Photo studio takes the burlesque to your bedroom

Dec 5 2010 By Zoe Chamberlain

Zoe Chamberlain talks to a photographer helping women build confidence using a touch of the burlesque

Rachel Spivey’s studio is an Aladdin’s cave of feathers, fabrics, mirrors, hats, feathers – and even nipple tassels.

For Rachel is not your average photographer.

She turns ordinary women into extraordinary glamour models, empowering them with enough confidence to feel like burlesque stars with her boudoir photography.

“Women love the glamour of it,” says the 38-year-old from Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. “They like the fact that it’s a bit naughty. You might not show your mum the pictures but it’s not rude or salacious.”

Rachel has always loved the glamour of old movie stars and modern burlesque artists such as Dita von Teese and Immodesty Blaize.

And it is these stars who have brought about a huge interest in burlesque culture, from pole dancing classes to boudoir hen parties.

But it’s not just extrovert, glamorous women who are getting involved, it’s actually often those who are shy and reserved.

“When women who aren’t particularly body-confident see pictures of people with a bit of cellulite, or others with a big bum, looking gorgeous, they think: ‘Hold on, I could do that too!’ “It’s like the Gok Wan effect. Women find it very empowering.”

Many women come to Rachel as a way of boosting their self-esteem following a major event in their lives.

Rachel, whose children are Ted, 10, and four-year-old twins Wilf and Dan, says: “Some have just had surgery or are recovering from a serious illness. Others have got divorced or suffered bereavement.

“But they’ve all got one thing in common – they want to increase their confidence and self-esteem. This is one way they can do that.

“When they’ve been through a major change in their lives, something snaps in them and they decide they want to do it.

“There was one woman whose first husband had been really nasty to her, not physically but he was nasty about the way she looked. Her mother had always been horrible about her appearance, too.

“She was getting married to a new bloke and really didn’t feel confident about her body.

“I felt like crying when she told me her story. But by the time we’d finished the shoot, she said it was the best experience she’d ever had, and that she felt great about herself.”

Formally trained in photography at Cheltenham and Gloucester College, Rachel began her career at the Hulton photographic archive – working with original negatives from the likes of Fox Studios and Picture Post – before starting work as a commercial and wedding photographer more than 10 years ago.

When a couple of brides asked if she did “boudoir photography” she jumped at the chance – and used the family’s savings to open her own studio to photograph half-naked women.

With a life-long passion for old movies, retro clothes and all things glamorous, creating a boudoir studio with a vintage twist was a natural next step.

Equipped with a wide range of props and backgrounds, Rachel uses genuine vintage Mole Richardson lighting to achieve an authentic warmth and Hollywood look. Sessions start from £250 including hair and makeup, post-production and two prints.

Women bring their own underwear and have fun posing in Rachel’s “Aladdin’s cave” of props.

“Some women are nervous to start with,” says Rachel. “But then I show them the images and they say: ‘Wow! I look a bit of all right, don’t I?’ They soon get into it. Lots of women choose to go topless, some using nipple tassels, others not.

“Being a mum-of-three, I don’t have many inhibitions myself and it puts them at ease. When people have body issues they feel safer to come to someone like me: a woman and a mum. I tend to look at the person, not their size or age or shape.

“One woman had had a lot of surgery on her heart throughout her childhood and was quite shy about her scar. She asked me to take away the scar on the pictures afterwards. I think she wanted to see how she would look without it.”

So has Rachel tried it herself? “Of course!” she laughs. “I tried it with Jeni and Sue, the girls who do hair and make-up here, because we wanted to know what it feels like to do it.

“We had a great time. Jeni has a beautiful figure but was quite nervous. In the end she had nipple tassels on, and loved it!”

Rachel’s husband Craig is a graphic designer and he helps her to make the pictures unique to the client, turning some of them into old-fashioned playing cards or postcards.

“We work with them to create the session they really want, from ‘What the Victorian butler saw’ to a 1950s pin-up,” she says.