Last weekend at The Gladstone, an historic, boutique hotel on Queen West in Toronto, The Puzzle Room {one of the hotel’s thematically decorated rooms}, became the site for a boudoir marathon.

Ellen Ho, a successful wedding and portrait photographer in Vancouver began shooting boudoir photography almost a year ago when she and Ai Nagasawa, a freelance MAC makeup artist began experimenting with models in a modern boudoir environment. Now, Ho’s boudoir marathons – weekend-long photoshoots of men, women and couples – have become highly popular and while October marked her first Toronto marathon, she’s already planning a return visit.

Considering the increasing popularity of boudoir photography, Ho says she’s always surprised when people don’t understand what it’s really about and she loves to challenge the preconceived notions of vanity and shyness that people have about ‘undressed’ photography and she prefers to suggest that one’s lifestyle and personality can be beautifully exposed during a boudoir session. She loves witnessing when her client’s perspective changes and they go from feeling self-conscious to feeling sexy.

“[My sessions] are not about making someone beautiful, but about the experience,” she said, recollecting a conversation with a group of male photographers who couldn’t see the difference between her work and the cover of Maxim Magazine. “What I do is about empowerment, it’s not as much for the viewer as for the subject, although the final product is important too.” And, although she readily admits she’s a bit of a control freak when it comes to poses {knowing exactly how to showcase a person’s assets} she seems to feel that by providing a fairly fast-paced and structured environment that she gets the best from her subjects – helping them to relax and focus by taking charge: “your face doesn’t look good when you’re worried about your body,” she says.

Interestingly, from her boudoir sessions with individuals and from her love of engagement sessions, Ho has begun to photograph couples’ intimate moments as well. Strangely for her, however, when there are two people in front of the camera so closely involved with one another, the shoot unfolds a little more spontaneously than with a single client: when she asks a couple to do what feels sexy and good, they are far better at being natural and she must go with the flow. She thinks the difference is about pressure, when there are two people, there is less demand to perform and another person to interact with, but overall, most of her clients aren’t confident about their bodies and have a lot of nerves at the start.

When it comes to preparing her clients for a shoot, Ho highly recommends manicures, fake eyelashes (for women) and waxing and although she’ll recommend lingerie and shoe boutiques for the ultimate in feminine dress-up, she’s aware that not all women have the same style and will suggest bringing a man’s dress shirt, a pair of shorts and a tank top as an alternative look – “it’s all about self expression and being comfortable.”

Following her boudoir marathon in Toronto, we caught up with Ho earlier this week. She said she loved the Toronto vibe but found her new clientele to be a shyer bunch than the west coast girl. Whereas her clients in Vancouver are more aware of this re-emerging style of photography, Torontonians seem to be just becoming comfortable with it. We think it’s a spectacular idea as a gift for yourself (and maybe someone special) but definitely see the trend growing in Ontario.

Ho’s prices start at $425 in Vancouver for a marathon session which lasts about an hour and a half and includes hair and makeup, her private sessions start at $600 and her Toronto marathon price was $600.

All photographs are from the Toronto boudoir marathon and are courtesy of Ellen Ho/Höng Photography