Meet Shelby Simpson, founder of Leaf & Lace Photography in Cairns, Australia. Discover her journey into boudoir photography, body confidence and self-love.
We interview Shelby Simpson, founder of Leaf & Lace Photography in Cairns, Australia, about her journey from nude self-portraits to professional boudoir photography, body confidence and her experiences photographing over 500 women.
At 19, Shelby Simpson began taking nude self-portraits as a way to explore self-love and develop a more positive relationship with her body. What started as a private project eventually became Leaf & Lace Photography, a boudoir photography business based in Cairns, Australia.
Eight years and over 500 clients later, Shelby continues to help people see themselves in a different light. We spoke to her about her personal journey, the transformative potential of boudoir photography and why you don’t need a special occasion to book a shoot.
You’re reading Sensuali.
A space for exploring intimacy, sensuality and kink. Message trusted practitioners, book real experiences, discover sensual events and get answers in our forums.
When I’m not editing or photographing, I love spending my time reading, crafting and being outside in nature. I’m a sucker for a new restaurant or coffee spot and will never say no to thrifting.
Isobel Clark
What turns you on?
leafandlace
Confidence, emotional intelligence, care and conscious touch.
Isobel Clark
What was your journey into boudoir photography?
leafandlace
When I was about 19, I wanted to find a way to honour and embrace my body as a form of self-love. I wanted to learn how to love myself unconditionally.
I’ve always loved photography, so I felt a calling to document myself through imagery.
Shelby Simpson of Lace & Leaf
I started taking nude self-portraits. I didn’t tell anyone I was doing it, nor did I share the images with anyone, but it felt so empowering and intimate to capture myself in a way that completely celebrated who I was.
After about five years of photographing my body, I started talking about my project with others. I noticed that most women would tell me how brave I was and how they could never do something like that themselves.
I realised they were in the same place I had been years earlier, when I first started my own self-love journey.
From that moment, I decided to openly share my nude self-portraits, not only for myself, but for other women too. I wanted to lead by example, to openly love myself so that others could see how to love themselves.
It wasn’t long before one of my closest friends quietly mentioned that she wanted photos too. That was the moment I realised I had the tools to empower other women in the same way I’d empowered myself.
After I took her portraits, more women came forward wanting their own. I was already dabbling in portrait photography, but this felt different. It felt important.
So, at 25, six years after I started photographing myself and learning to love my body unconditionally, I founded Leaf & Lace Photography.
I’m now almost 33.
Shelby Simpson of Lace & Leaf
I’ve been photographing myself for over 14 years and have had the privilege of photographing more than 500 women over the past eight years, across Australia and internationally.
I’m absolutely and unconditionally in love with my body, and I’m even more in love with the people I get to photograph and empower.
Isobel Clark
What do the first 60 minutes of your day look like?
leafandlace
I adore a slow morning! I love spending the first few minutes enjoying the softness of waking up. Once I’m out of bed, I’ll make myself a coffee and drink it as slowly as my morning allows.
Isobel Clark
Why do you do what you do?
leafandlace
During every session, I love showing my clients some of the photos I’ve taken as we move through different poses.
One of my absolute favourite moments is when I show someone a recent shot and they say, “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe that’s me!”
It’s so amazing to witness the exact moment something shifts and they realise they are HOT!
It’s incredibly powerful to provide a space where someone can see themselves with fresh eyes, and to be part of their self-love journey.
What’s an unexpected pleasure you’ve discovered through your work?
leafandlace
How vastly different each session can be. I pride myself on being able to hold space for every person who steps in front of my camera.
In one week, I might photograph someone who has only ever been nude in front of their partner and is stepping bravely outside their comfort zone. Then I might work with a sex worker who is completely comfortable in their own skin, followed by someone recovering from trauma who is using their session as an act of reclamation.
Isobel Clark
What do you wish more people knew about boudoir photography?
leafandlace
You don’t need a reason to book a boudoir experience. You can do it just for you, exactly as you are.
Isobel Clark
What’s your superpower?
leafandlace
Making someone look peachy.
Shelby Simpson of Leaf & Lace
Isobel Clark
We love vices. What’s yours?
leafandlace
Lingerie, chocolate and a cringey medical drama. (Yes, I’ve watched every season of Grey’s Anatomy.)
Isobel Clark
Who are your sensual inspirations?
leafandlace
Anyone who is unapologetically themselves, embraces their body and allows it to take up space.
There’s so much inspiration to be found in someone who refuses to dilute or shrink themselves.
Isobel is a writer and creative based in Paris. She has been working with Sensuali since 2022 and is deeply passionate about eroticism, kink, the feminine experience of pleasure and its place in art and culture. Originally from a Northern UK seaside town, she is naturally…
Shelby Simpson, the creative behind Leaf & Lace Photography, is a Boudoir Photographer and Body Love Expert who has spent the last 8+ years photographing and empowering women, couples and folks who are comfortable in feminine spaces.
From £1295
From $35
From $399
From €50
From £495
From $150
From $300
From $500
From $400
From $222
From $1000
From $1800
boudoir-with-jess Erotic photographer Chelmsford
thebeastgoddess Erotic photographer Bellingham · Stockholm · Denver
DivineDominance Erotic photographer Mexico City · Merida · Rome
ilegalph Erotic photographer Barcelona
Indira Erotic photographer Berlin
salmonberryboudoir Erotic photographer Eugene · Anchorage
johnny-appleton Erotic photographer London
dominamara Erotic photographer Los Angeles
