THE BOUDOIR MARATHON EXPERIENCE

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By: Molly Keyser of Molly Marie Boudoir

The Divas have so graciously asked me to tell you all a bit about boudoir marathons! More specifically what a boudoir marathon is like with Molly Marie Boudoir. So, what is a boudoir marathon you may ask? Marathons are a day planned exclusively around making each and every woman that books a session feel as beautiful and sexy as possible. These marathons take place in a fancy hotel room, which is included in your session fee with your boudoir photographer. Many women like to book marathons because the fancy room is included, and then they also have the option to book back-to-back sessions with their girlfriends! Boudoir marathons generally take place around holidays (perfect for presents!) and it gives gals a full day to feel beautiful!

I start out by researching interesting hotels in the areas where I plan on having my marathons. I look for hotel rooms that are outside the norm; rooms with personality that can be transformed into beautiful backdrops. For example, I found a room at a local hotel that had a Parisian Room. So, I had a Paris-themed Boudoir Marathon! All the ladies loved the room, feeling like they were in Paris, and all the props in the room made the photos that much more unique and sexy.

I then find out the hotels check-in/check-out times and plan out a schedule of 1-1/2 hour slots throughout the day. I do 1-1/2 hour time slots for several reasons. First off, I want my clients to walk in, relax, and have fun. I want there to be enough time for hair and makeup, and then the main even – the shoot – without my clients feeling rushed at all. When a client walks in the door, she gets her hair and makeup done by a local professional hair and makeup artist, which is included in the price! I also send out a questionnaire beforehand that many of my clients find extremely helpful – this helps me tailor the shoot to each individual. Some women just leave it up to me, and others have very specific idea, such as a pinup shoot. Either way is perfectly fine! I want your shoot to be the most relaxed, fun, and personable experience it can be!

Speaking of relaxing, many women mention how hard it is for them to relax prior to the shoot. I will admit that most of my clients do feel a little nervous until they meet me. Once they meet me, we start chatting and working together, they always tell me they feel so at ease. Although you have nothing to be nervous about, I still try to prepare to calm your nerves as much as possible. I have some music videos playing on the TV, we listen to fun music (I also allow clients to bring in their own), and we have just an all around FUN time!

When its all said and done, what my clients can’t wait for is the finished product. I allow about a 5 to 14 day turnaround time, but for the people who just can’t wait, I always have a sneak peak preview on my blog. Please feel free to check out my website and blog – I can only hope this little article helps persuade all the women reading that they too need to do a boudoir shoot!

Article & photos by Molly Keyser of Molly Marie Boudoir

Could this be considered boudoir?

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I mean she is on a bed right?! I just love this image. This could be a great idea if you want to ask your photographer to maybe customize a special package for you that includes an interesting on location twist like this. Too fun.

(PS. not sure who took this image but would love to know. If you have an idea please comment.)

“Dress up and be girly” I love that even this celeb finds a photo shoot a treat

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I love the first minute of this video because Hilary Duff talks about how she loves to have people dress her up and make her feel special and girly. So even a big time celeb loves to have the boudoir photo shoot treatment. Her set looks so fun, if you pay attention you can even see a boudoir inspired chair off to the left! Everything cool has some sort of vintage boudoir touch to it. Yummy!

Halloween Boudoir

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We love it when clients bring in a fun costume for us to shoot them in. I may be speaking for all boudoir photographers when I say that I just adore themed shoots so this just adds a whole new twist to the typical boudoir shoot. One of my fave online lingerie stores is having a big sale I wanted to share with all of you.  So find the perfect boudoir photographer in your area you sexy little Alice in Wonderland, or Kitty Cat or (my fave) pirate!! Arrrr. xo- Marissa Boucher

www.lingeriediva.com

Why every woman should pose nude…

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Although we already think “every woman should pose nude”, we found this article and think it was worth sharing to support our theory. :) Crushable.com posted this article and we highly recommend you talking 5 minutes to read it. If you have ever thought about doing a boudoir photo shoot, but just not sure if you are ready, take a look. Here is an excerpt from the article written by Kat Rosenfield:

“As an artist’s and photographer’s model, I’ve spent substantial portions of my early-to-mid twenties standing around in front of strangers with no clothes on. And while it might be initially nerve-wracking, it’s also one of the most interesting and worthwhile experiences I’ve ever had — so worthwhile that I firmly believe it belongs on the bucket list for any young woman, no matter what her shape, size, or level of confidence with her own naked body. Why should you take a photo or two in your birthday suit?

* Your body is beautiful. Really, it is. And it doesn’t matter whether you’re plump or slender, reedy or Rubenesque; your whole self — top to toe — deserves its day in the spotlight. Women put in huge amounts of effort each day just to meet society’s standard of beauty, only to get bogged down by stress and insecurity over failing to fit within that narrowly-defined (and often unhealthy) ideal. Stripping down and showing it off is a celebratory, powerful, even subversive act — and it’s exhilarating. And when you see those photos in the days, months and years that follow, it’ll be with a lasting appreciation for your body as the glorious, gorgeous machine it is.
* It’s a confidence boost. Between diet culture, celebrity obsession, and the airbrushed images that we see every day on billboards and in magazines, women have developed an utterly warped idea of what a healthy body looks like. And the effects go way beyond simply disliking what we see in the mirror; at this point, many women are battling body dysmorphia and/or too afraid to even look at themselves naked. Seeing your own body given just a fraction of the star treatment — with makeup, lighting, and a skilled photographer to help you pose — is a powerful way to fight back against that fear and insecurity. Basically, you are so much hotter than you think you are.
* It’s totally vain… and completely awesome. When it comes to balancing your busy life, you’re always being told to take care, take time out, and take one day a week to do something nice for yourself. Well, go big or go home, lady. Your “just for me” weekly manicure only lasts as long as it takes your nail polish to chip, but a private album of drawings or photos that show you at your prime — young, healthy, and before childbirth, gravity, and the vagaries of time have taken their toll — is a memory you’ll have forever. (Not to mention a great conversation-starter when someone pulls it off your bookshelf in 2072 and says, “Grandma! Was that YOU?”

You can check out the rest of the article HERE. Happy reading!

The Written Word. Articles about Boudoir.

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A great article about boudoir at Wedding Photography Directory
http://www.weddingphotographydirectory.com

Wedding Chicks knows all about romantic boudoir
www.weddingchicks.com

and also the hottest grooms’ gift ever
www.weddingchicks.com/boudoir

Love My Dress Blog shows off a little bit of vintage boudoir
www.lovemydress.com/vintageboudoir

June Bug Weddings think bridal boudoir is a savvy idea
www.junebugweddings.com/bridalboudoir

The Knot talk details about a bridal boudoir shoot and a gift for the groom!
www.theknot.com

The Boudoir Divas talk about the fantastic Pin-Up party as the best bachelorette party ever
www.sandiegoboudoir.com

Want to know the hard fact about boudoir from the internet’s well known wikipedia?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boudoir

Even Redbook Magazine is dishing about boudoir photography!
http://www.redbookmag.com/health-wellness/advice/sexy-photos

Ezine.com delves on their opinion of boudoir
www.ezinearticles.com

Wedding Photographers Directory goes into detail about every facet of this fun photo shoot experience
http://wedding-photographers-directory.com/articles/intimate_boudoir_photography.aspx

Articles Base, a site that covers ever topic with the written words, breaks down why boudoir photography is so great
http://www.articlesbase.com/relationships-articles/

The Examiner goes over some of the things they consider do’s and don’ts for your boudoir session
http://www.examiner.com/

The Off Beat Bride breaks down boudoir in an article titled, “How I learned to love my body.”
http://offbeatbride.com/2010/06/wedding-boudoir-photos

Boudoir Session on Video

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Not too many people know what to expect with a boudoir shoot, so we have compiled some of our fave boudoir videos shot here in The Boudoir Divas studio. We know that the experience won’t be the same at every studio, but for the most part the emotions involved in the shoot will be the similar across the board. So  grab some popcorn and press play!

For even more videos visit www.youtube.com/boudoirdivas

My Boudoir Story

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It all started when I watched the Victoria’s Secret Superbowl commercial. It got me thinking that I have never really had the chance to feel sexy, really girly sexy. I mean, I am okay and all, but I definitely do have the typical woman complaints. Enough to keep from loving my body. So something about that commercial made me want to have sexy photos of myself. And after mulling it over I think one of the main reasons was because I wanted to not only feel sexy, but prove to myself that I was and am beautiful and a bit too hard on myself after all these years. Maybe create a turning point to make peace with my body. That sounds kinda dramatic so being honest I want to say that in the overall picture of life, feeling quote unquote “sexy” is not necessary to my survival. I get that. But, after being bombarded by the media with images of hot women constantly, it sure would be fun to be “Victoria’s Secret” sexy for a day and have proof of it in an album to boot.

So once I convinced myself that I wanted a sexy lingerie shoot, I hit Google like a mad woman in hot pursuit. I discovered that when I Googled “sexy lingerie photo shoot” that “boudoir photography” sites popped up. And after a little more research I realized that this was exactly what I was looking for. What I gathered was that “boudoir” is a private and classy approach to sexy photos for the everyday woman. That the boudoir photographer’s job is to professionally guide their client in all things sexy; flattering posing, expression and outfit choices. I loved looking around at all the photographers sites, seeing all the different styles and reasons why each photographer loved doing what they do . Even though the photographer I chose was a bit a of drive, I selected them because I felt like they would really take care of me during this nerve wracking yet very fun process. I booked my shoot about 6 weeks out and even though they told me over and over that losing weight was soooo not a necessary component to being sexy, I wanted to do just a little toning up to feel my best. Oh and more than anything I wanted time
to go shopping!

I arrived at their studio without make-up and with butterflies so strong in my tummy I wanted to turn around and go home. Not to mention I had experienced a bit of a rough start to my day (I forgot one of my outfits and had to turn around and go home to grab it). When I arrived I was greeted with warm smiles, offered champagne, there was fun music playing and as soon as hair and make-up started the past concerns were gone. I asked the MUA (I learned that stands for make-up artist) to give me a bit of “Bond Girl” look. By that I meant big hair and smokey, sultry make-up. I was having a blast already!

My make-up was done, and I adored it! I would never have thought I would love the look of intense shadow and eyelashes, but man I looked so hot. I don’t even know if my friends would recognize me like this since I am just a flip-flop and jeans sort of girl. Next the photographer helped me pick out outfits and we talked about the “look” that I liked. Then it was time to shoot. The photographer (who was great by the way) kind of gave me a bit of a pep talk before. She told me there was no right or wrong. To just look confident and relaxed and that she would show me the pose and make adjustments as she shot . We took pictures for about an hour and half, which may go down in history as the most fun hour and a half of my life! I felt so beautiful and sexy, and I felt such trust for my photographer during the shoot. I already want to go back and do another shoot on their other sets.

A little bit later I saw my photos and purchased an album and a big black and white print for my bathroom. I was floored by the images. Wow. I am SO thankful that I decided to book a boudoir photo shoot. I will always remember my boudoir shoot as the turning point in my life when I realized that I was just as hot as any cover model out there.

Ladies who are considering a boudoir shoot, GO FOR IT! You are totally worth this pampering, confidence-boosting experience!

-Becky

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