Preparing for an experience like boudoir can seem like such a daunting, overwhelming task (the butterflies are totally normal!) How are you supposed to know what outfits to purchase, grooming do and don’ts, if it's appropriate to just pack your whole life into a suitcase and bring it ALL along... It’s enough to keep anyone up at night, but no worries babe—we’ve compiled some helpful tips to take with you on your prep journey so that your boudoir experience is absolutely flawless!
1. Nails and Hair Care
When it comes to that beautiful mane on the top of your head, we urge you not to switch it up right before your shoot. If you have long hair, don’t get crazy and chop it into a bob one week from your experience. If you’ve been blonde your whole life, don’t add pink streaks. Point here being, keep yourself recognizable. Get a fresh color (if you do it regularly) and cut about 1.5 weeks before the session. For your nails and toes, we encourage you to get pampered and go for a mani/pedi about 2-3 days before shoot day. Stick with neutral or jewel-tone nail colors: nude, french tip, slate gray, black, etc. Avoid neons at all costs! They can become very distracting from the subject we most want to focus on…YOU!
2. AVOID SPRAY TANS!
This one is in all caps, sister! If you are Snow White’s sister (like Rachel), it’s very tempting to go out in search of some bronze goodness, but trust me when we say: even with professional application, spray tans can turn out too orange or too splotchy. It is not difficult to botch a spray tan! Most photographers (raising our hand high over here!) consider a poor spray tan an extensive edit to fix. Because we have so much else to focus on with the editing side of things, spray tans (or real tans) are not something we fix. Girlfriend, your natural skin tone will still be 100% gorgeous in photos! Oh, and while we are on the subject of skin, be VERY careful in the sun leading up to your boudoir experience--while we love tan lines, some people don't, so just pay attention and ALWAYS wear sunscreen!
3. Water, Stretch, Repeat
About two weeks from your appointment, you will want to refrain from alcohol, sugary drinks, and soda, and start fueling your body with TONS of water! Water has so many amazing benefits to include glowing skin, reduced bloat, and helps to battle breakouts (because stress nerves are a real thing and can affect your skin). You will want to start a routine of stretching before bed, because boudoir sessions are serious workouts! Target your lower back and neck specifically. Boudoir shoots are more physically taxing than you may think--lots of arching, breathing, and holding poses so you’ll want to be as flexible as you can be when you arrive. Catch our post about stretching here!
4. Bring V A R I E T Y in Your Outfits
We always encourage our clients to bring more options than just lingerie. A closet raid is the perfect source for other unique looks! We suggest bringing your fave cozy sweater, a tank, loose white tee, crop top, body chains, trench coats, swimsuits, scarves, leg warmers, cut up jeans/Daisy Duke shorts, or whatever you have that makes you feel you can slay the universe. Do not limit yourself to whatever Victoria’s Secret has to offer! There are so many options that can be incredibly sexy! Pack different colors, textures, and types of clothing!
5. Just Relax
Take a deep breath and relax. It’s completely normal to feel nervous before your shoot. We promise, it will be a fun, stress-free day that’s all about YOU. Trust us, you’ll be coming back for more!
No matter what happens, if you book with a boudoir photographer that you trust and allow yourself to go ALL IN with the experience, you are going to love the results! Remember, this is FUN--so relax, surrender to the process, and know that you absolutely deserve to feel BEAUTIFUL!
You freakin rock.