Last winter three very talented women and I began offering Boudoir events; day-long shoots with hour-long time slots. We didn’t know if women would come, if they would like it, if we would like it. But the four of us that did these events — hair stylist, Mia, make-up artist, Jessica, and the other photographer, Ali — didn’t only like it, we loved it. And so did the women who came.
I thought the women who signed up would all be mid-twenties hotties, the sort of women who know they’re hot to trot. That wasn’t the case. The diversity was astounding. I had women who were hot-to-trot twenty-somethings, but I also had hot-to-trot sixty-somethings. I had new moms, moms with grown kids, new brides, bride-to-bes, grandmothers, women who had tumors and cancers and an array of other disabilities. I had women who had plenty of self esteem and women with none. The amazing thing was that it didn’t matter. In every case there was a transformation. And in every case meeting and photographing these women was a powerful experience, not only for them but for me, too. I discovered that not only did I like the boudoir events, but that I believed in them. They weren’t about flattery, they were about empowerment.
We’ve now had three of these events and in every one of them there’s been one or two women who are either in the midst of chemo or are cancer survivors. What they had to say about the experience was not different from what other women said, it was just more powerful.
Here’s an email from Lesley, this green-haired bombshell who was, at the time, in the middle of chemo:
I wanted to let you know that these images I have shared with a lot of folks including many cancer survivor sisters and wow, was the impact and inspiration huge. Thanks again for capturing such an epic moment in my life and for helping me feel so wonderful while doing so. This experience changed my life and has left me feeling more sexy and beautiful (hair or none) than ever before.
And this, from Susan who did a session during chemo, and one afterwards:
I make it a habit to give back through photography. This year I knew I wanted to do a boudoir event exclusively for cancer patients and survivors, a shoot that would be free for any patient or survivor who wanted to participate. My dear friend Julie is a breast cancer survivor and the woman behind Ready for Recovery. Together, we schemed up this event. The icing on the cake was that the three women with whom I so enthusiastically put on the regular boudoir events were also willing to donate a day to the cause.
We are aware that a boudoir photography session isn’t palatable to most women in the midst of chemo, or even just exiting the whole process. I get that, not because I’ve been through it myself, but because I’ve been a first-hand witness to the cancer, chemo, remission cycle. Julie gets it too, having gone through breast cancer, chemotherapy, a double masectomy, reconstructive surgery, etc. But we all feel strongly about sticking to the idea of boudoir, not because the women who participate in this event need to wear lingerie, but because creating photographs in which women look not only beautiful, but sexy—even if it’s subtle—is so, so important.
And so the event is open for sign up. It’ll be October 16, and we’re booking one-hour time slots from 9am-5pm. Jessica will be doing makeup, Mia will be styling hair and wigs, and Ali and I will be doing 30-45 minute shoots with two outfit changes.
If you are a cancer patient or survivor, sign up. Or if you know one, tell them to sign up. It’s free. It’s powerful. It’ll change things.