Do Your Pictures Have Answers?

Who knows what prompted it—an idle conversation, an article in Cosmo, or perhaps too many nights in front of the TV, who knows? Whatever it was, she’s thinking about pictures. Sexy pictures. Of herself. For her guy. So she jumps on her favorite search engine to look for a list of boudoir photographers based on location, cost, and references. Right?

Wrong. Those things are nowhere near her radar yet. All she wants now is to find pictures that make her feel a personal connection, that make her feel sexy, that make her believe she could be in that picture—for him. And if she doesn’t experience that vicarious thrill while looking at your pictures, she won’t give a damn about where you are, what you charge, or what others think about you.

So what kind of pictures make the boudoir bar? What’s different about them? And why do so many miss the mark?

Well, in short, they are intimate pictures with a sexual message. The kind of intimacy that comes from within. You can’t apply it with makeup, sculpt it with light, or add it with Photoshop. She must bring it to the party and allow you to see it. I’m talking about that glance… that gesture… or that look that tells her intended viewer, “Hey, I’m real, you can touch me.” Without this intimacy her sexual message won’t be heard; but with it, she will radiate passion and telegraph her desire.

By a very wide margin, more pictures miss that mark than not, and they do so because the photographer fails to deliver on the only two things that matter: the intimacy and the message. Try this test. Look at the boudoir pictures in this post—or have someone look at one of yours—and ask these questions: (1) What does she want to share with the viewer? (2) What does she want the viewer to know about her? (3) What does she want from her intended audience?

If you felt an answer to at least one of these questions, then it’s the kind of picture your prospective customers may connect with. On the other hand, if the first thing you thought was, “wow, cool lighting,” or “great outfit,” or “that’s interesting, check out those little bird wings on her eyebrow makeup,” then, my friend, you’re looking at an example of photographer-induced style trumping substance. That doesn’t work for boudoir.

Boudoir is all about her and her message. The other elements of the picture—makeup, hair style, wardrobe, and the entire scene around her—serve only as the supporting cast. Lose sight of this, and your pictures will soon be filled with expressionless, over-styled women posing stiffly in make-believe sets that will suck out whatever intimacy might have been left.

Today’s images: At the top is Julie, lit with one beauty light at camera left and one medium gold reflector at camera right; and in the center is Melyssa, lit with a 60” umbrella at camera left.

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And now for something new…

I looked around the Internet for an image that might further illustrate this post. For whatever reason, I was drawn back to a site I first visited several years ago—that of Canadian portrait photographer Lloyd Erlick. I find his work endlessly fascinating. While not boudoir, it is certainly intimate, and there’s much to be learned from studying his portraits and reading his comments. Start with “Naughty Nana”.

I also looked around the Internet for an image that would illustrate what happens when you fail. (I have plenty of my own examples, of course, but hey, why not pick on others when you can.) But then I thought better of the idea. I mean, it is possible that some might not take it in the educational spirit I intended.

If you know of an image, either yours or another’s, that illustrates a concept discussed on this blog, please email me the link (legal attribution is required).