Every Woman Is A Warrior

Some Really Embrace It!

The 1950s stereotype of what a woman should be has been replaced with a more empowering vision of what she could be. Boudoir and Nude portraits of women were not a thing yet. Today’s woman is complex, dynamic, and unapologetically a warrior.

Can you imagine how a Calgary studio like Inner Spirit Photography would have faired back then?

Patty loved the “look” of women back then, but she says, “We were really wolves in sheep’s clothing. We haven’t really changed; we are just more open about who we really are.”

To her point, magazines like Vogue and Cosmopolitan, which started in the late 1800s, subtly began adding empowerment articles and interviews between fashion and societal snippets. By the 1950s, these publications began to celebrate women’s achievements and cultural changes. Even Ladies’ Home Journal was an early advocate for women’s rights and empowerment.

Sarah explained the awakening of her personal power. She felt she had been unwittingly trained to advance only up to an invisible ceiling. Now, she realizes she can rise as high as she pushes herself. That ceiling has been broken so many times that few women today even acknowledge its existence.

While modern women may conquer corporate skyscrapers, history shows women in various warrior roles. In WWII, squads of female scouts rode Harley-Davidsons behind enemy lines. None of these riders returned to form bike gangs, but their bravery was legendary.

Before her fame, actress Hedy Lamarr invented frequency-hopping technology to guide torpedoes, which later evolved into Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.

If you want to see a transformation, just watch a woman when someone or something she loves is threatened. I’ve seen my wife rise to the occasion like the grizzly bears she adores.

Our studio has a collection of mythical weapons for props. When women pose with them, their alter egos emerge, and you can see their delight in the photographs. Wielding a sword, they look so deadly, adopting an Amazon warrior stance. Sometimes, they even let out a primal scream. Occasionally, clients bring in their own weapons, including a Klingon bat’leth.

Of course, the swords look more authentic with some chainmail. We have a few chainmail accessories along with that cool cape.

Clients have brought in decorative swords, very elaborate collector pieces. They often have whole outfits and lots of ideas to match.

The Ninja image was a bit award winner. It took a long time to craft the image, getting her glare just right and the sword pulled out the perfect distance.

Holding one of our retro high-tech steampunk ray guns or custom-created futuristic ones, they revert to character. Steampunk is wonderfully popular so between the steampunk stuff Inner Spirit carries and theirs, we have it covered.

Western gear is fun too, we have a few sets for it. We’ve had pistol sharpshooters loan us their rigs, adding a sexy, edgy Western flair. Sometimes, clients bring in their own weapons. The James Bond spy bit is popular too!

With the futuristic outer space ray guns, we love to blend in space backgrounds. We have a huge CGI collection to draw from: planets, space stations, so much.

Betty, an arms dealer, came in for a series of fun nudes with her favourite assault weapon before it was restricted. She broke it down to show me it was empty and, for fun, reassembled it blindfolded. That was a bit chilling to watch; she was so efficient.

Boudoir photos don’t have to be only soft, delicate, and romantic. Gently sensual images are lovely, reflecting a popular spectrum of a woman’s personality. But just like actors who prefer portraying the complexity of villains, women enjoy expressing their power, confidence, and their badassery in my studio.

Being a warrior is more about a stance, an attitude, posture, and projection. They project defiance, their feet seemingly rooted to the ground, unwilling to give up an inch of hard-won territory. While they are not looking for a fight, they will not back down either.