Hey, Beautiful! My name is Tabetha, and this is my story!
Photo Credit: Brendon Christensen
I am the owner and photographer of Tabetha Rae Photography! My story may be a bit unconventional, aaaaand a bit lengthy, but at least it's mine, so I hope you enjoy!
Growing up with my mom and two older brothers, and we moved around a LOT like 24 times before I was 14 a lot... Most of which was in Montana. No, my family wasn't in the military. My mother just had a tendency to run away from her failed marriages and other troubles instead of sticking them out and working through them. So, that's what we did.
We didn't have a lot of money, so food stamps and "fend for yourself" were part of the norm. I got my first job at 14 as a waitress so I could buy my first car and then went to college right away, knowing if I didn't go immediately, I never would. I busted my ass to get as many scholarships as possible because there was no financial support from my family.
Through college, I didn’t necessarily fit in with my classmates, but I knew I had to pick a degree that paid well and that I could actually do. So, I landed on Computer Science. I liked the thought of creating something from nothing. Through this endeavor of mine, I skidded by on the edge of my seat. I was unfamiliar with the CS world and all that it entailed—SQL, arrays, recursion, all new to me. With plenty of assistance from my peers, I was one of two girls who graduated with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science that semester. I was the first in my family to graduate college, and I was so proud of myself.
My biggest fear coming out of college was that I would be stuck in a cubicle programming all day, every day, with no human interaction. For those who know me, they know that I am very much an extrovert and live off interactions with other human beings. So when I found a job working as an "Implementation Consultant," where I programmed but ALSO got to work with end users, I jumped on it!
It was my first "big kid job" out of college, and I was so excited! The company I worked for relocated you every 2-3 years on average, and they had projects worldwide. So, I could travel the world on someone else's dime—WHY NOT??
I was making real money, in a new state, and I got to work WITH people. My first project was in North Dakota, close to family but still far enough that I got to spread my legs and find myself. I worked there for about a year and a half before they asked me to move to Arkansas to work on another project. Y'all I thought I would be close to the ocean, boy was I wrong!
In Arkansas, I found my now-husband, Kevin, and we built a life together. I didn't want to relocate anymore, as he has a daughter that we weren't going to leave, and I wasn't going to leave him. So that's where I stayed. Not many developers wanted to stay in Arkansas, so it wasn't really an issue to stay.
COVID happened, and our company went fully remote, as did most of the world. This was my worst nightmare coming true. Here I was, a computer programmer working alone in her home. Yes, I had a team or other developers to work with, but it was now all virtual. Don't get me wrong, there were many perks to it—I got to cuddle with my dog, get some chores done, etc. But I was missing that human interaction that I craved so much.
We slowly started going back to the office, but the office layout had changed. We no longer saw the client as often as we'd like; now it's mainly emails back and forth. So even though we were "back in the office," it was never the same.
As TikTok started to become a thing, I stumbled across a luxury boudoir photographer based out of Dallas and fell in love with her work and how she empowered women to love themselves. I took the leap of faith and booked a photoshoot! I wanted this to be a way to remember my 20s. I wasn’t doing it for my husband; I was doing it for me, to give myself the love and support that he has always shown me.
I'll be honest, leading up to my shoot, I had all the emotions under the sun. What if they don’t look good? What if I can’t do the “sexy face”? Is this really worth it? And I’ll tell you,
IT WAS ALL WORTH IT.
Honestly, the hardest part about the whole shoot was not buying Every. Single. Photo. I came out of the reveal and ordering appointment being like DAAAAANG GIRL, now I see what my husband sees, and it was a huge confidence booster.
Photo Credit: Heather Nixon
A few months passed, and work was... well, work. Nothing spectacular, less interaction with the client, and just a lack of fulfillment. I was craving something more. Something I could be proud of, feel appreciated by, and WANT to actually get up and do every day.
So I told my husband about my crazy idea to start shooting boudoir and reached out to the amazing photographer who did my shoot, and off we went!
I always had an eye for photos but never enjoyed shooting pictures with lots of people in them—more scenic pictures or one-off people. So in January 2023, I purchased a computer, a camera, and several educational guides recommended by my photographer and now mentor.
I started doing lots of research about the camera because, heck, I had never owned a camera before! I'd only ever shot with a camera phone! I didn't know what ISO, F-stop, or shutter speed were. So after a few months of learning, I asked a few friends of mine if I could photograph them, and off we went!
I'll be honest, during my first session, I was probably more scared than my friend was. I tried not to stare as I was trying to think of a new pose or would get her in a pose and think, "Oh, that's no good," but would try to play it off like, "Yeah, there it is!" I spent so many hours editing those photos because, again, I had never used Lightroom or Photoshop. I didn't know what I was doing. All I knew was that I wanted my photos to be "dark and moody." And don't get me wrong, they were dark and moody, but maybe a little more on the dark side than I would have liked...
When we had her reveal and ordering appointment, I absolutely loved how much she enjoyed her images! The appreciation I felt from her outweighed all the 9+ years working as a computer programmer. For the next several months, I had more practice clients come in who were close friends of mine so I could get better at everything. In July of that year, I went to Dallas and did a full 2-day mentoring session with my mentor and learned SO MUCH MORE about photography, angles, settings, etc. We even had a client come in, and she showed me how to shoot her and edit her photos! I took everything I had learned in those two days and ran with it, doing shoots every weekend I could book a client!
That fall, my mentor went to Aruba for another educator's boudoir retreat, and it looked AMAZING. I wanted to go so badly! But I just didn't have the time off work to do so, so I sat back and watched with envy as they did some spectacular shoots on some beautiful beaches at sunrise and sunset.
After the retreat, the educator posted her next one for the end of May 2024. And I was DETERMINED to go to it. So I saved up, scheduled that week off from work, and went! And when I tell you this retreat was life-changing, I'm not lying. It literally changed my perspective of the world, and I will forever be grateful to all the 10+ beautiful women I met on that trip.
I was easily the newest photographer there, everyone else having 3+ years experience, and at this time, I was just under a year and a half. I was new, I didn't hide it. But I was there and ready to learn! The educator themselves had 15+ years experience, so I learned so much about lighting, posing, editing, etc.
Honestly I also learned a love about myself. I knew at one point, that I would be getting naked during the trip to allow the other photographers to photograph me, but what I didn't know was that I would be butt-ass naked on a catamaran in the middle of the ocean with a camera in hand (maybe slightly intoxicated) taking pictures of a bunch of other beautiful women who were also naked. We were truly living our best lives.
Two beautiful souls, I had the pleasure of connecting with more on a personal level one night, and they will forever be close to my heart. It's like I had always been searching for these people, and just never knew it till then.
My coworkers with CS backgrounds never felt like "my people." They were just a bunch of nerdy guys who wanted to play video games and talk about Dungeons and Dragons. I don't even own a gaming console, nor do I wish to have one. Now don't get me wrong, they were friendly, and nice, and kind. Just not quite what I was after in a friend group.
So I came back to reality and had to really think. WHEN did I want to quit my full-time job and make this passion of mine my full-time endeavor? I kept toying with the idea back and forth, back and forth. For a minute, it was my first day back from Aruba; then the next, it was September. But I couldn't narrow it down. Until one day, I got an email from my boss. She scheduled a "Quarterly Development Checkpoint" meeting with me for the beginning of July, 2024. And that's when I knew—it was going to be that meeting that I put in my two weeks. Was I scared? Oh, shit yeah. But I knew I was ready.
So my last day was on a Thursday. Sunday rolls around, and one of those close friends I had made in Aruba reached out and asked when I was coming to visit her. Now, when she sent me this text, I was like, "ME, you want ME to come visit YOU???" This beautiful person runs a multi-million dollar company with over 15+ years of success in this industry—not only shooting beautiful women but also teaching others how to become successful business owners—and she's asking ME to visit her.
Ughhh, yes please! I booked a flight for the next morning and spent a week with her. She was going through some STUFF, and I loved that I could be there to help support her through her struggles. She also helped me by pointing me to several educational guides she had created, and we figured out a plan of action for all the tasks I knew I needed to complete for my business to get it up and running smoothly and successfully.
So here I am, running a full-service luxury boudoir studio out of my house. I always bring in a professional hair and makeup artist (because ya girl can't do makeup to save her life) and with their help, we are here to empower you to love and embrace your beautiful body and everything it has done for you!
If there's anything I want you to take from your experience with me, it is to leave my studio knowing that you are strong, beautiful, and worth it, regardless of what anyone else may tell you. Self-love may be one of the hardest things to accomplish, but it is also one of the most fulfilling.
So if you've made it this far, WELCOME my friend! Now let’s make some magic together!
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