Personality in Boudoir

I hope evryone had a great weekend! Myself, I observed a couple things this weekend. These things helped me, I believe, with my boudoir photography. And it should with any type of portrait photography.

My first lesson was when I was watching a documentary. Have you seen "The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team"? It is really impressive about the detail and work the ladies put in to becoming a DCC, as they call themselves. It was almost like watching something military as each move from every girl is judged. The attention to detail is amazing, and I don't know how the choreographers see everything they see. They are in the truest sense of the word professionals. How they can see that one leg kick out of 18 girls is a little off is beyond me. But sure enough, when she was questioned about it, the young lady said she was having knee problems. This type of action occurred throughout the hour. 

But allow me to tell what struck the chord with me. A couple times girls were singled out- not for their choreography, but because they were trying to be too perfect. They were so worried about the details that they weren't letting their personality shine through. If you have ever seen cheerleaders at any level, you know that this is essential. Cheerleaders are there to not just lead cheers, but to provide a fun experience for everyone.  And you may argue, but the DCC are about at the top of the mountain in the cheerleading world. So even though they are striving to be the perfect dancers, it is important that their personality shows that they love what they are doing and having fun.

My other experience came from, well, Facebook. I am a member of a couple closed groups that are boudoir photography groups. One of the photographers posted some pictures of the last shoot she had. She was upset because the client was not happy with the turnout. The photographer was asking for input. As I looked through the images, I saw that the lighting was beautiful, and the poses were very complimentary. So why would her client be unhappy? I thought that it wasn't the pictures, but she looked so unhappy in all of them. She had the same expression throughout and just did not look comfortable with herself or the experience. I felt bad for her because she appeared to be very sad. I am not faulting the photographer. I think that the photographer needs to find a way to help the model feel comfortable in front of the camera which can be difficult to do. But there are a few techniques to help that. we will talk about that later.

But back to personality- I know I talk a lot about posing, so you are probably saying we can throw all that out the window. NO! NO! NO! We use posing to help you look your best, and we use lighting to accentuate the positives. But the whole idea about your boudoir session is to feel good about you. Just like the DCC, they can have all the choreography down to a tee, but if they look tense or miserable all that work is for nothing. With your boudoir session, you may want to see yourself as a warm, loving mother, or maybe a strong, sexy woman. We want to bring all that out in you. Picture yourself in your album and feeling the emotions that you know are inside you that you want to show. Overcome the nervousness and show the woman that you are. You will be so happy that you did. 

Next week I want to share with you some of the techniques I use in showing your personality in boudoir. Have a great week, everyone!