Simply Boudoir, LLC

I was speaking with a friend and fellow photographer the other night when she asked me a question that I feel took the conversation from lighthearted with lots of laughs to serious and emotional on my part.  Her question was a great one and completely legitimate, but one that made me stop and think and thoughts I have had building recently all swelled to the top.

“Are you going to any boudoir workshops next year?”

I know, you were probably thinking she was going to ask about my first cat’s death or why I’m not married yet.  Why would a workshop get me all worked up?  After all, I offer natural lighting workshops myself and love learning from other photographers.  I think they are truly valuable and I love that photographers are out there willing to teach others what they know about the industry.  I even signed up for to win a free seat at an online workshop a fellow boudoir photographer that I admire is offering (because her work is truly classic and classy and I love her business advice).  I have also been asked by other photographers if I would be giving a boudoir workshop and personally, the thought of doing that makes me cringe.

My answer was long and began with a laugh and “Girl, you know I can’t go to a workshop with my social anxiety…” but then it went much deeper.

Boudoir photography has rooted itself into my life in ways I have never experienced from a passion before.  It has become a part of my everyday life, intrudes on my thoughts while shopping and while working and even while sleeping.  It has become something so personal to me and is as easy as breathing, but something I want to cradle and protect.  Something my clients alone have made me proud of.  The closest to knowing what it feels like to having a baby you love and want to protect.

To me, boudoir photography is a completely vulnerable experience and one that I have had the pleasure in sharing with over 100 women this year alone.  The stories I hear, the fears I unleash, the lives I change – they have all affected me in a greater way than I ever thought possible.  I now smile at every woman I pass in the store on on the streets.  I help women more, I open my heart to them and I accept them as allies and not threats.  I have boudoir to thank for that. Do you realize how monumental that is as a woman?  If you’re a woman then I’m sure you do.  Men, do you realize?

It seems like every new photographer on the block has suddenly noticed boudoir photography and how popular it has become and they are wanting to merely cash in on it.  Now, that is my opinion and I’m not stating is as fact.  It appears to me though that they look at those of us whom have involved ourselves so deeply into the art and the work that is boudoir and perhaps thought it looked easy and they, too, would now like to start shooting boudoir!  “Hi, we’re Such-N-Such Photography – we shoot weddings, proms and BOUDOIR, too!”  Yes, I also shoot weddings and such, but once boudoir became a real thing for me I immediately separated the two.  Why?  Honestly, it’s because boudoir became my main focus and I didn’t want it to just be another genre of photography I offered.  I wanted it to be THE genre of photography I offered.  (Let me side-step here and say that I have also had the pleasure of having some boudoir clients hire me to take their family photos and knowing that they respected me enough to now introduce me to their family and hire me to document the most important thing in their lives leaves me forever grateful).   I am not one to be easily threatened by other photographers (as I have quite a few as friends and we often work and play together) so this isn’t about someone intruding “on my stepping grounds”, but rather about them doing it for a quick buck.  A quick sale.

Let me take this moment to say that I will never, ever do a Groupon or Living Social deal.  I cannot tell you how many times I have been contacted via phone and email with the promise that doing a quick sale will skyrocket by boudoir business.  Why do I decline?  Besides the fact that my clients pay me the price that I list and that they know is fair because it will get them the top notch service they expect and deserve, that I am booked solid with clients that want ME to photograph them and not just any cheap photographer, that most people who book those deals probably are not ready for a boudoir session and boudoir sessions are not therapy sessions – I don’t do this for the money.  I don’t do this to make a quick buck. I do this because I love it.  Because I love my clients, their stories and experiences.  Because it a fully functioning part of my life as is breathing and eating and drinking six cups of coffee a day. Boudoir photography has taken over my life – AND I LOVE IT.  I am a boudoir photographer.

I guess you could say I get a little offended when others try to take advantage of boudoir. I am not to say that they don’t care about it, want to succeed at it and want to do their own spin on it.  I am talking about the joe-blow photographers that decide to shoot boudoir at their apartments for $100 and the pictures are not thought about before hand, their clients are not shown how to pose in flattering ways and they use this time to experiment with all their cool new ideas.  Boudoir photography is NOT the place for such things.  It is vulnerable, these women are real with real concerns and fears and you do not bring them into your apartment and try out your cool new ideas on the spot and then post them online and call yourself a boudoir photographer.

So back to the workshops.  While I think they can help photographers with business advice, lighting, posing, technique, etc, the only way to really advance your boudoir business is to listen to YOUR clients.  To their concerns.  Their wants.  Their fears.  Their desires.  If you slow down and stop concerning yourself with making money (because let’s face it, we all know Sex Sells), your clients will advance your business for you.  I turn down could-be clients from time to time because I care about their well being and if I can tell from their consultations that they are not ready for a boudoir session (say they mention needing me to Photoshop off half their waist or they tell me they are camera shy and just want to get it over with) then I will tell them that they are not ready.  I hope they respect me for that and they know that I do it because I care about them, not their money.

On the same token – clients, please do your research.  Please ask questions and take your boudoir experience seriously.  Does your photographer just want to make quick money off you?  Do they really care about your well being and where your photos are going after your shoot?  When you look at their portfolio can you see a similar quality in photos and can you tell from one client’s body to another that your photographer knows how to pose and light for all body types?  Do they care about you as a person enough to touch up your photo in ways that don’t change who you are but make you look like a better version of yourself and not a porn star?  Do they make this experience about YOU or about THEM?

So my final answer to my friend was that unless I win the free seat to the boudoir workshop I’d like to take from a trusted source that no, I will not be attending one.  Boudoir is so specific and so personal that the only true way I can really advance my business is by listening to my clients.  By doing that alone I have gone from photographing 35 clients my first year (last year) to 100 this year.  I am working on re-branding Simply Boudoir and showcasing it as a specialty boutique and to show that we are here for you, the client.  Amongst a new logo and packaging, we will also be becoming an LLC at the start of the year and as always will be here to cater to YOU and give you the experience you should expect from your boudoir photographer.

With one month left of the year and three more boudoir sessions left to wrap up I am so grateful for the second year of serving classy and sexy boudoir to the everyday women.  My MUA’s have worked tirelessly for you to keep on top of trends and products and the best costumer service they can offer.  They play such a big role in who Simply Boudoir is and I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for their unique and sassy personalities.  When I make those early morning texts and we roll up to the shoots with our coffees in hand (or Jade even brewing her own like a little ‘ol Granny Me-Maw at the shoots).   We thank you for forgiving our no-makeup days, our ripping of the pants in the middle of the shoots and falling off the stool days.  It’s probably because we’re working 60-80 hours a week and trying to juggle a blooming business all while keeping you our first priority.  While my friends wonder why I’ve been MIA for the better part of the year and why I felt guilty going out for my birthday while I should have been editing.  Why I share with you the details of the birthday cupcakes I bought for my boyfriend (like most people would care).  We do it because we love you.  Thank you.

Ps) If you feel like a boudoir workshop will give you the experience you need to take your business to the next level and make it better then by all means, PLEASE do it!  Do it so you can offer your clients what they deserve and do it so you can make your business successful.  Just don’t do it so you can use it as a tactic to making your wallet fat while using other people’s vulnerabilities to do so.  Workshops are amazing things, but so are your clients and real experiences – which I believe you should always listen to first.  Thank you again to all of the photographers that do offer their time and knowledge to give these workshops and I hope that you do so to teach photographers to be true to their clients and their clients wants and needs.