We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Abby Gagne a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Abby, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.
Photography in general is not a one size fits all in any way shape or form. There is no right or wrong way to go about the creative process. Each photographer goes about doing things the way that they like to, and their ideal clients seek them out because of a shared admiration for the end result. With that being said, Love & Boudoir offers a very different outcome than the majority of boudoir studios that (to over simplify) just slap an editing preset on their images and move on. For those that don’t know what a preset is, it is essentially a filter that gets applied to the overall image.
Love & Boudoir offers a much more in depth approach to the editing process of all images. The clients who come to us are looking for a much more polished, high end result.
Aside from our extensive knowledge of outfit choices to flatter your body, and a vast array of posing that works with every body size and type. We are going to edit out any and all skin imperfections that they client requests. So don’t worry if you had a massive breakout prior to your shoot. We are going to add a bit of glamour and volume to your hair or edit the lighting to accentuate your features in all the right ways. In no way are we pushing a less “body positive” message, but I’ll be honest- if I was the client, you’re absolutely right that I would want my C-section scar either posed around, or edited out of my images. Our clients are paying us to create art with their images. And we ask every client their editing wishes- some clients disagree with my own personal outlook and would want me to leave their C-section scar in, because its part of their journey and they love it- and we respect and honor that choice! But we give our clients the option to opt in for an overall retouching service should they wish to take advantage.
We have had clients come in with tattoos they wish weren’t there, or scars of past trauma they want taken out, or bald spots from recent hair loss, or even port scars from a recent battle with breast cancer they want removed. Boudoir can be for celebratory occasions in life- but it can also be therapeutic or for healing. Love & Boudoir is here to help our clients in every way that we can.
Abby, 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?
Abby started her photography career more than a decade ago in Los Angeles, CA as a wedding photographer. She was a premiere vendor for many wedding venues around southern California before moving to Scottsdale Arizona to be closer to family. When Covid hit, and the wedding industry came to an abrupt halt, she was forced to pivot her focus. Bridal boudoir had always been a service she offered but it wasn’t until her neighbor suggested it as a full time career path that she decided to give it a try. During the pandemic she built her full studio inside her home in North Scottsdale. It was after her very first client that she fell in love with the genre. She spent countless hours traveling around the country learning from the very best in the industry, and fell in love with what it offered other women. It quickly became her absolute passion in life, and strives to not only offer a luxury experience to her clients, but to never stop being a student of the industry.
“I still take workshops from other photographers. I still always look for ways to hone my craft, and offer the very best results for women looking for their own boudoir experience. Photography is a never ending learning journey.”
Abby is currently building her own education platform to help other photographers learn and grow in their skill as well as the experience they give to their clients.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
“Social media has really become one of the single most important parts of any small business. The best piece of advice I would give is to just show up. No matter how awkward you feel in front of the camera, or how much you don’t know what to say or do- just show up. The thing that sets you apart from everyone else is simply you being you. I find that it is actually a blessing to deter some people from your service if they don’t like you. My goal is to put myself out there as much as possible, so that the clients who do come to me, are going to have a much better experience than the ones who decided they don’t like me before they even meet me. Give people every reason under the sun to decide you are not for them- so that when they do come in, they know exactly who you are, what you offer, and what they can expect from deciding to go with your business over someone else’s.”
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I know that this is probably going to sound odd, but I had to learn how to be less professional. I had to un-learn corporate America, un-learn proper wedding etiquette behavior, and un-learn not getting too personal with my clients. There is absolutely a level of professionalism that is far above and beyond anything you’ve ever done. Making sure your clients feel safe and secure during their shoots requires a level of professional that you can only achieve by practice. But at the same time, Boudoir is such an overly intimate experience. Your clients are coming in, total strangers, and getting either into their underwear, or all the down into their birthday suits. They don’t need uptight, rigid behavior. They need real interaction. They need honesty, relaxed energy, and someone to talk to about real life things.
We laugh, we cry, we say bad words, and we share incredibly personal stories about our lives and connect with each other on real life topics.
Boudoir clients are coming in for one of the most intimate and unnerving days of their lives, It’s highly emotional. You need to understand that the single most important thing about your job is to make sure they leave feeling their very best when they leave.
Contact Info:
- Website: LoveAndBoudoir.com
- Instagram: @LoveAndBoudoirScottsdale
Image Credits
Photo credit: Love & Boudoir