What Actually Happens at a Boudoir Shoot? A First-Timer’s Guide

So you booked a boudoir shoot.

Or maybe you haven't booked one yet because there's one tiny detail bothering you:

WHAT THE HELL ACTUALLY HAPPENS WHEN I GET THERE?

Fair question.

Because if you've never done boudoir photography before, your imagination can get a little carried away.

Do I just walk in and take my pants off?

Is there a changing room?

Am I supposed to know how to pose?

Do I bring lingerie?

What if I hate lingerie?

What if I panic?

WHAT DO I DO WITH MY HANDS?

First: breathe.

Second: keep your pants on for at least the first few minutes.

Let's talk about what your boudoir experience actually looks like.

Step One: You Arrive. Fully Clothed.

I felt this deserved clarification.

You don't walk through the door and immediately start stripping.

We're going to talk first.

We'll go through what you brought, discuss outfits, look at different possibilities and figure out what we're going to photograph.

This is also when you'll probably tell me you're nervous.

And I will tell you that's completely normal.

Because nearly everyone is nervous.

You aren't late to Boudoir School.

There wasn't a class everyone else took.

You aren't supposed to know what you're doing.

I am.

Then We Get You Glammed Up

Depending on your session, this is when the transformation starts.

Hair.

Makeup.

Music.

Conversation.

A little pampering.

And usually the gradual realization of:

“Ohhhhhhh. Okay. This is actually FUN.”

This part isn't about turning you into somebody else.

I still want you to look like YOU.

Just you on a really, really good day when someone else did all the work.

Which is basically my favorite kind of day.

Then Comes the Part Everyone Is Afraid Of: Posing

Here's exactly how much posing experience you need:

Zero.

Actually, zero might be preferable.

You don't need to practice in the mirror.

Please don't spend three weeks watching YouTube videos titled “How to Look Sexy.”

Come to me innocent.

I will corrupt you.

KIDDING.

Mostly.

But I genuinely will show you exactly what to do.

Where to put your hands.

Where to look.

How to position your legs.

What to do with your shoulders.

How to breathe.

When to arch.

When to relax.

I demonstrate poses myself because it's much easier than shouting bizarre instructions at you from across the room.

“Okay, now put your left hand there, rotate your right hip, chin forward, chin down, point your toe, breathe, relax your mouth, DON'T MOVE.”

Totally natural.

There Will Be Laughing

A lot of women imagine boudoir shoots being very serious.

Like we're going to spend three hours silently making smoldering eye contact.

No.

Absolutely not.

There WILL be sexy photographs.

There will also probably be a moment when we're laughing so hard that neither one of us can function.

And that's how I like it.

I don't want you feeling like you're performing for me.

I want you comfortable.

I want you having fun.

I want you forgetting for a minute that there's even a camera in the room.

Because when you relax?

That's when the magic happens.

“But What If I Don't Want to Wear Lingerie?”

Then don't.

Boudoir does not require lingerie.

A bodysuit? Gorgeous.

An oversized white shirt? Yes.

A sheet? Absolutely.

Your partner's shirt? Cute.

A sweater slipping off one shoulder? Delicious.

Nothing but strategically placed arms and legs?

Well hello there.

Your session should look like you, not like you raided somebody else's underwear drawer.

At Some Point, You Will Probably See a Photo and Freak Out

This is one of my favorite parts.

Because you've spent the beginning of the day telling me all the reasons you aren't photogenic.

Then I show you something.

And there's a pause.

Then:

“SHUT UP.”

Sometimes followed by:

“THAT IS NOT ME.”

It is.

I didn't swap you out while you weren't looking.

That's YOU.

And watching that realization happen never gets old.

What If There Are Parts of My Body I Don't Love?

Tell me.

Really.

You are allowed to have insecurities.

We don't need to hold hands in a circle and pretend every woman wakes up every morning shouting, “I LOVE EVERY INCH OF MY BODY!”

I certainly don't.

What I DO know is how to use posing, lighting, wardrobe and angles to photograph you beautifully.

And I also know something else:

Sometimes the thing you've been criticizing for years doesn't look anything like you thought it did.

We're incredibly hard on ourselves.

I would love to introduce you to the woman everybody else sees.

And Then... We're Done

And you will probably say something along the lines of:

“Wait. That's it?”

Yep.

You survived.

Nobody died.

You didn't need tequila.

You didn't have to know how to pose.

And somewhere during the day, the terrifying boudoir photoshoot became something completely different.

Fun.

Thinking About Booking a San Diego Boudoir Shoot?

You don't need to know what you're doing.

That's literally why I'm here.

Come nervous.

Come awkward.

Bring too many outfits.

Ask me seventeen questions.

We'll figure it out together.

My goal is that you leave your San Diego boudoir session feeling like you just spent the day laughing with a girlfriend...

...except this girlfriend sends you home with photographic evidence that you are, in fact, a total smoke show.