5 Boudoir Session Mistakes to Avoid
Our mission at The Adore Girls’ studio is to provide ALL women with the most fun and empowering boudoir photography Nashville has to offer! However, creating this type of experience is a collaborative effort with each of our clients, and we do occasionally encounter some road blocks, which are unfortunate, but also entirely preventable. That is why we wanted to discuss some of the most common, disappointment-causing boudoir session mistakes that we’ve seen made over the years, so that hopefully similar road blocks can be avoided at your upcoming photoshoot, and you can have the amazing experience that we strive to provide and know that you deserve!
1. Neglecting to Thoroughly Read the Provided Information and Boudoir Client Agreement
The key to avoiding disappointment is to be as educated and informed as possible about the type of luxury boudoir experience that The Adore Girls provide so that you are not surprised by any of our rules, policies, procedures, or pricing on or after the day of your photo shoot. After a decade of growing this successful photography business, we’ve learned through experience exactly what information our clients need to know in order to to ensure they have the best experience possible. As such, we’ve created a PLETHORA of emails, web pages, newsletters, and guides to make sure everyone receives all of the necessary information prior to booking a session, before the day of the photo shoot, and also before the Image Debut & Ordering Session appointment.
Obviously, though, we cannot make people read all of the information that is provided for them, and this can often lead to various levels of disappointment, for both us and the client. For example, we’ve had women arrive to their sessions with their boyfriends or husbands in tow, only to be told at the door that it is against our policy to allow men in the studio during a photo shoot. There have been a few instances where a client thought she could have more than one hair & makeup “look” for her photos, only to learn upon arrival that this isn’t the case. We’ve even had a couple of clients arrive thinking that they could have some boudoir photos taken with their cars and were disappointed to find out on the day of their session that we do not have a private outdoor area large enough to accommodate photo shoots with vehicles.
As disappointing as those types of scenarios can be, the absolute WORST disappointment occurs when a client neglects to read and fully understand our Pricing Menu, which is, again, provided to them prior to booking a session, prior to the session itself, and before the Image Debut appointment. The reason why this particular mistake is so devastating is because several hours were already spent with the client in the studio on the day of her photo shoot, which included professional hair & makeup services, and the photographer spent several more hours after the session personally editing the client’s photos. Then, in preparation for the client’s big reveal, a gallery of beautiful images and a gorgeous slideshow video were also designed for them. So, after all of that time and hard work, when the client suddenly realizes at the Image Debut appointment that the cost of our digital images, collections, and products is actually higher than she had assumed or, worse, completely out of her price range, you can only image the level of disappointment that is felt by everyone, across the board.
What is truly unfortunate is that every single one of the disappointing scenarios described above could have been completely avoided if the clients had simply read over the information that was made available to them throughout their boudoir experience. While we do realize that the amount of information provided can seem a bit overwhelming, please believe us when we tell you that reading through everything and asking questions prior to your boudoir session or Image Debut appointment is truly the key to having a fantastic boudoir experience.
2. Having a Negative Mindset or Attitude About Yourself and/or the Boudoir Session
It may seem hard to believe, but some women simply do not value or appreciate boudoir photography, nor do they understand what an incredible and sometimes even life-changing experience it can be. However, that is totally okay! After all, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and we respect that. The only time this has the potential of becoming an issue for us is when a woman who has a negative opinion about boudoir photography actually books a boudoir session. (This sometimes happens at the request of a significant other or because someone else actually purchased the session for them as a gift.)
Ideally, we hope that our initially reluctant client will take the time to learn more about boudoir photography, look through our website, and read all of the information that we’ve sent to her prior to her photo shoot, and she will arrive on the day of her session with a more positive attitude and a new appreciation of the incredible experience she is about to have! Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen and, as a result, the client might not take the session as seriously as we’d like and simply “go through the motions” to get through it as quickly as possible. As you can imagine, that type of negative attitude makes the photographer have to work at least twice as hard at creating a positive and fulfilling experience for the client, let alone capturing artistic photos of her that convey her beauty and sensuality rather than cynicism.
On the other side of this coin, we sometimes have women book sessions who DO value and appreciate boudoir photography, but who are also deeply unhappy with their own bodies or general appearance. Again, our hope is that by having this experience and seeing her gorgeous photos, the woman who previously had a negative opinion about herself will gain a new appreciation of her body and develop a sense of self-confidence that she may not have had prior to booking the session. However, this can only happen if she is open to that possibility. When a client who has deeply-rooted negative feelings about herself books a boudoir session with the assumption that we will Photoshop her images in a way that will make her like herself more, she may end up disappointed at her Image Debut (no matter how gorgeous the photos are) because she was never actually open to seeing her true self in a positive light.
For all of these reasons, we cannot stress to you enough the importance of having an open heart and a positive attitude about yourself and this experience before you book a boudoir session.
3. Bringing Too Little, Too Much, Ill-Fitting, or Inappropriate Boudoir Wardrobe
Most women who book a photo shoot with us are aware of how many wardrobe changes come with the session they purchased, and they bring either exactly that many outfits, or they come with a small number of options and allow us to help them select the pieces we think will photograph best. However, occasionally a woman will arrive to her photo shoot with either not enough lingerie (because she didn’t realize she had the option to wear more outfits), or she’ll bring no boudoir wardrobe at all (because she assumed the studio provided lingerie for all of our clients’ boudoir sessions).
On the other hand, sometimes clients take the suggestion of bringing “a few different wardrobe options” a little too far and will arrive at our studio with multiple pieces of luggage, garment bags, and boxes full of shoes, wardrobe of ALL kinds, and accessories galore! While we are perfectly happy to help our clients choose their outfits, bringing in such a large number of options will likely overwhelm your photographer, and the time it takes to select the best wardrobe items could potentially even cut into your photo shoot time. This is why we always recommend limiting your extra wardrobe options to around 3-4 items.
Another HUGE mistake that women sometimes make is bringing in lingerie that either they’ve never tried on before, or that they know does not fit them well, but assume we will Photoshop the images to make them look more flattering. In the case of the former, the reason it is EXTREMELY important to try on your wardrobe prior to your session is because all women are built differently. Just because a piece of lingerie looks like it should fit you when you hold it up, or it looks great on the woman modeling it on the tag, that does NOT mean you will like the way it looks on YOUR body, and that is a terribly disappointing thing to find out right before your photo shoot.
As for bringing in a piece of lingerie that you know does not fit you well, all we can say is please don’t. We always ask that our clients ONLY bring in pieces that make them feel good while wearing them at the time of their photo shoot. For example, if you have a garter belt that looked great on you ten years ago, but today you don’t like how much it squeezes your waist, then it’s better to either find a different garter belt that fits the way you like, or simply forgo that option and bring in a different item altogether. You should never expect your photographer to use Photoshop to make something look like it fits you better, because that is simply not how we edit.
In regard to bringing wardrobe that is inappropriate for a boudoir session at our studio, this sometimes happens when, again, a client has not looked through our Gallery or read the information we’ve provided, which states that costume-type outfits and most props are strongly discouraged. This is because our photography studio is actually an old, historic home and, therefore, many costumes and props can look very out of place when photographed on our sets. (For example, imagine a woman holding a fishing pole while posing seductively on our canopy bed. It just doesn’t work.) We also sometimes have clients bring in regular street clothing or formalwear for their boudoir photos, despite the fact that ALL of the photos on our website clearly illustrate the fact that our boudoir clients are photographed while either nude, semi-nude, or wearing lingerie. Granted, a Lifestyle Portrait Session can be added to your boudoir session if you’d like to include some traditional-style portraits (i.e. photos in regular clothing), but The Adore Girls will always be, first a foremost, a boudoir photography studio.
So, as you are deciding what to wear for your upcoming boudoir session, we highly recommend checking out the wardrobe guides on your Client Access page, looking through our website Gallery to get an idea of what our studio sets look like. If you have a certain piece of wardrobe or a prop in mind, but you’re unsure if it will work for your photo shoot, simply give us a call or even text us a photo at the phone numbers provided below, and we’ll be happy to give you our opinions. :)
4. Overthinking Your Session and Bringing a “Shot List” to Your Boudoir Shoot
The difference between preparing for your upcoming boudoir session and overthinking or over-planning is that preparation contributes towards having a successful experience, while overthinking can set you up for disappointment by creating unrealistic expectations for yourself and your photographer.
For instance, it is perfectly acceptable for a client to prepare for her boudoir session by saving some examples of boudoir images she likes on her phone, and then show them to her photographer on the day of her session. This will give the photographer a better idea of what style of boudoir photography and which types of poses the client likes, and the photographer will keep that in mind while planning out the client’s photo shoot.
However, when a client over-plans her boudoir session and comes to the photo shoot with a list of specific poses or a collection of images that she actually wants the photographer to recreate for her, not only is she preventing the photographer from using their own artistic vision and creativity, but the client is setting herself up for disappointment if she expects her boudoir photos to look exactly like anyone else’s photographs, for a number of reasons. For one, every woman’s body is different, and everyone moves differently. The client may, therefore, end up disappointed if she is physically unable to pose exactly like the other women in her inspiration photos. Furthermore, having a “shot list” can also place an unrealistic expectation on the photographer if the lighting or other technical aspects of those photos simply cannot be recreated within our studio environment.
If you do happen to find yourself overthinking your upcoming boudoir session in this or any other way (like stressing about which angle is your “best angle” or what facial expressions look the “sexiest,” etc.), please just take a deep breath…exhale…and remember that you have hired the absolute BEST professional boudoir photography team in Middle Tennessee to take care of exactly those types of things FOR YOU! Not only that, but it is much more likely that you will have your boudoir expectations exceeded if you simply trust in your photographer’s creativity and expertise and allow them to create a unique experience that is specifically tailored to YOU!
5. Not Speaking Up or Asking Any Questions
Miscommunications and lack of communication are both breeding grounds for disappointment. For this reason, we always encourage our clients to speak up during their photo shoots because we never want to make assumptions about what they were hoping to get out of this experience. For instance, how are we supposed to know that the soft-spoken Sunday School teacher who brought in relatively conservative lingerie wanted to pose with our Honey Birdette Bondage Collection unless she tells us? Also, as photographers, there’s no bigger bummer than having a client say at her Image Debut, “I’m sad I didn’t get to have any photos taken on the canopy bed…” because she totally could have if she had just spoken up during the photo shoot! Remember, your boudoir session is all about YOU, but, unfortunately, we cannot read minds. So, please do not be afraid to speak up during your photo shoot to let us know if you have any specific requests for your boudoir photos. We actually love the collaborative process and always welcome your input during the session.
We also encourage our clients to reach out and ask questions if they need clarity about anything, at any time. As we’ve said throughout this blog, a LOT of information is provided before booking, before the photo shoot, and before the Image Debut, and we are not at all offended or annoyed if you find some of it confusing. We would much rather answer a ton of questions than to have a client feel disappointed about her boudoir experience due to a misunderstanding. So, again, PLEASE do not hesitate to ask if you need any sort of clarification. We are available via email, text, phone, and even through our private Facebook group!
In Summary…
To avoid the 5 boudoir session mistakes mentioned above and help us achieve our goal of providing the absolute best boudoir photography experience possible, we highly encourage all of our future Adore Girls to do the following:
Thoroughly read through all of the provided information and Client Agreement.
Come to the photo shoot with an open mind and a positive attitude, ready to have fun!
Bring the correct amount of wardrobe that is appropriate for a boudoir session within our specific studio environment, with no more than a few extra options, all of which you have previously tried on and feel good about wearing.
Instead of trying to overthink or over-plan the boudoir shoot, trust in your professional photographer’s ability to capture beautiful, flattering photographs that are both inspired by and created specifically for YOU!
Please contact The Adore Girls’ team if you ever have questions or need an opinion about anything regarding your upcoming session, and please do not hesitate to communicate any wants, needs, concerns, ect. to your boudoir photographer during the photo shoot.
We cannot wait to have YOU in the studio!
Contact our office Monday - Friday, 9:00-5:00, via call to 615-336-4256
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