Purchasing A Boudoir Session For Your Partner?? Pro-tips and Considerations You Should Make First!
Full disclosure- this message is mainly for the Fella’s (and partners) out there and with it being the new year Valentine’s Day soon approaching I am feeling inspired to share some knowledge from communications I have had with clients in regards to best practices for the men out there to buy a session for their partner. But for my ladies, I will post some tips for you as well!
Men-
Pro tip: if you want the lady in your life to gift YOU a sexy shoot for your gain - do not - I repeat DO NOT just purchase one for her from a photographer that she’s does not know, follow, or one who’s work that YOU personally admire without knowing her taste. As a fellow male/husband, I understand this sucks because it will eliminate the element of surprise, but if you wish to have success in this gifting she needs to be present in the process so SHE can assist or make the final decision in picking the perfect for photographer for herself. In boudoir it’s important that your lady feels great about her current metal/physical state, while also feeling comfortable and trusting with the tog of her choosing. This comfort comes from having an in person consult, where questions can be asked & topics spoke about in a safe environment.
So how do you purchase a session for the lady in your life? Now aside from the obvious fact that your lady needs to be loving the photographers style, there are many other factors SHE will find important that you might not think of. However, don’t beat yourself up because your head is in the right place and that’s what counts. Of course I hope that my work might find a special place in consideration for being the final choice, but there are more important variables at play here…. So consider this…
This is HER session..
1. Most importantly remember that this session is just as much for HER, then it is for you .The sense of empowerment and confidence derived from these sessions is unrivaled- your lady will feel incredible about herself and the beautiful part of that being you get to be the beneficiary. So your best bet is to also remind her of that.
Plant the Seed…
2. Now if you’re really set on buying her a session, mention it in passing one day and see how she responds. If you feel it’s well received, put aside $3900-1700 (yes good work isn’t cheap, and cheap work isn’t good) and figure out a clever way to present it in a gift! Tell her you’ve sat aside an adequate sum of money that’s for her to spend on a session with the photographer of HER choosing. Of course express that you wouldn’t mind assisting in the selecting process or even recommend a few styles you love (and hopefully one is mine ) , but encourage her to go find someone she feels great about and will her a for you both! You could even tell her some of your favorite physical attributes you’d love to see in an album, or better yet offer to give her a few extra $100’s to go select brand new outfits/pieces to wear.
Congrats- You’ve Succeeded and its time for her shoot…
3. This is the part where you can earn a lot of points : tell her she you’d love to know the day of her shoot so you can make some extra plans to ensure her day is uber special . Try to encourage her take of work and treat it as a day of self-love… Send her to the spa post-shoot, or encourage her to go to lunch with a friend after!! Then after a day of relaxing -you come home after work to take her on a date!
Knowing she has your support, and you valued her feelings & and her judgement throughout this gifting process will mean everything to her and make it all the more special once the finished product is delivered for you both to enjoy for the rest of your days!
Ok, now Ladies….
Lets be really honest here- you ARE the gift, however if you’re celebrating it by gifting your husband/boyfriend/significant other a surprise boudoir shoot- congrats, you’re now automatically in contention for wife or girlfriend of the year. But aside from that only a few considerations to take in mind:
Is this for a Special Occasion??
First off- any occasion is special enough to celebrate with a boudoir session. In fact you really dont need an occasion at all just celebrate your mind, body, health or wellness, but seeing as your choosing a boudoir more-so for a specific occasion heres a few things to consider. If this is a gift for a specific holiday you need to book well in advance to make sure you can get on the photographers books. Boudoir sessions can sometimes require meticulous editing hours to ensure that your photos and albums are prepared in the best fashion! Each photographer will only have limited client capacity around times like Christmas and Valentines Day, and my typical turn around time from shoot to edit to product in hand can be in the range of 2-3 weeks so plan accordingly for other special dates such as birthday, anniversaries, weddings, etc…
Have Budgeted Appropriately For the Gift?
2. When I say “budgeted” please understand that if you and your s/o share an account, they will get over ANY amount spent on your beautiful work once they see the empowerment (and incredible photo’s) you now carry about yourself. But if you need to “move” money around for your s/o not to notice most photographers will accept payment plans and/or allow them to be made in smaller ammounts . Mentioned above, you can expect to invest $4,000-$2,000 on your session.
Choosing the right Photographer…
3. This is the most important step in the process of your gift. So many factors to consider here- in fact I have written a special blog post devoted soley to this question- click here. However, the hope is that you don’t allow price-point to be the most important factor for your choice. Great boudoir photographers do so much more for you then just take stunning photos’- and great photos are cheap and cheap photographers are not great and can often do more harm than good, sadly. So be sure to take time to schedule consults and see real printed work and digital galleries.