Boudoir Photography

Boudoir is out off it’s baby shoes, went through different phases and caused heated online discussions. We ask two boudoir photographers for their advice and then spill our naked truth about the art or not of boudoir.

Helene Cornell, hip San Diego based photographer shares a couple fun pictures with us and the ideas behind her Booty Boudoir.
We wanted to know what do girls ask her before a shoot?

I want to loose some pounds before the shoot. Can you wait?
You are perfect the way you are, and he loves you for it. I want to photograph real women!

I haven’t been going to the beach and look pasty. Can you wait until I am tan?
Its called spray tan or black and white photography… Keep in mind Icolor balance all the photos, add contrast, and retouch any blemishes.

Is this nude photography?
No. Nudity is implied, but not necessary at all to make you look sassyand fabulous. A cocktail dress can be just as sexy as a pair of boy shorts if shot right. Remember, this is about making you feel comfortable and empowered, emphasizing your best qualities. My shoots are PG rated. I don’t support R rated. Bring your maid of honor, entire bridal party, or best friends – have a glass of champagne, andenjoy being a supermodel for a day. Its just a bunch of girls playing dress up – My dream job!

What should I bring?
Always bring a bottle of your favorite champagne and your favorite flowers for behind your ear. If you don’t hire a wardrobe stylist from our Glam Squad division, there are suggestions and tips on my site and blog. Feel free to call me anytime to discuss specific looks you are trying to achieve. For brides, anything he has purchased you, things he complements you in, your favorite heels, most flattering undergarments, bridal lingerie and jewelry, and of course that stunning engagement ring to start. If your doing this for yourself, I suggest the things that are most flattering on your body type and make you feel sexiest. Bringing your best friend is a great way to approve your wardrobe. Stay away from busy patterns and logos.

Is this only for brides?
Absolutely not! The only requirement for being one of our favorite subjects is that you are open, confident and fun. If you are a single lady, what a better way to intrigue your potential candidates then a couple sexy photos placed discreetly in your nightstand. ” ooooh, those…just a modeling shoot I did awhile back….”

How do I prepare?
Besides treating your self kindly and telling yourself you are fabulous every time you see yourself in the mirror, you can prepare in the following ways. Have nails done. Be plucked and trimmed. Please do not wear a bra before the shoot if possible as the straps leave marks when you are changing. Its great to email a couple photos that you may stumble on so we know the exact look you are going for and can prepare your props and wardrobe. Have face and hair washed, and bring foundation that best matches your skin tone along with make up remover for after your shoot. A good white lie for your fiance or boyfriend is that you are meeting a photographer to discuss something… You can remove your make up here and he will never know that you were the star in your very own sexy photo shoot until he receives your album.

The Glam Squad
Our trusted all female staff of glamor professionals know exactly what it takes to make you feel stunning and confident. They specialize in all skin tones, airbrushing, feature enhancement/minimizing and have over 8 years experience on fast paced photo sets. The possibilities are endless. From knock out sultry to innocent and fresh faced, your Glam Squad experience should emphasize your best qualities and make you feel unstoppable.

Booty Shorts
Have you ever wanted to be the star in your own sexy music video? Booty Shorts is the latest addition to the fabulous services we provide at Booty Boudoir. We are now offering custom short films, catered to each one of our unique clients. We work together to come up with a creative vision that is unique, sexy and empowering to you. Just watch our “About Booty Shorts” demo video to learn all about how to prepare, then give our team a call to start brainstorming your booty short film!

We went on to interview Star from Harmony Photography, a wedding photographer in LA since 10 years who also shoots fashion editorials and sometimes art collections of ueber rich Cheiks in New York…

How you do you work with your brave and sexy Boudoir Ladies? Let’s have some tricks of the trade
I ask to drink plenty of water and meditate over being in love with yourself before you get in front of the camera. I use a relaxation technique using yoga/prana breaths, which helps to calm them down and focus on their beauty.

What’s your take on boudoir/philosophy?
I find boudoir interesting, I have never done one myself. I’m always behind the camera. I feel women should have the experience of a lifetime when portraying their beauty in a studio or in nature. It’s liberating and they create a precious keepsake as a reminder to cherish themselves. It’s is a wonderful gift to your partner in romance.

What are some of the reasons for women gifting their guys a boudoir picture of themselves?
It is one of the best gift you could give, besides your heart. It’s who they wanna be for their partner and themselves at this moment in time. I even received thank you emails from men: they love looking at the woman in their lives as sexy and beautiful.

Any sweet stories around any of the shoots?
They are all amazing, however photographing my first senior citizen was amazing, I was the one who was nervous, I felt this women was so rich with life experience being on the planet so long. I needed to portray the beauty and wisdom of a woman who had lived though decades, it was really cool!!! She was giving this gift to her husband to whom she had been married to for it seemed centuries!

How do you/they come up with the particular “costumes” and poses?
My clients usually have the fantasy of how they would like to be portrayed, and we go from there. Posing is usually based around body types and the actual outfit they are wearing. We come up with our creative concept before the shoot, a story board if you will….

I myself did a shoot with Star, not boudoir just “regular”. I was rather nervous as I hadn’t done a shoot in quite a while. It was amazing how she turned inhibition into confidence. Boudoir is of course another level. Would I do it? I immediately thought “but I’d have to lose ten pounds first”… Would I really want a Marilyn-type pin up of myself? Absolutely. I can feel it – jumping over that barrier would be such a powerful tool for my self confidence.

What’s it all about for other women?

The theme women chose often is meant for the addressee: dressing up in what he loves from football to fisher man’s gear, which can turn out rather quirky but often, especially when done with a twinkle in her eye ends up to be endearing. “Here’s me and your other big love…”

On the other hand brainstorming who we want to reveal – the sexy beast, the cuddly cat, the adventurous amazon, the holy whore – can be quite a psychological game with a depth your therapist might use for your Self finding process. “When I’m pretty much naked, who would I wanna be?” Taking our clothes off is a revealing step of courage, there’s nothing we can hide in or under, and is used as a metaphor since ancient literature. But most of the time the process is not the goal and the poster won’t hang on the girl’s own bed room wall. The shoots are gifts for husbands and boy friends alike, for engagement and wedding days, Valentines and birthdays. When couples are separated because of jobs, colleges or training it’s the perfect time for the tough man to pin up his lady and adore her from afar in good old brave soldier tradition.

Star and Helene and a bunch of women describe these shoots as fun and indeed free-ing.

I can totally relate to how empowering it can be to look and feel beautiful in front of a camera and have our body immortalized. Even the act of photo shopping our imperfections is powerful – it shows us that we can look like Victoria’s angels and celebs, who are pretty much always photo shopped. No more need for insecurities and reaching for the impossible: the photo shopped body in real life. The photos serve as a mantra of self confidence and become a happy kick on down days: That’s me and I am beautiful.

But it’s who’s doing it and why, which makes the difference: there’s quite a heated discussion out there of who loves or hates boudoir. I’ve seen posts of furious guys who don’t want to share their girl’s body with any other person, which perhaps should be a reason to be a little scared of marrying such a possessive bully? To think of boudoir as a relationship test is rather interesting. How insecure must girls be to do boudoir because they’re afraid their fiancés are looking at porn? Shouldn’t that tell you something about your relationship? It’s of course pretty sad when not so artful photographers muddy the cute and cool and pull the classy Pin Up into the dirt of porn.

Star and Helene are both sexy, self confident, free spirited and fun women, who don’t ponder about the dark side of boudoir. Model and camera simply get to flirt with each other. Their pictures evoke love, smiles, happiness not lustful delirium.

On Weddingbee I found a post from “Boston girl”, which I thought was right on:

“I don’t think it’s really the man’s place to comment or judge his SO if she wants to do these pictures. For a woman’s self-esteem, personal sex appeal, and sense of adventure, they’re really a blast — and for those of us (like me) who aren’t modest or self-conscious about our bodies and sexuality, they’re a fun thing to do regardless of the actual photo outcome…The book will be a nice keepsake for the future, but it’s also fun to look at even now as a pick-me-up on those “UGH” day.”

Joseph Christina sums it up nicely: “Boudoir photography, or sensual photography, is about making the woman comfortable and portraying her in the best light possible. The person’s looks don’t matter as much as how they’re feeling.”

And when we feel happy, confident and have fun being our most amazing self, there’s this other beauty that shines through and makes the imperfections melt away … of course a little photo shop is always nice.