Life and Work with Adena Rossiter

Today we’d like to introduce you to Adena Rossiter.

Adena, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I should start by saying I never set out to be a photographer. And I CERTAINLY never set out to be a boudoir photographer!

I picked up my first DSLR camera when my daughter was a brand new baby 13 years ago. Every point and shoot camera that we ever owned broke within a month, so we decided to invest in something that would actually last. Once I had it home and out of the box, I had NO IDEA what to do with it. The more I got comfortable capturing our family’s moments, the more friends reached out to ask me to photograph their kids, their families, their friends. A nice little photography business was born.

That all changed when I had a friend of mine asked if I would take some “sexy pictures” of her and her friends. HA! I thought, “Why not? Sounds like fun!” To be honest, at that point I hadn’t really even heard of boudoir. She invited some friends over for a wine night and they all put on lingerie and let me photograph them. They had so much fun, they loved their photos, and I was so confused because I just didn’t enjoy the experience. I told myself I would never do it again but I already had another one scheduled the next weekend. Oops. As I continued to give ladies gorgeous photos that they loved, I decided to dive into why I didn’t love it from my end. I realized that I felt so detached from these women. Here they are, baring their bodies to my camera and I didn’t even know who they were. I realized that I was doing my client a disservice by not learning who she was as a woman and by assuming that I knew what sexy meant to her. I knew that if I could offer more, my clients would get to fall in love with themselves, not just a photo.

Six years ago when I decided to specialize in boudoir, I created an experience that has evolved into something so beautiful. My clients now bare their souls to me and their bodies to my camera and THAT is magical.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No way! But smooth roads are no fun, right?
The word boudoir is a struggle in itself, like how do you really say that?
In all seriousness, being an entrepreneur is hard. I have had so much support from my family and friends because they know my heart for women. But on the outside, people would learn what I do and just kind of make this face. “Oh, like soft porn?” or “I guess some women need that.” Trying to explain to people that what I do is SO much more than a sexy photo is sometimes exhausting.

But being an entrepreneur is also incredibly rewarding! Seeing my clients face as she views her photos in total shock and amusement brings me to life. “I can’t believe that’s me!” and “I knew she was in there!”

Advice for young women starting their journey… every step you take gets you closer to your dream. So, dream big and keep moving forward! I understand that it’s scary to fail, but it’s far scarier to not learn and grow. Find something you’re passionate about and PUT IN THE WORK. Even on days, you don’t think you have anything to do (this happened a lot for me before I had clients), find something to do, something to learn, something to push you. Just keep moving and one day you’ll find yourself in the middle of that business you dreamed up so long ago.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Blush & Tease – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Blush & Tease is so much more than a boudoir photo shoot. I’ve actually considered taking the word boudoir out of my business completely, not because that word scares some people away, but because what I do goes so much deeper. My clients mean the world to me! From their first email, they get invited into self-love, self-discovery experience and into a community of women who are like-minded (I’ll tell you more about that in a minute). It starts with a planning meeting, we get to know each other, I find out what she wants to see in herself, we chat about shopping and a little self-love homework. I have clients call our meetings “mini therapy sessions” and apologize when they cry telling me what makes them ready for this experience. My beautiful black velvet couch has held so many women as they give me a little glimpse into their hearts. They leave the meeting with a mission and a few weeks later they show up for the shoot day. BEST. DAY. EVER! I have an amazing team for hair & makeup and then we have an unlimited amount of shooting time in the studio (or until the sun sets outside) to make sure we capture her exactly as planned. I always encourage my clients to go out that night because, not only are they lookin’ mighty fine, they also leave the shoot on cloud 9! Then, we get together about a week later to go through the photos. This might be my favorite part! Throughout the process, I watch my clients bloom and at the reveal meeting, she gets to see it from my point of view. Jaws hit the floor and my clients just fall in the love with the woman they see.

I would say that Blush & Tease is known for going deeper. For listening to what each client wants on an emotional level and delivering photographs that she can treasure forever that reminded her of her beauty, inside and out.

I am the proudest of the community that Blush & Tease has created. I started a private Facebook group not too long after deciding to specialize in boudoir. A lot of people told me it would never work and that private groups are way too much work. I invited past clients in and the response was great! I saw a handful of photographers teach how to grow their groups overnight but that didn’t feel right to me. I asked my clients if they knew women who should be a part of the group and the response was humbling! We are now at almost 1000 members… all intentionally a part of this community! These women encourage each other and lift each other up. It is a space for ladies to be brave and share the weight of life. I have so many things I could say but I’m also speechless because it’s just SO GOOD! Last weekend I had a studio open house and over 50 showed up and met each other for the first time. They also brought friends who they knew had to be a part of this. The Blush & Tease community is deep. A client recently pointed out that all of the members of the group have 2 things in common… they have confidence (or they want some) and they are willing to take risks (or they want to). THAT is a group that I am proud to lead!

What were you like growing up? Personality-wise, interest wise, etc.
Two things happened in my early 20s that directly point me to where I am today. I had babies, which led me to purchase a camera and learn photography. And I spent most of my time coaching cheer and leading a youth group, which led me to discover my passion for teaching women how valuable they are. I didn’t grow up thinking that being an entrepreneur was an option for me, but once I learned that my skill of photography and my passion for strengthening women could be the business of my dreams, everything changed.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.blushandtease.com
• Phone: 303-515-0947
• Email: adena@blushandtease.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blushandtease/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/blushandtease/

Image Credit:
Blush & Tease

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