Read time: 5 mins
Boudoir photography is an intimate type of photo session and should only be done with a photographer you trust. I have been lucky to have the chance to have boudoir photos taken by different photographers almost every year since I was 20 years old. And after each session, I have left feeling amazing in my own skin.
When you find a boudoir photographer you trust, you don't have to worry about any of your insecurities. All you need to do is show up and be your authentic self. Especially since you may end up showing the photographer your butt.
a friend asked me to take her boudoir photos to surprise her boyfriend
A super thoughtful gift and I did not want to mess it up. My friend has been in the modelling industry for years and has worked with amazing boudoir photographers that I have been following for such a long time. I immediately thought "Am I ready for this?" I've always wanted to get into boudoir and now this is my opportunity to put my years of experience of being in front of the camera into this shoot. I wanted to embody the kindness, patience, and hype I received from all my previous boudoir photographers and put it towards creating something beautiful and empowering. While still feeling all the butterflies and nervous about shooting boudoir, I decided I was up to the challenge and told her "Yes! I am down!"
time to prep!
Location Scouting: My friend had a location in mind already and let me tell you - this place was beautiful and a perfect setting for bright colored lingerie! Neutral wall colors and bed linens, a rich olive green couch, huge ornate mirror, large windows, and light colored hardwood floors. GORGEOUS location.
Posing Flow: Now that we've got an idea of the location, next came to posing & flow of the poses. My typical photoshoot posing flow is to start high and end low. This is mainly because photoshoots can be hard work for clients and too much movement between standing poses to sitting. laying down then back to standing again can get your clients tired and sweaty. We want a beautiful glow in our faces - not sweat droplets.
Music: I find that if there is one thing out there that unites people, it's music. I love being able to vibe to music in my own sessions so I put together a playlist of my favorite songs that get me hyped up for my personal boudoir sessions - have a listen HERE.
Shoot, Cull & Edit Photos
Session is done, went smoothly and I was so excited to see these photos on a bigger screen so I booked it home to cull, curate, edit.
My editing process varies from session to session but high-level I start off with
- Narrowing down the photos to edit in Lightroom
- Give my Star-Rating for each photo (personal star-rating process at the bottom)
- Adjust White Balance
- Apply my preset & color editing
- Tweak photos for grain, sharpening, masking, straightening, etc.
- Then based off my Star-Ratings, export the gallery and finish off in Photoshop or upload to the online gallery.
SEND GALLERY
And then so begins the waiting period. For any of my shoots, I always have my phone close by after sending a gallery. I'm usually just a bundle of anxious nerves waiting for their thoughts.
"Absolutely Nailed Your First Boudie Shoot!"
Well, tears sprung to my eyes after reading the message I got back from my friend. Hours of prep, shooting, editing, curating, and all the feeling of nervousness and anxiety calmed down and validated with that text.
And here starts my boudoir photography journey!
Dee's LR Star-Ratings For Editing
Some photographers have different uses for this feature in Lightroom. I like to give my selected photos a star rating. This helps me stay organized while editing and also allows me to filter by star to ensure consistency among photos.
5 Stars → Sneak Peek Photo
4 Stars → Photoshop Editing Needed Photo
3 Stars → Crop
2 Stars → Formatted for Instagram Post or Story
1 Stars → B&W Photo
