Boudoir Photoshoot Day:
What to Expect
For anxious people like me, knowing what to expect (at least a little bit) is SO helpful for taking the nerves down a little. This is probably even MORE important when it comes to a day that is already filled with nerves, like a boudoir session! So let’s talk about what to expect!
Start time: 10am
We usually start our day around 10am, either at the hair salon or at our photoshoot location. I try to not be too early, because the hairstylist could have another appointment. If we’re meeting at the photoshoot location, we’re typically meeting at 10am, not starting hair and makeup then. Hair and makeup can last 1 to 1.5 hours on average, and we are just sitting and chatting about your upcoming session, our lives, etc. If we’re on location already, I have snacks and drink ready for us. Midway through or at the end, the hairstylist and makeup artist will ask you if you have any changes to your “look.” PLEASE tell them if you do - they WANT you to love how you look!
Photoshoot Time!
Once hair and makeup is done, we will head to the photoshoot location (unless we got ready there). You will have the address in an email I will have sent you a week before, along with the whole itinerary of the day including appointment times and addresses. Once we get to the location I’ll let you explore the space and lay out you outfits while I get the refreshments ready. Then we plan out which outfits you will wear at each part of the photoshoot, and I’ll usually have you start in the one you’re less nervous about. I tend to start the photoshoot with the easier poses, the less “awkward” and intimidating the better to get you warmed up. I know you’ll be nervous and feeling a little vulnerable in your outfit, so I’ll show you the back of my camera and hype you up along the way! (Usually after a few peeks from the back of the camera, clients are seeing what I’m seeing… that they look HOT!)
We do a lot of different poses, some way harder than others. If you’re not able to do the harder ones… GIRL! It’s not a big deal - we have, like 20 other poses to do still! We move rooms, try different poses and ideas. You can expect my brain to be CRAZY at this point, and although I feel like I’m all over the place because I have too many ideas, we have a lot of fun. I will also tell you the beginning to PLEASE take a break whenever you want to. My brain starts into “work mode” and has a hard time stopping, so if you take a break, I will, too! Win-win for both of us! So a few outfit changes, stretched-out-bodies, and lots of poses and laughs later, we will wrap up you photoshoot!
(Ashley’s sneak peek that I posted in my private, women-only Facebook group while she was getting her massage. Back-of-camera shot, below)
Massage
Your massage is usually scheduled 30 minutes to an hour after I estimate your photoshoot to end. I typically set alarms to keep us on schedule so we have the same amount of time for each outfit, but sometimes we run a few minutes behind (I’m really working on this)!! It depends on where your photoshoot is, but it typically only takes 15-20 minutes to get the spa. And if is your first time there, they’d like you to come a few minutes early to fill out paperwork. My goal is to get you there EARLY though so you have some time in the “waiting room” which is a dark, fire-lit room with water features and fireplace, cozy chairs and they serve you a drink of your choice. You’ll want to spend some time here, it’s so nice! The massage is 30 minutes long and feels SO good post-boudoir-photoshoot on your tired muscles. You can expect to feel a little sore the following day because of the weird yoga workout you did with me.
Food Time!
At this point, you’ll be very ready to eat! I’m still going to time after your massage is done, so you will have time to grab some food, decompress a little, think about how amazing you feel, run an errand or whatever. And you can meet me back at the photoshoot location about an hour after your massage (or at our designated meeting spot, if we’re not using an Airbnb).
Picture Reveal
It’s time to see your pictures!! If we’re NOT meeting back at the Airbnb, we will likely be in a Panera or coffee shop, in a booth or back corner, as private as a I can make it. But usually we will meet back at the Airbnb and I’ll either be wrapping up your photos or they’ll be up on the TV, ready to go! We will watch a slideshow of ALL your photos, unedited. Then we look through them all, one at a time, as many times as needed for you to decide which ones you want and how you want them printed. We compare similar images so you don’t get too many that look the same. We will look at album cover fabric options, talk about editing requests, any wall art you want and what size, if you want a title on your album, etc. This process takes about 2 hours on average, but will depend on how decisive you are.
Finish Up
The photoshoot day is officially done! It usually lasts around 8 hours if you’re wanting to see your photos the same day. You can expect to be pretty dang tired at this point… or maybe that’s just me! I personally wouldn’t make concrete plans or any appointments at a certain time on your photoshoot day, just in case things end up taking longer than planned. If you don’t set a time, you COULD still go out with friends or your partner to celebrate (and you’ll likely still be looking cute) as long as they don’t mind being “on call” for whenever you’re done, or maybe you just have a chill night with a hot bath or shower - you definitely earned it!!
Interested in learning more about about my boudoir sessions? Fill out the form below and if you don’t hear back in the next 72 hours, check your junk mail ;)
