Why I Shoot Boudoir Photography

Janalee Bach
Feb 10, 2022
3 min read

Updated: Mar 3, 2022

Why Boudoir Photography?

I sometimes struggle to answer this question because I have so many reasons and stories tied to the “why” but in short I shoot boudoir photography because it’s both fun and fulfilling.

The fun comes from a day filled with girl talk, hair and makeup, awesome outfits, and a ton of laughter.

The fulfillment comes from seeing my clients transform throughout the day. Most clients are nervous and timid at first, but throughout the day I see them become confident, bold, beautiful women.

Not much beats showing the back of the camera images and having a client exclaim “That’s me?!” I love that I get to help women see that they are beautiful as is and that the confidence a session gives them stays with them for a very long time.

The Transformation

Let’s talk a little more about that transformation. Booking the session is the hardest part of a shoot, the second hardest part is walking in that door. It’s a nerve wracking experience. You don’t fully know what to expect and you’re about to get naked or semi naked in front of a stranger, but by the end of the day, we part ways as friends.

The nerves slowly start to melt away as you get your hair and makeup done. The first set of images is our warm up set. They serve to get you used to being in front of the camera and feeling more comfortable. Then we level up from there. We progress into smiling, laughing, natural looking images next. Then when you are totally comfortable we get to the steamy sexy stuff.

When you come back a little while after the shoot, and you see your final images you get to see yourself in a whole new light, in a way you may never have before. Those images are ALL YOU, just good lighting and angles to help show you off. Every client walks out that door with a new pep in her step.

A Little Piece of My Story

I had dabbled in boudoir photography for years before I got serious about it. But after a divorce and another failed serious relationship after that, I took a year to focus on myself and that’s when I realized what boudoir photography could do. It’s about so much more than just pretty pictures.

During the “year of me”, I struggled to get out of a dark place. I blamed myself for those failed relationships. I thought maybe I wasn’t pretty enough, smart enough, funny enough, etc. Then I bought a house and started to remodel it, the minute my master was finished I took some self portraits in it. Those self portraits helped heal me and make me realize that I am strong and beautiful and was better off without those men in my life.

I posted a model call the next day and my first client came in when my living room literally didn’t have a ceiling or floor, but we went back to the finished section of the house and I got to learn first hand how to use a boudoir session to empower other women.

After shooting in my house for a few months, boudoir sets had taken over my whole house, so I turned my detached garage into a studio. I shot in there for 6 months, took a ton of boudoir photography courses, photographed 26 women and then decided it was time to buy myself a proper studio. That’s how I ended up at 127 N. Main Street in Hartford, WI.

Yup! That's me ^ from my 1st Selfie Shoot!

Boudoir helped me crawl out of a dark place and learn to love and appreciate myself and now I get to help women everyday see themselves in the best possible light. Let me help remind you that you are confident, bold, beautiful and that you deserve to love yourself.