3 Best Tips for your Boudoir Session

When you come in for a boudoir session with us, we will help guide you so you feel prepared. I also know we all have super busy lives and sometimes we just cannot accomplish every task we set out to do. If you find that life takes over and you show up with nothing, these three tips are are going to be your savior and hopefully only a day or two of preparation.

You might be surprised to find out, but none of these tips require lingerie to be purchased or really any money to be spent. All of these tips are self care that can be done at home.

1. REST - get a good nights sleep, stay away from alcohol the night before your session. A solid 7-8 hours sleep will provide you with a fresh well rested face.

2. Hydrate - Drink lots. of water in the days leading up to your session. Take a bath, moisturize your skin. Especially if you are prone to dry skin make sure you do these simple things to help you skin look supple and fresh.

3. Manicure - This doesn’t have to be fancy at all. You don’t even have to do polish. Of course I recommend that you treat yourself to the salon, but not required. You can do a simple home manicure. Make sure your nails are clean and even. I incorporate your hands a lot and you don’t want to have jagged ripped nails. If you are curious about nail colors check out my blog article on manicure ideas.

Top five tips for every boudoir session

Getting a boudoir photography session done for yourself might not be an easy decision for some — just the idea can be intimidating. But, It’s definitely so much more than just intimate photos and it can do wonders for your self-image.

The truth is, boudoir photography is all about creating comfort in your own skin, loving your natural form, highlighting your beauty and letting go of your perceived flaws. The two biggest takeaways I see from my boudoir photography sessions are a boosted confidence and body positivity. These photos can also be used as a way to document how great you look and feel about yourself at this given time.

Having shot several such sessions over the years, I would say a boudoir photography session is for everybody.

So, once you have decided to go ahead and book your session, you might want to go over a few tips to help you thrive during the shoot. I always want to make sure my clients are fully prepared when they walk through the door for their first boudoir photography shoot with me at the Seattle Boudoir & Co. Here are my top five tips that we give every client before their session with me.

FIVE TIPS FOR EVERY BOUDOIR PHOTOGRAPHY SHOOT

1. Don’t Forget to Stretch

You may think this sounds funny, but boudoir photography can be kind of a workout, and I may move your body in ways you haven’t before. I call it boudoir yoga.

Stretching before will definitely make a difference, even if you are already really active and fit! I promise you, even physical fitness trainers have commented on how challenging some of these poses can be. Focus on stretching your neck, back, shoulders, and practice pointing (and holding) your toes/feet. Arch your back and pull up your core. Kneel, dip rear into a mid squat while toes pointed, core in, back curved and hold that for 2 minutes. Trust me! This boudoir yoga is going to help you pose like a pro in your photographs. Here is a great article about some simple stretching you can do.

2. Drink Tons of Water

It's important to stay hydrated, especially on the day of your shoot! Drinking plenty of water leading up to your session helps clear up your skin and helps flush out any belly bloat. It will also help prevent cramps during some of the posing on the day of your shoot! So ladies, drink up and make your skin shine.

3. Arrive with a Clean Face and Clean, yesterday’s Dry Hair

It's very important to show up on the day of your shoot with yesterday’s clean, blow-dried hair and a clean face. You can put moisturizer on if you wish but other than that my Professional Hair and Makeup artist will do the rest! You will look nothing less than a professional model, we promise!

4. Practice the Poses

Seriously! If you're following along on my Instagram or Facebook Group, practice some of the poses if you want! Occasionally, we do Facebook Lives in our private Facebook Group. You can totally follow along with the posing as we go and be the sensual goddess that you are!

5. Self Care After

Take some Tylenol or ibuprofen before bed after your shoot and soak in a hot bath. Trust us on this one! You WILL be sore the next day! This will help with some muscle inflammation. Take a good rest and get ready to witness the amazing results of your boudoir shoot only to realize that it was worth all that effort you put in.

I hope you found these tips helpful, especially for those of you who have an upcoming Boudoir Session booked with us! We can't wait to see you. And I can't wait to get those of you who haven't pulled the trigger yet into our studio for a session!

Personal Note:

From being in the wedding industry as a wedding photographer for 14 years, many of these tips are applicable there as well. When I started to transition into boudoir as my primary genre a few years ago, I added the stretching and practicing poses because boudoir is such a workout! So follow these five tips and I’m sure your next boudoir photography will be a success!

You might have noticed not one of my tips here included shopping for lingerie. I do recommend you shop for lingerie, and I have some great tips for what to wear and where to find it. I even have a blog where to get stuff in pinch. Also when you book your session, you will get lots of pointers on what to bring.

Ready to learn more? Set a quick 15 minute chat with me on how I can help you prepare for your session. Click here to schedule a 15 min chat ;)

Brave, bold and beautiful - learning the art of empowerment through connecting with your body

Confessionals of a Lingerie Addict

Confessionals of a Lingerie Addict

Brave, bold and beautiful - learning the art of empowerment through connecting with your body

On a path to self love and body acceptance after falling into bad habits from the pandemic. Now is a time of regrowth and learning to feel good again.

Confessionals of a Lingerie Addict

Featured Vendors

Make Up Artists

Tracey Saunders

Kelsey Hayes Instagram @renderingbeauty

Quincee Camille Instagram @quinceecamilleartistry

Jessica Rockwell Instagram @jessica.rockwell

Bridal Boudoir, more for them or more for you?

Bridal Boudoir a Gift for You Too

Boudoir is a specialized gift that shows your confidence and is one of a kind

Bridal boudoir, also a gift for yourself.

You may have heard that boudoir is the perfect groom’s gift. It is. But you may not realize that this experience is truly a gift for the bride.

Boudoir photography was introduced as the “sexiest gift for the groom” not too long ago and the new trend really took off rapidly as more and more grooms received these gifts and were left speechless. As a photographer that was a part of this new movement, it was very fun to see momentum and words spreading as groomsmen watched the grooms’s eyes widen with amazement as they saw him open his secret album just minutes before seeing his bride walking down the aisle toward him.

A must-have item. Boudoir was once considered too risqué or taboo and it has now converted into what I love it to be… a private celebration of the beauty and confidence of intimacy within a couple. And not just for the couple as a unit, individually for the bride herself as well.

Boudoir is a way to celebrate and document what as old as time, has been one of the most special traditions in womanhood… the season of wedding preparation. It is much different than it was even 100 years ago. Now you have pinterest, wedding magazines, and trying to figure out your #wedding hashtag.

The overall anticipation and tradition remains. While our preps definitely look different, the sweet sentiment swirling in a bride’s heart is all the same as it ever was. She radiates with the hopes, wines, and dreams this memorable time inspires. And as a photographer, I love that I get to celebrate and document the bride, aglow with anticipation and rosy with the frantic pace that accompanies this season.

It’s wonderful seeing our brides experiences. She comes to the studio, feeling nervous, but eager for the pampering. She enjoys the confidence boosting experience more than she ever thinks she will, feeling better in her own skin when she leaves, and she romances her groom with this sweet gesture. It’s a win/win. As a boudoir photographer, I feel my job is to enter into that space with her, inspired to create something that represents her beautifully.

Again, I know exactly what you are going through… so much of the wedding prep is about tasks, to-do lists, deadlines. I love that a boudoir session is a time slow down, tune out the must do-dos, and to step into this season by being present. I highly encourage you to do this for your spouse-to-be, but even more so for yourself.

Better Immunity This Winter? Clearer Skin for your Session? Desire Restful Energy?

… Science behind the seemingly new trend of “Drinking Celery Juice!”

Today there are 33,000 #CeleryJuice posts on Instagram (and growing!), but this vegetable obviously isn't a new thing. Carlos Quiros, a plant geneticist from the University of California Davis, told NPR that arcology remains from Switzerland show that people have been transporting celery seeds since 4,000 B.C. In China, Egypt, and Rome, this stalky plant was used as a remedy for a range of issues but mainly to cure hangovers or even to use as an aphrodisiac.  

In 1868, Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray, or celery soda, made its debut, and it's been a deli staple, pairing perfectly with thick pastrami sandwiches, ever since. According to Marianne Santora, whose dad owned J&R Bottling, the company that brought Cel-Ray to California, the celery tonic was known to calm stomachs and heal bowel issues.

The concept of celery juice as a cure-all in the modern age came from medical medium Anthony William, who's been preaching this health hack for the past 20 years.

While William is not a licensed doctor or health care practitioner, he's garnered a large following in the wellness world. Since he was 4 years old, he had heard a voice perfectly clear in his right ear. He calls this voice "Spirit," and since then Spirit has been guiding him to read people to find out what's wrong with them. He calls himself medical medium because of this guiding spirit. When he was 4, he diagnosed his grandmother with lung cancer, which later her doctors confirmed. Since then he has gone on to write four New York Times best-selling books, has acquired a huge fan base of believers in his work including Gwyneth Paltrow, Pharell, and even Robert DeNiro.

There is research that says that the antioxidant compounds in celery can help remove free radicals, says functional medicine doctor Jill Baron, M.D., However, she adds that "we don't have the research in humans at this time to verify all the claims.”

"When it comes to our food choices, we tend to get fixated on a single food or beverage to resolve our health issues when in reality there is no one food that will cure disease... We need to be looking at our overall lifestyle and cultivate healthy behaviors for optimal health. If you enjoy celery juice, it can be part of a healthful eating pattern, but it should be part of the bigger picture and should not replace intake of all other vegetables and fruits.”   FOR MORE on Drinking the “Miracle Juice,” visit:  MBG Foods. 

Ms. K

Back in August, I was lucky enough to photograph this gorgeous woman at the 1020 Studio. This boudoir session was amazing to capture, and I was so happy to be her photographer.

Empowering Boudoir Photography

Before her boudoir photography session with me, Ms. K had shared, “I want to feel beautiful in my own skin and let my light shine. Nothing is going to stop me from achieving my dreams and goals.”

Well, let me just say: Ms. K certainly let her light shine! She was an exuberant, bright light and was just SO much fun to photograph. This was not her first boudoir photography shoot, so she had a good idea of what the session would be like, but she didn’t have the full experience the way they are done in my studio. From picking out the best outfits for your shape, to making sure your makeup is how you want it, to highlighting your best assets—the experience you have during your boudoir session is just as important as the resulting images. Special thanks go out to the amazingly talented Kat St. John for the work she did making Ms. K’s hair and makeup look so amazing.

With my work as a boudoir photographer, I notice time and time again how we pick apart pieces of ourselves. That self-deprecation that prevents us from truly improving ourselves in the ways that are needed most. We focus on the parts of us that cannot really change… or parts of us that don’t need to. As a woman, I can relate. I empathize with the barriers you put up about yourself. I have them too. That’s why I feel so passionately that the boudoir photography experience should be something empowering. It should always be about embracing who you are and harnessing the beauty that you have. Flaws and all. All women are beautiful.

Sometimes, feeling good about yourself can be helped with some spectacular wardrobe choices. The lingerie Ms. K is wearing is easy to find and flattering on most body types. If you are curious about where to find the pieces featured in these images, make sure to grab the free boudoir planning guide or set up a time to chat about what you get when you book a studio boudoir session with me!

Enjoy these lovely photos of Ms. K!

A Healthy Ego: End Self Deprecation, and Love YOUR Photo Session!

Self-deprecation is a handy tool to diffuse tension and add humour. But, in putting down your talents, appearance and personality, could you be permanently blighting your self-esteem and reputation?

We’ve all been there… 

Have you ever replied to a compliment about your outfit with a knee-jerk, negative response? Such as, a quip about looking a bit podgy or an eye-rolling admission of the coffee stain near the hem?

Have you been introduced to a stranger at a party and immediately downplayed your job title; making out that you were either incredibly lucky to have nabbed the position or have no idea what you're doing half the time when, in fact, you worked your butt off to get a promotion and spend several evenings a week working late in order to finish projects to impress your boss? 

In social situations, we often use self-deprecation as a handy tool to defuse tension, seem humble or add humour. 

It shows vulnerability and authenticity, weakens hierarchies, lowers expectations in case of failure, reflects a mirthful disposition, deflects attention for the shy and, when used insincerely, reassures and inflates the ego of the conceited.

I, myself have learned to use it as armour against external criticism; a badge of my modesty and of my identity. After all, your insults won't be half as witty as my own about myself. 

However, during my early twenties – the 'formative adult years' in which I'm supposed to find myself and learn how to do the gas meter reading without calling my Dad – I've started to wonder whether I'm doing some disservice by continuously downplaying everything cool about myself.

A bit of self-ridicule is healthy if you're confident enough to really take it as a joke. It's surely better than blind, pigheaded narcissism. Of that, I am sure we can all agree.  But now, you’re about to have your photo session… and expose all.  Or almost, all, at least.  

And…  it's a big 'but’..or, “my nose is so big, don’t catch my profile!” …  in highlighting our insecurities, putting down our talents, and striving for the laugh instead of congratulation, could we not just be cementing a negative narrative about ourselves? 

At a certain point, if you call yourself 'stupid' enough times, you'll start to believe it and so will other people. 

The dark side of self-deprecation, can come out in your final images… if you’re not careful.  Let’s help each other… to ensure that doesn’t happen.

As children, we're frequently told to treat others as we would like to be treated. 

HMUA : Kat St John

However, with the challenges of puberty, a transmuting identity and society's obsession with critiquing weight, intelligence, success and beliefs, the kindness we show ourselves doesn't usually measure up to that which we'd be quick to show other people.

Unlike the days when we'd blindly accepted our parents' compliments about being the smartest, prettiest and most hard working of children, in our adolescence, our self-worth gradually starts to fluctuate, depending on our most recent successes or failures, compliments or insults.

We begin to find it hard to tread the middle ground between self-promotion and self-deprecation, wanting to seem confident without coming across as an insufferable know-it-all. 

Clinical psychologist, Ros Taylor, explains that for the majority of women: 'We tend to go in the opposite direction and discredit ourselves."

Hair and Make Up Kat St. John

Self-deprecation is a trick British comedian Luisa Omielan uses as a way of showcasing how ridiculous social constructs are – be it regarding weight, failed relationships and thigh gaps – taken not from a place of weakness, but from a place of strength.

'Once you show something up for what it is and have made people laugh in the process, you are then in a position to use humour to dissect and discuss more important and pressing issues that do need attention such as self esteem, mental health, relationships and career goals,' she adds.

But Only In Small Doses

To read further about the Pros and Cons about Self-Deprecation and how it can HELP your Boudoir Session, or HURT it, click HERE.

HMUA: Quincee Camille Artistry