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At Upcoming Lincoln Park Photo Studio, Women Can 'Celebrate Themselves'

By Paul Biasco | January 14, 2013 8:16am | Updated on January 14, 2013 9:06am

LINCOLN PARK — A suburban photo studio that aims to make a woman look and feel like a "bombshell" during photo shoots in which she's scantily dressed, is preparing to open a Lincoln Park location just before Valentine's Day.

Jenny Taylor started her boudoir photography business three years ago and has since photographed women from all over the world in her Naperville studio.

"I felt like a Victoria's Secret model," said 23-year-old Nikki Japp, who has had two sets of photos taken by Jenny Taylor. "I would have never even thought of doing anything like that before. It's not every day where you think 'let me put on some lingerie and pose.' "

The Lincoln Park Jenny Taylor Boudoir Photography studio is set to open the week of Valentine's Day at 2232 N. Clybourn Ave., inside a renovated penthouse with a rooftop deck and skyline views of the city, which she hopes to take advantage of in her shots.

The boudoir photography process involves an entire day of hair and makeup preparation, as well as outfit and look changes. There is also coaching by a professional photographer with an end product worthy of a GQ Magazine photo spread. The studio is staffed exclusively by women.

"She wanted to make me feel beautiful and like a bombshell that day," Japp said, describing her first shoot. "That's really how I felt. The pictures were gorgeous. I felt gorgeous."

About 80 percent of the clients at Taylor's Naperville location are women who are "celebrating themselves" by getting the revealing photos taken. The other 20 percent are a mix of women wanting to  give their significant others a surprise photo album on an anniversary, a birthday or military deployment.

Last year, Jenny Taylor's studio took photos of more than 400 women posing in lingerie or some sort of revealing clothing. They ranged in age from 21 to 83 years old.

In 2012, Taylor traveled as far as Los Angeles and Hawaii for shoots, and she consistently photographs women from all over the world who fly in for her services. Some clients have paid up to $8,000 for the most expensive package Taylor offers, which includes airfare to an exotic location for the shoot, along with luxury hotel accommodations and dinner with the staff.

"We help with all the posing, so no one has to practice or anything like that," Taylor said. "Even myself, when I did my own shoot, I was nervous."