Boudoir Mini Sessions

What is the best way to ease your clients during A Boudoir session?

By Kris Ann Valdez

Boudoir photography offers a unique and empowering experience for clients to feel confident in front of the camera. Follow these tips and tricks from our top photographers to capture the most stunning moments.

It’s completely normal for clients to be nervous. Many of them have never done something like this before!

Building rapport starts with the initial email—strike a good balance between fun and professional. A pro tip for writing client emails is to start a first draft with just the facts, then add your personality in a second revision before hitting send.

New-York based photographer, Josh Kendall of Boudoir by Kendall, schedules a video chat a few days before scheduled sessions with clients for a “face to face” conversation. In this meeting, they’ll discuss outfit choice and review any questions. On the day of the session, Josh spends fifteen minutes or so chatting, sharing jokes, looking over outfits, and explaining the mood board. This way, everyone feels relaxed before the shoot begins.

With client interactions, Brittyn Conway of Brittyn Elizabeth Studios is bubbly and energetic to help them know they’re in a “safe, empowering, female-ran environment,” which encourages “those nerves to fade and their spicy side to flourish.”

Hair and makeup artists are another excellent way to help clients feel beautiful and comfortable. Brittyn says her makeup artist Ayesha Baig is her secret weapon, gushing, “She hypes up and make my clients feel absolutely stunning before they even get changed.”

Another great idea is to offer complimentary champagne, referred to as “liquid courage”!

Images by: Boudoir by Kendall (Josh Kendall) 

How much do you charge for these sessions, and do you offer any add-ons?

Our photographers' pricing for boudoir mini sessions ranges from $475 to $625. These mini sessions might include: 

• Thirty minutes to one hour photo session with two outfits
• A Client’s choice of eight professionally edited and retouched images
• Posing and direction to help a client look and feel their best
• Private image reveal session within ten days of their photo shoot
• Make-up (can be charged separately too!)

Josh says his clients often book a mini session simply because they aren’t sure they’ll even like eight photos of themselves, so why book a full three-hour session and waste that time?

Often, during the session, Josh’s clients end up “falling in love with the photos after seeing them on the back of the camera and realize they should’ve done a full session.” Instead of booking another session, they can extend their session for $175 per hour, while still receiving only eight digitals of their choice. After, clients can purchase more digitals, an album, or even wall art.

Another idea is to offer “Boudoir Marathons.” Brittyn advertises these once or twice a year. These marathon sessions are twenty-minutes long with professional make-up for $525. This allows her clients to dip their toes into the boudoir experience if they aren’t fully committed to spending higher amounts of money or time.

Do you provide advice on outfits?

Yes, definitely! Outfits have a big influence on confidence-levels in boudoir sessions. It’s a good idea to provide a guide to clients. Your guide might include the following:

• Twenty-five or so different outfit examples. From casual to glam vibes, like a partner’s oversized or button-down t-shirt to a lacey bodysuit or garter belt, the point is to feel amazing in what you’re wearing!
• Accessory ideas
• Outfits to stay away from
• Encouragement to bring something personable along, like a favorite book, musical instrument, hat, etc. that showcases your client’s uniqueness.

Any props?

Anything can be a prop if it has meaning to your client. Some examples include:

• Bridal-related items (gloves, veil, wedding heels, garter, etc.)
• A significant other’s button-ups or sports jerseys
• Mirrors
• Jewelry
• Hats
• Spraying water for a “steamy look”

Boudoir photography should be about great lightning with flattering poses, Josh says. “My style is very classic... I like my clients to look back ten years from now at these photos and still believe they looked like that every day. Most people do not use whips, angel wings, etc. In their day to day, so it loses the aesthetic of my style.”

How many sessions do you book in a day?

Every photographer has a different capacity for sessions.

Josh prefers to book only one per day. This allows the client to be his number one priority. If the shoot ends early, he simply starts editing their photos to get them their reveal session earlier.

For Brittyn’s “marathon” sessions, she will book five to eight, twenty-minute sessions per day, with a ten-minute break between each. But this isn’t her usual pace—only a special offer once or twice a year!

What time of year do you book these?

These sessions can be booked year-round, especially because they are studio-based and not weather dependent.

What do you love most about boudoir mini sessions?

“I could tell a person they were beautiful, but let’s be honest, they’d shrug it off and not believe me,” Josh writes.  “But being behind the lens capturing images of people that really shows them what their loved ones see...it can bring tears to their eyes...is more fulfilling than I could have ever asked for. I am honored to be part of that process of self-discovery.”

Brittyn agrees, all bodies are beautiful bodies and deserve to be celebrated.

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Written by Kris Ann Valdez | Photographers Boudoir by Kendall | Brittyn Elizabeth Studios | Makeup Artist Ayesha Baig