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10 Things you want to ask about Boudoir Photo shoots (but weren’t sure where to look)
Whether it’s something you’ve been thinking about for a while, or something you’ve never heard of, you probably have a few questions about boudoir photography…You’ve come to the right place! In the spirit of asking embarrassing questions so that you don’t have to, we’ve anticipated and answered a few niggling question marks so you don’t have to.
- So, what exactly is a Boudoir shoot?
Most people know boudoir to describe a lady’s private bed chambers or even possibly as a derivative of the word “boudeur’, as in the French for sulky, but boudoir photography is a rich and expressive way to capture sensuality. The modern boudoir shoot allows women, (or sometimes men or couples) to have candid and posed photographs taken either partly clothed, in lingerie, or nude. This has typically taken place in a room lavishly furnished, or with an ornate decorating style, but has also been successfully achieved in more modern, minimalist settings as well.
- Who is a Boudoir shoot for anyway?
Commercially, this type of photography has been favoured by brides-to-be as presents for their future husbands, but there are many other motivations and inspirations for this sort of experience including other anniversaries and gifts, weight loss achievement, the commemoration of a special relationship, and our personal favourite – just to feel good about yourself! We love it when women embrace themselves and take the time to come in for some pampering and see themselves in a whole new light.
For us, boudoir photography is about private glamour photographs for the sophisticated woman, and if you’re reading this, chances are, you are!
- So…do men do Boudoir shoots?
Typically, the boudoir arena has been very female dominated (a nice change!) but we’ve had our fair share of men come to our studios to have photos taken with their partners as a special way to celebrate their relationship. It’s surprising for a lot of couples how much of a fun experience it is having these kinds of photos done – it’s like having a date, but instead of going home with a movie stub, you go home with gorgeous photos. As photographers it’s a humbling experience to witness people in love and give them memories to take home.
- Okay, so what do you bring to a Boudoir photo shoot exactly?
Although we supply plenty of lovely items for girls to wear in their boudoir shoot, we always recommend women bring in their own. This way it not only personalises the shoot, but it also means girls are more likely to have something which fits them well and will in turn feel much more comfortable!
In truth, there’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ thing to bring to a boudoir shoot. We’ve had women bring all sorts of fun and unusual things to the studio; leather jackets, partners’ jerseys, handcuffs, boxing gloves…We had one woman who came in with a piece of body jewellery we had never seen before, it was like a diamanté straight jacket – we loved it!
A solid list of ‘can’t fail’ items would definitely include; matching underwear, thigh high stockings, silk dressing gowns, corsets, gloves, garters, negligées and heels. Ultimately, the best accessory a girl can bring in is themselves; their personalities, their inner beauty and their smiles. (Nawww)
- How much, err, grooming is involved prior to the shoot?
This is really a feminist issue, in that, you can do whatever you like with your own body hair… You could dye your lady garden blue and we’d probably high five you for it. It’s really a case of what girls are comfortable with and what suits them. Whether you prefer the ‘au naturel’ look or are an avid visitor to the beauty therapist up the road, it really doesn’t matter. In a lot of cases, we recommend women to shave or wax areas which might not be covered in a photo session. If you have sensitive skin and you’re shaving, we would definitely recommend doing this a couple of days prior to the shoot to avoid skin rash issues which can be a little unsightly, and ever more so uncomfortable. We want our clients to feel beautiful and sexy and unstoppable, and the sexier you feel, the more of that sexy side we’ll see in the photo shoot. Don’t worry though, if anything unsightly does pop up in your photos, our Master image maker and Senior Editor Mark will happily Photoshop it for you.
- What about hair and make up?
At our studio, hair and make up is all part of the photo shoot experience, after all, we want our girls to feel photo ready! Our clients have their own hair and make up artist, who describes her reason for living as making women look and feel great. Talented and experienced, her job is to style your look exactly how you want it for the shoot. It’s a good idea to spend some time thinking about what look you’re trying to achieve, whether it’s a sexy business look, smouldering temptress or that hot girl next door look. We spend a good amount of time talking to our clients about how we can tailor the look of their shoot and our talented and experienced hair and make up stylist is more than happy to help take the guess work out of it for girls who aren’t sure.
With photography, make up does need to go on a little bit heavier than that of every day wear, and this is so the lighting used during the shoot doesn’t drain the colour completely out of your face – it’s just the nature of the beast, but don’t worry, that doesn’t stop you from achieving a more natural look, if that’s what you were going for.
- How much alcohol will I need to calm my nerves before the shoot?
Most women who come to our studio are somewhere between a little apprehensive and borderline freaking out. THIS IS NORMAL. If you do feel the need for a shot of Dutch courage before you come to the studio, then go for it, but the truth us, after the first five minutes of arriving at the studio, after meeting the team and our photographer, you’ll be laughing at how nervous you were. We have a natural tendency to build these things up in our head and think of the worst case scenario, but like our photographer says “It’s like getting a chocolate out of a box and you realise the bit of paper which tells you what type of chocolate it is has gone, and you’re dreading it’s going to be Turkish delight, and then you bite into it and you realise it’s actually you’re favourite: double brownie caramel.”
In a nutshell, as soon as you step into the studio, you are in the safest hands on Earth.
- What happens during the shoot?
Drum roll please, as this is possibly one of the biggest mysteries for people who have never done a boudoir shoot before, and indeed, can seem like the more intimidating part of the experience. Let us reassure you, right here and now, that this is actually the most enjoyable part of the experience (no, really!).
Our warm and welcoming photographer is there to make you feel comfortable, and she does a really great job of it! There’s always music in the studio so expect to hear/ see our photographer singing and dancing along when they think no one is watching. Did we mention there would be laughing?
The shoot itself will involve you spending lots of time with the photographer, who, in between chatting and making jokes, will be posing you in all sorts of gravity defying positions and photographing you. Our photographer says that a lot of these positions can feel awkward and uncomfortable but the results are quite the opposite, and ultimately, are going to make you look your very best. The beauty of the photo shoot is; you don’t actually have to think for yourself! You’ll be told exactly where to sit, where to look and what to do.
- Do you have to get naked?
The short answer is, no (Insert enormous sigh of relief). We value the dignity, boundaries and comfort of our clients above all else, and and we don’t believe that boudoir photography is synonymous with getting naked. If taking all your clothes off isn’t on your agenda, it’s not on ours. We always like to offer variety to women, and we believe that part of a woman’s control and empowerment during the shoot is her ability to reveal, or not reveal however much of herself she wants during the shoot. Believe it or not though, we’ve found that when women look at a nude photograph of herself compared to a clothed one, she will always pick the nude. This is an absolute fact, though we’re still not exactly sure why. Despite being very self critical, we find that when we get women to our viewing room and they see their photos, and they see themselves nude or partially nude, they’re pleasantly surprised. We’ve had women literally turn around and say, “Oh my God, I didn’t think my butt looked that nice!”.
10. So, what can I do with my photos once they’ve been taken?
Good news – you can buy them! Because we do a full edit of our clients’ photographs during the shoot, it means that we give them a cinematic presentation of all their images in a private screening straight after. Our client’s have a Personal Design Consultant who goes through their images with them so they can select their favourite images, and then customises their product, because, really, there’s an endless list of possibilities of what you can do with your photographs. Whether it’s books, wall art or or individual prints you’re after, our Design Consultant loves designing templates, stunning display pieces and personalising your photos to suit your style, home and budget. Quite often we’re not sure what we want to do with our photos until we see them, so we dedicate a lot of our time to helping clients figure out exactly what will suit them, and we’re always happy to give advice on what suits particular images, rooms, colours and purpose.
