You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress.

Early in my career as a headshot photographer I was asked if I'd shoot boudoir. Of course, I politely declined. But the offers kept coming and I eventually asked her, "Are you sure you wouldn't be more comfortable with a female photographer?" The answer surprised me. She said that she wanted the male eye because it was a gift for her husband. Now, for the first time, it made a little more sense to me.

But could I do it?

In order to find out, I hired a professional model just to see how I'd react and I found that while it was surely an unusual situation, it was also challenging, interesting, and not as uncomfortable as I'd thought. So I started accepting boudoir jobs as they came.

What changed?

Mrs. R. That's what changed everything for me. When Mrs. R saw her album she cried. She said that she never thought she could look that beautiful and sexy. She said that all her life she'd seen herself as less beautiful and desirable and she believed that she was simply unattractive. Seeing the pictures showed her something  that she'd not seen before. For the first time, she could see herself the way that her husband sees her. Gorgeous and sexy!

Chasing those moments

Once in a while when I shoot boudoir, I feel like I'm truly making a difference in someone's life, helping them see the beautiful truth through another's eyes. Those moments are why I shoot boudoir.