Boudoir…Sexy, Skanky or a Scam?
Alright ya’ll. I know what you are thinking…semi naked photos…how hard could that be? Everyone knew someone in high school that was infamous for these but gone are those flip phone photo days!!
Photographer
Do your research. Look for a reputable photography and get references. Look at his or her portfolio and decide if you want to be a part of it. I found mine on Facebook. She was wonderful! I’m not one to find anything on Facebook, I won’t buy anything off of Marketplace, but she was amazing. Her platform was all bodies are sexy no matter the size, and that really appealed to me. I have always been somewhat bothered by my body, not as bad as high school (a story for another day) but still not comfortable.
It was also important for me to have a female photographer. Especially for something as intimate as this. I am not saying a male photographer won’t have done an equally wonderful and professional job but, for myself, I wanted a female.
Day Of
Being in the flyover states in February, it was freezing. I had to be there at 7 AM or so. I thought it would be 3-4 hours max and had planned to go to work that afternoon, boy was I wrong. I was there till almost 5. I had 6 outfit changes, 3 hair and makeup re-dos and 5 or 6 different sets.
I got there and immediately was swept into hair and makeup. The same lady did both. They were a bit heavy handed with the makeup, more then anything I would do for even an event look, but in retrospect it really looked flawless in the photos. They asked if there was anything in particular I was looking for - a makeup look, backdrop, etc. I didn’t. I came as a completely blank slate and I accredit that to how great the experience was. I let the professionals direct the day and trusted their creativity. I was never uncomfortable, maybe shy would be the best way to describe it, but NEVER uncomfortable. And after the first set the shyness was gone. The photographer just put me at ease! I believe that is how it should be, if you are uncomfortable, GET OUT. People are intuitive and if that intuition is pinging, trust it.
So the day carried on. Shoot, hair and makeup change, placed into another backdrop, shoot again. By the time 4 o’clock rolled around I was exhausted but in a good way.
Finally, the photographer set me down and we went through the photos for the day and she applied some basic editing. All while I was sitting in a hair and face mask so as to help repair my skin after all the makeup. This took quite some time. There were so many photos I just loved! We eventually decided upon 13, 8 x 10 prints.
Cost
Let’s just say it wasn’t cheap. I think it ended up being $2,500 or so for the 13 print. If you wanted a book made, like a lot of brides do, that was around $4,000, minimum. The prints did come matted and the photographer printed the photos herself, so there is that guarantee they aren’t being looked at by every high school boy working at the Walgreen’s print shop.
I have no idea what the going rate for these types of things are as to whether this is too much or even perhaps too little to pay for the experience. In all honesty, if I had looked into the price a bit more before hand I probably would have never done it.
So what do you do with the photos?
All 13 of mine are framed and hanging in my closet. I did convert one of our guest bedrooms into a closet, so it is a large space. You could also take the prints and make your own book for your husband or significant other for a gift but that was a bit too much work for me.
Overall
Experience was amazing. It made me feel like a pampered model for the day and I got some great pictures of it.
Sexy? Yes.
Skanky? No.
A Scam? Maybe a bit.
What does one do with 13 boudoir photos anyway? It’s not like you can hang them in the living room.
