How to Prepare for Your Boudoir Session

the free little guide

Hellzz yes!!

Here are some of the special goods that I ONLY offer to my clients!!

The ultimate boudoir guide to help you prep for your session that I have cut down into a little bits and pieces for you! Can’t give away all the goods… you know.

I put together my ultimate boudoir guide a couple years ago when I knew I needed to help prepare each and everyone of my clients for their session. Typing out everything I wanted them to do, to think about and to try leading up to their session was beginning to be A LOT of writing via email. Who want’s to read paragraphs in an email anyways… I know I don’t. Plus who the hell has time to do that for each client? I know I didn’t! So I thought of creating the ULTIMATE boudoir guide. Any questions I have ever heard or received from past clients went into account when making my guide. I also thought about myself and if I was doing this for the first time, or with a new photographer, what would I want to know?

So I worked tirelessly to make this guide this lovely and beautiful beacon of educating knowledge and love and I am proud to say that I tend to receive ZERO questions via email about session prep after I book. Why? Because EVERYTHING in answered in this guide. I should really call it a bible or something, there is a lot in there.

It’s peace of mind for me and I can spend my work days doing more productive things like emailing and editing while knowing that all of my clients are getting the same thorough rundown of everything boudoir photoshoot! Being prepared for these types of sessions are a must and some planning does have to happen. I try to make everything as easy as possible for my clients before, during and after sessions so they only thing they have to worry about are their pre-shoot jitters and just showin up!

So my little gift you and anyone out there thinking about doing boudoir, but is scared as hell about the process and don’t know where to begin… Here is a partial boudoir guide that can give you a little more of an idea about what it’s like to work with me and do boudoir! And of course, if you do decide to work with me, you WILL be receiving my whole guide in all it’s glory!

WHAT TO WEAR

I do not provide any outfits or pieces for your session as to keep everyone as unique and original as they are! What I love about boudoir is that you can wear whatever you want! It doesn’t all have to be lace and lingerie! Boudoir, at the end of the day, should really be called, BoudYOU. Wear what YOU feel most comfortable in. If you want to feel oober sexy and on absolute, damn fire, then get some lingerie! If you want to feel more stripped down and natural, then bring your favorite bra and undie set. If you have a comfy pair of Calvins you love, bring em! That cotton nighty you feel oddly sexy in, bring it! Your parter has a favorite tank of yours they like? BRING IT!

Always bring more than enough if you are having a tough time deciding what to wear! I can help you decide and narrow down the best looks for you and for your session.

But, we all know that when it comes to boudoir, lace and lingerie are pretty dang great. Here is a list of places ranging from the cheapest lingerie I have come across, to some of the most expensive, like down payment on a car, extra, boujee lingerie.

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Amazon

As crazy as it sounds, Amazon have sexed up over half of my boudoir clients! They’re reasonably priced, fit pretty well on all types of bodies, have options of colors for days and if it doesn’t fit right, they have a great return policy!

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Victoria’s Secret

As always, Queen V never fails and always has some of the most beautiful lingerie. The only thing with VS, is they definitely cater to one type of body size.

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Adore Me

Quality online lingerie/bra and undie sets!

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Tomboy X

A trans and LGBTQ supportive underwear company! You won’t find too much lingerie here, but the amount of adorable matching undies and bras is amazing. Think about it Napoleon Dynamite had an underwear line…

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Nordstrom

Nordys has actually been worn by quite a few of my past babes! Great, comfy underwear for a more natural look with a surprisingly great lingerie section!

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Torrid

The sexiest lingerie catering to womxn size 10 and above! The amount of sexy and adorable things on this site is insane! The prefect place for a perfect fit for curvy gals!

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Honey Birdette

A slight step up from Victoria’s Secret, with even more ‘Wow!!’ and even more ‘Bam!!’ The goods are real good over at Honey Birdette!

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SAVAGE FENTY

I cannot recommend RiRi’s company and lingerie enough! I wore ALL Savage Fenty for my own personal boudoir shoot and was in love. Reasonably priced, MADE FOR ALL BODIES, inclusive, empowering, sexy, worth it.

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Agent Provocateur

The creme de la creme of lingerie besides an expensive boutique store probably in Paris somewhere. It’s got the down payment of a small used car price, but the wow factor of an expensive penthouse owner in Manhattan. It oozes sexual goddess.

I would also look into local boudoir shops near you! Shopping local is always amazing and the benefit there is you have a greater chance at having some more authentic pieces just for you!

If you have no idea what you want to wear for your session I highly recommend doing a little stalking. Pinterest stalking, magazine stalking, Instagram stalking! Take a look and see what other people are wearing and take notice of what you could possibly see your self in/want to see yourself in for you session!

Jewelry and accessories If you plan to bring some, make sure you bring the stuff you feel the best in! If you feel like a queen in that statement necklace, then bring it! You don’t have to bring any accessories if you want to keep things more minimal, but if you do, bring your absolute favs.

Outdoor Sessions

On the morning of your session, make sure you arrive in preferably no undies or undies that will not leave lines on your body and wear baggy clothes! No jeans or a tight blouse. Keep it loosey goosey. If you also own a robe, kimono, or a large blanket that can cover your entire body, bring it! Robes are the best because you can easily throw them on quickly if we have some people stumble upon us. Anything to cover your shoulders to at least your knees will do. Also, make sure you bring some shoes that you will easily be able to slip on and off. Take into consideration that your feet might be a little wet, sandy or dirty as well! Leather boots or tennis shoes won’t really do. If you have some slide on shoes or sandals, those would be best!

If you hired a HUMA from Kendra K, we will meet at a discussed location for you to get dolled up, then head out to the outdoor location! Location can either be at your place, my place or the studio! My hair and makeup artist is a traveling hair and makeup artist so she has no salon for us to meet at.

If you are showing up with your hair and makeup done, make sure you give yourself enough time in the AM to get that done professionally or to do it yourself. You can go as full glam as Kim K, or as minimal as Alicia Keys. But if you are picturing your boudoir images to be a little more glam, then I highly recommend doing your makeup! Reminder, a little more is always better when it comes to being photographed and don’t forget a simple lipstick or gloss even! Hair and Makeup can be added on for an additional fee for every session. I also encourage you to show up with a fresh face is you are wanting something more natural.

How to Beauty Prep

1 week until shoot

If you plan on doing any waxing, sugaring, lazering or whatever people do these days, definitely get it done at least 5 days before your shoot to avoid any redness or irritation on your skin. Same with facials! Make sure you get them done 4-5 days before your session to avoid red/splotchy skin! And I will continue to say this, but I still HIGHLY encourage you to just show up as you are if you want to as well. I think a lot of us think that the standard for boudoir has to be lots of makeup, shaved legs, hairless pits.. etc etc. Boudoir is just being you in your body and not complying to anyones body standards. If you wanna show up with hair everywhere and no makeup- PLEASE DO. Or if you wanna show up looking like Dita Von Teese, PLEASE DO.

Make sure your eyebrows are trimmed up and looking sharp and getting a mani/pedi goes a long way! Your hands and feet will be photographed, so pretty nails or at least really clean/clear nails will make your photos looks so much better. You don’t have to get them done, you can always do them yourself!

If you plan to get any touchups done, do it! Hair trim, getting your roots colored, or even de-stressing with a massage etc. Looking your best/feeling your best is going to come across the best!

I highly recommend staying out of the sun immediately leading up to your session! A nice tan is great for boudoir photos, but red and potentially splotchy burnt skin ain’t gonna look cute! Make sure you are using plenty of sunscreen if you will be out in the sun before your session and whatever you do, DO NOT SPAY TAN. It does not look good in photos, trust me! The coloring can be very minimal and patchy all over your skin and me, myself and my camera will be getting up close and personal with your skin. I also notice vastly different color tints in arms vs. hands. Just don’t do it…. Unless you’re like a pro and do it to yourself for a living.

Make sure you are drinking plenty of water leading up to your shoot! Water does incredible things for your skin, overall complexion and hair. If you want to go above and beyond, maybe even cut out alcohol too because as well all know, that stuff just does weird things to your whole body including abnormal bloating.

How to Mentally Prep

I know this can be a scary thing.

You’re nervous, you may of never done boudoir before and you have no idea how you’ll feel the day of. Well let me tell you, you are going to be a-okay I PROMISE! (Trust me, I have a very good track record with breaking nerves instantly) But what will also help is to remind yourself that everyone is deserving of photos like this. Everyone at every age! You ARE worthy. You have a body at the end of the day and that body is worth showing off, period, always, doesn’t matter what you look like.

You have already made the incredible decision to do this. You have paid your session fee, you are half way there and you know in your heart of hearts that you have hired one of the best boudoir photographers for YOU. Not only am I going to take amazing photos of you, but I will also leave you feeling like an empowered, goddess during your entire session. Your pre-shoot nerves will be out the door almost instantly and you will have the most fun and relaxing time at your session.

Leading up to the big day, pump yourself up! Listen to your favorite music, watch your favorite shows, go to dinner with your girlfriends and have them pump you up! Do the things that are fun for you as much as you can leading up to your session. If you want to eat cake and ice cream the night before because its your favorite, do it. Or if you wanna eat McDonalds on the couch and watch New Girl, do it. Indulge in all things that you love and things that make you, you! Don’t worry about anything else other than making yourself happy. You’ll notice you will arrive to your session already feeling confident and ready because you have been living your truth leading up to this!

If you are having any negative self doubts about your physical body, GET THOSE THOUGHTS OUT. Scroll through my instagram, see all the beautiful types of bodies and humans I have worked with and know everyone looks amazing in their photos because everyone is amazing in their body, including you. I know a lot of us have years and decades of rewiring the stories we have with our bodies. It’s not easy to just think more positively about your body, I get that. But look… you have already made the decision to do this session. Know that you are already there to loving you body even more. Send love to the parts that are hard right now and in no time you will be sending those same part much more love after you session. Something I say to myself in my head a lot is, “don’t let your brain go there.”

This is all about you and you showing up as authentically you as you can. Be king to yourself, love yourself, do things things that make you feel like you, your photos will thank you later. If you ever start to feel the nerves creep in and need some encouragement, reach out to me and I will talk you right our of it. Or my personal favorite, sit on the floor and take huge deep breaths in and out until you feel less anxious <—- always works.

Make sure you take care of your outfits leading up to the shoot. Make sure they’re nice and clean and ironed or steamed if they need it and if you want it. Preferably have them hanging up to avoid any lines or creases before you put them on, especially silk! HANG THAT ISH UP! Make sure the tags are removed, and get you and all your props and outfits all ready to go!

WHERE YOU AT GIRL?!

Seattle! I love the great PNW and getting naked in the forest is my specialty! I My ass is excited because this year (2020) I will be MOBLIE! That’s right, I’ll be living out of a damn van livin my dreams of traveling across the country and taking amazing outdoor boudoir photos. So, hit me up in 2020 USA! I currently lease a beautiful studio located in International District, Seattle. Amazing white walls, floor to ceiling windows, concrete floors, so many paper backdrops and good fucking vibes. This studio is sexy and it’s the best place to get a little sexy yourself.

HOW DO I KNOW YOU’RE GOING TO TAKE BADASS PHOTOS OF ME? I’M NOT PHOTOGENIC, WHAT DO I DO?!

“I’m not sexy, I don’t know any poses, this is out of the box for me, I never thought I would do anything like this, I don’t want to look awkward, am I awkward? Im awkward.” Listen, I GOT YOU. I know I am going to take awesome photos of you because A. As sarcastic but truthful as it sounds, it’s my job and I am damn good at my job, so trust that. B. Every person posses a unique type of beauty and energy and all I do is just capture you in your rare, beautiful form and those pictures then turn out to be badass and sexy because they represent the real you! I capture you exactly how I see you and I find everyone beautiful because we all are. Don’t stress about posing, where to put your hands, what to do with your face, or wondering if your butt looks right. Remember, this is what I do for a living and making you look damn good is apart of my job description. Be prepared to see you though, all of you. I won’t shy away from tummy shots, getting up close with your smile lines, and hunny, we all have a little cellulite. But we love all these things about our body because they are apart of our body and we are here celebrating our body, RIGHT?! You got this and I got you boo boo.

DO MY PHOTOS HAVE TO BE SHARED? MY GRANDMA IS ON INSTAGRAM..

You have all the rights to decide what I can do with your photos. At the end of the day, these are photos of your body and everyone is different with how they want these types of photos to be shared. I'm lucky because most of my babes don't mind me sharing their photos because they look so damn good and they quote, "want to world to see!" I have so many amazing, sexy shoots that will never hit the internet or social media because the babes wanted their photos to remain private. This is your body and you have the right to decide how you want them shared or not shared. I have so many different model release options so don't you worry. You can choose between full rights, limited rights, in person rights and so on! There are plenty of options and I am positive you'll find one that you are most comfortable with.

DO I NEED TO GET MY HAIR AND MAKEUP DONE FOR MY SESSION?

Absolutely not! It goes back to the whole BoudYOU thing. If you don't wear that much makeup normally, then show up like you! Of course, a full face of glam is always fun for these photos. The more and more I photograph boudoir the more and more I am loving the more stripped down sessions. Not a lot of lace, little to no makeup, messy hair, just real. I dig it so much and capturing you in real form in my opinion is so much better than you wearing a full face of glam if you don't normally. But of course, this is boudoir and we do like to get sexy here most of the times and makeup is real sexy. So however glam, or however toned down as you want to be. Just make sure you're being YOU. Hair and makeup can be added on to your package for an additional fee.

HOW DO I GET MY IMAGES BACK?

I will send you an online gallery and downloadable link via Pixiset of your high-resolution images anywhere between 3-5 weeks after your session day! A quicker turn around time can definitely be arranged and purchase or prints and albums can also be made!
* Currently I am in the process of changing over my entire system. I will no longer be just a digital photographer but I will also be offering print and album sales with every boudoir/dudeoir/couples session. Average investment in session fee and prints combined is over $997. Payment plans will be offered and you can pay off your art work for up to 6 whole months! You even get your prints/albums while you are still paying off your pieces. I can't wait to start offering what you all have been wanting, beautiful crafted after work of your beautiful self. These photos sure a shit don’t belong in the computer and your cell phone.*