Elle Raven

As an only child in a military family that travelled the world I became a voyeur observing human behavior. I eventually found myself using the camera to connect with others. It’s what drew me to photojournalism which led me to earn a BA in Cultural Anthropology with a focus on Sex and Death. Along the way I fell in love with portraiture and in particular the genre of boudoir. For me it was the the transformation I witnessed in my clients. No, not the external transformation which may sometimes be a part of the process but it is that internal shift in a person’s perspective of themselves that truly changes.

Body Image is something I personally struggled with through my teen years and all through my 20s. It kept me from truly living. The experiences I longed for I denied myself because I did not feel worthy. I felt judged by others, but really I judged myself more harshly than anyone else ever could. It was ultimately my work as a boudoir photographer that forced me to begin to confront my own shadows. As I healed others I began to heal myself.

In 2016 my life was thrown into chaos when at the age of 38, I survived a stroke. I was diagnosed with a rare blood clotting disorder which would subsequently lead to an even rarer lung disease. These personal experiences forced me to confront my relationship to my body in whole new ways. As I healed from the stroke I threw myself into yoga, a practice I already had a passion for which had been a part of my life for 20 years. . Knowing how healing yoga was and continues to be in my own journeyI decided to become an instructor myself. I earned my RYT-500 in 2018 with a mission of making yoga accessible for more people.

As my relationship with my own body evolved, so did my work. It was my experience as a boudoir photographer and the conversations I had with clients that inspired me study body image and sexology in depth . In 2019 I completed my training to become a Sexologist and began teaching and coaching through the Sexology Institute located in San Antonio, Texas.

My passion for intimacy work and my experience in the photography industry inspired me to create a collaborative educational space for photographers. I facilitate classes for photographers to deepen their understanding of the intimacy of the portrait experience.

These days you can find me hosting events, leading workshops, reading cards and occasionally behind the camera

My life has been anything but usual and at the same time I feel my experiences led me to be doing exactly the work I am doing and it’s why I am so passionate doing it. I love guiding people tp a place or personal empowerment in their life where they are living their BEST life.