Hint: It's more work than you think

Boudoir Photoshoot Preparation

“BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE, PREPARATION IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS.”
- Alexander Graham Bell

Let’s start at the beginning.. so you want to do a boudoir shoot? Awesome! You’ve made an excellent decision, for many reasons that deserve their own article. Now what? Well, I assume that you started by doing your due diligence, researching photographers online, asking friends, and one way or another came across my work or website and decided that I am the photographer for you. Again, another excellent decision! Well done you 😉 

I will stop here a moment to say that every photographer is different, both in how they prepare, and how they execute their shoots. So what I am about to describe is my own method and process for giving you photos that you are absolutely going to love for a very long time. 

What Inspires YOU?

The first step in getting photos that YOU are going to love is knowing what it is that YOU want. Everyone has their own tastes in what they think looks good: some people prefer very natural and soft lighting and settings, and someone else might want high key glamour lighting with intricate wardrobe and makeup. The best way to find out what it is that you think looks good is to look around online, on sites like pinterest and tumblr, look at other photographers work, look at boudoir blogs, etc., and start saving those images into an “inspiration” folder. They can be photos from my site, from other sites, instagram.. anything you come across that makes you think “Damn, I’d like to do something like that!”. It doesn’t mean that you want to exactly copy those photos, it’s just a starting point for what you would like for yourself; a mood board as it’s called in the fashion world.

A client moodboard from a recent shoot

I know that this means putting in a bit of time and work on your part, but trust me it’s worth it because you will get images more tailored to your specific tastes, rather than just what I, the photographer, thinks looks good. I mean, you wouldn’t go to a hairdresser that you’ve never gone to before and just say “I’d like my hair done please.. I like the other work you’ve done, so just do whatever you think will look good”. Maybe if you’re brave that is what you do, but typically you will at least give the stylist some parameters to go off, and since we photographers are visual creatures the best way to show us what you want is with images.

Location, Location…

Ok, so you’ve done your research, and armed with this folder of mood images you reach out to me and tell me that you’d like to set up a shoot, adding a short description of what you’d like and a link to said folder of mood images. First of all, I will be very impressed at your preparedness in already knowing what you want. You are on fire! Now this is where my expertise comes in.. not just my technical expertise in knowing what equipment and lighting we will need to execute the vision, but also as a photographer who’s been actively doing boudoir shoots in New York City for nearly a decade I can make plenty of recommendations on what locations I think will best suit what you have in mind. Assuming you don’t already have a location in mind that you want to use, I’ll send you pdfs that have photos I’ve taken in other locations in the NYC area (because again, I am a visual creature) that will give you a good amount of options to choose from in deciding what location fits what you have in mind and your budget.

Just four of the many shoot locations

Does this mean that I won’t work with you unless you already know exactly what you want to do? Not at all. Most people when they reach out to me only have a vague idea of what they would like, and again that’s where my expertise comes in. They send me a few images that are along the lines of what they would like, along with some parameters, such as how revealing (or not revealing) they would like, and I will make a folder of looks that I think would interest them. From there we work together on narrowing it down, perhaps taking out some of the looks and adding a few others in, until we’ve got something you’re totally excited to shoot.

To clarify one of the terms I’ve been using a lot here.. a “look” can be certain wardrobe, such as a certain type of underwear, or say jeans and a bra, or it could be something implied nude like strategically covered with a sheet. Wrapped in a towel with wet hair and skin could be a look, or even an art nude with a certain kind of lighting or angle could be one. Any set of similar images shot in the same short period can be referred to as a “look”.

Not Sure?

But what if you have literally NO idea what you want to do? Well reach out to me anyway, and I’ll bounce some ideas off you to see what resonates with you, and we’ll go from there!

Right, so now we’ve got a mood board of images for our shoot, we’ve picked out a location, scheduled a day and time, discussed what wardrobe to bring with you, and now it’s all set up and ready to go! Is there anything you should do in the meantime? 

Strike A (practice) Pose

As a matter of fact, yes.. it never hurts in the days or weeks leading up to a shoot to practice your posing by yourself, in front of a mirror if possible (I use the term “posing” in a loose sense here when what I would really prefer is “moving”. I would much rather have someone who moves in front my camera than someone who poses in front of my camera.. but that’s a post for another day).

Using the mood board as a guide try out some of the poses and positions (preferably even in the same wardrobe you’ll be shooting in so that come shoot day you’ll be comfortable in it), perhaps even make up some movements and poses as you go, just seeing what positions you think your body looks best in and remembering them so you can bring them out as we shoot. 

It's good to practice moving in front of a mirror, especially in the wardrobe that you'll be shooting in

Don’t worry, I have no problem giving guidance and direction as we shoot, but everyone’s body is different – not just in general sizes and curves, but in the way it bends and angles, and how certain limbs look in different positions. Sometimes a pose that I’ve done with a hundred other people won’t look great with someone because their body just doesn’t bend that certain way or look flattering in that position. So we can save a lot of time and get better results if you already have a feel for what positions work best for your body and are comfortable moving around in that way.

Kick Up the Jams

Lastly.. Music! Have some ideas for what you’d like to listen to that you think will put you in the right mood to give those smoldering looks while having fun at the same time. Some people like to make their own playlists just for shooting to, which of course I am perfectly fine with, but otherwise you could just have a certain spotify artist or station like “New Hits” or “Rap Caviar”, and I encourage you to browse a little to find what will work best for you.

And with all that done, on to the day of the shoot!..