She Was Always a Star: Briar Blush, RuPaul's Drag Race Season 18, and the Magic We Made Before the Mainstage
There are moments in this work where you look through the viewfinder and just know. You know that the person on the other side of the lens has something rare. A magnetism, a specificity, an artistic vision so fully formed that my job feels easy. That's what it’s like photographing Briar Blush.
So when Briar walked onto the mainstage of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 18, I wasn't surprised. I was proud.
Before the Werk Room: How AMP Met Briar
I first crossed paths with Briar at a queer Galentine's Day shoot I organized with Stratton 8 back in January of 2021 - a big, joyful, unapologetically queer production I called BOI BYE. She showed up and immediately stood out.
She likes to joke that she was the only one who responded to my DMs, and honestly… she’s basically right.
Her trust in me from the start led to so many incredible photoshoots, even beginning with that very first one.
There’s a precision to Briar’s drag that you don’t often see: every beat, every silhouette, every styling choice is intentional. It’s not just glamour. It’s storytelling.
We followed that first shoot with a full studio collaboration - the Briar Blush x AMP editorial session - in the spring of 2021. Getting her in the studio was a no-brainer. I wanted to capture her in a controlled environment where we could push the visual language of her drag without distraction, and what came out of that day was some of my favorite work. Retro yet edgy. Soft yet sharp. That walking contradiction thing she does? It translates beautifully on camera.
Since then, Briar has been a part of multiple AMP projects, including a sprawling Alice in Wonderland-themed drag shoot featuring seven queens across three distinct backdrops. We worked together on her run of live shows at the Mosesian Center for the Arts. She's a collaborator in the truest sense - someone who comes in with ideas, trusts the process, and elevates everything around her.
Boston's Pin-Up Princess Takes on the Mainstage
When Season 18 of RuPaul's Drag Race premiered in early 2026, Boston's drag community had every reason to celebrate. Briar - Guatemalan-American, Beverly-raised, Boston-rooted - brought her full self to one of the most-watched stages in drag history.
From the jump, she was a presence. Confident. Polarizing in the best way. The kind of queen who doesn't calculate for the cameras because she simply is who she is, all the time. After all, you don’t wanna squabble this opportunity!
Her run on Season 18 wasn't without drama. Episode 4, "Red Carpet Mash-Ups," became one of the most talked-about episodes of the season when Briar fainted on the runway during judges' critiques - a genuinely startling moment that brought production to a halt and had viewers holding their breath. She was caught by fellow contestant Juicy Love Dion, checked out by the on-set medical team, cleared to continue, and then - in true Briar fashion - went on to lip sync for her life against Kenya Pleaser to Kylie Minogue's "Lights Camera Action." She sashayed away that night, but not without leaving her mark.
Briar navigated the pressures of competition with a vulnerability that surprised people who only saw the tough exterior. She opened up on camera about feeling othered by her family and leaving home young. She cried on the floor with Juicy. She was brave in ways that had nothing to do with the runway.
Why I Love Photographing Drag Artists
I say it all the time and I'll say it again: photographing drag artists is one of the greatest privileges of this work. The artistry is staggering. The fashion, the glamour, the tom-foolery. These performers are their own creative directors, makeup artists, costume designers, and storytellers — and when they show up to a shoot, they bring all of it. There's no warming up. There's no awkward first twenty minutes of figuring out how to stand. They arrive fully realized. Photographing that is easy, because the work is already half done before the shutter clicks.
What's Next For briar?
Briar Blush is just getting started. Post-Drag Race, she's got a national audience who now knows what Boston's been watching for years. If you've been sleeping on her, wake up! We see her on All-Stars, continuing to tour the country, and possibly THE WORLD?! Where in the world is Briar Blush, indeed?
looking to book your studio session?
If you're a performer in the Boston area looking to build your portfolio, book an editorial session, or create something genuinely interesting — I'd love to talk. This is exactly the kind of work that fills me up!
Briar Blush x AMP: round one was just the beginning.
Amanda Macchia Photography is a Boston-based queer photographer specializing in weddings, portraits, editorial, and drag. Book a session or get in touch at amandamacchiaphoto.com.