To expect candid photos in a boudoir shoot

[sheenaisapunkrocker]

I did a boudoir shoot. I was talked into it by a longstanding bra fitter; it was sold as a fun, no obligation opportunity.

It was a fun experience, I enjoyed the shoot.

I enjoyed the hard sell post- shoot sale much less. It was very slick and designed to part the customer from their cash. Think luxe showroom, with wide-screen slideshow, set to music, accompanied bu the saleswoman's comments on the fabulousness of each shot. This was followed up by by a sales pitch on the packages available, ranging from £500 - £2,500 and "help" to narrow down the preferred images.

Swept along, I bought a "modest" package totalling £650. It was fine, the pictures were truly stunning. It was an interest free arrangement over 12 months.

The images were sent to me immediately. The next day, I began to scrutinise them. It became obvious that they were fabulous because they were heavily photoshopped. My belly overhang, leg shape and other curves had been "corrected" I feel cheated - the images are not my body. My body is not perfect, but it's mine and I'm ok with that. I'm 50, and worked hard for many years towards acceptance and love for my body, with all it's "imperfections". AIBU to think I should have been offered candid images?

Oh this makes me sad. I shot boudoir for 12 years, only paused recently to focus on different genres, and my selling point across all of them is not Photoshopping!

I edit, as in I bring the raw image up to what I actually saw in the studio in terms of colour, warmth, saturation - because the camera is good but it's just a tool and isn't clever. I will get rid of things like cold sores in post production, but the whole point of my shoots is that your photos are of the real you at your most fabulous. So yes, shallow depth of field, soft diffused light, and good angles.

Having said that, I realise this became a selling point for my clients because so many photographers and especially the big companies filter and retouch excessively. Definitely ask them for the unretouched versions but be aware they might be reluctant to hand them over.

I would say for future make sure you look at their portfolio properly before booking - that should give you an idea of what you'll come away with.

I think they should have discussed it with you first. I had a boudoir shoot when I was about 40. The photographer was excellent and the shots were more tasteful and original than many of the other boudoir photos I had seen (no lying on a bed or strings of pearls!) After the shoot, I chose the images I wanted and she explained that they would be edited. I had acne at the time and I asked if she could please make the skin on my face look smoother but specifically said that I didn’t want my body to be airbrushed or any other imperfections smoothed away. Just the acne because although it is something I lived with for 20 odd years, I never saw it as ‘part of me’ in the same way that my other bodily imperfections are. She totally got this and did as I asked.

‘Candid’ in photography means ‘unposed’ so don’t use that term if you discuss this further with them as it will cause confusion.

You could ask for the RAW files but they will likely be very reluctant to give them to you. Photoshop covers a multitude of sins and the RAW files will expose any poor photography or lighting.

Awh, I feel sad for you.

I'm so very proud of my boudoir shoot photos. I viewed mine 20mins after the shoot. I knew there had been minor editing on the colours, saturation etc in that time, but all my wobbly bits and lines are in the shots.

I'm posed very well and the light is amazing, so the shots are great.

There's no harm in asking for the untouched images. I hope you get them.

Thanks for the heads up @DrMarshaFieldstone - sorry for the incorrect use of language, I'm not in the industry

That ^^
I do a lot of photoshoots and depending on what it's for I ask them to remove anything that won't be there next week
So a stray hair, a spot, a red mark
But I have on my portfolio that I don't want my body to be edited shape wise

I’m surprised you thought your body looked like that when you reviewed them. In fact I’m surprised anyone still does these shoots. Every one I thought knew they are photoshopped to hell. Then they put the edited pics on their walls and think they look like that. It’s crazy stuff.

im impressed you want to see the unedited though. Most prefer to believe they look like the edited version.

I'm impressed that the thread got to page 2 before the MN boudoir shoot judgement arrived. It's normally post 2 on these threads.

Go back and read @hilariousnamehere 's post @Janieforever Learn that lots of us women love our non Photoshopped boudoir shots. And please use that learning in future.

I'm a similar age & would have preferred the edited/photoshopped images but I absolutely agree that you should have been given the option of the original images.

YABU for doing a boudoir shot at all.

Tacky, tacky, tacky!

Judgemental prat.

Just get in touch with them and ask for the unedited images, they should be able to do that for you! Photoshopped images are a lot more work for them than the originals, it shouldn't take any effort from them to send you those

I’d not be happy either OP they should have discussed it with you first.

I had a photoshoot with DH and my eldest DC when they were a baby and when we got the photos back they had photoshopped the bump out of my nose. Now, while I normally hate profile photos because of this bump, it really upset me that a photographer changed the shape of my nose! It was years ago and I’m getting annoyed all over again thinking about it!

I had a pregnancy photo shoot and was shocked and upset when they edited out my linea nigra. I emailed them and they edited it back in. I hate that we live in a world where it is OK to photoshop someone's body to fit a stereotype of perfection without asking their permission.

They removed my nieces tiny mole on her forehead in her reception school photo. It's a really shitty thing to do unless requested.

Jeez, £650 though. 😬

I'm clearly out of touch with reality. I thought the whole point for boudoir photoshoots was not to be photoshopped to show you could still look good.
I didn't realise they cost that much either!

A good 10+ years ago, I got a virgin voucher for a haircut and photoshoot + one photo. I just saw it as a cheap way to get my hair cut. I did the photoshoot regardless but when shown the pictures, I said I didn't want any. The staff got all miffed and said to pick the one I was entitled to but for their company name not to be written all over, I'd have to part with some cash. I repeated i wasn't interested and to just give me the photo with the logo. They ended up sending me the photo without a logo. The whole experience was rather strange for everyone involved :D.

It's really not - I've had women come to me to celebrate and mark all kinds of life events, and any kind of shoot done well is a way of reclaiming yourself and proudly taking up space in the world as you, not as the relationship you are to various other people (daughter, wife, mother, sister, etc). You can be fully clothed or take everything off or a mixture of stages in between! Most of these are also intensely private so while they have prints and framed versions of their images, I do not share them for marketing purposes, or for any purpose.

It's very personal but if you think every boudoir shoot is tacky I'd gently suggest you haven't seen all the ways they can be done

Cost wise though, most of the boudoir photographers I trust are easily double the £650 quoted earlier in the thread for shoot plus heirloom quality prints or albums - it's an art to do it well and we work incredibly hard to make it a truly special experience. I've paused mine for a bit for good reasons but can't imagine not going back to them at some stage, ime women don't get enough opportunity to really celebrate themselves properly.

Gets off soapbox - but thank you OP and others for reminding me how strongly I feel about it!

@hilariousnamehere exactly that I was celebrating the fact I didn’t die as had been so ill. The pics were taken about 7years ago and I haven’t looked at them for about 4 years when I showed them to my friend who is in her seventies and she loved them.

£650? I need to get shares in this outfit asap.