How to Prepare for a Boudoir Photoshoot

Booked your first boudoir session or looking into booking one? Here is a list of tips for how to prepare for your boudoir photoshoot with Beautiful You Studios!

Pamper Your Skin & Face!

• Hydrate! Make sure you are drinking lots of water before your shoot. Hydrated skin is glowing & beautiful skin.

• Wash your face and lotion up before you come to the studio. If your session comes with hair & makeup, you will need to show up make-up free.

• Make sure to trim and/or wax your brows. This should go without saying but we’ve been surprised before – if you’ve got close to a uni-brow, get your brows done before you arrive! There’s nothing more tacky than a close-up photo with overgrown brows & it’s just not something we can Photoshop.

Get Your Body Ready!

• Don’t be that girl who feels she has to starve herself to look good in her photos – embrace yourself as you are, curves & all. Eat before your session as there won’t be time to take a break to eat snacks & we need to keep your energy level up.

• Wear loose clothes to the studio to avoid having panties, bras, & socks leaving strange lines on your skin.

• Make sure you shave your legs, armpits, & intimate area prior to your session. Or if you wax, make sure you schedule your appointment a few days before your shoot.
• PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, GET A SHOWER THE MORNING OF & THEN PUT ON SOME DEODORANT!! You wouldn’t think that this has to be said to grown adults, but apparently it does…or maybe I just have a very sensitive nose. 😂

• If you have tan lines, make sure to visit a tanning bed before your shoot to get your skin color evened out as we do NOT Photoshop tan lines. OR, use Loving Tan Mousse to DIY.

• To get your body ready for all the weird & unusual ways it’s about to move, do some stretches the for the entire week leading up your session to lessen the amount of pain you will be in afterwards. Here’s a video of recommended stretches:

• Don’t worry though; an advantage of working with me is that I’ve been photographed by other boudoir photographers 10+ times. Many boudoir photographers have NOT done a boudoir shoot & let me tell you from first-hand experience; if your boudoir photographer hasn’t done a boudoir shoot, you’re gonna be experiencing a world of back pain for a week or more. Luckily, you don’t have to go through that with me because I know exactly which poses are painful & won’t put you in them for long. My clients rarely complain of experiencing any pain at all & if it do, they mention it only lasted 2-24 hours.

• If you want the ultimate pampering experience, schedule a massage for the day after your session to work out any sore muscles that were created during your session.

Show Your Hands & Feet Some Attention!

• Your hands and feet will be seen in most of the photos so you’ll want to have them looking as gorgeous as you are.

• Think about your polish shade and what you want to be in the photos. Whether you go with a color or a French mani, make sure you love the shade. We recommend colors like nude, pink, red, black or maroon & avoiding neon colors. Neons ruin photos as they stand out too much & take away the attention from beautiful you. Pro tip: Use the same color on your hands & feet.

• Invest in a pedicure because your feet will show in the photos & there is nothing grosser than crusty feet flaking onto our gorgeous silk sheets.

Let’s Talk Hair…

• If you get your hair highlighted or dyed, make sure to book an appointment for a touch-up before your boudoir session as we can not Photoshop hair color.

• Make sure you love your hair color! If you’re thinking about changing your color, make sure you pick one that you’ll love to look back on.

• If your package includes hair & makeup (not all do), allot 1.5 hours for hair & makeup to be completed. Our artist only does basic styles to touch up your pre-existing look to make it photoshoot-worthy. If your hair takes too long to complete, this will cut into your photo shoot time and we do NOT extend photo shoot times. So, arrive with clean, dry hair as we do NOT extend photo shoot time due to clients arriving with wet hair. Also be sure it’s generally styled in the way you’d like it to be in photos. For example, if you have naturally curly hair & want it straightened, you should arrive with it already straightened. Try to avoid applying a lot of product in your hair as it may look greasy in the photos. Leave the guesswork to the stylist who will know exactly how much to add to have your hair looking shiny but not greasy.

• Make sure you love your hairstyle. It doesn’t matter if your hair is down to your ankles or you are bald, it is all about confidence, girl! If you love your hair, then that will show in pictures, but if you don’t then that will also show. If you’re not in love with your current hair cut, get it fixed prior to your session or bring a wig.

Prep Your Lingerie!

Okay so the key to a fun and sensual boudoir shoot is LINGERIE!

• After you book, we’ll email you our Lingerie Guide which includes advice on how to choose the best lingerie for your body type.

• Even if your package includes the option of borrowing lingerie from our closet, you will need to bring items of your own just incase what we have doesn’t fit or interest you. You can leave the tags on incase you end up using items from our closet so that you can return your items.
• Wondering where to shop? Here is a link to our online Lingerie Store which contains a curated collection of our favorite items. Note that each of these items comes in a wide variety of colors; click on the photo to see the different sizes & colors offered.

• Whatever items you end up choosing to wear for your session, be sure to use the scissors in the studio to remove the tags as we don’t want them to show up in the photos.

Get Ready to Have Fun!

• This is going to be fun! Don’t worry, you don’t need to know how to model. I will pose you down to your fingertips and give you feedback the whole way including showing the photos I’ve taken of you throughout the whole shoot so you’ll know just how beautiful you’re looking.

• If however, you’re the kinda gal that likes “homework,” one way to get super ready for your shoot is to do what I used to do when I was preparing for shoots as a model back in the day: 1) Check out our Pinterest boards & study the faces of the models. 2) Find a couple photos that really speak to you. 3) Practice the expressions in these photos in your bathroom mirror. Remember that modeling is something that takes practice just like anything else & that models have YEARS of practice. Don’t beat yourself up if you don’t look like a model. The goal is to have FUN while doing this exercise. There’s really nothing to worry about though because I have a background in modeling & will coach you on exactly how to pose. I’ve also taken Stripped Down, a 12-week course TWICE JUST to learn how to coach inexperienced ladies on how to get different facial expressions in their photos so you’re in the best hands in Dallas so don’t stress!

Now that you know how to prepare for your boudoir shoot, you can relax and get ready to have an amazing experience. Contact us if you haven’t already booked an appointment. We will see you soon!