Boudoir with Brittany Paiyarat

I had the pleasure of chatting with Brittany Paiyarat of Brittany Paiyarat Boudoir Studios about self love, and why she loves shooting boudoir. Boudoir is one of my favorite niches, and I feel like Brittany truly captures a glimpse into the world and puts her love for life and self acceptance into her sessions. 

Lauren: Thanks for letting me interview you, Brittany! Tell me a little about yourself and why you got started in boudoir!

Brittany: I am Brittany Paiyarat; Self Love Advocate and Luxury Boudoir Photographer. I grew up in Southern California but currently reside in Covington, Louisiana. My husband is in the Coast Guard which has given us the wonderful opportunity to live all around the country and we have recently fallen in love with the New Orleans culture. Together we have a two year daughter that is the perfect mix between us and pushes us to be the best versions of ourselves everyday. Our home wouldn't be complete without our fur children as well, we have a chug (Chihuahua/Pug), Siberian Retriever (husky/lab) and an orange cat. I graduated from Brooks Institute of Photography with my Bachelor's of Fine Arts Degree in 2012. I originally went to school to become a nature/landscape photographer but as I was taught all aspects of photography I fell in love with portraiture as well and started my career shooting families, newborns, seniors, etc. While I loved my job, I was exhausted and felt I needed to find my niche as a photographer and thought (and oh was I wrong) newborns would be it. After workshops and lots of babies, I never felt fully comfortable in that realm. A few friends began to ask me to take boudoir photos of them, I was hesitant at first as I never saw myself as sexy, so how was I supposed to make someone else look sexy? After their sessions and showing their photos to them, I was in awe with their reactions. A simple shot of their body could completely change the way they could view themselves and their bodies. In 2014, I knew this was my niche and this is where I belonged in the photography community. 

Lauren: I'm so happy you found your niche! Shooting what you love can make the world of difference. How does shooting boudoir allow you to focus on body positivity and self love?

Brittany: Seeing the light in my client's eyes when they realize they are beautiful makes this job worth it every single day. When a client first reaches out to me with interest in a session, I ask them a simple question, why? Why do you want this session? Why do you need this session? Society constantly pushes our sexuality, power, and thoughts down as women in general. My studio is the place to allow all of that to let go and express yourself as you truly are. No one will judge you in my studio, no one is going to tell you who to be in my studio. I get to know every client on a personal level before their session so I can photograph each of them differently, we all have different stories but in the end we are all also so similar. Knowing where my clients feel comfortable will allow me to push them out of their comfort zones just enough to find the peace they are looking for in their bodies. We all deserve to love our bodies and by seeing ourselves in a state that we are not used to seeing can truly open our eyes to what we can be as women. It's not often that we have the chance to get all dolled up and pose in front of a camera, this is a day of pampering. This is an experience that will last a lifetime to come. I call all of my sessions a Self Love Journey because ultimately that is what we are on for our entire lives, a journey of finding love and accepting who we are. I hope that with every session and with every woman I see walking through my door makes it a little easier to move forward with her head held higher. 

Lauren: That’s amazing! Self love is so important, and the feelings that both you and your client get from a session is like no other.  What’s your favorite part of the job?

Brittany: I really have two favorite parts because they are ultimately connected. I love when I first get to meet my clients and get to know their stories and why they are wanting to take the Self Love Journey with me. I can see their hesitation, I can see their fear, I can hear the nervousness in their voice and I know they are on the brink of something incredible because they have taken that first step, they have decided that they deserve this. Then I love the moment when I see all those nevres fly away, and that fear and hesitation wipe away from their eyesight and it clicks, "Wow, I'm beautiful".  And we've come full circle and fully grown as a confident woman.

4) Tell me about this session!

This session was over a year in planning unfortunately. This beautiful client of mine had been a friend I had known since middle school and modeled for me shortly after I graduated college but hadn't seen for years. She reached out to me as she was getting married and wanted to gift her groom  boudoir photos for the wedding. Unfortunately we had this session booked back for March of 2020, but that's when the world shut down and we had to postpone. We had to wait over a year due to me being stationed in Louisiana and her being located in California and I was not due back until the following March. Luckily we were able to finally create magic and be able to gift her now husband with the best First Anniversary "paper" gift she could give. I have a lot of clients come in wanting to gift their sessions to their significant others, which I truly believe is always a good idea, but I do always come back to tell them that in the end this session will stick with you for the rest of your life. They will never forget the experience they had and the change they will feel. When the gorgeous woman saw her final photos she was in awe stating, "I AM IN LOVE!!!!" These images are so incredible, I am having a hard time believing that it's me. "I look sexy!". That is what this job is all about. That realization right there.

You can check out more of Brittany’s work and connect with her on her social media.

brittanypaiyaratboudoir.com | facebook.com/brittanypaiyaratboudoir