The Tips I Actually Give
After 105+ sessions and more than 31,000 photos, I’ve noticed something. The clients who have the best experience aren’t the ones who look a certain way. They’re the ones who showed up prepared. Not overprepared, not stressed, just ready. They knew what to expect and they’d taken a few simple steps beforehand.
This is the full list. Everything I tell my clients before their session, organized the way I think about it: preparation, wardrobe, posing, location, and mindset. Each tip links to a deeper guide if you want the full version.
Preparation Tips
1. Hydrate for three days before, not just the day of. Your skin shows hydration (or the lack of it) immediately on camera. Start drinking extra water 72 hours before your session. It makes a visible difference in skin texture and how light catches your body. For the full preparation checklist, read my prep guide.
2. Avoid anything that marks the skin. Take off tight bras, waistbands, socks, and underwear with elastic edges at least two hours before we shoot. Those red indentation lines show up in photos and they’re difficult to edit out cleanly. If you’re wearing jeans to the location, change into something loose for the drive.
3. Do your own makeup, or hire someone you trust. I always recommend makeup that’s one level above your everyday look. A little heavier on the eyes, a little more defined on the brows. Foundation that matches your chest, not just your face, because we’re going to see both. Camera sensors pick up inconsistencies between face and body skin tone that the mirror doesn’t show you, so blend everything down past the collarbone. If you want professional hair and makeup, I can recommend people I’ve worked with.
Wardrobe Tips
4. Bring 3-5 outfits, and make them different from each other. One lingerie set. One casual piece (oversized shirt, jeans, your partner’s hoodie). One “nothing at all” option if you’re open to it. Variety gives you range in the final gallery, and outfit changes give you natural breaks during the session. I wrote a full breakdown in what to wear to a boudoir session.
5. Fit matters more than brand or price. A $20 bodysuit from Amazon that fits your body well will photograph better than a $150 set that gaps, bunches, or digs in. Try everything on at home first. Sit in it, lie down in it, move in it. If it’s uncomfortable at home, it will be uncomfortable during the session. And wear your new lingerie around the house the night before so the elastic doesn’t leave red marks on your skin the day of the shoot.
Posing Tips
6. You don’t need to know how to pose. This is my job. I direct every shot. I’ll tell you where to put your hands, how to angle your chin, when to shift your weight. All you have to do is show up and follow simple instructions. The women who look most natural in their photos aren’t models. They’re people who trusted the direction and let go of trying to control the outcome. For a look at specific poses and what they accomplish, check out the boudoir poses guide.
7. Movement looks better than stillness. Some of my best frames come from between the poses. Running your hand through your hair. Adjusting a strap. Rolling over on the bed. I’ll ask you to move slowly through certain actions, and I’ll shoot the moments in between. Those are usually the images that feel the most “you.” Static, held poses can look stiff. The in-between moments, when your body is transitioning from one position to the next, have a natural looseness that reads as confidence in the final image.
Location Tips
8. Your own bedroom is a legitimate location. You don’t need a hotel or a rented space. I’ve shot some of my favorite sessions in clients’ bedrooms, on their own beds, with their own light coming through their own windows. The familiarity of home often makes people more relaxed, and relaxation shows in the photos. If your bedroom has a window that lets in soft, indirect light, that’s all I need to make the images work. I wrote more about this in boudoir photography at home.
9. If you want a location with more character, Sacramento has options. Hotels with good natural light, Airbnbs with interesting interiors, outdoor spots when the weather cooperates. I’ve scouted dozens of spots around Sacramento and the surrounding area, and I know which ones give us the best light, the best backgrounds, and the most privacy. You can read the breakdown at best boudoir photography locations in Sacramento.
Mindset Tips
10. Nerves are part of the process, not a problem to fix. Every single client I’ve photographed has been nervous at the start. Every one. The nerves usually fade within the first 15 minutes once the music is on, the direction starts, and the first few test shots look good. Being nervous doesn’t mean you’re not ready. It means you care about this, and that’s a good thing. I talk about this more in what I tell every first-time client.
11. This is for you, not for anyone else’s approval. Some clients book a session as a gift for a partner. Some book it for themselves. Some book it to mark a birthday, a divorce, a recovery, a weight loss milestone, a new chapter. The reason doesn’t matter as much as this: the photos belong to you. The experience belongs to you. Whoever else sees them is secondary to how you feel when you look at them. I’ve had clients cry looking at their gallery, not because they were sad, but because they didn’t know they could look like that. That reaction is the whole point.
12. Trust the photographer you chose. You picked me (or you’re thinking about picking me) because something about my work connected with you. That instinct is worth trusting. During the session, I’ll ask you to do things that feel awkward in the moment. Arch your back more than feels natural. Look away from the camera. Close your eyes. It will feel odd. The photos will look incredible. That gap between how it feels and how it looks is where good boudoir lives.
One More Thing: Music Helps
I didn’t number this one because it’s not really a tip. It’s more of an observation. Every session I shoot has a playlist running. Sometimes the client picks it, sometimes I do. Music fills the silence, sets a rhythm, and gives your body something to respond to without thinking about it. If you have a playlist that makes you feel good, send it to me before the session. If you don’t, I have plenty that work.
The Shortest Version of All of This
Drink water. Wear something that fits. Trust the process. Be yourself, or be the version of yourself you’ve always wanted to see in a photograph.
These tips come from years of watching what works. But the real preparation is simpler than any checklist: decide that you deserve this, and then show up. Everything else, I’ll handle.
You can learn more about how my sessions work on the experience page. And when you’re ready, let’s talk about your session.