Believe it or not, this boudoir session of Kelly was my first ever boudoir body study captured in 35mm film, and it was published in an online boudoir journal that was founded by the incredible Martiza Tobon (who later became a dear friend of mine) called Boudoir Collective. Thank goodness for my dear friends Michael and Carina who encouraged me to submit this session after reviewing it for me during a mentor Skype call back in 2016. Before this session was published, it was buried in my hard drive and I can’t believe I really never shared most of these images in a journal post, until now. I found that it was perfect timing to share this session as I was recently asked why I shoot boudoir.

I have to admit, it was refreshing to hear someone ask me this question. Not a lot of people ask me why I do this. When I introduce myself as a Boudoir Photographer, the most common reactions I get are: Ooooh-Aaaahh, Boudoir! Or, what is boudoir? So more than half see boudoir as sexy images, and the other doesn’t even know what it is. But then there are those in the middle, the gray area as some may call it. The rare ones that have an idea of what boudoir is, and are somewhat curious and open about it.

There are two things that drive my vision for boudoir: Purpose and Intention.

When I first began photography, I never imagined that I would fall in love with the art of boudoir. I was photographing nature, buildings, families (which I still love and shoot many of my past family clients) - but then one day, a high school friend of mine asked me to photograph portraits in celebration of his birthday. Yes, you read that correctly. HIS birthday. A guy, not a girl, was hiring me to shoot portraits of him. I welcomed the challenge and I fucking enjoyed it so much. So much that it was all I wanted to do! Shoot portraits of women or men. I finally found this thing I didn’t even know I was looking for, the knowing of what I wanted my craft to be. So I focused on what made me feel good and shot tons of portraits for friends. I did not care that I wasn’t earning any money, I was earning something much more valuable. I was earning experience.

A year after that, I shot my first boudoir session and felt something like cosmic stars aligning. I felt a rush of emotions all at once. I had never felt these emotions before. They were similar to when you are going up a roller coaster for the first time and are about to hit that first drop and you are screaming because you are scared but its so exciting… yea. That kind of feeling and I was HOOKED. OMG I was on a wild and exhilarating ride and I did not want to get off. From the beginning I learned that I wanted to shoot boudoir portraits of women with purpose. I did not want to add to the negative connotation that boudoir photography sometimes carries. I wanted to highlight the beautiful emotions of a woman through the dance and movements of her body. I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t go to school for this, nor did I have someone teach me how to photograph women. All I knew was that I wanted women to feel good about themselves, and I did not want this feeling that I was experiencing to go away. Ever.

I remember sitting in my car after this session and saying these exact same words to myself: WOW, I want to shoot Women this way forever.

True story.

A few years later, and here we are. I have never felt 100% beautiful, and in some ways, I want to create a safe space for women to feel beautiful, unapologetically in their own way trough my boudoir. That is my why.

Ladies, I don’t know why you are here. I hope that some day we can meet and you can tell me why. Perhaps we will share some laughs and tears together. Because this art is raw, vulnerable, and it is beautiful. We are all beautiful.

XO, Denice

Boudoir Collective

And here’s a screenshot of my first boudoir session published on Boudoir Collective. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. To have my work recognized and seen by other women was something I did not expect so early on. It was exciting, and made me realize even more that this is what I was meant to be doing.

K I N D W O R D S

“Boudoir is such a beautiful art that captures a woman in the most sensual aspects, Denice made me feel so comfortable! I was initially a bit nervous but she has that ability to make you forget about everything that's going on and just truly be in the moment. You get to explore yourself it is a raw experience that allows you to realize your vulnerabilities yet puts you in change. It's powerful and very invigorating. She is amazing as a person and the work she does speaks volumes; its beautiful, timeless and tasteful." - Jillian

“I just wanted to let you know I had a great time during the shoot. It felt so liberating. And though I'm nervous to see my scars and rolls in photo form, I'm really excited to celebrate them and your creativity. Thank you for making it a comfortable experience. I can't wait to do it again :)” - Jackie

“OMG. I'm crying cause these are so good. Beautiful, just beautiful. Thank you so much again for making me feel comfortable and just capturing my natural beauty. I love them!” - Kayla