BEAUTY beyond boundaries. This is the motto motivating Jaime Rampersad to inspire, transform and empower women from behind the lens.

The 41-year-old has weaponised her two passions – photography and make-up artistry – to fight what she refers to as society’s biased beauty status quo with her novel, nonconformist take on boudoir photography.

“I am challenging the status quo by creating an opportunity for women – regardless of their size, shape or age, to see themselves as beautiful,” Rampersad said.

So what is boudoir photography? Boudoir is a French word which means a woman’s private salon. Typically, boudoir photography is an intimate shoot that usually involves a certain level of undress. However the degree of nudity depends on the photographer and their subject.

Rampersad dispelled some common misconceptions about boudoir photoshoots, saying, “The misconception that boudoir photography is only for a specific size of person…that it’s only for a specific age of woman. Also, a lot of people think that boudoir has to be this overtly sexual, raunchy kind of pictures. It is art, this is an artform.”

She said her core message is about changing people’s definition of what beauty is and empowering women to embrace their beauty and who they are.

Rampersad revealed to WMN that her journey into boudoir photography started as a personal one. In 2020, she made the decision to consciously discover herself as she was fast approaching her milestone 40th birthday.

To accomplish this, the wife and mother of one felt inclined to do a boudoir photoshoot to mark the occasion.

“I wanted to do a boudoir photoshoot with one of my favourite photographers but she at the time was based in Austin, Texas. Covid came and I was not able to go and do my shoot with her.”

[caption id="attachment_949085" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Tessa: "It's in the reach of my arms. The span of my hips" - Phenomenal Woman, Maya Angelou. -[/caption]

So, Rampersad decided to do her own boudoir shoot since she had 18 years of experience under her belt as a makeup artist pioneering airbrush makeup locally and had worked as a professional photographer since 2013.

“I was able to see myself in such a different light and it gave me such a deep level of appreciation for myself which I think is so important. You do lose yourself when you step into different roles in your life, being a wife, being a mother. This really helped me to rediscover who I was and in doing that and seeing how powerful that was, I said this is something other women need to experience.”

“My whole awakening has been because of boudoir. Even though I was doing the other genres of photography before, it wasn’t until I found boudoir that I found my purpose.”

Rampersad said like her, most of her clients are on a journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance.

“What I hold to be important in my life is connection with others. Doing boudoir photography allowed me to get that deeper connection wit