I'm so excited you decided to invest in an amazing photo shoot experience! We're guessing you’re either ready to hop in front of that camera & come alive...or you’re very nervous & may be visibly uncomfortable for a bit (spoiler - the latter is true for most!). Either is okay, the scariest thing about a boudoir shoot, is not the shoot itself but having the courage to confirm the booking.
When having your photos taken, there are some areas where advanced preparation can make a huge difference. You can help avoid distracting elements which take the focus away from where it should be. (*Ahem* Your beautiful eyes, of course.)
Booked your first boudoir session or looking into booking one? Here is my list of tips for how to prepare for your boudoir photoshoot! Remember, these tips are here as suggestions to help you think of ideas for preparing for your shoot, but are definitely not required, or even necessary for everybody. Just choose what fits in with your budget, lifestyle, and current beauty regimen, and go from there! It’s your face, your body, your photos, so always do what makes you feel most beautiful.
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 the photoshoot. Your session comes with complimentary hair and makeup, so show up make-up free and let us take care of the rest (woohoo!).
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 at least 48 hours before your shoot.
Get Your Body Ready!
You will be with us for about 2 - 4 hours (depending on your package) & there won’t be time to
take a break to eat snacks (plus, we don’t want you to mess up your lipstick by eating), so be sure to eat a healthy meal before you arrive to help 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 the morning of your session. Or if you wax, make sure you schedule your appointment a few days before your shoot.
If you have tan lines, make sure to get a spray tan 3 days before your shoot to get your skin colour evened out. I highly recommend visiting Refresh in Dubai. To remove tan lines in post production may adhere to an additional fee per image due to the extensive amount of time it takes to remove them.
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 colour or a French mani, make sure you love the shade. We recommend colours like nude, pink, red, or maroon & avoiding bold colours like orange or blue. Colours like those ruin photos as they stand out too much & take away the attention from beautiful you. Pro tip: Use the same colour on your hands & feet.
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 colour.
Make sure you love your hair colour! If you’re thinking about changing your colour, make sure you pick one that you’ll love to look back on.
We allot roughly an 1 hour for hair & makeup to be completed. This means that our hair/makeup artist is only doing 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. Even if we can push your shoot time back, eventually the sun will run out & there is nothing we can do if the sun runs out. So, arrive with clean, dry hair 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.
Prep Your Lingerie!
Okay so the key to a fun and sensual boudoir shoot is LINGERIE!
Do you want to go nude, partially nude, wear lingerie or a favorite t-shirt? Do you want your shoot to be full-on sexy or sort of sweet?
After you book, we’ll email you our Lingerie Guide which includes advice on how to choose the best lingerie for your body type as well as info on where we recommend purchasing it from.
Bring at least 3 outfits even if you plan to borrow items from our studio closet, just incase what we have doesn’t fit or interest you. If you have more, even better – I can help you narrow it down once you arrive. Pro tip: I recommend a bodysuit for at least one look.
Don’t forget to remove the tags from your lingerie as we don’t want the tags to show up in the photos; we have scissors in the studio if you forget.
Start by shopping in your closet for the items you instinctively select when you want to feel (and look) your absolute best.
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 board & study the faces of the models in those shoots,
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.
Clients with zero experience end up getting hundreds of photos that they love with me & their problem becomes narrowing down – who doesn’t like that to be their problem?!
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!
