I remember thinking about getting into boudoir almost 5 years ago and not really knowing what I wanted to do with it. I was one of the first round of photographers to start offering this type of photography in the Pittsburgh area so getting into it early has served me very very well. Although boudoir photography had already been in full force and quite popular on the West Coast (which is where all the trends start), the East Coast was just dipping their toes in this genre and Pittsburgh for sure had no idea what boudoir photography was. About 2 out of 10 people at the time knew what I was talking about when I used the term “boudoir photography”. Now it’s about 9 out of 10. Since then we’ve had a few shifts here and there and, much like wedding photography, boudoir photography has really become larger than life. Of course, this has been wonderful for me! And I’ve been able to watch it all really come into its own recently.
We’ve gone from traditional boudoir, to expanding a bit more into glamour boudoir and now that trend has really moved more into fashion boudoir and I’m loooooooving it all. but what’s the difference, you ask? Well some of the differences are subtle and some are huge. Now, I like to include all three in each of my sessions so that each woman walks away with a very well-rounded story of all the different sides of her we were able to tap into during her session. And I won’t lie to you…it’s fun. I mean it’s SO MUCH FUN. I get to play dress up and play dress up with many different looks and styles. We Pittsburghers love to hang on tight to what we know and we tend to shy away from areas of unfamiliarity so it’s been a slow process getting my clients to move into a more open-form of boudoir but I will say…no one is kicking and screaming! 
I think it’s because they realize that if they let me have some control over the session they get so much more out of their experience and wind up having an amazing, multi-layered, multi-look and fun stock of photos of themselves they never saw coming. That’s my favorite…..the shock of delight when they get to see their photos. Makes my millenium. Yep–that’s you girl! Rockin’ that gown, flirting that skirt, beguiling that sweater and making a slave out that vintage corset. That’s you…you saucy minx, you.
So I know we can all guess what traditional boudoir is. Corsets, stockings, heels, thongs, lacy things barely hanging on for dear life. The poses are provocative and some photos focus on particular body parts rather than the woman as a whole. This is still what is most popular in Pittsburgh because here in the lovely ‘Burgh you gorgeous gals somehow still need a “reason” to do this so you blame your significant other. “Oh he’ll just LOVE these photos of me!” But I’m onto you….I know you’re really doing this for you. I know you want the experience and I know you want to see if you’re as tongue-dragging gorgeous as you think you are (which, by the way, you totally are). So don’t be afraid to open your view a bit into what else may be waiting for you in my studio. There are so many sides of you that are just dying to have my hands on them. Ok…did that come out wrong? Eh…you get the idea. 
Glamour boudoir is a bit more fanstastical than traditional. It incorporates a bit of fantasy and a larger than life feel. Kinda like that star-gazing model in the magazine that makes you run right out to buy the perfume she’s spraying on herself because she’s doing it while wind blows her dress all around her, birds are flying around her head and she’s walking a tiger at the same time. Yeah…that…but ya know…on a bit of a lesser scale. But it is just simply…more. It’s that fairytale ball gown that you’d never have an opportunity to wear except in my studio, it’s the 1940′s corset beneath a vintage sheer robe, it’s 1970′s wedding gown unzipped in the back and draped off your shoulders with a flower in your hair. It’s a bit more role-playing. And it’s more fun than any woman should be allowed to have and it’s probably my favorite type of boudoir because my mind is always conjuring the fancy, the never-been-done-before, the make believe, extravagant, glorious, blow-your-mind type of stuff. Yeah…it’s fun in this head, let me tell you.
And there is fashion boudoir. This really has a focus on clothing trends but more real life. It’s using everyday clothing to accentuate the positives in your client and follow or make new trends in fashion. It’s a bit more “normal” for lack of a better word. But no less beautiful. In fact, it’s gorgeous because it’s typically very simple and the reason I love that so much is that the absolute main focus of each and every photograph is the woman. It’s not a photo of her cute little bum in a thong or a fairy tale photo of her with an elaborate back drop. It’s just her, in all her glory showing off her beauty and it’s no less sexy than traditional or glamour. It can be very raw and very sultry. So this is absolutely right up there with glamour boudoir for me. I loooves it.
So when you’re ready for an awe-inspiring, mind-blowing, hair-raising, spectacular, sensational, breathtaking, wild of a wicked experience….you can call me.
Only the courageous need apply.
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By now you should know who Justine is around the ‘Burgh but if you don’t or if you’d like to see more of her work take a minute to drop by her site or her Facebook page!
