“How do I prepare for a boudoir photo shoot?”
This is a question I hear frequently from people interesting in a boudoir photo shoot session.
When you book with me part of your boudoir photo shoot experience includes a style consult where we talk about how to prepare for a boudoir experience. We talk wardrobe, mood and tips for your body. I help guide and support you through this and you’ll even receive a boudoir guide and a packing list for the day.
However, there are a few things that we can’t do together before the photo shoot and I thought I’d share my top three tips with you! I recommend that everyone should do these before their boudoir photography photoshoot.
1 week before your boudoir photo shoot!
1. HYDRATE!
A week before your boudoir photoshoot get into the habit of drinking enough water. Everyone is slightly different here, and the general guide is to drink 6-8 glasses of water a day. Drinking a little and often is the best way to stay hydrated.
I find this so hard! Something that helps me is to carry a small flask of water with me during the day. It reminds me to drink water and removes that blocker of finding glass and pouring the water! I know! Lazy me!
There’s always a slight lack of scientific data on the benefits of hydration and how much you should drink every day. I recommend staying hydrated before your boudoir photo shoot because I’ve found that drinking water makes me feel less tired and improves my mood. Your Boudoir photo shoot is a special event and I want you to feel good from the inside out! I believe that drinking a little and often a week, or three days before your photo shoot, will help you feel good during your session.
2. MOISTURISE!
Start right now! It’s never too early. Moisturise everywhere! Even though I tell myself this advice every day I never quite achieve that luxurious moisturising session I had planned.
In reality, who has time to moisturise everywhere a week before a photo shoot? So I would say moisturising your lips is non-negotiable!. This is the one part of your body you should not skip on. Moisturise those lips every day.
The other key areas are your face, hands, arms, and legs. During your style consult, we talk about your favourite body parts and we only photograph areas you are comfortable with.
I recommend moisturising before your boudoir photo shoot because your skin will feel great to touch, it will look great on camera, and if I am super honest, it leads to less retouching afterwards!
Moisturising every day the week before your photo shoot is a wonderful way to count down and prepare your skin for your boudoir photo shoot.
3. STRETCH!
Some light body stretches first thing in the morning are going to pay off big time a week before your boudoir photo shoot. I recommend simple things like gently trying to touch your toes, calf and arm stretches. I recommend these because stretches help to improve your range of body motion. Don’t overdo it, just get some movement in there.
Some of the poses you’ll be trying at your boudoir experience can feel a little unnatural. I constantly tell people that the camera is dumb, and we need to help it to see ourselves the way everyone else does. There is no bad version of you, only a dumb camera catching an angle in a split second that no one would ever see in real life! Helping the camera to see generally means moving your body in a slightly different way than you would normally.
Gently stretching your body is going to make the poses a little more comfortable and will reduce the fatigue you may feel after a session. A boudoir photo shoot is surprisingly like a little mini-workout.
If you’d like to see more photographs with the different types of posing visit my Boudoir Gallery.
HYDRATE - MOISTURISE - STRETCH
These are my top 3 tips! I include many more in my Boudoir Preparation Guide, which every client receives 1 week before their boudoir photo shoot.
If you’re interested in finding out more about your own boudoir experience, say hello! I’d love to hear from you.