How to Get Ready for Boudoir
Have you booked (or are you about to book) your first boudoir session? If so – yay! You’re on your way to a unique, powerful and amazing experience that celebrates YOU. As a boudoir photographer, my passion is connecting women to their sexiest and most confident selves. In my experience, women feel a lot of emotions before their session. Your first boudoir session can feel exciting, unfamiliar and even a little intimidating. It is totally normal to be nervous or to wonder what it will be like, but at the end, every client who felt anxiety says, “I had nothing to be afraid of! This was AWESOME!”
Here are some can’t-miss tips to make your boudoir session the best it can be!
1. Give Yourself Some Pre-Boudoir Love
On the day of your photo shoot, your hair stylist and makeup artist will take care of your hair and makeup, but the photos will turn out their best if you do some pampering a few days beforehand. Some things you might want to do are:
· Get your nails done, do your own nails or take off any chipped nail polish
· Shave or wax (make sure if you wax, that you do it at least a couple days before your boudoir session so your skin isn’t red)
· Get your hair cut and freshly colored (if you color your hair)
· Buy a good body lotion and make sure you’re skin is hydrated
· Get a spray tan, a facial treatment or whatever else makes you feel beautiful and ready to step in front of the camera
2. Figure Out Options On What To Wear
Be sure to bring at least 2-3 options for things to wear for your session. You probably won’t wear all of them, so if you LOVE lingerie or have a lot of it, it’s a good idea to bring several options. Together we can look through what you’ve got and decide what will work best. It’s better to have too much than not enough. Also, it doesn’t all have to be lingerie! Some clients bring their partner’s favorite t-shirt or jersey, a white button-up shirt, jewelry, shoes, or props like fans or feather boas.
If you’ve never bought lingerie before, look for things that highlight your favorite parts of your body or ones that express what you find sexy (white and pastel colors typically look soft, romantic and playful; darker colors and heavier fabrics like leather or velvet often look mysterious, dangerous and naughty).
3. Sleep and Drink Water
The two best beauty products? Sleep and water!
The night before your session, avoid alcohol (nobody feels sexy when they’re hungover!), drink lots of water, try to get 8 hours of restful sleep, and have a light but satisfying meal before you arrive. How you feel before you show up will affect how you feel when you are getting your photo taken.
4. Find Your Favorite Features
We all have parts of our bodies that we like and don’t like. Being honest about it (without beating yourself up) and talking with me about it before I take your photo can help your session go much more smoothly. Unless communication is open and honest, I might unintentionally focus on one part of your body and not realize you have a difficult relationship with that part.
We often see ourselves differently than others see us, and most of the time we are much harder on ourselves than others are, so your boudoir session might be a great chance to look at certain parts of your body in a different and more positive way! Just because you don’t like a certain part of your body doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take photos of it, but I might be able to take photos of it in a way you haven’t seen it before so that you can see how beautiful you really are!
5. Work Through Your Feelings About Being Sexy
Getting a boudoir session can bring up some feelings of shame or fear (sometimes it doesn’t though, so if you’re a person who LOVES feeling sexy, that’s great!). A lot of us have been through things that made sexiness feel unsafe or scared. When you do your session with me, you will be with someone who is not judging you. In fact, I started doing boudoir photography because I needed to heal my relationship with being and feeling sexy. Boudoir is supportive, empowering, and about embracing who you are. I am here to help you during the session, and it might be helpful for you to take some time to journal beforehand. Afterwards, you’ll love keeping your pictures and being able to see the magic in you.
6. Show Up Like a Blank Canvas
Please come to your boudoir session with clean, dry hair and a clean, moisturized face that is free from any makeup. It might sound a little weird to come to get your photo taken and not have your hair done or makeup on, but it is so the makeup artist and hairstylist can do their best work on you. Coming with wet hair, hair with products in it, your makeup already on (or on from the night before) can cut into the time you are supposed to be getting your photos taken. Boudoir sessions are on a strict time slot, so showing up with a clean face and hair keeps you on-schedule, relaxed and able to fully enjoy yourself.
7. Keep Your Skin Free of Marks From Clothes
A lot of the clothes we wear each day leave marks on our skin that will show up in photos. Wearing loose-fitting, comfortable clothing and removing things like your watch or that ponytail holder on your wrist help make your photos flawless. Other things that leave marks on skin are bras, panties, socks, jeans and elastic on leggings. Wearing a big t-shirt, a casual cotton dress or drawstring pants is a big help too. Then, you can be totally comfortable during your hair and makeup, and save the more close-fitting clothing for when you’re in front of the camera.
8. Let Yourself Enjoy It!
It is normal to be nervous if you‘ve never done a boudoir session before (or even if you have before). What’s most important, having fun! I’ll direct you and be by your side the whole time, and I am here to support you.
And don’t worry- for most people, it takes a few minutes to get comfortable in front of the camera. Feel free to ask questions, let me know if any ideas pop into your head, laugh, smile, and give yourself the gift of feeling gorgeous.
Hi, I’m Brittany Louise, a professional photographer that loves empowering women through boudoir photo sessions. If you are ready to have your own boudoir session, or have more questions about the experience, contact me! I am excited to talk with you!