Why Is Boudoir Photography So Expensive? The Real Cost Explained

Boudoir photography is expensive because you're paying for much more than a few photos. You're investing in an experienced photographer, professional posing guidance, studio costs, editing, client care, and a highly specialised skill set designed to help you feel confident and comfortable in front of the camera.

As a Melbourne boudoir photographer with over a decade of photography experience, here's exactly where that investment goes.

the feminist necessity

my brief history

choosing a specialist

spending on other things

I'm Katie, and 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.

A, having a luxurious time

Why Is Boudoir Photography More Expensive Than a Regular Photoshoot?

Let's say this straight up and straight away

good boudoir shoots are not cheap, and nor should they be.

I'm now going to break down the boudoir photography cost. A lot of this isn't just my opinion, it’s anecdotes and data from not only my clients, but boudoir photographers and their clients around the world. It's coming from my experience as a professional photographer who's been doing boudoir since 2020, working in the industry for more than a decade, and also as a feminist woman who's heard way too many horror stories about other photographers … but I have also seen a lot of a lot of positive stories from other amazing photographers and their clients.

You're Paying for Experience and Specialisation

Not only are you a photographer, but you are also often a therapist. There is a lot of vulnerability in boudoir sessions, and from a completely technical standpoint, you MUST understand not only how to utilise light and shadow, but also know how the body moves.

Personally, if I am looking for a neo-traditional tattoo artist, I will want to go to someone who that is their speciality, not someone who also does fine-line, photo-realistic and tribal. The chances of being completely stoked with my neo-traditional tattoo from a non-specialist is too high for me. Even if it means paying more, this is permanent art on my body. And while boudoir is not necessarily the same in terms of the gravity of it all, it certainly can be for some from an emotional and therapeutic stand point.

From a more admin / overhead point of view, there is also the time involved in a boudoir session. Not only are you shooting (for 1-2 hours with Poledoir), but there is correspondence, prep for you and me, hair and makeup, access to a wardrobe, detailed retouching, and the cost of goods. Then there’s the extra boring things like if there is a studio, then mortgage or rent. Liability insurance. Photographic equipment and up-skilling. Website hosting. Overall there is quite a bit of overhead and time that goes into a session.

And of course, alongside the specialisation of it, there is the handling of sensitive material. I do not take the trust given to me lightly. People are being some of the most vulnerable they ever have in front of a relative stranger. It is very important to me that you feel comfortable and the best that you possibly can on our shoot day.

It means SO much to me that you feel comfortable enough to be yourself and just relax and laugh with me

When I transitioned fully into boudoir, it was really difficult to set my prices and it still is.

There's not exactly a manual on what you should charge. It is different all over the world, because there's different cultures who see this experience differently. People, in America and Canada for example from what I have seen, are a lot more open to doing something like this for themselves than say, where I am from in New Zealand and now Melbourne, Australia. And so the idea of people in the Americas spending thousands on this experience is a lot more palliative than in New Zealand. And so you have to adjust accordingly.

Even so this experience, it is a luxury experience.

but I'll argue that it's also something that I think as a woman is a necessity

because we have gone through life being told to look a certain way, and let's be honest, that certain way changes all the time. In the 90’s and early 00’s, it was to be stick thin with stick thin eyebrows. And then a decade later, it was to have a very fat ass with very fat boobs and very fat brows. And now it has started going back to the 90’s heroin chic. And it's always the beauty industry that's often run by men (read that article if you want to be mad) that are benefiting from this. It is not you or I that benefit from this.

It is the likes of Ozempic who benefits from this narrative. It is the likes of plastic surgeons and people who run injectables who benefit from this. And I'm going to be honest with you, I have gotten botox in the past because I'm in my 30s and I've been told I need to not look old - and that is so ingrained in me. If that's a little something to make me feel better - then whatever. The capitalist patriarchy has beat me on this one! Sometimes it is a losing battle.

But I digress …

Photography was always something that I enjoyed doing, and I thought I had a good eye for it. I started out buying a DSLR camera for myself as a Christmas present. (Normalise buying yourself presents!)

At the time I was doing pole dancing, which I did for over a decade, and so I started taking my camera to my pole dance showcases and taking photos of my fellow students, with their permission of course.
I naturally started going into boudoir.

Here are some early examples of my pole-boudoir work (hence the name Poledoir), when I was still operating under the name Marie Rose Photography before I transitioned to Poledoir

Boudoir Photography Includes Much More Than the Shoot

Boudoir can be expensive because you are shooting with somebody, ideally, who has been specialising in this for a long time, who is guiding you through years and years and years of bullshit. Who gets it.

Someone to help guide you to start unpacking years and decades, maybe of being told you aren't enough, to see yourself in a different light.

And I can tell you, after having shot with hundreds of women, that when they see themselves in that different light, they come out of their shoots with a new spark.

People come out with this new confidence,

with this new light in their eyes.

And a lot of them, when they when they see their photos, there are tears in their eyes because they have had so many years of seeing a different picture being painted of themselves.

Almost all of them say,

“Holy shit, is that me?!”

and I say, “Yeah, girl, that's you.”

Because in the photos, they see a fierceness, that they've been told to suppress.

They see a beauty, that they've been told isn't allowed.

They see a path to freedom of their soul, they thought they needed permission for.

Is a Boudoir Photoshoot Worth the Cost?

Only you can say for yourself if you think it’s worth the cost - and I can tell you with many repeat clients and stunning reviews, my clients certainly think it’s worth it. With Poledoir, you get a full luxury boudoir experience. Have a look at what

H, a fierce tattooed woman in red lingerie

Why Choosing the Cheapest Photographer Can Cost More

And it’s not just about the quality … but the safety.

You may have not heard any horror stories, but I have. Years of being around dancers and models, I have heard horror stories. Choose the bear, amirite?

It is really important to do a boudoir shoot with someone you feel inherintly safe with - even if you do not know them well, but you feel immediately comforted by their gender, their sexual orientation, their past, their affiliations, their reviews … Safety is incredibly important in a time where you are vulnerable not only physically but emotionally.

Do you know how much you spend on UberEats a year? Why not spend that on a photoshoot that can permanently change the relationship with your body?

So many people spend thousands of dollars on wedding photos, newborn photos, without really questioning it as much as they question this. So many people spend thousands a year on coffee, on takeout. On beauty industry stuff. It's a given.

I know I myself get a coffee every single day because of ritual, even though I have a coffee machine at home. Since making coffee at home the last year, we have saved quite a lot of money.

So why are you delaying starting this healing process with your body, with your soul?

What’s stopping you?

If there's this fear holding you back - I understand. It's the scariest part. Saying yes to this because you're being vulnerable as shit with a stranger and choosing a boudoir photographer is one of the hardest parts. There's a lot of creeps out there, and so you're going to want to do your research.

See part 2 here for my thoughts on choosing the photographer for you