Oh boudoir photography! Many people have a love/hate with this word. You see, I always call myself a portrait photographer because I do so much more than just boudoir and I don't want to be pigeonholed. And yet when a woman is looking for a shoot that will make her feel sexy in her skin, she usually googles for "boudoir" (I've also seen some spelling errors like boudior or budoir or bodoir or buodior! ha!).... you get the picture. The word is damn hard to say, spell and even harder to define.SO let me define it for MY SHOOTS

1. It's an empowering photoshoot all about celebrating the beauty of the female form. It's about celebrating your beautiful body and all it's done for you thus far.
2. It's about showing a bit more skin than most of my other shoots. Though you don't have to go full nude as you can see above. You might wear a robe, or a slip, or a tank or a bodysuit or some combo... or you might just lay in the sheets
3. It's about being classy, tasteful and fashion inspired (I never photograph anything that's raunchy or vulgar! ugh!). And don't worry I pose and style you with this in mind so we never accidentally swerve into territory that's too racy! I always like leaving a little something to the imagination as mystery a huge part of sexiness.
4. It's for you not for your partner. Though yes your partner may share in and enjoy the benefits of these photographs, I want you to do this for you!
5. It's all female all the time. My shoots are a safe space so I use an all female team and it's no boys allowed!

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Holly came to my studio in 2018 because she was writing a photo-essay style book about her journey battling and surviving breast cancer. Her book documents through her personal photographs and text her entire fight with cancer. She wanted to include images throughout the process of a double mastectomy, healing and reconstruction because most literature on the topic shows you the before and after but not the very long middle. And she thought it might help some women picture what to expect throughout their entire healing process. Now, the pictures in this book are personal, brave and raw. So she really wanted something beautiful to end her book with. Portraits of her fully healed.I was honored to create these images for her.We took images of Holly alone and later on with her amazing husband (who got a breast plate tattoo to match Holly's post surgery cherry blossom breast tattoos). The love these two share is palpable and anyone would be so lucky to have a devoted partner like this in a time of crisis.Holly's shoot is not the first time I've photographed a woman who's survived breast cancer. I do these shoots frequently. Any health crisis, but especially breast cancer, can really affect how you feel about your body and beauty. These shoots are all about reclaiming your body, your beauty, and your power. I hold the space for my clients to celebrate life and survival and this moment right now. I work with you to customize a shoot so you can be photographed post-cancer how you desire (not everyone wants to actually photograph their nude body though it can be powerful).If you or someone you know has survived breast cancer and is looking to celebrate this moment right now, I'd love to talk to them about their journey! 

 When I shoot a boudoir shoot I like to capture all the different sides to a woman. Her soft side, her bold side, her relaxed side, her carefree side. I find a woman’s different moods and expressions to all be sexy in their own unique way. Not every look has to be about strapping on the garters and stilettos… But then again, we shouldn’t let a whole shoot go by without really being brave with one super sexy look should we?I love this shoot because there are so many moods captured the bold and daring to the soft and intimate. And dang if my client doesn’t just have LEGS FOR DAYS!Are you interested in having me capture all the sides that make up your sexiness? If so shoot me an email, I’d love to chat!

Boudoir is sexy. Boudoir is fun. Boudoir is confidence. Boudoir is power. Boudoir is feminine. Boudoir is grace. Boudoir is courage. Boudoir is bold. Boudoir is daring. Boudoir is shameless. Boudoir is strong. Boudoir is fierce and boudoir is fabulous. Boudoir is dashing and daring and not caring what others think. It’s courage and strength and effervescence.And I see all those things and more in this shoot. This shoot is one of my all-time favorites. It’s so celebratory, so full of confidence, so full of loving yourself 100%. And that’s why I do what I do.My shoots are for women first and foremost. Sure, I realize my clients might give these photos to a man in their life… but more than anything I want you do to this shoot for you. To love yourself. To say to yourself I am reason enough and I am fabulous and I rock what I got. 

One of my favorite things about shooting a boudoir session is watching a client come alive in front of the camera. Every client starts out so shy— I mean, it’s not every day you have some taking your photo…while you are dressed in your skivvies!!! I have yet to have a client walk in 100% confident and ready to be seen in her undies! But sure enough we start with hair and make up and then the first look and the nerves melt away and a goddess shines through! Every woman seriously ends the session by prancing around half naked (or hey full naked if they want) without a care in the world. So if you’ve ever wanted to feel really good about yourself naked you totally need to come in for a session with me because that confidence in your skin will be there when the shoot ends!!Check out this amazing session to see what I mean!  

It's not every day a client lets me showcase images from her boudoir session, but when she does I'm oh so thankful! I love to showcase client sessions so that way future clients know that I really do shoot real women, and not models (but I sure make my clients look like models, don't I)! My passion is photographing real women, in the Santa Barbara area and beyond, and making them look and feel beautiful! That is what I do best, and it's for real! No client has ever come to me for a session feeling 100% confident and ready, but they see my work and trust me that I will make them look amazing. And I never take that for granted! This lovely lady was also kind enough to write me about her shoot and I'd love to share what she said about the experience! See below: 

"Hi Ashleigh!I just wanted to say thank you so much! I had some reservations about a photo shoot in the beginning, but you made me feel super comfortable and I even had fun!!! I was incredibly nervous about giving hubby the book, but wow was he surprised! He absolutely loved it! I don't even think he noticed the nice watch I also gave him for a wedding gift, lol!The layout of the book and the quality of the book itself is wonderful:)I am so glad I decided to go through with this. My body will not be the same for a long while, since we are expecting our first little one soon! So it will be nice for me to look back at these photos...Thank you so much for everything, Ashleigh:) and a BIG thanks from hubby!"

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As you may remember last month I photographed six incredibly hot women for a Santa Barbara Boudoir Party! Boudoir is a huge passion of mine, and I am really really hoping to be shooting much more of it... all over SoCal, but especially in my new home of Santa Barbara CA! Between six ladies, I had hundreds of photos to fully retouch so I apologize for the delay in blogging these! But I am so excited to begin sharing snippets from the shoots! Hooray! :)Seduction. Mystery. Two things that go hand in hand. As women, we know that sometimes the best way to seduce a man is to have secrets. You don't want to reveal too much too soon. You want to create mystery. Leave him wanting more. That's all part of the art. So I LOVE the idea of using a sexy, dramatic mask as a prop in a boudoir session. An ornate mask. A stunning figure. A confident woman. Yet you can't quite see all of her, but you can see just enough to know she's got it going on. That, right there, is juicy.  And after all, isn't seduction a masquerade in a way?Here is a collection of images from one of the sessions that plays with this concept. I absolutely ADORE how they turned out! I am so lucky to have such creative clients that bring killer props to our shoots! This stunning boudoir mask is from the ever fabulous Kristin of Petal and Thorn. I loved photographing this mask so much I may have to buy one for my prop collection! Hair and make up was by LunaBella, my favorite hair/make up team in Santa Barbara!Enjoy these first photos and please stay tuned for more!

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Jennifer booked me a LONG time ago. So for months we chatted  via email, got to know each other a bit and anticipated our session! When the day finally came it was a bit surreal-- is this finally happening?!  Jennifer was so sweet and so fun to hang out with that morning! It was honestly like being with an old friend! We laughed, talked weddings, and just had FUN! Which honestly is really what boudoir photography is all about-- having fun & celebrating your life!I LOVED that Jennifer put so much thought into the session and into the outfits she chose! She brought a veil (which I always love), an Alice In Wonderland costume because she is having an Alice themed wedding, and some other sexy outfits! It was good times! Just look how fun the session was!

I am a natural light photographer primarily. Especially when it comes to portraits. Unfortunately the hotel messed up and gave Jennifer a room with no windows! At first I was all "oh dear!" But like any good photographer, I had a solution to the problem. I whipped out my flash, set it manually, and used the walls to bounce the light to make it flattering! Yep, I rocked it out! That's the life of a photographer, sometimes you gotta roll with the punches! And the results turned out awesome! Isn't Jennifer hot?!!

Sexy Alice.

I love this shot! Its like Jennifer fell down the Rabbit Hole. In like, a totally SEXY way!

Me-owwwwww!

Jennifer you are GORGEOUS!

Jennifer thank you so much for trusting me with your b-pics and just letting loose and having fun with me! I had such an awesome time hanging out and I LOVE the pics! You are stunning-- inside and out! Good luck with your wedding! I want to hear all about it!

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Last fall I met with Dawn at Starbucks, and when she walked in I knew I liked her. I was wearing a pink, purple and white dress that day and she had the EXACT same colors on her outfit as well. It was like, "Holla! Girl, you are super fierce, we will definitely work well together!" And so we hit it off immediately and she booked me on the spot ;) But the boudoir session wasn't going to be until it was closer to her wedding-- nearly 6 months away!! So I patiently waited. Dawn was so very supportive & sweet in the meantime. She left awesome blog comments, or would even email me just to say hey or compliment me on a new aspect of the business! :) I love it!

So what I am saying is I have loved this girl for quite some time now and had been anxiously awaiting our boudoir session! Then the day was finally here and things were even better than I could have imagined. Dawn brought a TON of adorable outfits and accessories and props!!! That makes me very happy and I always encourage my clients to do this! It just adds so much polish to a session ;) Then Dawn even had her hair stylist come and hang out, change up her hair and even act as a wardrobe consultant! ;) AMAZING! I felt like we were on a shoot for Vogue or something! So needless to say this shoot was awesome in every single way!

Thank you soooo much Dawn for all your support & encouragement over the last year! And thank you for rocking it and being fabulous and trusting me to take these very special pictures! I know your man is gonna FLIP when he sees them!! :)

I also wanna give a shout out to Rubi for doing Dawn's make up! And Randi for doing hair & styling!!!

How cute & stylish is this birdcage veil?!!!!! AMAZING!!

WORK IT!!!!!

Sasha Fierce watch out!! ;)

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Yay! It's boudoir season and I love it! Yep, all the gals with spring & summer weddings are getting their pics done NOW! And it's awesome! So if you are getting married soon, what are you waiting for?!Boudoir photography is so much fun for me! I love empowering women and making them feel like super models. I truly believe that every woman has a little Tyra Banks/Heidi Klum living inside her just itching to come out! And I like helping women who feel shy, or at times insecure, to come out of their shell and see themselves for how gorgeous they really are! And for the girls that come to me already pretty confident and ready to work it out, I love that too! I love documenting their confidence! Yep, I just love, love, love boudoir and wish I could do a session every week! Heck, every day!I have several boudoir sessions coming up in April, and know if they are anything like last week's session, they will ROCK! Just look at how sexy this last session at The Shade Hotel was!

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Last week I had the pleasure of shooting this sexy lady at the fabulous Hotel Amarano in Burbank! I absolutely loved the room we had in this hotel, and would totally recommend it to all my future clients.But a location is just a backdrop. And while an awesome backdrop makes for much more awesome photos, its really all about the subject! And boy oh boy did I have just the most glamorous gal to photograph! I loved how her hair and make up was so Hollywood Glam! And she chose some pretty fabulous outfits as well!! I always get asked my boudoir clients what they should wear. My advice, obviously whatever you choose must make you feel HOT. But also, if you are self conscious of your tummy-- choose something that covers it. Don't like your rear? Wear boy shorts. Just like clothes you wear, you want your boudoir outfits to be flattering and make you feel good!Well anyways, back to this gorgeous gal! This shoot was awesome and we had a blast rockin' it out! Here are some of the gorgeous images we created:

Look at those sultry eyes! I believe her man will flip when he sees this!

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