Why do I do it? | Chris Connelly Photography – Albany’s Top Boudoir Photographer

My Why.

I get this all the time: why intimate portraiture? Why not weddings, or senior pictures, or babies? “It must be cool seeing naked people all the time” (rolls eyes and smacks head).

I hope this doesn’t seem like the long way around, but here goes. We are bombarded as women and men, with the message that there is an “ideal” beauty standard we should all somehow be measuring ourselves against when we look in the mirror, and when we look at others. That message is conveyed through the imagery all around us. It is embedded in the language, culture and attitudes cultivated and often revered, by our society.

We have unwittingly surrounded ourselves and subliminally embraced ideas that lead us to believe that no matter what we look like, how fit we are, how thin we are, how “perfect” our shapes and parts are–we are still less than we should be, less than others, not as worthy as others. The modern age of photography has given society the tools to further entrench these thoughts by reinforcing them with “photo-chopped” images of “perfection,” that are not anywhere close to reality.

Once I had a client show me an image she pinned in Pinterest, of Jennifer Lopez. The singer/star was doing what I would describe as a partial squat; almost like she was about to sit in a chair, with her butt sticking out, her back upright and her head kicked back. A cool image, physically impossible to do as a real human, but cool I suppose. Her legs had been altered and elongated, her tummy changed, back curved more and with all that, she certainly looked nothing like her actual bodied-self. Plus, she ended up in a pose that was, because of physics, impossible to do naturally in space. I took a close look at the image with my client and discussed what had been done to the image. She looked at me resolved that we couldn’t do that, and jokingly said “well, I’m no J-Lo anyway.” This is how deep-rooted our feelings of imperfection can be: we know what we are looking at is fake, but still judge ourselves against a standard that has been heavily altered.

So why do I choose intimate lifestyle photography or boudoir as my specialty? It all comes down to this. With this genre of photography, I genuinely get to help people feel comfortable in their own skin, honor who they are, the bodies that they have, and see a beauty that is uniquely their own. I have the privilege of helping them fall in love with images of themselves that are not faked, contorted, photoshopped beyond recognition, or otherwise artificially conformed to an unrealistic, unattainable and unhealthy standard.

Another time, I had a client call me the day after her shoot, before she had even reviewed her final images. I could tell she was a bit choked up and I was concerned. After clearing her throat she said “I need to tell you something that I haven’t shared with anyone else. ANYONE.” A long pause. “Next week, I have a consultation scheduled with a plastic surgeon. Eyes, tummy, cellulite, possibly even my boobs [her words].” I mentioned that must have been a big step, making that appointment. She said, “It was, but the call I’m making next is even bigger – I’m cancelling that appointment. After seeing my pictures yesterday, even on the little screen, I think I don’t need any of that.” And she started to sniffle a bit – so did I.

I have the authentic honor of being a part of that kind of positive energy, those types of “aha!” moments and the celebration of beauty – true, real beauty of simply being – every single day I go to work. That’s why I am an intimate portraiture photographer.

Yours to count on,
Chris

Have questions – how about a quick call? CLICK HERE to put a time for a call on our calendar. No pressure – just answers, we promise 🙂