The Birth of Long Island Boudoir PHotography®
My boudoir clients often ask how I got started in photography, specifically boudoir photography.
I LOVE telling the story about how I never intended to become a photographer! They’re always shocked to hear that.
You see, I loved to paint and sketch. I’d spend 3 hours sketching a single face. So my plan was to take photos of a friend wearing toe shoes and tulle so I could use the images as a reference for paintings I wanted to create.
I was an amateur photographer up to that point - shooting exclusively on the automatic setting. And I knew absolutely nothing about lighting for photography…but as a painter I knew how to see light.
And so I bought a $39 studio light on eBay only to then realize once it arrived that I had no idea how to make the camera and the light speak to each other! LOL!
Not only did I not know how to make the light pop, I had no idea that a single light with a 12” square soft box would hardly throw enough light even if I did know how to make it pop!
I remember the images were dark and grainy. Very chiaroscuro. But I loved them. And more importantly, so did my model! She wanted to hang them on her walls.
And with that Long Island Boudoir Photography® was born.
I started shooting in the evenings out of my living room as one friend told two friends and so on.
Word kept spreading and about a year later my husband walked into our living room, scanned the 8-foot long seamless paper standing in the corners (hardly hidden), looked over to the studio lights I’d tucked into the opposite corner, turned to me, and said, “This doesn’t seem to be stopping or slowing down and I’d really like to have my living room back.” Haha.
So, I moved into my first official boudoir photography studio. A year after that Newsday ran a huge article featuring one of my pinup photos. I was so happy when I saw a photo I’d taken covering the entire front page of the Sunday Lifestyle section! It was incredible.
At that time, I never imagined this tiny niche would become what it is now—a popular gift for brides to give their grooms; a heartfelt present from women to their significant others; but even more importantly, the soulful gift of a lifetime women choose to gift themselves as an expression of their strength, courage, power, and self-love!
Over a decade has passed since I first photographed clients out of my living room and I STILL hear from those early clients—they’ll write about how important not only the boudoir photos, but the experience they had during their boudoir photo shoot with me was in helping them build confidence and a sense of personal power. How, on bad days, their images continue to serve as a source of positivity and empowerment. And many have come back again and again!
As the field began to grow I also realized how unique my approach—which was fully informed by my lens as one who holds a Master’s degree in psychology—truly was. It was then I bumped into an acquisitions editor for a major publisher. When she heard my perspective she said, “You HAVE to write a book.” 2 years later my book Body & Soul was published and it remains a one of a kind resource in the industry!
So, why am I sharing this? I share it because Long Island Boudoir Photography®—which is a registered federal trademark I own—has a long history as a Long Island’s first-to-market boudoir-only studio, but some photographers are intentionally attempting to diminish my brand and confuse the market by posting ads and blog posts with my business name as their headline.
I am Boudoir by Susan, the creator of Long Island Boudoir Photography®, a pioneer in this industry, and a passionate artist (check out my fashion photography instagram account) who continues to serve discerning Long Island women who seek and appreciate professional portraits and photography that is always elegant, tasteful, and classic.
Elegant. Tasteful. Empowering.
Owner of Long Island Boudoir Photography®
