The Healing Art of Photography | Boudoir Photography Pittsburgh, PA

I’ve written about this before, but I can’t help but feel this theme swarm around me again at the start of this new year. Since 2010, when I opened my “side hustle” of boudoir photography, I’ve watched women shift their priority of “a gift for someone else” to a “gift for me”. I never would’ve thought my fun side project could ever turn into what it did.

Women always second-guess their beauty (inside and out), never really believing they are truly desirable in all the ways that some may define “desirable”. It was a such a surprise to me to see how photography could actually be the very thing that heals these wounds. What I didn’t expect was how it also healed me.

My career has played a huge role in my own personal journey in so many ways that took me years to catch onto. I have been photographing women since 2005, and there’s not enough time in the world to tell you about all of the amazing experiences I’ve had with these incredible and courageous women that I have had the privilege to get to know on such deep levels in such small snippets of time. It has been my honor to be a short stop on the many paths of those I have served. Without intending it, my livelihood created a space for self-reflection, confidence, and empowerment for (hopefully) so many women. I began to understand how the experience of these photography sessions was teaching women how to update their perspective on what they believed about their self-worth on the inside, all by showing them a side of themselves they’ve never seen on the outside. This has allowed women to explore their relationships with themselves. I get to watch as they confront their biggest fears about their self-perceptions right in front of me, and I get to see so many shifts and so many extraordinary moments of self-acceptance that it sometimes leaves me speechless. I know women believe it’s the photographs that work this magic, and I know that may be a part of it. But the real shift is actually a result of their own bravery. Seeking out an art form to capture for all of time that which makes a lot of women feel so deeply insecure, all in an effort to heal those insecurities, is one of the most courageous and profound actions I have ever known. 

You stand in front of my camera, a permanent mirror, and dare yourself to love what you see. That is no small challenge. 

This is something I look forward to continuing for 2022 and beyond. We are living in such a beautiful time for women to come alive so brilliantly, stepping into and owning who we are right now in every real and true way. We are leaving behind the false notions of beauty, constructed by people who clearly don’t know what true beauty really is. We are shattering the mirrors, ripping the veils, and cracking the rosy glasses that blurred our vision from seeing our truest and most authentic selves. We recognize ourselves now, and it is a magnificent sight.

To all of those I served in the past: Thank You, deeply. You have changed me for the better in every way. To those of you that I will serve this year and into the future: I look forward to helping you rewrite the version of who you think you are.

This is your invitation to join me on this journey…