Sometimes we toil away wondering if what we do as an artist will ever be recognized.. many of us do it because we have a passion for it, and some for money, and a few of us do it because of both reason. I'm one of the latter people. I have a passion for helping people feel amazing during their sessions and have lasting images they can look at for the rest of their lives, and also to hopefully come back to have it done again because it was such an epic time. However I am also a business owner, so I know the value in what I create for my clients.

When I got an email saying that I was featured on a blog post for the top 7 boudoir photographers in Colorado Springs I was a bit taken aback and thrilled!!!!! 

I want RGA Phogtography to be one of the top saught after boudoir sessions someone can book here in Colorado Springs, to also have people travel to me and pay for me to come to them to have a session.

Peerspace also featured some other artists I know which is so awesome to see. Peerspace did such a wonderful job at capturing the essence of how each of our looks work with people and how we use our craft to help our clients feel amazing. 

To say I’m thrilled is not enough to express my joy. I’m so honored to be recognized 💜

www.peerspace.com/resources/boudoir-photographers-colorado-springs/

below is my image they chose as the lead image for their article!

Do men get boudoir sessions?

This is a topic of debate in my creative world of photographers. There is a term called 'Dudeoir' and most of the images from that type of shoot tend to be campy, silly and are not shoots that seem to be taking the session too serisouly. 
And that is completely ok if someone wants to pay for a shoot like that. 

However I feel like sessions for men are just like they are for women. Men want to feel sexy, they many times want to show off their masculine side, but also get in touch with their feminine side and show a softer side. 

Because of that I tend to do poses that many times I will also do with women. I coach them in how to use their hands to touch themselves, how to turn their head/face, facial expressions.. it's all really the same. I do however tend to also have at least one outfit as part of the session that is them fully clothed and taking it off. This could be jeans and a shirt, a suit, dress pants/shirt.. etc.. I feel like there is something super sexy about a man taking off thier clothes. 

With my female clients we don't tend to have that outfit in the mix unless it's something they specifically request. Maybe the difference is with men we don't get to see them do this step slowly.. so there is something more erotic about it. That they are taking the time to slowly undress for the viewer. 

Men also have the same insecurities as women. They want to accentuate certain areas of the body and hide others. The dynamic is in my posing direction and of course the camera angles are also the same for them as for women. Men's boudoir is something I feel more men are looking to do. It's a great self confidence boost and makes them leave feeling on top of the world. 

Clohing suggestions for male clients:
Jeans
Favorite tshirt
dress pants
button down shirt
suit (I personally love men in dress pants, button down and a vest)
boxer briefs (cause we want to show off that booty!)
jock strap undies
sassy styled undies 
sunglasses
hats
uniform (if that is part of your work or kink)
kink based outfits (if you are into a certain kink)
and of course nude is always an option! We can drape blankets, sheets etc.. if you only want to show off certain things. 

Here are links to some sexy undie suppliers if you don't know where to look.. and don't forget - YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE A PERFECT BODY! there are different styles to fit a wide range of bodies just like for women. the point of getting something different is to feel a bit bold and sexy
www.hisroom.com/mens-sexy-underwear.aspx
www.mensuas.com/collections/mens-sexy-underwear
www.malepower.com/product-category/bikinis/

and to give you some inspiration here are a few examples of men I've shot for male boudoir in Colorado Springs :)
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,There are a lot of things that can effect creativity and just having some gumption to make shit happen.

Many times being a creative comes with a load of struggles.. in my other business I get online orders that I need to complete, but with boudoir photography there can be times when I don’t have as many clients or even when I do have them I still struggle with wanting to switch things up but not knowing how.

There is a yearning inside me to make new things, test new ways to shoot, maybe move my sets around and spice things up.. but there is a block.

With 2020 I wasn’t able to do some of the things that I might normally do.. like go on a trip and visit friends, or go somewhere alone and explore. Coming back refreshed and invigorated. So those blocks for the last 15 months have been there but I’ve been a bit more apathetic.

This last week of March 2021 I FINALLY was able to get away. I went on a retreat for boudoir photographers held by my friends at Boudoir Exposed. We converged in New Orleans (a new place for me) and we learned more about the business side of things as well as posing.

The last day was especially exciting because it was a free day and we all decided to stay at the house and shoot each other. Granted it wasn’t like normal sessions, but it allowed us to practice some of the things we had just learned and for me personally it was the first time I had been shot by other people.

I now know more about how you my clients feel. When I was asked to be in a pose then close my eyes and didn’t hear anything I wondered
Did she get the shot?
Do I need to stay put?
Should I move myself differently on my own or wait?
My body isn’t comfortable... I can’t hold this much longer..

Then I’d peek my eyes open and look lol

Again because these were not normal sessions it was different. We each kind of got lost in various things and forgot to communicate sometimes. But I know these things can happen with regular sessions too. It was actually one of the key things I was worried about when I started shooting. And it’s something I will be even more aware of now that’s I myself have experienced it.

I’m writing this post while we are heading in to land in Denver and I’ve been thinking about the things I learned, the energy I felt being around other people in my field. The patience they had for me still learning my new camera felt like diving into the deep end and having very little knowledge of how to swim. They explained things many times and never got frustrated.

I push myself a lot and it shows. I also don’t like to give up. Because of that drive I was able to get some amazing shots this week and I’m excited to start sharing those with you all, some of which are below.

I have a renewed since of energy, passion and creativity running through me and the apathy for the moment has receded and I’m making plans to help that not come back for a very long time.

So with all that being said, tell me what do YOU do to get your mojo back? I’d love to hear from you! What gets you revved up?