Prepping For Your Boudoir Session | Oceanside, California boudoir photographer

Booking a boudoir session is a big deal

Which is why the experience I offer my clients is geared towards helping you plan and feel prepped 100% of the time. I want you to have the best session ever, and so much of that comes from feeling like you are supported well before your session.

Prepping for your boudoir session goes far beyond just gathering outfits and knowing how you want your makeup done. It’s about prepping yourself mentally, so that you can get everything you want out of your experience with me. It’s about feeling deeply into your “why”. Even if you are doing this shoot as a gift for someone, this is still also very much for you, too!

Here are my go-to, quick tips, for prepping for your session!

A month before:

01. PLAN YOUR OUTFITS

About one month before your session, I connect you with my stylist and bestie, Kat. Kat and I are here to help you really dive into the “vibe” you want for your session. Maybe you want to step out of your comfort zone and get in touch with your inner badass. Maybe you want to tap into your love of 70’s boho glam. Maybe you want to exude confidence like the badass supermodels of the 90’s and channel your own iconic Calvin Klein shoot.

Maybe you want all of that. Whatever you want, we help you figure it out. And then we help you compile all of those ideas and vibes into outfits. Outfits that feel like YOU + no one else.

The truth is, you could choose to shoot in an old pair of granny panties and it would be fire flames. Like literal fire flames, confidence through the roof, gorgeous energy, etc. The outfits are not the center of the session. The confidence you FEEL in your outfits is the goal. Whatever YOU feel confident in, is what we want. Granny panties? Amazing. Strappy leather bondage set? We love that too.

We have time to shoot in up to 4 looks and we are here to help you organize your brain, choose between things, etc. You don’t have to do this alone and in fact, we don’t want you to do this alone. We want you to feel supported!

the week of:

01. EAT + HYDRATE

This is not the time to participate in toxic diet culture bullshit. This IS the time to treat your body with lots of love and kindness and respect. Treat your body like the hard working vessel that it is and EAT. This is usually the time when nerves set in and we start to worry about all the little things that don’t actually matter. You do not need to lose weight. You do not need to make yourself smaller. You do not need to fit into an unattainable box. What you do need to do is nourish yourself. Eat because you love the food you’re eating. Eat because you know it makes you feel good. Eat because you were simply craving the pizza. Celebrate yourself + this HUGE step you’re taking by indulging and doing the opposite of minimizing yourself.

TAKE UP SPACE.

02. TAN + WAX

Get your spray tan and / or your wax (if that’s your thing)! This is absolutely not mandatory or required BUT if this feels in alignment with what is going to make you feel good, then the week of your session is the best time to get it scheduled! The good news is, when you book a shoot with me, I give you my Exclusive Vendor guide with amazing personal reccs to women owned businesses to help you out with all the things. My friends are spray tan specialists, waxing professionals, skin care know-it-alls, and everything in-between. We got your back!

03. REVIEW PRICING GUIDE + REACH OUT WITH ANY QUESTIONS

You’re feeling overwhelmed with excitement and (normal, healthy) nerves and that’s to be expected! If you feel this way, it is so normal. Reach out to me with any questions you might have or any anxieties you might be experiencing. This is what I am here for!

You will also want to review my pricing guide to get a head start on thinking about how to keep your final images and in what form you want to do so. You’ll be able to choose from albums, digital collections or my exclusive all-inclusive collections that include a little bit of everything! It’s okay if you’re not sure, but it’s always good to review the offerings and come to your session with an idea and game plan.

three days before:

01. MAP OUT YOUR COMMUTE

This is the perfect time to plug in my address and map out your drive to the studio. The week leading up to your session, I’ll send over a Prep Email that will outline our start / end time, my address, phone number and all the ins and outs on arriving to your shoot on time. I’m an over communicator so I’ll even include parking tips! San Diego driving can be crazy so I always recommend visualizing your drive before hand and giving yourself extra time just in case.

02. PACK YOUR OUTFITS

It’s time! Pack and organize your outfits neatly so that you know you have everything. It’s happened quite a few times that client’s left a pair of underwear at home or forgot a piece of jewelry they wanted to wear. Hang all your items and make sure you’ve got everything you need for your session.

Pro-tip: If bringing all your items on hangers, you can hang a jacket overtop to hide them so you’re not walking around with lingerie. Or you can choose to not do this, and give people something silly to talk and wonder about hehe.

03. SET YOUR INTENTION

In the week leading up to your session, I’ll also be sending you a boudoir mood board which will help you rethink your intention for your boudoir session. Of course we all want gorgeous and super hot photos of ourselves. Yes. We ALL deserve that! But what if, FIRST, we wanted to FEEL good in every cell in our body? What if, we wanted to feel loved and validated in our existence. What if it had nothing to do with the way we look? Your intention could be as simple as “I want to see myself with kinder eyes.” or “I want to appreciate my WHOLE self.”

Whatever it is, let it be unique to you. Write it down. Visualize those feelings. Visualize what it looks like for your intention to be true. Visualize what it could look like.

every damn day:

01. DAILY AFFIRMATIONS

I want you to challenge yourself by either journaling or looking at yourself in the mirror and reminding yourself of why you are doing this, why you are worthy and deserving of this, and why you are so amazing. Write down 1-3 (or 10) compliments regarding yourself that has NOTHING to do with your outer appearance. Focus on things that have everything to do with your soul, your energy, your personality, and all the badass things that make you, you. When that starts to feel more normal, find things about your body that you love and appreciate.

Maybe your thighs are really big and thick and strong. Maybe your thighs carry you through the world or allow you to play and run with your kids. Maybe you can squat 300lbs with your thighs. Maybe you have to stand on your feet all day at work, and your big thick thighs keep you going.

Maybe it’s your belly. Maybe it folds and rolls and is a comfy pillow for your puppies head to lay on. Maybe it jiggles when you laugh. Or perhaps it is bigger because you are healing from your eating disorder and enjoying food fully (this is totally me).

Whatever it is, I want you to focus on your uniqueness. Your amazing-ness. All of the incredible magic that you undoubtedly are.

02. UNFOLLOW TOXIC INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS

Part of getting in the right headspace for your session is making sure that you are filling your in-between daily moments (probably spent on social media) with imagery of people who look different from you or exist in bigger bodies or simply live in different worlds than you do.

Unfollow the people to contribute to the toxic culture of white ableism and thinness. Unfollow the people who contribute to unattainable beauty standards. Unfollow anyone who makes you feel like you are not good enough as you are right now.

ready to

book your own session?