As with all locations, boudoir photography in a hotel room has its advantages and disadvantages. It will be clean and uncluttered, private, and might have good light making flattering photos easier to get. However, it also adds to the cost of a photography session, and the furniture will probably be different from yours. In this blog posting, I will be talking about the pros and cons of a hotel room as a photography location.
Advantages
Boudoir photography in a hotel room gives an uncluttered location for sexy photos.
One of the biggest advantages to doing boudoir photography in a hotel room is that it will be clean, uncluttered, and, for some hotels, the furniture will be unique and an enhancement to the photos. Only in the cheapest hotels would the furniture be a distraction, and we would never work in one of those.
Another hotel advantage is that they all have sheer curtains that provide privacy while allowing the light into the room. This light is often very flattering for photos.
Speaking of privacy, in a hotel room, nobody should be interrupting the photo session. No kids coming home from school, no friends dropping by to chat, etc. This allows us to focus on the photos, helping us get more and better ones.
Yet another possible advantage of a hotel room is that there can be a sense of adventure that arises from being sexy in a different location from normal. Think about going with your lover to a new location. Isn’t the sex a little more exciting? This excitement can show in the photos as well.
Disadvantages
You never get something for nothing. This adage really applies to the idea of boudoir photography in a hotel room. Good hotel or B&B rooms cost at least $100/night, often more. This can add significantly to the cost of a photo session. However, if you have some friends who also want to have boudoir photos, you can split the cost amongst yourselves. We can easily do several photo sessions in a day of hotel time.
Hotel room furniture is unlikely to look like yours. This might not be a problem at all.
Summary
The simple bedclothes and other furniture provide a clean but obvious bed for implying the imminence of sex Boudoir photography in a hotel room provides a clean, uncluttered, and private location for photos that can show a sense of adventure or excitement due to the different location. Unfortunately, it also adds significantly to the cost of a photo session.
The lovely model AzariaZia reclines on a bed.According to Wikipedia, “boudoir” comes from the French word for a woman’s private sitting room or salon in a furnished accommodation usually between the dining room and the bedroom; it can also refer to a woman’s private bedroom. It is an area where a woman can be intimate with herself or together with her lover. Since we are after photos showing the sexy side of you, this location is an obvious one to consider when thinking about locations for photos. In this blog post, I will talk about the advantages and disadvantages of using your bedroom as a photo location.
Advantages
Beautiful model Kika De La O relaxes on a bed.As noted in a previous blog, sexiness can come from the implication in the photo that engaging in sex is a possibility. Since, at least in western culture, the bed is often used as a location for intercourse, then it makes an obvious photo prop for hinting about future sex. Clothed or not, posed on a bed, you can radiate a sexiness that your target will find irresitable.
Since the bed is the bed you share with your lover, there is a feeling of familiarity that shows in the photos. This might make you more comfortable, and that comfort will translate into better photos. The camera captures your mood, so when you are happy and feeling sexy, it shows.
Disadvantages
Wonderful model Sabrina Marie is comfortable in her body and is sexy, yet another good illustration of boudoir photography in a bedroom. Photo assistance by Nora Sue.Most people have things in their bedroom that are useful for day-to-day life, such as books or magazines that you are reading, a mobile device (possibly plugged into the charger), maybe some medicines, etc. This everyday clutter is fine for life, but can be distracting in a photo. This means before we use your bedroom as a photo location, you need to remove all of the clutter (maybe other than some sex toys or lube). This cleaning obviously takes time, and you will want to bring at least some of the items back after the photo shoot, taking more time.
If you want, when you schedule a photo session, my female photo assistant or I will come to your house and give advice about what can be left in the room and what should be removed for the photos.
Summary
Because of the association with sex, doing boudoir photography in a bedroom, especially your bedroom, can help you be both relaxed and sexy. Other than the issues of decluttering, this might be the location you want to use for your boudoir photos. Contact us today to schedule your sexy or boudoir session.
Doing sexy or boudoir photography outdoors can be exciting and beautiful. However, it can also be cold and rainy and might have privacy problems. In this blog posting, I talk about the advantages and disadvantages of outdoor boudoir photography.
Advantages
Model Stephanie Anne behind some grass in San Lorenzo Canyon, NMThe great outdoors can be beautiful, especially in the two states where I live: New Mexico and Hawaii. A beautiful landscape makes a better backdrop than any you will every find in a studio. Trees, tall grass, mountain streams, and wonderful vistas all await someone willing to work outside.
When we are working on private property, privacy can be assured. I have set up a simple outdoor studio on 11 acres that I own in the Sandia Mountains, near Albuquerque. The land has a lockable gate. It also has several different forest settings.
Working outside can lend a sense of adventure to the photo session. Many people in the US are rarely somewhat or completely undressed outdoors. Therefore it can be a new experience (and maybe even a nude experience; sorry, I could not help myself).
Disadvantages
Model London Andrews in the Rio Jemez, NMThe biggest possible disadvantage of doing sexy and boudoir photography outdoors is the weather. Luckily, I live in areas where good weather is common. However, I have had to cancel photo sessions or move them to the studio when the weather did not cooperate.
Also, in most states, it is too cool or even cold to work outside during part of the year. If you are cold, it will show in the photos and they will not be as good.
When working in national forests and on other public land, there is the issue of privacy. Model Stephanie Anne looking around a corner in San Lorenzo Canyon, NMWhenever I am shooting sexy or boudoir photos outdoors, I always have a lookout posted, and we are ready with a robe or other cover at a moments notice. When we were doing the photos of London (such as the one above where she is floating in a pool), a group of people intending on fishing wandered by (and kept going). We heard them approaching and she was clothed when they came by us. In general, I have noticed that even at busy locations in the mountains (such as the Sandias just outside of Albuquerque), most people are gone by a mile from the trailhead. Leave the trail by just a little bit, and you rarely will see people. I know many places just far enough off a trail to work well as photo locations.
Summary
Model Stephanie Anne in San Lorenzo Canyon, NMDoing sexy and boudoir photos outdoors gives a background and props that are impossible to recreate in a studio or other location. There can be a sense of adventure associated with going to a location and being partially or completely undressed. Unfortunately, the weather is not under control, so there can be temperature or rain issues. Private property has controlled access, but working on public lands requires having a lookout watching and listening for people wandering by.
One location option for sexy or boudoir photography is to use a studio. As with any location, there are advantages and disadvantages. A studio is under the control of the photographer, and might be less expensive because he or she does not need to travel. However, it might not look like a (or your) bedroom, and it might take longer to relax in the unfamiliar surroundings. In this blog post, I will go into more detail about the pros and cons of boudoir photography in a studio.
Advantages
Model Kika De La O in the bedroom portion of my studioTo start with, a studio is a controlled environment. This means that the temperature can be set to a comfortable level. Probably, you are wearing fewer clothes than normal. The ability to ensure that you are warm enough is important. If you are uncomfortable, it will show in the photos. When I am doing sexy and boudoir photography, your comfort is more important than mine. If necessary, I will be sweating to ensure that you are comfortable.
Next, most studios have controlled access. This means that you get privacy. In my case, the only people around during boudoir photography in a studio are you, maybe your friend, my (female for female customers) photo assistant, and me. Your privacy is very important to me, so I ensure that nobody else will show up in the studio unexpectedly.
Another advantage of a studio is that the lighting might be already set up, saving time (and hence money) for you. It can take 30 or more minutes to set up lighting equipment, and a similar length of time to take it down again at the end. Since my price is related to the amount of time I will be spending on the photography and subsequent editing, less time means a lower cost.
Beyond the cost of the time to set up equipment, when I have to travel to your location, I have to spend both time and money to get there. When we work at my studio, the time is minimal or zero. This is also reflected in the cost.
In my case, my studio is in my house. Not everybody is comfortable coming to a strange house and undressing. For this reason, I also have access to two rental studios. They have the advantages listed above other than the time savings, although one of the studios comes equipped with a good selection of lights and light modifiers.
In my home studio, not only are lights probably already set up, I keep a selection of props handy. When traveling, I take the props most likely to be useful, but if something unusual is needed, I might not have it. Under most circumstances, I have way more ideas than we have time for, so this advantage is minor.
Disadvantages
Model “Ziggy” poses in a non-bedroom part of my studio.You never get something for nothing, however. This means that boudoir photography in a studio does potentially have some drawbacks. The first is that the boudoir (French for bedroom) part of my studio probably looks different from yours. If the photos are intended for your partner, then this difference might be disconcerting. A related issue is that a different part of my studio is a more traditional studio. It looks nothing like a bedroom. We can get great photos there, but they will not be traditional “boudoir” photos.
Another disadvantage of a studio location is that some people find it harder to relax in due to being partially or completely undressed in unfamiliar surroundings. Time spent photographing might cover this; most customers relax in 15 to 45 minutes. This relaxation time is why I rarely schedule less than a two-hour photo session.
Summary
Boudoir photography in a studio is a temperature- and privacy-controlled environment. It normally requires less travel and setup time than a location photo shoot. However, it probably does not look like your home, and it might take a little longer to relax in the unfamiliar surroundings. In other blog posts, I discuss the advantages and disadvantages of your house, a hotel, and outside locations.
In my (over-)analysis of what is sexy, my next observation is that showing things that are not normally seen can be sexy. By showing something not normally shown, a certain intimacy is implied, and the sharing of it with the viewer can be quite special moment. The idea is that if you see these areas, you might be moving closer to sex, at least in the viewer’s mind, if not in reality. This is why a low-cut dress is sexier than one with a high neck, and why a short skirt is usually sexier than a floor-length one.
Examples of showing what is not normally seen
Think about underwear. Pretty much by definition, it is worn under other clothing, and hence not seen. However, a glimpse of it can be quite sexy.
Another example that really turns some people (and not others) on is tan lines (marie claire, Betty Confidential, the Frisky, Yahoo answers). Areas that are light are areas that are normally covered. Tan lines imply that the person is normally more modest than in the photo; they are something that is not normally seen. The untanned areas are a dual eye attractant—they are both light and they are an area normally unseen.
Yet another example is the area between the breasts. For example, think about a dress with a neckline that plunges to the navel. The “between-boob” area, while shown more often than some other areas, is still not something that is shown in most day-to-day life (unless you live a very interesting life or in a warmer climate that I do :-). Similarly, underboob and sideboob are much less often shown. Therefore, showing them can be quite sexy without showing nipples.
The next-to-last example is the butt. Most swimsuits cover more than “absolutely necessary”; the minimum seems to be what I have heard called, “butt floss”, where a single string goes in the butt crack and widens just enough to cover the genital area; basically, a g-string. Since this much butt is not often shown, showing it can be sexy.
Showing more implies intimacy
Finally, one of the major reasons that nudity can be sexy is that showing everything implies a great deal of intimacy. This can be an obvious prelude to arousal and (imagined) sex, concepts discussed in earlier blog entries (1, 2). One of the few times that nipples and the genital area are normally (in the US) seen is when about to engage in sex. This is what sexy photos are all about—creating the illusion that sex is possible and maybe even imminent.
Showing what is normally hidden can easily be combined with removing clothes, a subject of a prior blog post. After all, if something is coming off, whatever is underneath is showing—underwear, tan lines, or skin.
Another thing that strongly affects this topic is the culture. I live in the US, where showing breasts and the pubic area is frequently against the law, even if done in a completely non-sexual way. Whether or not I agree with this (I don’t) is immaterial. Normally, more than just pasties and a g-string are required to be out in public. What it means is that in the US, more-or-less everything in this blog post applies.
However, I was in Copenhagen a few years ago. There, people of both gender would go to the public park, remove their top and often strip down to just their briefs/panties. They would then lie down and soak up the sun. For Danes then, there is less that is “not shown”. Hopefully, someone from Europe will comment and provide more insight about what is “not shown” and how it relates to sexy.
On the other side of the covered/uncovered spectrum are cultures such as those in north Africa and southwest Asia. From several visits to south Asia, this paragraph applies there nearly as much. There, women are often covered much more. This means that people are not accustomed to seeing much skin, and any skin can be sexy, even to the point that some men claim that the sight of female skin drives them insane with desire.
Here are a few photos illustrating this concept. This first one nearly shows “too much”, but the hint at betweenboob behind her hair and the obvious underboob show that Alicia in a sexy way.
Candace has seen some sun, but not always wearing the same clothing. Therefore, her tan line is not a sharp one. There’s also a bit of betweenboob at work to make this image sexy, as well as the implied about to show more, all of which make this a sexy image. Some parts of Candace have seen more sun than other areas.
In this photo, there is both the underboob, betweenboob, as well as wearing only underwear. In other words, there is a lot shown here that is not shown in public. Of course, the fact that she’s stunningly beautiful does not hurt either. Showing what is not often shown helps make this a sexy photo.
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