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Family reunions, weddings and graduation pictures are photographer Heather Ingram's specialty, but a new trend in portrait photography is pushing her outside of her comfort zone.

Demand for "boudoir photography" is soaring lately, according to Thumbtack.com.

Boudoir-style photographs are intimate and personal, and typically feature women dressed in glamorous lingerie in a sexy bedroom setting. "The boudoir style is intended to be classy," said Ingram, whose firm Imagine That Pix is based in Fresno, Texas. "Think of the the 1940s pin-up photos."

Ingram is now getting weekly requests for boudoir photography, up from only one or two every other month last year. "We're just trying to keep up," she said.

Her clients send their boudoir photographs as unique gifts to their boyfriends and husbands, including those deployed overseas. "It's an empowering experience for women," said Ingram.

"Weddings will always be our bread and butter," she added. "But as a photographer, boudoir photography challenges me to be even more artistic."

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