Preparing for your Boudoir Session
The best way to rid yourself of nerves before an event that makes you anxious is to be totally prepared. If your boudoir photo shoot has you feeling a little intimidated, you can rest easy knowing your boudoir experience is going to be a fabulous one. Following just a few simple tips to prepare for your shoot will have you feeling glamorous and confident!
Haircuts and Waxing
In the week leading up to your boudoir photo experience make sure you do all the things that make you feel the most confident about your appearance. If you like a fresh haircut, be sure to schedule these things about two weeks before your photo shoot. This gives you time to adjust any inconsistencies or mistakes in your hair cut before the big day.
If you need to get your roots or color touched up, make sure you plan for adequate time before your session in case of anything going wrong and needing to be fixed. Hair color is a chemical and accidents happen. We want you to have enough time before your photo shoot to get accidents corrected so you don't have to pay a rescheduling fee. We don't advise trying a new haircut, bangs, or color prior to your boudoir session.
Natural body hair is totally fine with us, shaving or waxing is also perfectly acceptable. However, trying something new can sometimes cause a reaction like ingrown hairs or red rash bumps. Make sure you are experimenting well before your boudoir session if you're trying something new so you can show up and not worry about your nether-regions. If you're planning to have any waxing done, make sure you schedule those three to five days before your shoot to eliminate any lingering redness.
Spray Tans, Tanning Beds & Tan Lines
Please don’t do any type of tanning before your boudoir photo shoot. Spray tans often look streaky, especially under the studio lights, and leave residue on our white furniture and sheets. Tanning beds are not only bad for your skin, but they also tend to emit a green hue in the photos. If you are worried about looking pale and pasty, don’t! First, that is the real you, and we want to showcase that. Secondly, we have photo editing that can give a nice glow to your skin!
As to tan lines, we can’t remove them completely, and give guidance in the weeks/months leading to your photo experience with regards tan lines. However, we can reduce them somewhat so they are not where your eye wonders to when looking at your images.
Self-Care
Moisturize your skin, get plenty of sleep and eat a healthy breakfast. Doing these things as part of your morning routine will make you feel ready to tackle anything, even your boudoir shoot. Plenty of water in the days leading up to your shoot will leave your skin with a healthy, happy, plump glow and will reduce breakouts. Try to avoid things that will dehydrate your skin like coffee and alcohol.
Wardrobe
We talk about wardrobe during your pre-shoot consultation, a 30-45 minute call where we get to know you more so we can completely personalize your boudoir experience. You’ll also have access to our client closet, currently in sizes Sm to 5xl, that has been specifically curated with boudoir in mind. We’ll also provide you with our Style Guide which is a resource that you can read, learn your body type, and has ideas for your photo experience with us. It even has some great places to shop for your outfits!
Pick things to wear for the photos that make you feel sexy. This doesn't necessarily mean you need all lingerie either. Think about how you feel in your favorite pair of jeans, your best bra, your highest heels. Anything that makes you feel amazing!
You should arrive in loose fitting clothing that will not leave impressions on your skin. Avoid jeans, socks, underwire bras. Feel free to wear Pj's, sweats, yoga pants, or leggings. Don't feel like you need to dress up for us! Most likely everyone here will be in comfy clothes too! Don’t forget to bring anything you want to wear after your session in case you wish to dress any differently than when you arrived.
Ultimately, we are going to guide you every step of the way!
Nails
Natural nails are perfectly fine for your photoshoot, as long as they are well maintained and clean. If you'd like to get a mani/pedi or do it yourself, we advise for soft, neutral, or gem stones colors. Trendy shapes and bedazzles are fun, just make sure it's something you'll still love in 10-20 years after the style passes. Pictures are forever!
Get To Know Your Photographer
One of the most important things you should do prior to your session is to communicate all your fears, anxieties, and hang-ups with us ahead of time. When communicating prior to your session, we will discuss everything. You'll let me know what kinds of images you like, what parts of your body you think are the most beautiful, and what types of poses you'd want to capture among other things. The more you communicate, the more comfortable you will feel and the better your images will turn out! We are in this together!
With all this being said….
Our best advice to you is to STRETCH, hydrate, and moisturize! Boudoir Photo Sessions are equivalent to yoga class. The more bendy you are, the easier this will be. Drinking lots of water helps make you more flexible too, and it's going to reduce bloating and clear up your skin. We also really love it when clients have some screen shots of our past sessions to show us examples of poses they really love! Don’t forget to eat a great breakfast the morning of your shoot. You need energy to maintain these poses, so fuel your body! We have a refrigerator if you’d like to bring anything - but we have snacks and refreshments on hand.