Slide Show: What’s Your Take On… Boudoir Photography?
Slideshow: Images from top boudoir photographers around Seattle and insight into what it’s like for them and their sultry subjects. Here, an image by Joey Nicole who says her clients are always surprised by how glamorous they look.
Photographer Joey Nicole says "Nine times out of ten a woman begins this process feeling apprehensive and unsure. Even if she is confident about walking around in her lingerie, most women are completely unsure about posing. I work to ease this worry by letting them know that I will show them each pose myself first, and coach every single step of the way."
Photographer April Greer built her boudoir photography experience while living in Germany; in 2007, after returning to the Northwest and realizing that clients were using words like "provocative and sexy" to describe her work, she added the service to her offerings.
April Greer says not all women book their boudoir sessions because their significant other wants them to do so. "Most of my clients have always dreamed of doing something like a boudoir session. They arrive to the studio early out of excitement. On several occasions my clients have purchased two custom boudoir books; one filled with images she adores and another for her significant other. The book for herself is far more racy and sexy in comparison!"
Photographer Jenny Goldberg-George says she "usually get a big high five from the groom on the wedding day!"
"Most sessions are filled with laughter, but I had one woman share that part of her reason for doing a session was to help pull her out of the sadness around the death of a loved one; she said that the experience helped lift the fog and that was really touching to hear," recalls Jenny Goldberg-George.
We asked Lance and Trixie at Old School Pin Ups how many women are apprehensive when they the session begins. "Seven out of ten when they walk in the door, 0 out of ten after seeing their first images on the monitor. Spending two hours with Trixie in their makeover, she helps build their confidence, then they’re guided through poses on the set so by the time they have completed the first of nine poses, all apprehension is gone and is replaced with joy and enthusiasm." You have to admit that this gal doesn’t look at all camera shy.
At Old School Pin Ups there is definitely a vintage calender girl vibe. Here’s more on that from the OSP team: "We designed a dream studio complete with eclectic sets (the Bachelor Pad, Oriental Bar, Tiki Room, and of course Boudoir), our complete makeover including hair make up and wardrobe, and our classic mid-century style photography. We create a wonderland experience in intimate photography producing images that are instant classics, to be treasured forever, never going out of style."
Addressing nerves, photographer Susan Berman of Tease Studio says, "Women are apprehensive ten out of ten times. It’s not normal to parade around in front of a stranger in skimpy underwear! And it is certainly not normal to do it in front of a camera! However, ten out of ten times, within the first 15 minutes, all inhibitions are set aside and everyone really starts to have fun. There isn’t anything anyone can show me that I haven’t seen before!"
Of course it’s not just brides who get seduced by boudoir. Susan Berman of Tease Studio says, "I do a lot of sessions for military wives and girlfriends. Being able to provide a service and product that eases the time these soldiers are away from their loved ones is a really precious and sweet gift."
"I’d say nine out of ten women think ’that’s awesome, but I could never do it’ when they first hear of boudoir. But it sticks in their minds and when the perfect opportunity arises, such as a wedding, they just go for it! Meeting ahead of time and being treated to professional makeup removes any leftover apprehension. Very few women are nervous by the time we start the session and they always relax quickly," says photographer Cheryl Jones at Belle Boudoir.
Cheryl Jones shares this story: "A client let it slip to her fiance what she was doing. Throughout the session he sent her sweet, encouraging text messages and photos he wanted her to replicate! As women we are really rough on our bodies and it’s refreshing to remember that the men in our lives see us as sexy and beautiful, and don’t really care about the flaws we see. Boudoir is an opportunity for us to see what he sees."
At Katrinka’s Secret, Christina Mallet’s boudoir services began with the pregnancies she documented; "non-pregnant women requested I photograph them, sans bump, in the same ethereal, sexy style I used for pregnant women," she says.
An example of Christina Mallet’s urban style
Sara Adamski-Satterlee of Photos by Sara says she considers her style more aligned with Vargas-style pin-ups. "With this style, it’s not necessary to strip down… unless you’re feeling it. It’s all about being sexy in anything from a full dress to nothing at all," she says.
Sara says, "I try to shoot nearly everything clean enough that we don’t have to keep the images in the safety deposit box. I want the women to feel fabulous, enjoy the process, and love the results. We only go as far as the client wants to go and she usually only goes as far as her sweetie would want to see."
Kat Speyer at Persimmon Images says, "As a bride, I was thrilled to discover boudoir for myself and had a fabulous time at my session. I think I loved the experience more than my husband loved his photos! It was so liberating and fun. I decided to offer boudoir to give women that same experience—in addition to sexy, flattering photos. I feel confident in my own body and comfortable in my skin and nothing is greater than empowering another woman to feel that way, too."
There’s definitely something to the ‘secret’ element of all this. Kat Speyer relates this story: "I had a client whose fiance was suspicious that she was up to something and kept calling during the session. She had a friend with her to throw him off the trail, but it was hard to keep from laughing in the background while they lied to him about what they were doing. The guy must have called four times trying to trip them up. He loved the photos when he got them, though!"
Phil Holden at Seattle Boudoir Photography reports that, "So far our youngest client has been 20 years young and our oldest was 63. That 63 year old was also in a wheelchair and weighed over 300lbs. It really doesn’t matter what size, age or shape you are. We have also had clients celebrating divorce and others that are single and have been for years, they wanted to do this for themselves."
Phil also relates this story, "Ms N, a self described plus-sized girl came into the studio nervous because she has never been comfortable with her body and was worried about what we would think of her. She left feeling ‘freakin hot’ and had the most empowering and liberating experience of her life. My words don’t do this justice, you can read about it for yourself at http://offbeatbride.com/2010/06/wedding-boudoir-photos"