The power of boudoir

Three years ago, Raquel Pryor was looking for a change. Not only was the former stage performer seeking a creative outlet, she was also seeking to regain her confidence. The birth of her second child led to a weight gain that became intolerable.

“I was the 350-pound ‘Hide me—I don’t wanna be seen and don’t wanna be heard [person],’” the Hollister native said. “I did something about it. I needed to do something different.” 

And she did. 

After losing weight—and gaining back her confidence—a scroll on social media led her to a friend’s boudoir photography post that sparked her interest. It would be instrumental in giving her the change she had been seeking. 

“I was like, ‘That’s really pretty, I want to do that,’” she said. So, she decided to book a photo shoot of her own. “I was in a space in my life where I thought I needed to capture [my weight loss] because I’ve never felt this good.” 

Soon after the shoot, Pryor decided to offer the same kind of experience she had for others: In 2021, she and her sister Andrea Hernandez (who does hair and makeup stylist for Pryor’s clients) opened Blush Beauty and Boudoir photography studio in Hollister. 

Already working as a bookkeeper and a certified tax preparer, when she told her husband she was thinking of opening a boudoir photography studio, she was met with confusion. 

“He was like, ‘Now what is it?’” she said. 

It’s a common question from those unfamiliar with the word. ‘Boudoir’ (pronounced ‘buˈdwɑr’) is defined as a woman’s dressing room, sitting room or private salon, and it derives from the French term bouder (‘to sulk’). According to Wikipedia, boudoir photography has existed since the 1840s and features its subjects in “intimate, sensual, romantic and sometimes erotic” poses. The photos are usually taken in a photo studio, bedroom or private dressing room. 

“You either don’t know about it, or you knew about it 30 years ago and you just got a bad taste in your mouth,” Pryor said. “Or you are like me and all you’ve seen is, ‘Well, these women are loving themselves and they’re empowered.’” 

Pryor’s studio is connected to Hernandez’s styling salon, Let’s Talk Lashes by Drea located at 449 San Benito Street, Suite 22, and offers an intimate setting where her clients can feel both safe and empowered. At the studio’s entrance, a curtain of beads hangs in the doorway that leads to a room oozing with femininity: a bed with only pillows and sheets, a wall covered in rose petals, a fluffy rug, vanity stools, a full-length mirror and a bay window overlooking downtown Hollister. 

“This is where all the magic happens,” Pryor said. “We kind of turned this really boring space into something fun.” 

Pryor has done boudoir photo shoots for a variety of occasions: new brides surprising their husbands, pregnant women, women who’ve lost weight wanting to capture their new bodies, and models needing photos for their portfolios. 

“Some girls come in here and it is for their OnlyFans page,” she said. 

According to its website OnlyFans is used primarily by creators who produce pornography, earning money from users who subscribe to their content.

“But usually those girls come in as experienced models and they know what they want to do,” she said. 

Because of the nature of her photos, Pryor said her clients need to be at least 18 years old.

“It can be as R-rated as you want it to be or not, and that’s the fun part about it,” she said. “Rarely do I do anything that’s totally nude. I do implied nudity, where it might look like they are but they aren’t. I have taken fully nude photos all the way to fully clothed.” 

Since opening her business, Pryor has witnessed many female clients who have felt empowered by their photographs just as she was. 

That was the case for Shelbie Thorson. After losing 115 lbs., Thorson said she was “struggling with self-confidence in her new body.” She was initially nervous about booking her a session but was quickly put at ease by Pryor. Thorson has now booked two more photo sessions since her first one in early 2022. 

“I couldn’t believe it was me in the photos,” she said. “Raquel did something for me that day that I can’t thank her enough for. I wanted to try to see myself through someone else’s eyes, but what she showed me and taught me was that I deserve to reclaim my power. She helped me discover this new version of me and encouraged me to be proud of that person.”

And Drea Arballo said she felt like a queen the minute she walked into her studio. 

“Truly an experience I will never forget and I will forever recommend!” Arballo said.

“Most women are celebrating something,” Pryor said. “And some of them don’t have anything to celebrate, but once they leave here, they do.” 

Pricing of each session ranges from $700 to $1500, depending on how many images are purchased, the number of outfit changes (Pryor can provide outfits) and whether clients want professional make-up and hair styling done for the session. 

Along with a digital gallery, Pryor can also provide clients with their images placed in photo albums, on T-shirts, in viewfinders and “whatever you think you could put a photo on,” she said. 

“What I hear over and over and over is, ‘You helped me get my power back, you helped me remember who I was.’” she said. “I think that’s why I call it an experience that you are investing in, because it’s not just the glamour shots you take at the mall, it’s so much more than that.”

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