Have you ever, perhaps being far from the world of photography and boudoir, looked for a photo shoot online and thought, at first glance, that its price was too high?
Such a judgment can be based on several factors. For example, the number of photos delivered is one that often casts doubt:
- For some clients it is excessive and they would like to reduce it, thus believing that the cost of boudoir service should also go down
- For other people it is too low in relation to the price: in the age of smartphones that allow us to shoot whenever we want, it is a rather common mistake to always want more and not understand that some things cannot be infinite.
Of course, these impressions arise spontaneously because one does not realize the amount of work and cost behind each individual image.
It is understandable to think that taking pictures is quick and easy: our age, permeated with technology and devices that seek to simplify our lives, gives us the impression that even photographs are something simple and easily obtainable, and more importantly, that they are not at all expensive.
This thinking is far removed from the reality of the photographic world and those who live by it professionally. It is important to understand that there is intensive and dedicated work behind photographs that requires significant time, expertise and resources. Therefore, in this article I explain what lies behind the price of a boudoir shoot.
My mission as a boudoir photographer: beyond just taking a shot
As a professional boudoir photographer, my mission is to capture the beauty and uniqueness of each woman through my images. This means understanding the client’s vision, creating an experience that aims at self-acceptance, and figuring out how to highlight each woman’s features, challenging socially imposed aesthetic standards and leaving aside clichés and stereotypical representations.
This is my mission and it is undoubtedly beautiful, but I do not deny that it is also very complex: it requires time and effort, because to build a trusting relationship with the other person, a few words on the phone are certainly not enough. No one gets “naked” (and let’s be clear that this is a figure of speech, because nudity is not the only protagonist of boudoir photos, if that’s what you’re thinking) if she doesn’t have someone in front of her whom she trusts, with whom she can loosen up and be comfortable.
This is the exact reason why a boudoir photo shoot can in no way be reduced to “I just want a couple of pictures.”
How could I, with only “a couple” of shots, capture all that I have described to you so far?
The value of a boudoir service lies precisely in its comprehensiveness and the depth of the experience offered.
What a boudoir service should look like: experience before price
When I designed my boudoir photography packages, I thought about just how long was the right amount of time to be able to settle into a set, loosen up, and look your best. I considered how many shots would be needed to convey the emotions my client would expect to see later in her photos.
A boudoir shoot, as I see it, should be an experience that tells a story, reflects the client’s personality and sensuality, and makes her feel extraordinarily special. You will understand that to capture this there is a process behind it that requires patience and the ability to create in a few minutes shots that are authentic, fascinating, capable of conveying emotions and capturing the true essence of the person in front of me.
It’s not just about taking pictures by pushing a button and saying, “Do this, do that, boh, done, finished!” It’s about creating an atmosphere of intimacy and trust that allows the client to then take the memory of what she experienced with her and relive those emotions in her photos when she looks at them.
This is what justifies the price of a boudoir photo shoot: the investment in a transformative experience and memories that will last a lifetime.
The post-production of a boudoir shoot: invisible but essential work
Another important aspect that affects the value of a boudoir shoot is then the post-production stage. I would like to emphasize that I do not go in and change the physical features of women during this process, because it goes against my principles and the morals behind my shoots.
This, however, does not mean that there is not atremendous amount of work and time to invest in this phase: in fact, finding the balance of light and shadow that best enhances each woman’s appearance and skin is a process that must be approached in a personalized manner for each client, aimed at creating an end result that reflects the authenticity of each individual.
No one would like to look at photos that do not reflect her natural colors or that completely change the shape of her body. Imagine then if these changes are made to erase any “imperfections” imposed by society: a person would undoubtedly feel hurt and insecure if she were confronted with a picture in which she is not herself.
This process requires many hours of work to be completed properly, time that is completely unknown to the client: in fact, the 30/60/120 minutes marked in the packages include only the shooting phase, not the editing phase.
Therefore, in addition to the time you as a client “experience” for your boudoir service, there is much more “hidden” time associated with it that is too often not thought of when evaluating boudoir cost.
The hidden side of a boudoir service: what the price includes
What concerns me most is that clients do not always understand the effort, study, and value behind a boudoir photo shoot. Sometimes they might think that the high price is only due to the photographer’s choice, but in fact the price reported for each service depends strictly on several factors, including:
- The time devoted to set preparation.
- The cleaning and sanitization of spaces.
- The study of lighting and scene to create the perfect atmosphere.
- The intensive post-production and ethical retouching work.
Also amortized in the same boudoir price are the costs of equipment (such as PCs, cameras, lenses…), post-production programs, maintaining the website, and overhead costs such as electricity to run everything. We also cannot forget that the price paid obviously includes the taxes and fees that a professional boudoir photographer must regularly pay.
In conclusion, a boudoir photo shoot is therefore much more than just a click of the camera and is not something improvisable and quick: it is an intimate experience, dedicated to capturing beauty and building trusting relationships with the person in front of the lens.
It requires time, passion, skills and resources. The next time you consider doing a photo shoot, perhaps just boudoir, I hope you will keep in mind all that is behind it and the value that each and every wonderful image conceals.
You can read how my boudoir services are structured to see which one is right for you.
