How to Choose the Right Boudoir Photographer
With dozens of Melbourne boudoir photographers available, comparing packages can feel overwhelming. Here's exactly what to look for before booking.
You're trusting someone to photograph you in a vulnerable, intimate setting, so experience, communication, safety and posing expertise matter just as much as beautiful images.
I'm Katie
I am a professional photographer of over a decade, specialising in boudoir since 2020. I have worked with hundreds of people of all shapes, sizes, ages, cultures, backgrounds and beliefs. Yet all of them have come in wanting to change - wanting to feel stronger in themselves. And all of them have come out feeling exactly that.
My photography studio is in Melbourne, Victoria.
What services to compare
Do You Need Posing Guidance? Do You Want Hair and Makeup Included? Do You Need Access to a Client Wardrobe? Do You Want Prints or Digital Images? How inclusive are they?
When you're choosing a boudoir photographer, you want to figure out what it is that you want out of your experience. For some people, they know how they want to pose. They have their own lingerie, they do their own makeup, they have their own location. Tick, tick, tick. You don't need much. You need someone to come along and point their camera. Sorted. You're all good. For others, you might be completely new to posing, You might not have your own lingerie. You might be completely unsure what contouring is for makeup, and not too sure how to do a good smokey eye.
So when you're thinking about a good photo shoot experience for you, write a little checklist for yourself. You've got to do your own little bit of homework. And when you're looking at choosing a photographer, have a look what's on their offerings and see what it is that they have for you. Now, a photographer that has all of the offerings is going to be more expensive, and that's just the truth. They have taken the time to curate a full experience for you - and the price will reflect that.
C in the sun, feeling her confidence
Look Beyond the Portfolio
Many people think:
"Pretty photos = good photographer."
Not necessarily. You're going to want to vibe with somebody, so I recommend the following:
Read Reviews
See mine scattered around this site or have a look here
Read Their Blog
You are already here ;) See other musings here
Follow Their Social Media
Find out what is all included and what is and isn’t important to you
Some photographers hire a hotel room, take the photos and deliver the final edits to you. You are responsible for outfits, hair and makeup and posing. Some photographers are all inclusive. Poledoir is an all inclusive photographer.
Ask Questions Before Booking
A starter for 10 on what to ask could be:
What is the turn around time on images?
How long is the session?
How much will it cost and are these all upfront costs?
Do You Help With Posing?
Is hair and makeup included?
Do you provide outfits?
Are my photos kept private?
How Many Images Are Included?
Are Photos Retouched?
What physical items do I get (prints, albums)?
Goddess Tash, who invested in her relationship with body
Choose a Photographer You Feel Comfortable With
It's of my professional opinion that it's really important, particularly for boudoir photography, that you have a photographer who is an expert at posing. Because you are in an exposed situation you don't know what you're doing necessarily, you're going to want someone who's puts you in the best light. You do not want to look back on these photos and go, “Wow, I feel horrific.”
You do not want to be second guessing anything that you've done.
So it's important to find somebody who can pose you and make you feel like the best version of you.
Editing & Final products
It is also of my professional opinion that you get culled and edited photos. Not all will agree with me here - that’s okay. Some photographers offer you all raws and I know that some models like to see the raws to be able to choose their photos and maybe edit them themselves. And hearing that perspective recently was really interesting.
However, these are professional models who have done many photo shoots.
If you don't fit in this category, I personally think it's pretty rough getting back a bunch of raws, because amongst the un-culled raw photos are often not flattering photos, and that can be jarring.
Why Comfort Matters in Boudoir Photography
And if you've come into this photo shoot, it's probably your first time doing this kind of thing. You're already feeling quite nervous about the potential of getting back any photos that don't show you in the most flattering light. And un-culled raws will have photos where there is one eye shut, or maybe a bit of a weird posed hand, and you're going to zoom in on that photo, and you're going to feel absolute shit about the rest of your photos - because as humans we are wired to focus on the negative.
So at Poledoir, we do not we do not show you un-culled and raw photos, because we want to show you in the best possible way. We want you to feel like a absolute goddess.
Why a Consultation Call Can Help
I offer a free, no obligations call to talk you through the process and answer any questions or concerns you have. It’s really important to see I am a regular-human-beingTM and that we like each other before you go and put your trust and money into this experience.
Red Flags When Choosing a Boudoir Photographer
If someone you are looking into has any of the following, there might be a reason to give yourself pause, ESPECIALLY the last two:
No Reviews
No Clear Pricing
No Contract
Pressure to Get Naked
It’s really important that you feel safe and everything is guided with consent. This is your boudoir shoot, not mine. I just have the privilege of being your photographer. There are lots of local Facebook groups from models, artists and photographers. Often, there will be questions around local photographers in those groups, so you can check out those.
How much will it cost and are these all upfront costs - if a boudoir shoot seems too cheap, it probably is one of three things (in my experience), and they can overlap;
it’s a dodgy person
it’s a newbie
they will do in person sales.
In person sales is a popular method. It usually shows up like “pay $XXX for a session fee” and then you see no other pricing until the reveal where it is considerably higher than the session fee.
Assess what you are comfortable with and if you would prefer to go with someone who is upfront about all costs involved.
To wrap this up, why else boudoir photography can be expensive, or what might be on your checklist for a photographer or package:
if albums are important to you, albums are actually really expensive to produce. A lot of the high cost that you see is not on the photographer, it's actually on the printer. Getting a studio album made for my display purposes at-cost was very expensive. So when you see those prices, know that it is not on the photographer there. They're just not very cheap.
Know that a lot of our studio gear is actually really expensive, and we've put a lot of time and effort into curating a lot of our gear and a lot of time into learning it. As I said, I've got over a decade of experience. My gear is not cheap - I need to pay insurance on it, and I've also got software that has a monthly subscription. I also make sure that I have a wide variety of lingerie, not only in terms of colour and sizing, but also brands
Location costs
Time costs - shoot time and editing time (and marketing time!)
Eduction time for curating the best experience for you
I even went to a course to make my own leather bunny mask.
doesn’t it look cool?
Ultimately, you can find a cheap photographer anywhere. I recommend getting your checklist together, seeing who’s style you like, what you are and aren’t willing to compromise on, what hits the mark for you, and how you want to come out of your experience feeling like - an absolute queen and nothing less.
You do not want to come out feeling like you shouldn't have done it. You don't want to come out feeling violated in any way.
You want to look back on these photos and think
“this has been a life changing experience for me”,
Because there are a lot of people out there who do incredibly cheap shoots. And not all of them are creeps. And not all of them are a red flag. But it should give you pause. It is a space where you are being incredibly vulnerable, where you aren't wearing much, so please be careful and do your due diligence.
Look at Google reviews, the portfolios, and that will help you decide, and hopefully, Poledoir photography is somebody that ticks all the boxes for you. And if I tick nearly all of the boxes for you, reach out to me and let's see if I can help tick that final one for you.
Hope to see you soon.
Frequently asked Questions for a boudoir shoot with Poledoir
Do You Help With Posing?
How Many Images Are Included?
Are Photos Retouched?
Yes, but you will still look like you. My policy is getting rid of temporary visitors eg pimples, bruises, and a bit of colour and smoothing - but only enough to blend better against the contrast and sharpness I use in my editing. If you are feeling particuarly self conscious about something, just ask :) I had a shoot with someone recently who’s arm was in a cast. We hid it with posing and props.
Can I See Full Galleries?
What Happens if I'm Nervous?
Everyone is nervous. But also excited. This is why I have a call with you first, then a meet and greet/lingerie fitting - we meet twice before your shoot day and this helps with that super awkward first date vibes you may feel. When you see me the third time, we are just mates catching up at this point.
