From Weddings to Boudoir: A Photography Journey
From weddings to boudoir photography
If you've followed my photography journey from the start, you already know I began my career as a wedding photographer. Since beginning my professional photography journey in 2018, I've photographed 32 weddings as both a primary and second shooter. Wedding photography is what, eventually, allowed me to quit my day job to be a full-time photographer. After moving to Abingdon in Oxfordshire, I decided to specialize in boudoir photography and creative portraits. How did I get here?
My wedding photography journey began in high school when I did a semester internship with a wedding and portrait photographer named Emily Porter. She and her husband, Bobby, are now partners and operate out of West Virginia as The Oberports. All I had at the time was a little point-and-shoot digital camera that would now be easily blown out of the water by the most basic smartphone, but Emily let me tag along to one of her weddings and a senior portrait session to see for myself what a photographer's job is like. I loved the glimpse I got and was proud of the amateur shots I was able to take in the background. She definitely inspired my style with her creative, colorful, higher-contrast shots, and I very much admire that aesthetic.
Ultimately, I decided to go to university at Virginia Tech for an English degree because I'd always loved reading and writing. I didn't even own an SLR camera until after I graduated and moved to Florida, where I bought one to take pictures of birds as a hobby. From there, I reached out to Jaime Swanson of Sweet Serendipity Photography and learned a lot about the business side of wedding photography as well as many tricks of the trade that came in handy when I moved to Tennessee and started my own business.
After a brief period of second shooting for other photographers in Tennessee, I got busy enough with my own bookings to start hiring second shooters myself (a big shoutout to Jack Horsley Photography for being so amazing to work with!). I've met so many wonderful couples, enjoyed a ton of catered reception food, and gotten to do what I love at gorgeous mountain and lake-side venues. It was immensely rewarding and meaningful to create galleries of images I knew couples would share with their families and look back on fondly for years to come.
In between weddings, I started experimenting with boudoir photography with help from my friends. Word spread, and I began getting bookings from acquaintances and strangers who loved my work. I added boudoir services to my website thinking that brides might want to create a boudoir album for their partners as a wedding gift. Although I did get a few brides who did just that, most of my boudoir clients were doing it for themselves.
The more sessions I did, the more I grew to love boudoir photography. Before I knew it, I had bought enough props and furniture to create a home studio that I used more and more regularly. I invested in colored smoke bombs and kept one corner of my lawn unmowed to take advantage of the wildflowers that grew there every spring for outdoor boudoir photos. When I wasn't doing sessions at my home studio, I was meeting clients at nearby parks or clubs and bars in downtown Knoxville. I realized I adored how fun, empowering, and creative boudoir photography could be. When I moved to the UK with my husband, I knew I wanted to focus on boudoir photography for the next stage in my career.
I'm excited for this next chapter and look forward to continuing my photography journey in the UK. But I believe it's also important to honor your past and acknowledge the journey that brought you to where you are. Therefore, this post is an homage and celebration of all the couples and all the weddings that led me here. I've collected some of my favorite shots from over the years to share.
Cheers to all of you!
