Today we’d like to introduce you to Tamara Paskey-Alexander.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Tamara. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve always loved photography, and when I was younger I loved photographing horses and cars. But I hadn’t photographed a person up until I attended a boudoir photography workshop in 2010. A friend from a different photography trip invited me to this workshop in California and asked me to be her roommate. I had to Google “boudoir photography”, but it looked like tons of fun, so I said, “Why not?! Let’s go!”. Little did I know, this was going to be the start of the rest of my life! In my college days I worked at Victoria’s Secret and fell in love with lingerie, so when I saw that I could combine two of my favorite things, I was all in! When I got home from this workshop, I opened my first studio (very small potatoes) in Lexington, KY and hit the ground running. I put everything I had into learning my craft, and haven’t looked back since! At the studio in Kentucky, I shot boudoir, but I also dabbled in pinups on hotrod cars, and glamour photos with horses. I couldn’t step away from previous loves right away!
When I married my husband in 2012, he joined the Army, and that took us to Leavenworth, KS. I opened a small studio there that I quickly outgrew, so less than 6 months later, I moved into a much larger space near downtown Kansas City. This is where I feel like I started to truly grasp the business side of boudoir and I started growing to where I needed to be.
In 2015, my husband got out of the Army, and it was his turn to follow me for work. We had the opportunity to move wherever we wanted.
I looked all over the country, and after much deliberation (so so much) I eventually settled on Dallas. I chose Dallas for the studio because I knew it would be the best place for me to run my business the way I really wanted to. It was the city I knew I could reach my potential in.
And, it has absolutely lived up to that expectation! I love it here, and am so happy I chose to move here. We love being Texans and this is our permanent home now! Yay Dallas!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Oh, absolutely not! All small businesses have struggles. All artists have struggles. And I decided to be both!
I’m not the type of person to go into anything half-assed, especially when it comes to the studio. I tend to jump in feet first, learn as I go, and put way too much workload on myself.
I could come up with a laundry list of challenges over the past 8 years but I’ll keep it to my most challenging obstacle, which was moving from state to state and having to ultimately start over each time. It was incredibly difficult to have to build a new client base, and reputation in Kansas, then again in Dallas. It took double the advertising, double the research, two websites, and about half the sleep. Of course, I would have liked to stay in one place and been able to let my business grow more steadily, but looking back at everything, I wouldn’t change a thing. I learned so much with each move. It gave me a different perspective, a better work ethic, and made Paskey Boudoir what it is today!
Please tell us about Paskey Boudoir.
At Paskey Boudoir, we love women! I truly believe that every woman needs to step out of her comfort zone and do things for herself to lead a more fulfilling life. We do so much more than just take sexy photos here. It’s a safe place to be vulnerable and allow yourself to feel confident and sensual.
I think what sets me apart from all of the other bazillion photographers in the area is my passion for shooting women of all sizes and ages.
I’m a plus size woman, and can absolutely understand any of the concerns that come through the door. But I take pride in knowing I can make any woman who books a shoot look absolutely fabulous. Experience posing all body types, the massive lingerie closet with sizes XS to 4X, and retouching all make my clients look their best! I also love that my normal client’s age range is between 35 and 55.
Photographing women that are making an effort to be more comfortable in their own skin, and women that are re-discovering their sexuality always end up having the most rewarding experience.
We have a 2200 sqft private loft studio near Deep Ellum with sets designed just for boudoir, fantastic hair and makeup artists, and a super fun luxury lingerie closet to peruse through. When I say we take care of everyone start to finish, I mean it! All you have to do is bring your own undies, and we take care of the rest. This all makes your experience as stress-free and easy as possible!
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
There are small things I might change but why think about it? I love what I do and am so grateful to be where I am right now.
Pricing:
- Session Fee- $350 plus tax. Includes hair and makeup and use of the wardrobe closet. Images purchased separetely
- Image Pricing- $100 per image, with an 8 image minimum. Please contact us at www.paskeyboudoir.com for a full price list!
Contact Info:
- Address: 3711 Parry Ave. #201 Dallas, TX 75226
- Website: www.PaskeyBoudoir.com
- Phone: 214-789-9383
- Email: info@paskeyboudoir.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/paskeyboudoir
- Facebook: facebook.com/paskey.photo
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
