A university professor left her distinguished job in academia to set up a photography studio – taking raunchy pictures of women in their UNDERWEAR.
Mother-of-two Professor Paula Ansley spent quarter of a century eyeing up test tubes in laboratories before taking a career break to snap half-naked women.
After 45-year-old Paula’s father died of Pulmonary Fibrosis last year she decided to rethink her career and took a break from researching sports and exercise science.
Now, the academic at Northumbria University, Newcastle, spends her days practising “boudoir” photography, snapping scantily clad women.
Paula, of Felton, Northumberland, said: “It’s meant to tell the story of a woman getting ready for a night out – putting on a dress in the privacy in their bedroom and putting on make-up.
“It’s very beautiful and you don’t show any more than you would on a public beach.
“They don’t want to show them and I don’t want to see them.
“There is absolutely nothing ‘top shelf’ about Paula Rosa Boudoir Photography – it’s a celebration of womanhood of all ages, shapes and sizes.”
She started her break in June and set up the studio to practise her long-term passion of portrait photography but also decided to carve a niche with boudoir pictures.
The idea to take the racy snaps was sparked when her husband Les, 40, took her to a boudoir session to give her a confidence boost.
She said: “I think I felt uncomfortable after having two children, everything changes shape and you get bogged down in the school run and don’t look after yourself.
“But the experience was transforming, I realised I had a fabulous, curvy, sexy shape and I looked darned good.
“I had a once in a lifetime experience where I cherished my womanly body and delighted in my curves for a few hours.
“My desire is to provide a similar experience for ladies who need a bit of a confidence boost or just feel like having a rather enjoyable and fun experience all about themselves.
“It’s very natural to work one to one with people and make them feel better about themselves, it’s far more positive.
“Working with people who have had mastectomies or children or people who feel down with their bodies, it’s very rewarding.”
She said some women get the albums created as a wedding present for their husbands.
She added: “But some don’t show it to their hubbies. They just keep it for themselves, it makes them feel more confident about their bodies.
“Let’s hear it for the girls, let’s celebrate our curves and beauty, whatever our age or size.”
Paula has until June to decide whether she will return to the lab and is still unsure whether to stay behind the lens for good.
She told student newspaper The Tab: “It’s a very different way of life to being in academia where you’re always working on a report.
“But this is quite refreshing and the people you meet are very different.”
