It's time....
Time to go beyond a photo shoot to an unforgettable experience lasting the whole day.
So up until now I've offered Boudoir Photography alongside my wedding work - BTW it all started when one of my brides asked for some Boudoir photos a few years ago. The shoot was either at the clients home or a local hotel. I've never really felt comfortable doing this in a studio. It's already hard for a non model to feel comfortable and relaxed in a studio environment and boudoir in such a place? - well I don't think it's the best place.
We'd do the shoot after an initial chat and coffee to get relaxed. A week or so later I'd send over the photos in an online gallery - everyone of my clients has been thrilled when they saw the photos.
But I felt something was lacking.
Sure everyone enjoyed the actual shoot as well as the resulting photos but this is usually just a once in a lifetime experience. And that's when I came up with the idea that whilst it should be a Boudoir Photo Shoot it should also me something she'll remember forever. It should be totally indulgent, an escape from everything for a day, and something out of the ordinary.
So I created THE EXPERIENCE
Location - I felt I needed somewhere "away from it all". Where she'd be totally at ease, could relax and switch off for a day. This is about finding that "you" that's inside that's buried beneath the everyday and it needs to be somewhere beautiful and relaxing.
So - I use a beautiful, secluded cottage in the heart of the Suffolk countryside for the Experience and it's yours for the whole day.
Environment - I sometimes provided my Wedding hair and make-up artist for the shoot but usually clients kept the cost down by doing themselves or having a friend do it. There was usually coffee available for the client and myself - yea I love coffee but it's a bit everyday and The Experience is an escape.
So - The Experience includes Champagne, Expensive Chocolates, Canopies and Lunch. My Hair and Make-up artist will create the "you" that you want to be today - and this can be anyone you want! The two hour photo shoot itself uses the whole of the beautiful cottage (and even outside weather permitting) - having your beauty complimented by the location makes for even better photos! There's no rush and you can change as often as you like - we'll spend time on each photo to create the very best image possible.
Afterwards - I used to leave after the shoot and send over a link to their online gallery from which they could download all the photos - about 80 usually..I suspect that only a few women later took the time, effort and expense of having any photos printed. This is such a shame - prints, especially Boudoir images look fantastic when printed large, or even in an album all together is so much better than online. So - What happens now is that immediately after the shoot I go back to my office whilst the client can now relax, go for a walk, drop into Bury St Edmunds or just sit and relax. Back at my office I'll select around 80 images - I'll go through these carefully to then find the very best 40 and I'll individually edit these for crop, colour, exposure and a dozen other things to create a set of 40 beautiful and varied images of the day. I'll then return after about three hours and go through these 40 images with her. We'll select the images for the luxury 20 page 12"x12" album plus any images to be printed as posters, framed prints, wall art, whatever. (there's a big selection available!) The day is done and never to be forgotten Later the album will be delivered, the prints, posters and wall art. I'll send a DVD with a video of the whole day.
The client now truly can always look back on that day with beautiful memories
THAT is THE EXPERIENCE
Allen is a full time professional photographer - contact him here