“I think it’s so important that she was a bombshell pin-up girl,” burlesque star Dita Von Teese notes in the film. “It really made all the difference in how she photographed other people.”

One of the most fascinating elements of Naked Ambition is the way in which Yeager managed to walk a line between sexually liberated creative and 1950s domestic goddess. Though dedicated to her two daughters and to building a suburban home in Miami, Yeager also had zero qualms about taking photos of women in various states of undress for publications like Playboy. (Yeager was one of the magazine’s first regular contributors and first female photographers. She counted Hugh Hefner as a close personal friend.)

Interviewees in the documentary include cultural commentators, Yeager’s friends and family members, individuals tasked with safeguarding Yeager’s legacy, and models with fond memories of working with the photographer, including Marcia Valibus and Nani Maka. There is also wonderful archival footage of Yeager at work, as well as some words between her and Bettie Page recorded in a 1993 conversation for Interview magazine.

As with many women who make their names working in the sex industry, Yeager’s later life came with some extra challenges. The photographer struggled financially because her tone and aesthetics fell out of favor in the 1970s, as porn hit the mainstream. (“The Yeager photographic style does not parallel the contemporary mood and image of Penthouse magazine,” one stinging rejection letter reads.) Only with the 1990s rise of rockabilly and swing did Yeager’s work find a new generation of fans. During the lull before, she made ends meet with work in graphic design and even as a nightclub singer.

Yeager’s personal life was also impacted by her career. One of her daughters, Cherilu Irwin, remains ashamed of her mother’s catalog of work, speaking openly of her disapproval in Naked Ambition. When asked what she thinks her mother’s legacy is, Irwin leaves a long pause before openly wishing Yeager had not followed the career path she followed. Irwin’s longing to disassociate from her mom’s work has also clearly been a source of tension between her and her sister Lisa, who, in contrast, feels very proud of Yeager’s accomplishments.