Or, As We Call It: Boudoir

Plus Size Boudoir is a Myth

Hey there, Bombshells.  Sit with me and rap for a minute.  Do people still say rap?  Not important. I want to talk to you all about plus size boudoir, or as we call it in the industry… boudoir.  Plus size boudoir is searched often, which means it is something a lot of women think they need to search for.  But any boudoir photographer worth their salt knows this simply is not true.  There should be no difference in sessions regardless of how the model looks.  That goes for tall or short (based on society’s assessment of what constitutes tall and short), long hair or short hair- again, wildly subjective metrics- or, as in the case of this article, plus size.

It’s easy to understand why you might think you need to search for plus size boudoir options.  We live in a society that routinely separates women into ‘regular’ sizes and ‘plus’ sizes.  Not just for clothing, but occasionally for services as well.  It is almost assumed that when it comes to things involving women’s bodies, they need to be aware of whether they are regular or plus sized.  So there is sort of a natural assumption that boudoir photography, which is a somewhat body-focused service, would be the same.  

 I am here to tell you that it is not.  At least not in my boudoir studio.  I want to take a few minutes with you to debunk this perception, so that no matter who you are, when you walk through my doors, you feel comfortable, confident and sexy.

Dress to Impress- Yourself

At Boudoir by Cipriani, we take a sort of Old Navy approach.  There is no sizing section to separate women from each other.  There’s just the outfit rack and the studio.  The end.  

Let’s start with the outfits.  No matter if you consider yourself plus size or not, coverage is based on comfort with exposure.  That goes for all women.  You choose the kind of outfit you want to wear.  I don’t pick it out for you no matter who you are.  You choose what you want to wear.  Some photographers try to cover aspects of their clients that do not conform to social beauty tropes with sheets, excessive flowy fabrics, etc.  That is NOT what boudoir is about.  No matter who you are, there is no part of you that we want to cover if you want to show it off.  And for real: if you want to show it off, then Show.  It.  Off!

So however you’re feeling about the clothes you’re going to wear for your boudoir shoot, we’ve got you covered.  Or uncovered.  Literally.  And I mean literally in the actual sense of the word here.  Let me make this clear.  I don’t care what your body looks like, I think it deserves celebration and appreciation, and I want you to feel the same.  We’re going to dress you and show you off however you want to be shown off.

Plus Size Boudoir Poses Are Just Boudoir Poses

Once we’ve got you dressed, or undressed depending on your comfort, we’ll move things into the studio.  And guess what?  You’ll have no different experience in front of the lens than any other bombshell that comes into my studio, regardless of who you are.  Are you sensing a theme?  Is the general message here starting to resonate?  Should I go on?  I’ll go on.

For those of you searching for plus size boudoir, you may be surprised to learn that every woman who comes into our studio is a little unsure of themselves when it comes to posing.  Like, literally almost all of them.  I literally mean literally again here.  

That’s also to be completely expected.  In fact, every woman who comes in and steps in front of the lens does a little “training” session with me before.  We go over basic instructions you will be receiving, and I work to learn what you feel comfortable doing throughout the shoot.  All poses, just like outfits, are based on comfort.  I don’t modify my approach for anyone.  No matter your look, body type or confidence level, we discuss what your boundaries are, and I help you find the poses that make you feel most sexy within those boundaries.  

I’ll say this again.  The experience Does.  Not.  Change.  In my studio, a boudoir shoot is a boudoir shoot, regardless of the client.  The only changes I make are based entirely on the desires of the person in front of my lens.  And that’s you.  So if you want to do it, we’ll do it.  No matter who you are, there is nothing about you that is more challenging than anyone else, so there is no need to modify the process.

It’s Retouching- NOT Altering

What about afterwards?  When we do all those tricky touchups and photoshopping and computer magics?  Well, if you follow my blog at all, first, you’ll know we do NONE of that at Boudoir by Cipriani.  The touching up we do of our photographs is never to alter your physical appearance.  We follow what we like to refer to as The 2 Week Rule. If it won’t be on your body in 2 weeks we retouch that mark. If it’s a normal part of your body, like smile lines, stretch marks, cellulite, fingernails, it stays. More often than not, when women see their finished images, they start to love all those parts of their body they might have been told to cover up. 

Boudoir by Cipriani does not believe in the glamour shots approach to photography.  We are not trying to change you.  We want to celebrate you.  How we retouch your photos reflects that.  Excuse the crude terminology, but we do not perform liposuction by photo editing.  We don’t slim down, or size up, or heighten cheeks or lower collarbones, or add a sixth toe, or any of that madness.  We clarify the photos so that you can see the best version of you… but we will never, ever change you.

Boudoir is a celebration.  A celebration of you.  You deserve to be celebrated.  Exactly as you are.  Making changes to your photos to change you undermines that mission.  So we won’t do it.  It does not matter the client.  We will not change you after you’ve been in front of our lens.

My Boudoir Philosophy

Look, by now you’ve probably gotten the message.  I have a pretty strict philosophy on all of this.  And that is I don’t see any of my clients differently from one to the next.  Does that mean every session I do is the same as another?  No, of course not.  It’s all based on you.  It’s about your vision.  How comfortable you are with certain outfits, or poses.  I conform to your desires.  And I help you realize your vision.  Changing you, or limiting your options for clothing or the photoshoot experience itself… that takes away from what brings me the most joy in this business.  And that’s seeing women realize the most vibrant, sexy, confident version of themselves.

I realize some of you are nervous about all of this.  Especially if you feel the need to search for plus size boudoir photography, and not just boudoir photography.  You feel an extra need to be heard.  Maybe you had a poor experience in the past- one that made you especially uncomfortable.  And based on how society classes women, I understand why you might think you need to look for a specific experience.

Let me assure you, this is that specific experience.  My boudoir studio.  Because at my boudoir studio, you aren’t a plus sized client or a standard sized client, or any other superficial measurement of clientele.  You are just one of my bombshells.  Believe that.

Speak Up. Be Heard. We Hear You.

A lot of prework happens before you ever step in front of the camera.  We do a consultation where I’ll ask you a lot of questions about what kind of experience you are looking for.  And that’s all so that you feel as comfortable as possible before you even come into the studio.  To help the experience with me feel like the safe space it is when you arrive.

I understand that you might have concerns.  You are not unseen or unheard in those concerns.  But rest assured that I am excited to work with you.  I can’t wait to bring you in and share my passion for boudoir and women’s empowerment with you.  This is an us journey.  And we are going to have an amazing experience together.

So give me a call, bombshell.  Let’s do this!