Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rachel Coutant. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Rachel, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a time you helped a customer really get an amazing result through their work with you.

I’m a full-time photographer under the business name Impassioned Art and one of the things I offer is boudoir. I’m a lot of people’s “first” when it comes to this sort of photography and a lot of my clients book boudoir in an effort to learn how to love their bodies. I have also worked with clients who are confident in their bodies, but many have been individuals making the brave move to be vulnerable and learn how to connect back with themselves. I believe that boudoir is an avenue to changing the culture and tearing down the patriarchy. By creating an avenue for individuals to love their naked bodies, to work through shame, to reconnected to self, we are creating a culture of healthier, more self-connected and self-loving individuals! I truly deem it an honor and a privilege to create a safe space for humans who are bravely saying, “Enough. I want to love myself.” So I am going to share the words of a client who was courageously deep breathing through her anxiety throughout her boudoir shoot.

“I literally thought I’d look at [the photos] & cry because of how much I hate my body. Instead I’m over here feeling like I can literally conquer the world! I’ve never felt so good in my skin. Ever. You have seriously given me something that I never could have given myself…

I’ve spent most of my life hating my body. Trying to cover it up, trying to suck it in. Subscribing to all the latest diet trends & falling flat every time. Battling either starving myself or binge eating just to look a certain way or fit into a certain mold.

This photo shoot helped me realize how much I can love my body exactly how it is. Stretch marks and all. Cellulite and all. Scars and all. Rolls and all.

I have felt so freed of societies constructs of beauty and worth recently and man is that a heavy weight.

Ladies, I beg you to step out of your shell. Wear the crop top, wear the dress, cut your hair, buy the sexy underwear! Do whatever makes you feel like your most authentic self.

It’s taken me years to heal the little girl who was so broken, abused & hurt. I’d like to think she’d be proud of who I’ve become.”

This is one of many incredibly moving reactions I’ve received after boudoir sessions. People have told me they’ve never seen themselves as sexy before, that I made them feel very comfortable, that boudoir help with their body dysmorphia! Boudoir is for every gender and every body. I hope you decide to book a boudoir session for yourself! If not with me, with someone you feel safe and comfortable with. It can be a huge gift to yourself.

Rachel, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Hi, my name is Rachel Coutant (she/they) and my brand is Impassioned Art! I’m a full-time photographer with social media, graphic design and podcasting sprinkled in. I offer monochromatic portraits, boudoir, commercial work and really most types of photography you throw at me! My podcast, Impassioned Art, covers a variety of topics including: deconstructing Christianity, being queer, sex and sexuality, aspects of my artistic journey and more. So what started it all?

Well, I’ve always been an artist. I used to draw often for 5 hours straight at a time. I grew up with a dad who raised me to budget my money and encouraged me to pursue entrepreneurship. Everyone thought I was very talented and told me to pursue art as a career (I know, unusual, right?) but for many reasons, I pursued communications instead. I don’t regret that decision at all, but part way through college, I experienced a spiritual intervention. My spirit guides and intuition very abruptly stopped me in my tracks and reminded me I was an artist. I explain more of this story on my podcast, but after this revelation, I pivoted to studying visual communications rather than only communications.

I also had an aversion to photography. I really wanted to participate, but didn’t like that everyone was jumping on the photography train (I have since changed my framework of thought immensely). One summer, I realized I could get one of my college credits through a photography class, so I used that excuse to begin to learn. Needless to say, I immediately fell in love and the rest is history.

I spent many many years working only part time in my craft. I let my business grow naturally and intuitively. I didn’t move forward unless I knew in my gut it was time. A year ago I finally knew I was ready to go full-time.

I am so proud of the work I do and humbled by the community that has trusted me to do it. I have built a solid reputation for myself on a foundation of authenticity, vulnerability, and artistic style. A passion for empowering others drives me. I have long loved writing vulnerable, in-depth things on Instagram posts, and that has certainly helped build my following. But I didn’t anticipate photography having the same impact. I’ve found that just by showing up as myself and creating space, photography has been a powerful avenue of empowerment and transformation. It’s been the most pleasant surprise, and truly an honor, to have client after client respond to the photoshoots with stories of feeling seen and at ease. It’s been humbling to learn that our channels of impact can work in spoken and unspoken ways.

What I want people to know about me and my brand is that I prioritize your comfort, I use every photoshoot to explore my own creativity, and I always seek to capture your best angles. The most common feedback I receive is that I make people feel very comfortable and my images really highlight individual personalities.

If you want to learn more about me, listen to my podcast and follow me on Instagram!

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Before anything else, it’s sticking to your truest style. I know authenticity has become such a buzz word, but it really is the most appealing form of creativity. When I started to lean into the type of photography that was most *me* that was when business really amplified.

While I am currently expanding which spaces I reach clients in, Instagram, word of mouth, and networking have been my consistent sources for clientele. I really enjoy meeting new people and talking about the work I do so it has brought in some significant connections. When it comes to Instagram, yes, I am getting clients from my own followers, but I am also getting new hires from the followers of previous clients. Every time I photograph someone and they post the images, that is putting my work in front of new people. This is one of the reasons that giving the photographer’s credit when you post is so important!

Word of mouth is probably the most encouraging source for new clientele because it means people are really happy with the work you do. Integrity is important to me, and prioritizing my model’s comfort, my own creativity and communication are all authentic actions that encourage people to work with me.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Empowerment of the individual and giving space to simply be. The name of my business, Impassioned Art, came to me all of a sudden in a very spiritually way. Even as I’ve narrowed in as photographer, I haven’t wanted to change to “Impassioned Photography.” Everything I do is driven by passion and art. I believe our very existence to be deeply artistic, even in the ways we wouldn’t see ourselves as artists. I am a vessel for birthing my own vision and capturing/elevating the artistic existence of others.

As someone who has always had an individual spiritual journey, who has spent a lot of time deconstructing Christianity, who is an Enneagram type 4, who is queer and been on a long journey with sex and sexuality, personal liberation is very important to me. Authenticity is very important to me. Honoring who people *truly* are is important to me, and the mission driving my creativity is the ever-growing journey of learning how to simply being.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.impassionedart.com
• Instagram: @rachthecrouton7
• Other: Podcast: Impassioned Art https://open.spotify.com/show/6po7jKQdW1NrdOP4ZungB1 (also available on Apple and Anchor) Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/impassionedart/ other instagram: @impassionedart

Image Credits
Rachel Coutant of Impassionedart.com