Kendra Kerscher’s “Impossible Boudoir Project” celebrates self-love and body positivity

Like many other girls she knew, Kendra Kerscher battled serious body image issues as a teenager. She tried diet after diet, and each time she looked in the mirror she found some part of her she wanted to change. Years later, the photographer has created a setting where anyone can feel comfortable in their own skin. Through her boudoir series, the “Impossible Boudoir Project,” Kerscher hopes to inspire her clients, her viewers—and even herself—to love themselves exactly as they are.

Kerscher believes that the idealized body types depicted in the media sends the message that if you don’t look a certain way, you’re not worthy enough. “Most of us have a hard time seeing ourselves as beautiful,” she says. “A lot of people come to me when they need a boost or encouragement to love themselves again.”

Kerscher started hosting boudoir sessions for her friends many years ago, but she became more motivated to produce them after seeing the images regularly shot by photographers in that field. “I was only seeing one type of body online—the thin body—which was disheartening and not something I support,” she recalls. She began the “Impossible Boudoir Project” to celebrate all body types.

“I think if [women] had grown up seeing different body types photographed and celebrated in the media, it would’ve been different for little girls’ self-esteem,” Kerscher says. The first woman she photographed was her friend Yuki, who initially was nervous to show the eczema on her skin. Since then, each person Kerscher has photographed for the project has had some kind of insecurity, but being in front of the photographer’s lens has instilled in them a sense of confidence. Often, clients want to book their next session even before they see the photos, because of the way Kerscher has made them feel during the session. For the “Impossible” project, Kerscher always asks how each client feels at the end of each shoot. “The answer I always got back has been “I feel amazing,” which gets me every time,” she says.

Kerscher believes that posing for photos can positively influence other aspects of her clients’ lives, including their relationships. A few weeks after her very first couples session, Kerscher received an email from her clients thanking her and telling her how surprised they have been to see their relationship grow much closer simply from the boudoir session.
The project has given Kerscher confidence, too. When she first started it, she experienced imposter syndrome because she was still trying to love her own body. But helping others has given her that self-love, and made her realize that the confidence she inspires is a special talent. “I capture other people through my lens, but when I do that, I feel like I’m capturing myself in a way, and feeling the same love for myself that I feel for my clients,” she says. By seeing how powerful her work is, she has also come to realize her own worth.

Kerscher hopes that the “Impossible Boudoir Project” helps more people see themselves in the photographs and stories she shares of her clients. She has received messages from people she’s never met telling her how much she’s impacted their lives. “The camera has helped me find my calling and shown me my power,” she says. “So I hope that my work continues to accomplish self-love. That is the greatest legacy I can leave behind.”

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[Read: The Boudoir Photography Empowerment Movement]