There’s a lot of questions and curiosity surrounding boudoir and many people who never had a boudoir session often wonder what is the purpose of boudoir photos. That’s a question I completely understand because I cannot expect anyone to “get it” who has never experienced a photoshoot and the results. In an effort to share the why and the purpose of boudoir photos, I’m sharing my own experience and the experience of some of the many guests the studio has served over the years.
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Occasions For Boudoir Photos
First, let’s explore why clients come to us for a boudoir experience. Here are just a few of the reasons and occasions guests have come to us wanting a boudoir photoshoot and gorgeous portraits of themselves.
Reasons To Do A Boudoir Photoshoot
- They’re getting married and this is a gift for their spouse
- They’re celebrating a milestone birthday and they want to celebrate who they are
- They just got divorced and want to see themselves as an attractive, sensual woman again
- Their spouse recently died and they were the ones who always told our client she was beautiful, but she never believed him. This session is her way of allowing herself to see what he saw all those years. It’s a way of still being connected to their late spouse and a way of honoring the love they showed.
- They survived addiction and are celebrating the new them with a photoshoot because it includes a makeover, full posing guidance, and they just really want to be able to visually see the new them in a way they’ve never seen themselves before.
- They’re a survivor of an eating disorder and they want to embrace their physical body for all that it is without judging it as too much or too little of something.
- They are survivors of sexual trauma and their boudoir photo session is one of their therapeutic ways of reclaiming their physical body as their own.
- They recently became a mother and want to celebrate their new body and all that it can do to grow and nourish a human.
- They work hard and they play hard! Some guests just want to enjoy the full day of service with hair and makeup makeovers, play in the client closet, and love their portraits!
In conclusion, are many, many more reasons our guests choose to have a boudoir photo session experience. The occasions listed above are just a few of the most popular incentives our clients have shared with us. In the end, the purpose of a boudoir photoshoot is to celebrate, to honor yourself, and celebrate who you are and how far you’ve come.
What To Wear To A Boudoir Session?
What you can wear to a boudoir session is limitless! Again, with our studio, your portraits are all about you and what makes you you! We provide our guests with our Boudoir Preparation Guide, tons of photo inspiration on what to wear and what silhouettes photograph well. Boudoir doesn’t restrict you to only wearing lingerie.
To us, boudoir means the intimate you. To reiterate, the purpose of your boudoir session is to see the version of you who is completely relaxed. Again, boudoir is not about trying to impress anyone else but yourself. Therefore, we always encourage our guests to explore what sides of themselves they really want to see and feel in their images. We help them with styling, posing, and lighting to tell their story through our lens.
Here are some ideas of what to wear for your boudoir photoshoot:
- bra and panty set
- romantic lace robe
- a fur stole
- a fedora
- jersey of your favorite team, or better yet, a crop top with their logo on it
- a blazer
- a white tank top
- a classic button up shirt
- our studio’s couture dressing robe (think Liz Tayler here)
- our stuido’s angel wings
- a swimsuit
- a sheer, flowy skirt
- fabric that we can drape (think Grecian Goddess)
- a sheet (remember Marilyn’s classic white sheet photos?)
- bodysuits
- a catsuit
- bodychains/body jewelry
- an off the shoulder oversized sweater,
- and soooooooo much more!
The Purpose of Boudoir Is To Be The Antidote To The “You Are Not Enough” Messaging
The reason for having a boudoir photoshoot is different for each person. It mostly boils down to celebrating the recognition you are enough. Through mass media, we constantly see and hear thousands of messages every day that tell us we are not enough.
We either need to loose weight or gain muscle.
Everyone either needs to pluck their eyebrows or celebrate full eyebrows.
We better pay attention to how full and long or lack thereof our eyelashes are, too.
And don’t forget our hair. If our hair isn’t full enough or long enough we need extensions and we don’t want hair on our bodies so we must remove it all – mostly in super painful ways.
Did I forget natural signs of aging?!? How could I? Don’t forget that we’re supposed to look like we are in our 20’s even when we are in our 40’s and 50’s. These days, people are encouraged to Botox everything everywhere!
This is not to say that taking care of your body and getting treatments or waxing, or Botox, or extensions are a bad thing. It’s the messaging that that you are not enough as you are without these things that feeds people’s insecurities.
Let’s circle back to the original question, “What is the purpose of boudoir photos?”. Boudoir sessions and the photos are the antidote to that messaging. Through expert posing, lighting, styling, and professional hair and makeup makeovers, we have fun and show our clients that they are beautiful just the way they are!
Read about why some of our former guests feel that every woman should have a boudoir photoshoot, read this article. I think you’ll see the reasons are endless!
To inquire about our services feel free to contact us at info@jilllunarbodyboudoir-com
