Did you know that the Photographer half of the Madison Bou partnership (Not the beautiful, organised, smart half… The ‘other half’) used to be a full time radio DJ for 30 years?

No? well, the secret’s out now!

Creating the right ambiance is essential for a memorable boudoir photoshoot.

Music plays a crucial role in setting the mood, enhancing the experience, and making you feel comfortable and confident.

So. today we’re going to be talking about bringing a playlist of favourite songs to get you in the mood to completely ‘smash it’ in front of the camera.

(OK, over 30 years, lingo has really changed, from ‘bossing the turntables and spinning the decks’ !!!??? to ‘smashing it’ and playing ‘wicked’ and ‘sic’ tunes!!??????)

It’s no easy task to curate a truly excellent and ‘bodacious’ soundtrack and of course, it’s a very personal thing.

So, from an old pro…. here are some pointers.

Booking a boudoir photoshoot is a thrilling experience that allows you to celebrate your unique beauty and capture moments of confidence and empowerment. While you may have your go-to lingerie pieces in mind, in the excitement and anticipation leading up to a boudoir photoshoot, it's common for clients to focus on these primary outfits and overlook some essential items that can enhance the overall experience.

Here's a guide to the top 10 most overlooked things you should consider bringing to your boudoir session.

Are you curious about implied nudity?

OMG…Is she actually naked?

Would I have to get naked?

Could I even?!

…. Hold that thought for a moment.

Guess what, 99.9% of our clients are scared of the thought of posing naked in front of a camera. In fact, just the idea of posing in front of a camera with clothes on fills them with dread. Many of our clients come to us after years of covering up their mummy tummies and have lost their mojo through the daily hum drum of everyday life. To regain some of that joie de vivre they turn to the idea of a confidence building boudoir style photoshoot. Every single clients leaves us feeling so much more confident in themselves.

So your boudoir session is done and you’ve chosen your favourite pictures… Now where to display them?

Your boudoir photos are not just images; they are a celebration of your confidence, beauty, and self-love. Displaying them in creative and meaningful ways can turn these moments into lasting art pieces that inspire and empower.

Many of our clients are so thrilled with their artwork that they proudly frame and hang their boudoir art in the hallways and living rooms of their homes - Faantastic!

For others though, they prefer to keep our photos a bit more private.

Maybe they wan’t to display them in less public areas and so here are five great ways to showcase your boudoir pictures with style and flair…

WEDDING BOUDOIR IDEAS

So, the wedding is set and now you’ve booked a wedding boudoir photo shoot to create the perfect gift for the perfect groom. This is THE ultimate way to make your soulmate lust after you for a lifetime.

There’s nothing better than watching those eyes light up when they see your steamy pictures.

Fabulous!

Even better though is that along with a totally unique and intimate gift for you to share as a couple – A Bridal boudoir photoshoot is a gift to yourself.

Once considered too risqué or taboo, boudoir art has become one of the hottest trends in wedding gifts. A must-have item.

This experience is a way to celebrate the remarkable woman you are. You’ve worked hard to become her, to embrace her and you deserve this amazing experience. After all – You are the irresistible reason your partner put a ring on it in the first place!

Congratulate yourself with this Madison Bou wedding boudoir session.

Yet booking the date is one thing. – Now, though, the panic sets in…

What to wear?

Well, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. When you book a Madison Bou Experience we’ll send you a 27-page style guide packed with plenty of ideas for your photoshoot day. We’ll also talk with you in person or on the phone so we get an idea of exactly what you’ll love to get out of your experience. Every bride is different and every bridal boudoir photo shoot is different.

Here are a few ideas for your big bridal boudoir day.

Posing is an area that most clients worry about the most when they decide to take the plunge and go for it! They tell us they don’t know how to pose and feel awkward in front of the camera. Well, that’s where we come in like a caped crusader to save the day.Over 20 years experience photographing women of all shapes and sizes and age groups has taught us a thing or two about posing. What looks awkward, what looks natural and what looks dramatic. Jayne, who’s the beauty and brains behind this operation we call Madison Bou is a dancer by profession and has spent years dancing on stage around the world as well as teaching dance and choreography. This has set her up to be an expert in poses of all kinds. Trust us when we say you are in safe hands when you book a Boudoir Experience with us.

Some poses you’ll discover are as natural as breathing and some make you question if the human body should bend that way. We understand that some are more flexible than others and we’ll make sure that you look amazing in every pose we direct and not overstretched or uncomfortable in any way.

Some of these poses you see below can be simply breath-taking and some will raise eybrows. The 10 poses below have all been chosen because they will look jaw-dropping when executed correctly and we’ll help you every step of the way. These are not the average pose you’ll see on the average ‘selfie’, these are the kinds of poses which can look awkward and unflattering in the wrong hands. When executed with panache, however, they take on a new level which will make your Boudoir Session stand head and shoulders above the rest.

Are you ready to get posing?

Boudoir Photography is essentially a sensual form of portraiture that celebrates the uniqueness and beauty of every type of body.

It's rise in popularity in recent years is revolutionising the way we perceive beauty and self-confidence. It empowers women to embrace their unique beauty and encourages greater self - acceptance and confidence in their own skin. Women are able to use this safe place to freely express themselves without judgment, fostering a sense of comfort and acceptance.

Importantly, Boudoir photography celebrates diversity and challenges traditional beauty standards by representing individuals of all shapes and sizes.

There’s no denying that Boudoir Photography is pretty expensive to the average person on the street.

We understand why people say this.

After all, remember when we first saw prices for mobile phones hit £1000, we couldn’t believe that anyone would pay that kind of crazy money. (Our Nokias only cost £50. what more did we want from a phone?)

The big difference between a Boudoir Photoshoot though and a £1000 phone is in it’s inherent VALUE.

You see what something costs and how much it’s actually worth to you are often two very different things.

The cost of your £1000 phone is derived from a variety of things such as the millions of pounds it cost to research and develop the technology, the raw materials (retina screen, computer chip, camera lens etc etc), the marketing (again, many millions of pounds ) and of course the servicing costs, not to mention overheads added by shop rents, staff wages, etc. We see the physical value of our £1000 as justifiable because we’ve been conditioned to believe that this is how much these things cost and they’ve become such an important part of our daily lives that they’ve almost become a necessity these days.

However, when it comes to ‘value’, we see the value of our iPhone depreciating everytime we use it, as it gets a little scratched and as it becomes obsolete and replaced with a newer model with better camera and newer features. …

This article is to shed light on one of the most often talked about areas of Boudoir and that’s ‘posing’

So many women tell us they need help because they ‘don’t know how to pose’.

It’s ok…. We do and we’ve been helping direct our clients to pose from their heads to their tippy toes for many years. You’re in safe hands when it comes to perfect posing.

To help you even more - Here is our Top 30 Poses that work for pretty much everybody based on 20 years of posing experience.

You’ll notice some recurring themes such as compositional triangles, ‘if a limb is breakable then break it’, ‘ballet hands’ arched backs, stretching, exaggerating curves and pointing toes. These are almost unbreakable rules when posing for Boudoir and are evident in every picture we make…

A Madison Bou Boudoir Photoshoot is a one-of-a-kind, unforgettable boutique experience.

Each shoot day is dedicated to only one client, so you will receive the ultimate boudoir/glamour photo session that is unique to you and you’ll never see another client waiting in the wings for their turn. We don’t do set poses and routines because everybody is different with different styles and wants and needs. Just like we don’t dish out generic Christmas presents to all our family and friends, we put thought into what they actually would like, the same is true of our boudoir shoots. We have conversations with each client prior to the shoot to determine what kind of style they’re drawn to and what kind of setting they would prefer. We try and find out how each client would like to display their final pictures so we shoot with the end result in mind. We would approach a photoshoot for a dramatic piece of wall art quite differently to a book of pictures with multiple outfits and storylines for example.

All our photoshoots include hair and make-up as standard (though, there’s nothing ‘standard’ about our shoots) and we don’t place restrictions on what clients can bring to the shoot to wear. We also don’t clock watch so we allow plenty of time to get the shots we need. After 20 years of photographing the art of boudoir we know that some people don’t warm to the camera as quickly as others and so some people need a little more direction. Everyone gets there in the end it’s just the process of directing the shoot which is different for every individual. Some clients bring way too much stuff since they can’t decide and end up bringing everything in the wardrobe and others bring barely a dressing gown and a pair of knickers and we promise to create amazing pictures no matter what.

Are you trying to decide what to get your other half for a Christmas?

OK, we may be a little biased but a Boudoir photo session is the perfect gift.

So, why a boudoir session ?

A Boudoir session is a true celebration of the female form in all its glory. There are different boudoir photography styles and they will all tastefully document your lover in the most beautiful way. Something not only for you to cherish forever but for her to enjoy and see herself in the best light possible.

Boudoir is intimate, sensual, and elegant, aiming to empower the woman in the photo and increase confidence which is often lost over the years, particularly after becoming a mum or having to put herself second to work pressures or other commitments.

A Boudoir Gift is highly personal and a chance for your lover to feel extra special and pampered. It’s a day planned out entirely for her and will make her feel like a real V.I.P. A chance to dress up and wear her best outfits and a chance for her to start loving herself again. At the end of her day dedicated to just her, she will be able to create something of lasting value such as a book of gorgeous images which you can both appreciate for many years to come.

Sometimes we come across people who just don’t get what we do.

It can seem strange to some that there is this whole genre of photography which specialises in photographing women (primarily) wearing little to no clothing and they often seem surprised that we don’t just do family pictures or baby pictures or weddings (As if these are the only types of ‘respectable’ portraiture )

Yet, in the general world of art, the human form has been a subject of fascination for centuries.

Nude art paintings have always been a topic of great interest for art lovers and critics alike. Undoubtedly, many of these paintings left quite a mark on the cultural norms of the art world and left audiences gasping for more.

Naturally, visual art and its mediums have changed over the years, and even though today there are many more different ways in addition to the age-old charm of free-hand painting, the celebration of the feminine form has remained constant…

the power of body self-esteem for women is immense, shaping not only individual lives but also contributing in no small way to transforming society overall.

It is a force that transcends superficial notions of beauty, delving into the realms of mental health, empowerment, and relationship dynamics.

Encouraging women to cultivate positive body self-esteem is not merely an act of self-love; it is an investment in a more resilient, empowered, and compassionate world for all. 

We would define a Luxury Boudoir Experience as one with a photographer who specialises in Boudoir Photography and offers a high-end, highly personalised experience which is different for each client depending on their needs. There are a number of differences you will notice between a Luxury Boudoir Experience such as ours and the majority of alternative Boudoir Studios.

This article has been written to show you how to find exactly the boudoir studio for you and for the purposes of this article we assume that you’ve never booked a Boudoir Photographer before.

The first thing to know about Boudoir studios is that, like good food, quality takes time and can’t be created in a hurry. Some Boudoir studios are ‘high volume’ studios (Often called ‘makeover studios’) where you can expect to see many other clients having hair and makeup done at the same time and waiting their turn to have a studio session. The laws of economics determine that these kind of studios are not as highly personalised and tend to be a little shorter and straight to the point. You’ll be taken through a fairly standardised set of poses and your pictures will end up looking similar to the girl who came before you and will probably look similar to the girl who’s having her hair and makeup done while you’re being photographed. This may be perfect for your needs, after all, no one complains when Macdonalds provide a super generic and fast service to satisfy your hunger. You know exactly what the fries will taste like before you try them, everytime…

One of the most common questions we get asked is, “what should I wear to my boudoir shoot?”

Totally understandable, after all, the chances are you’ve never been photographed like this before. Naturally, you’ll want to look your best and you’ll want to know the best outfits to wear to look good in your Boudoir Photoshoot.

When you book a Madison Bou Experience we will send you our Boudoir Prep Guide, packed full of great outfit ideas and things to be aware of to help you get ready for your big day.

If you want to use your day as an excuse to go shopping we say ‘knock yourself out’ and enjoy, but don’t think you absolutely have to buy new outfits. This articles is all about the best items to wear that you probably already have in your wardrobe.

Don’t let the thought of putting your outfits together stress you out. That’s what we’re here for, to take the stress out of your day so you can really enjoy it.

Remember the one golden rule of a Madison Bou Experience is that there are NO RULES! Just wear what makes you feel your best and use some of our suggestions below which come from many years experience. We know these items can look good on almost everybody.

Here’s a tip girls -Wardrobe is key!! With the proper wardrobe, you are giving your photographer the ability to pose you anyway they would like.

By posing you properly, we will always make you look as good as you look in real life, if not better!

Oh, and do yourself a favour – Get yourself measured!!

Most women are wearing the wrong size bra. The proper bra size makes you look firmer, trimmer and way hotter.

(Oh and PS… your period isn’t an excuse to cancel a shoot – a little bloat doesn’t really show on camera.)

The women we photograph aren’t super models, they’re just like you!

With good wardrobe choices, professional hair and makeup and our many years of expertise with light and posing, your photos will be stunning.

We are all so obsessed with body standards, it's time to challenge the notion that you need to shed pounds to indulge in a boudoir photoshoot.

Your body, exactly as it is, tells a unique story of strength, resilience, and beauty.

A boudoir session is not about conforming to society’s ideals of so called ‘perfection’ but celebrating the magnificence of your present self.

This empowering experience is for every body, regardless of size or shape. Professional boudoir photographers can skillfully capture your you at your very best. We will focus on your confidence, sensuality, and individuality.

Remember, self-love knows no size, and your boudoir photos will radiate the beauty that exists in every curve and contour.

Embrace yourself, unapologetically.

If you’re the kind of person who wakes up in the morning and looks in the mirror and loves what you see - you could save a lot of money!

You see, an inexperienced Boudoir Photographer may well be perfectly capable of taking pictures of you that you’re happy with. Todays modern cameras are capable of taking a picture on the ‘auto’ setting quite well and need little experience or skill from the user so if you love your ‘selfies’ on your mobile phone, go ahead and book anyone you like. Save even more money by taking more ‘selfies’.

For those of us though who are not full of self love and need a little help, this is where a more advanced experience would be more worth while.

It’s not about ‘expense’ it’s about ‘value’ and just how valuable would it be to you if, after this experience, you changed the way you see yourself, improved. your self confidence and felt more empowered?

What would that be worth to you?

Preparing for your Boudoir Session

Getting ready for your session doesn't have to be stressful!

We have been specialising in Boudoir for more than 20 years and in that time we’ve photographed 100s of women and this experience has shown us that there are some sure fire things you can do to prepare for your special day that will ensure everything goes perfectly.

We’ll take care of all the technical stuff on the day such as lighting, posing, the camera settings etc…. You can help with some of the preparation to make sure the day is a real success and that you get what you want out of the experience.