Boudoir Photo Session Tips

 

GENERAL TIPS FOR A BOUDOIR STUDIO PHOTO SESSION WITH DAVID ZANE STUDIOS:

 

What should I wear for a boudoir photo session?

The most impor­tant thing — choose out­fits that make you feel beau­ti­ful and sexy. A good rule of thumb: Bring some­thing white, some­thing black, and some­thing in a bright color so you can mix and match. A corset will cre­ate sexy curves. In addi­tion to lin­gerie, don’t for­get shoes, jew­elry, and accessories.

 

Research

We love to research every­thing! So, we want you to do some research before your shoot to make sure your expe­ri­ence with us is every­thing you want it to be. So, first of all, research your pho­tog­ra­pher! Make sure you love their pho­tos, can relate to the women in the pho­tos and feel com­fort­able with the team that will be present dur­ing your shoot. It is worth trav­el­ing to a pho­tog­ra­pher you con­nect with…this is an invest­ment of your time and money so make it count. Any pho­tog­ra­pher should be able to talk with you directly on the phone to answer all of your ques­tions (no mat­ter how many times you call) and to ensure that you feel com­fort­able being vul­ner­a­ble with this person.

The sec­ond thing to research is your style. Do you want a retro look like a pin-​​up or a tra­di­tional boudoir expe­ri­ence? Are there cer­tain poses you want to try? Play in the mir­ror with your facial expres­sions and see what feels silly and what feels right. This will help when the pho­tog­ra­pher gives you direc­tions for expres­sions and poses.

Pre­pare Your Outfits

Bring more out­fits than you think you will need and we will help you nar­row it down. See our “tips” sec­tion for more ideas on cloth­ing options. Choose out­fits that accen­tu­ate what you love about your body. Remem­ber that you do not need to wear tra­di­tional lin­gerie to be sexy…wear some­thing that makes you feel gor­geous and then your pho­tog­ra­pher should be able to pose you in a way that brings out your sensuality.

Make sure your cloth­ing is pressed, tags are cut off and that every­thing is ready to wear. It will slow us down and waste your time if we need to steam or iron your clothes and cut off or hide tags. Also, choose cloth­ing that fits. If you don’t think an out­fit looks good in the mir­ror or if you feel uncom­fort­able wear­ing it, that will prob­a­bly show in your pho­tographs. Choose some­thing that makes you feel beau­ti­ful and com­fort­able in your own skin.

Groom­ing

Your nails will most likely show in your pho­tos, so have them man­i­cured. Nat­ural skin color pho­tographs best, so avoid fake tan­ners. If you want to get a light spray tan, we rec­om­mend get­ting it a cou­ple of days before the shoot. Remem­ber that you will want your face to match the rest of your body once your makeup is applied, so go easy on the tan­ning. Nat­ural is always best.

Get plenty of rest before the shoot and drink plenty of water the day of the shoot. Drink water through­out the week before the shoot and pam­per your­self by keep­ing your skin hydrated and lips mois­tur­ized. It will give your skin a healthy, nat­ural glow dur­ing your shoot.

Make a Day of It

Take the day off of work. Have some­one watch the kids so you can relax while you pre­pare for your shoot. Book your hotel room for the night before your shoot and make it a mini-retreat. Treat your­self. Have a light snack and take your time get­ting to the shoot. Whatever it takes to help you feel stress-free for your ses­sion. This day is all about you!

Relax

On the day of your photo shoot, you are all glammed up and the pho­tog­ra­pher knows how to cre­ate great pho­tos, so you get to relax and get into char­ac­ter. Be bold and con­fi­dent. Don’t leave your shoot wish­ing you had tried some­thing, but didn’t have the nerve to do it. This day is about you, give it a try. You will prob­a­bly be pleas­antly sur­prised! Bring music and any­thing else that helps you relax and feel like the god­dess you are. Most impor­tantly, have fun and enjoy the moment. It will def­i­nitely show in the pho­tos and you will give you a smile every time you look at your photos.

Clothing, Props, and Ideas

Most peo­ple think that boudoir pho­tos mean lin­gerie or nudity. The truth is, you may choose to include any­thing you want in your ses­sion. You will never be asked to wear any­thing or pose in any­way that would make you uncom­fort­able. The list of things you can wear, bring or do is endless!

 

Here are a few ideas:

Some­thing of his:

* His favorite ball team sweat­shirt or jer­sey
* His favorite old shirt
* His golf clubs
* His hard hat
* His over­alls
* His uni­form
* His work belt with tools
* The tools of his trade

Some­thing with class…

* An evening dress
* An off the shoul­der top
* Fuzzy sweater
* Hats and gloves
* High heels
* Stock­ings (various)

Some­thing sexy…

* Any­thing fish­net
* Any­thing thin or trans­par­ent
* Any­thing tight
* Body Stock­ing
* Boy Shorts
* Col­or­ful panties and bra
* Cut­offs that are too short
* Lin­gerie
* Thigh high stock­ings with or with­out garters
* Thongs or tee backs

Some props you might like…

* Any props from home
* Any roman­tic items
* Can­dles
* Flowers/​Flower petals
* Scarves
* Sun glasses
* Wild jew­elry
* Wine glasses
* Strands of beads

The list is end­less. Use your imag­i­na­tion and be cre­ative! Think about it from his per­spec­tive as you make your deci­sions. After all this is a gift for him, so imag­ine what he would pre­fer as you go through the closet.

 

Qual­ity pho­tos take some plan­ning, and your choice in cloth­ing is impor­tant. Make sure that your cloth­ing is in good con­di­tion. (No holes or tears, that aren’t sup­posed to be there) Tags should be removed from items where they might be vis­i­ble. They always show through sheer mate­ri­als, and many non-​​sheer mate­ri­als as well.

 

If you’d like to find lin­gerie, swimwear or cos­tumes to wear or just get some ideas, check out Yandy​.com. They have a huge selec­tion to choose from, great prices and quick shipping.

 

On the day of your shoot with Atlanta boudoir photographer David Zane:

Eat a light meal, so that you feel com­fort­able dur­ing your shoot, but don’t for­get to EAT! Hav­ing a piece of fruit shortly before the shoot will help give you an energy boost, which you’ll need as pos­ing for each shot does take some effort. Hav­ing a bot­tle of water on hand dur­ing the shoot is a good idea too.

 

Come to the appoint­ment in loose fit­ting clothes to reduce the amount of marks on your body. And change into a bathrobe or loose but­ton up shirt after you arrive. The marks take some time to leave and may waste some of your shoot­ing time. A but­ton up shirt will help keep your hair and makeup undis­turbed too. A clear deodor­ant is also advised to keep clothes free of marks (and also allow you a bet­ter range of poses!)

 

What plan­ning should I do before my session?

Be sure to have your out­fits picked out a day or two in advance. Have a cou­ple more out­fits ready than you plan on doing. That way if you have a last-minute ‘wardrobe mal­func­tion’ it won’t be a problem.

 

Here are several things that are important when preparing for your photo shoot.

 

1. Get a good night’s sleep and stay healthy. If you’re tired, it will reflect on your face, your over­all appear­ance and your atti­tude. Try not to stress your body and mind a few days before the shoot. Avoid sweets, salty foods, phys­i­cal stress and heavy eat­ing! Con­tinue with your daily exer­cis­ing on a reg­u­lar basis. Drink flu­ids sparingly.

 

2. Shave or wax your legs and armpits a few days before a ses­sion. If you’re mod­el­ing lin­gerie, nude or open swimwear, take care of the bikini line. If you shave right before the shoot, the skin irri­ta­tion will neg­a­tively impact the out­come, espe­cially with dig­i­tal photography.

 

3. Your hair. If you need some trim­ming, a cou­ple of days before the shoot is the right time. Any col­or­ing should be done ahead of time. Don’t use any gels or spe­cial hair treat­ments to keep it healthy for the shoot.

 

4. Get your out­fits and props ready. Avoid bright whites, stripes or any other pat­terns unless specif­i­cally requested. Solid col­ors are the best choice. Bring the props that match your out­fits in color, tex­ture or by theme.

 

5. If you are doing your boudoir ses­sion in the win­ter time and need to work on your tan, a pro­fes­sional spray tan applied at least a day or two before your ses­sion works great. Some­times reg­u­lar tan­ning beds can give you red marks on your rear end that you’ll want to avoid. Yikes!

 

6. High heels are a must bring acces­sory! Basic black pumps are per­fect, thigh high boots also look incred­i­bly sexy. If you have those amaz­ing, designer shoes that are impos­si­ble to walk in, this is the per­fect time to dust them off and get them out of the closet.

 

7. Paint your fin­ger­nails and toenails. Yes, they will be seen in the pictures.

 

8. It isn’t really nec­es­sary to spend lots of money on tons of lin­gerie before your photo shoot although it is fun:) A nice black bra and panty set works great. White is good too. Boy shorts make every­one look awe­some! Remem­ber solid col­ors with­out pat­terns are best.