Although I think it is very ungrateful to talk about history because I "wasn't there" and who knows who perceived it as it is conveyed in all the records, what information exists about boudoir photography dates back to 1920 when one photographer, Albert Arthur Allen decided that he was not interested in the condemnation of the environment and decided to devote himself to researching the sensuality of the female body through photography.
Admittedly, it wasn't easy for him because he was repeatedly accused of creating obscene materials, his studio burned down in a fire, and he had a motorcycle accident after which he was partially immobilized, but all that didn't stop him from continuing to take photos! I believe. that this passion for photography was one of the reasons why he is considered the originator of this direction.
He did not think that his photos were explicit and erotic, and his words were: "To see womankind entirely nude would place all women on equality. And it would be only their true mental and physical charm that would lift them from the ordinary."
By this, I don't mean that we should all walk down the street naked and hum our favorite song, but I understood it as acceptance of our own body, gratitude for who we are, and erasing the boundaries of judging ourselves.
Around 1940, boudoir photography was marked by the pin-up style, which meant emphasizing the curves of the girls shown in corsets. That's when props are used for the first time in boudoir photography in the form of men's ties, hats, socks...
Interestingly, boudoir photography was used as a marketing trick in World War II to motivate soldiers to fight for their country - they used posters with pin-up girls under the slogan "She's worth fighting for", and even the women themselves sent husbands photos of themselves done in pin-up style with messages that they were waiting for them and thinking of them. The trend of giving away your boudoir photos to future husbands starts from this period and continues to this day.
Boudoir photography as a direction continued to evolve so that during the 70s of the 20th century it became recognized in the world of art, mostly because magazines began to show photographs of women instead of drawings.However, it was only at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century, when many other taboos were broken, that the boudoir began to be looked upon with approval.
While it is still an unacceptable form of photography for some people, the boudoir has found its place in the world today, especially because of the empowering effect it has on its participants.
Comments