Can you imagine the rush of a tiger walking between your spiked high heels? Feeling that feline fur slide across your calf?
In my Calgary Boudoir Photography Studio was Tasha, a tiger cub, with Chandra, a wonderfully free-spirited woman.
Tasha was around two months old, looking fierce in this photograph, but she was really a kitten—a curious, bright-eyed cub discovering everything around her.
She loved the studio. To her, it was a huge playpen filled with unfamiliar textures, interesting corners and people entertaining her. She was wonderfully gentle, although she certainly had her own ideas.
Her handler would coax her into position, and Chandra would often break out laughing when Tasha confidently chose another path. If we nudged her too soon, or encouraged her toward somewhere she did not wish to be at that particular moment, we got a look. Followed by a refusal, she was a determined cub.
Eventually, we always got her in position. Mostly though, it was created by interaction. Chandra and Tasha connected at a kindred level.
How Animals Change the Energy of a Photo Session
It is difficult to express how remarkable it can be when a client includes an animal in her photography experience.
Even a family dog or cat can completely change the energy of a boudoir photo session. Attention shifts away from the camera. Expressions become spontaneous, laughter comes more easily, and unexpected moments replace carefully considered poses.
A tiger, of course, takes that experience somewhere extraordinary.
I believe Tasha and Chandra shared a spirit bond. Both were expressive, curious, playful and entirely present in the moment.
Chandra is a sly mix of personalities—or perhaps dimensions is the better description.
She has built several businesses, some in pretty rough-and-tumble environments where no one cared if she was a woman, just if she could hold her ground.
She always could. I have seen the steel in her spine and the ice in her veins. I believe she could be and has been a formidable fury when the need called for it. Mostly though I have seen her caring, easy-going side. She always knew what she wanted, her look, the effects. I just had to rise to the occasion to make her happy.
We did about 12 sessions over the years, it appears I do get her!
She also loves feeling sexy, sensual and beautiful. She can be delightfully charming and seductive, sometimes simply for the fun of it.
And she loves to laugh, especially in her playful moments.
Chandra lives fully in the moment, without excuses, apologies or much concern about what someone else might think. Young Tasha seemed to move through the studio in much the same way. Her feline face and body expressed precisely what she felt at any given second. Curiosity and playfulness ruled her day.
As I said, a spiritual pair.
A Safe Place for Every Side of a Woman
This freedom of expression is one reason the atmosphere surrounding a boudoir or nude photography session matters so much.
In our studio, a woman can explore her seductiveness, boldness, elegance, vulnerability and humour without judgement. These expressions reveal authentic parts of her personality; none of them has to define the whole woman.
Chandra could bring her strength, sensuality and playful spirit into the same session. Tasha brought out even more of that spontaneous joy.
Her handler, a woman to whom Tasha was clearly very dear to, remained close and patiently catered to both our creative whims and Tasha’s changing interests.
We deliberately kept the photographic set simple. Tasha and Chandra needed the freedom to move in any direction while remaining within flattering light. The background, composition and lighting were designed so that wherever their interaction carried them, the photograph could still work.
That preparation allowed the spontaneous moments to happen naturally.
My career photographing women has now spanned 46 years. More than 5,200 women have stepped in front of my camera for boudoir photography, nude portraiture and imaginative personal sessions.
Among all those experiences, my time photographing Tasha, along with sessions involving lions and wolves, remains some of the most memorable and remarkable photography I have ever created.
Still, this image is about more than the novelty of a tiger cub.
It is the meeting of two playful, expressive spirits—each confidently choosing her own path through the studio.
As unique as these sessions were, they are not uncommon in my studio. We have always created opportunities that no other studio has or, possibly can.
I love finding the unique to offer,