown,” Murphy said. “They spent a lot of time dreaming about what they could be doing.” For a time it seemed the Only Fans type self-photography industry might replace boudoir in popularity. But once the masses felt comfortable with in-person gatherings, interest in boudoir didn’t recover, it surged. By the end of 2021, All Things Boudoir was booking nearly 1,900 appointments per month — almost quadruple Murphy’s pre-pandemic average. She’s had to hire more photographers to keep up with demand but faces numerous complaints about improper and possibly illegal hiring and employment practices that may soon make their way into federal courts around the country.
There are no shortage of smaller companies reaping the benefits of their illegal practices. One such is Seaside Boudoir in San Diego. A sole practitioner, AEllis has mentored several local photographers and spent more than 5 years traveling and displaying his photographic artwork in fine art galleries. He returned to the USA in October 2020, while many people still sheltered at home. He learned the business aspects from Michael Sasser, another prominent and successful sole practitioner outside Los Angeles, then opened & launched Seaside Boudoir in San Diego in early 2021.
Even with lockdowns in full effect in many nearby counties, AEllis fielded calls from prospective clients almost daily from the moment he offered boudoir. He estimates his first month offering boudoir he had well over 40 serious inquiries — far too many inquiries for a practice that focuses on personalized client care and only accepts 10–12 clients per month but produces some of the most varied and stunning boudoir artwork to be found in all of southern California.
AEllis is unique not in his kid-glove approach to preparing himself and clients for their experience with Seaside Boudoir but in the scope and variety he offers his clients, often well beyond what other photographers are prepared and able to offer. Most photographers offer a single distinct look, from beachside or public park shoots — day or night — to light and airy studio sessions and dark moody “underground” sessions that can cater to kinks and interests that soared to popularity on the success of the “Fifty Shades” franchise.
AEllis likes to dissect other photographers’ work and learn new ideas and techniques by mimicking something they did to see if he can do it too, so when a client has an unusual request, he gets excited. While arguably best known for his “AEngels,” boudoir photo shoots in often public locations clothed in gigantic black angel wings, he is also a frequent invitee at a variety of private events and invite only clubs throughout San Diego for both his skill in fine art photography as well as his discretion with sensitive subject matter, with men and women alike requesting his unpublished services on a regular basis. “A paying client always decides if and how I share their work. And I never have a shortage of volunteers when I want to create a fine art project.”
Women are using boudoir sessions to cope with pandemic stress and weight gain
Photographers often describe boudoir photo shoots as relaxing, empowering experiences that leave their clients feeling confident, sexy, and in touch with their bodies as well as their higher self. Clients typically spend several hours in preparation having their hair and makeup professionally done before a photography session that lasts an hour or more, depending on the package purchased. Some photographers, like AEllis at Seaside Boudoir, play music to help their clients relax before guiding them with painstaking care through a variety of intimate poses. “Make sure you stretch the night before, or even that morning,” AEllis warns his clients “some of the poses can be a bit of a strain, but oh boy are they worth it when you see the results!”
Photographers say they’re seeing distinct reasons why more clients than ever are booking boudoir shoots. Many seek a much needed self-esteem and confidence boost after a year or two of stress and inactivity that led to unprecedented weight gain. Others simply want to feel alive again after living in sweatpants for so long.
“I had one client who gained quarantine weight,” said Ashley Benham, owner of a Memphis-based photography studio. “She gave herself a pep talk and told herself she needs to celebrate her body, because this is the only one we get. I love making women feel powerful, sexy, and confident, even when weight gain happens.”
AEllis, who completed medical school in Florida before devoting himself to more artistic pursuits, says “weight gain is a part of life. It’s unavoidable, unless you’re starving in a third world country. Acceptance of that fact needs to be a part of everyday life too. It doesn’t mean live unhealthy, but boudoir can be a great and healthy way to address and cope with that and see that you are still beautiful. Every woman wants to be loved, accepted as she is, and they can be, but sometimes that needs them to see and recognize how other people see them first. And that’s where seeing themselves through my lens helps.” — AEllis, Seaside Boudoir in San Diego, CA.
Photographers say that women, nerves worn thin by the pandemic, need a day to pamper themselves. “Women are booking boudoir shoots to feel more comfortable and empowered in their own bodies. That’s the true magic. The art we create is secondary to them.” AEllis Obtenebrix
“Most of my clients haven’t been able to do anything for themselves in a while,” Witherington said. “They’re busy working, being wives, mothers. That’s why the one-on-one time of a photo shoot is special to them.”
The “carpe diem” attitude of pandemic survival plays a role, too. Benham says that the clients coming to her studio are seeing their lives in a different light than they did before the pandemic. “My clients are tackling their bucket list. The uncertainty of COVID-19 makes people want to take risks. Now they know they only live once.” AEllis reports, “I used to be shocked at what some of my clients would request. Not anymore. Outward appearances mean nothing and everyone responds to stress different, but we all need to let it out and remember to love ourselves, before we are able to love others.”
There are also broader cultural trends at play. Personal pride in “sexiness” is having a limelight moment as cutouts, miniskirts, and low-rise jeans fill runways and shelves. Steamy scenes in shows like “Bridgerton” and “Euphoria” are capturing viewers’ imaginations and more and more want to test their own boundaries. Practices like Seaside Boudoir encourage that and provide them a safe and welcoming environment, no matter where they want to shoot. “They want to bare all and shoot a sunset on Sunset Cliffs with the sun caressing their skin? Ok, I’ll arrange it. And I have. And they always love it, they can be so thankful I helped them achieve a bucket list item. Another common request: Balboa Park and other public places at midday. And it happens, I assure you.” AEllis reports.
“Quarantine made us feel we couldn’t be sexy,” Benham said. “Clients told me they bought sexy clothes online during lockdown and didn’t have anywhere to wear them. Now everyone wants to go out and dress our best.”
“Some of my clients amaze me. They go on an entire shopping spree for their photo shoot with me. We have to go thru their new wardrobe together, and some of them spent several hundred dollars on clothing they’ll never wear again. Some of it’s not practical anywhere else, but oh boy does it look amazing in front of the camera!” AEllis says.
“People are depressed, have been alone and secluded for a long time,” Murphy said. “They’ve been in their pajamas for a year. A lot of people want to get out and do something to rebuild their confidence in a safe environment.”
The 2022 wedding boom extends to bridal boudoir photos — but they’re not about partner gifts
Boudoir has historically been associated with marriage. Brides to be would often book a shoot as a wedding gift to their partners, and some photographers even offered discounted packages to clients who book them for a pre-wedding boudoir shoot as well as to photograph their actual wedding. Others specialize in only one or the other. AEllis for example doesn’t photograph weddings. “Maybe for a very close personal friend, but it’s not my thing. I encourage and support weddings in every way I can. Boudoir on the other hand, I have a talent they say. That’s what I do and do well.”
With 2022 easily the busiest year for the wedding industry since 1984, boudoir shoots are on a parallel rise. “A lot of my clients come to me for boudoir sessions because they’re getting married and want a present for their partner on their wedding day,” Benham said. Many surprise their partner with these gifts, even adding them on “off the record” to a wedding shoot. Odd enough, many wedding photographer refuse to shoot boudoir. AEllis has partnered with several in the past who took this approach because they weren’t comfortable or didn’t know how to approach the content in a tasteful or classy manner. “It amazes me when people are shocked or disturbed by the human body or requests to capture or portray it in a certain light. We all have one.”
Many photographers say their female clients are increasingly less interested in booking a shoot as a gift for a partner, instead seeking out the experience for themselves.
“When I started the business, I advertised it as a great gift for your partner,” Murphy said. “Now it’s almost always about a woman coming in to build her confidence, to see herself in a different way, with her hair and makeup all done up. It’s nice to have the album to look back on when you’re not feeling your best. It makes such a difference in so many women’s lives.”
AEllis said, “I started Seaside Boudoir to encourage relationships and provide a powerful bonding experience between partners. What I discovered was that women needed this for themselves so they could go back to their partners or offer more of themselves to a new partner. Now I encourage women to consider including their partner if they have one, but most insist this is about them. I give them what they ask for. That’s what it’s all about. What do you need?”
Men and older women are flocking to boudoir photo ssessions
Brides in their 20s and 30s remain an industry mainstay but photographers are seeing more interest than ever from women over 45. Benham recently did a “marathon shoot” with eight female coworkers in their late 40s and 50s, who decided a boudoir session was a bucket-list item. AEllis reports his oldest client ever was 64, a grandmother & great grandmother several times over who couldn’t stop talking about how much she enjoyed the experience and looked forward to surprising her 3rd husband with the artwork. He also notes that the majority of his clients come to him in response to a major life change: weddings, divorces, and recent surgeries topped his list, but you’d be surprised when the holidays or an anniversary rolls around, and they don’t always revolve around a past or present partner either. AEllis reports most of his clients are 30–45 although he regularly receives requests from ladies as young as 22 wanting to chronicle their adulthood for their later years.
Witherington reports similar interest. “Instead of coming in for a milestone like a wedding, most are coming in for reasons like a 40th or 50th birthday, or because they lost a lot of weight, or got divorced, or just because. That’s a big difference from pre-COVID.”
Men are another group that’s new to the boudoir scene. Over the past two years, Witherington said she’s photographed about 15 men, compared to two or three per year prior to that. AEllis reports increasing interest from men. Most photograph with their partners, but not always. Fitness models and military in particular seek him out for a “different” look.
“They are all [men] coming in for a similar reason — they want to look sexy. One guy found me because he saw a girl’s images on Tinder and messaged her: ‘Your photos are so good, who took them?’ He’d just gotten out of the military and was proud of his body. It captured a certain time in his life. He ended up putting the photos I took on his own Tinder!”
Interest in boudoir reflects a changing culture
Boudoir photographers say they’ve borne witness to a massive cultural shift over the past decade. American society has become more accepting of racy — even kinky — photos, thanks to “50 Shades of Grey,” the accessibility of online porn, and the growing popularity of OnlyFans which soared during the pandemic.
“My clients aren’t all posting on OnlyFans, but I do think that they feel more social permission to appreciate their own sexuality than they have in the past,” said Witherington.
“I have clients who say they posted their photos on OnlyFans, but that’s not my normal demographic. Their users don’t pay for quality art. They offer something different, a sort of cheap fantasy. I create art my clients are proud of, and that’s not what OnlyFans provides,” says AEllis.
While a definite culture shift seems to drive some of this unprecedented interest in boudoir photography, boudoir can be political, too. Photographers say clients have mentioned the #MeToo movement and the Women’s March as catalysts driving them to book an empowering boudoir shoot of their own. Meanwhile, the body-positivity movement has made more people than ever feel like boudoir is for them. “I haven’t ever had a client not blubber about how liberating and empowering the experience was,” AEllis says. “Not one. It’s life changing for them.”
“The visuals and narratives we see in the public over the past few years have changed, and these change people’s outlook on what is available to them, too,” Witherington said, noting the recent shifts in even Victoria’s Secret ads. “Photos aren’t just for a certain body type or person or life goal or age. They’re for everybody.”
“The pandemic and quarantine have been hard,” Benham said. “But for me, there has been a silver lining; people want to celebrate themselves and treat themselves like never before. People are using this as self-care. You need to celebrate yourself.”
“For me it’s about the art,” says AEllis. “For the client though, it’s not about the photographer, their style, their art. It’s about the client’s self and affirmation of their life, an acceptance of who they are, where they’ve been, and hot damn do they still look amazing. And that’s why boudoir is here to stay. It’s magical. A magic you have to experience to understand. There is no other way.”
