The term “boudoir photography” is reminiscent of scenes along the lines of a woman in lingerie, standing near a window, adjusting her outfit. Perhaps we imagine a half-naked woman lying in bed. However, this interpretation of boudoir photography is not the only way to define the genre. If you’re willing to step out of your comfort zone and broaden your understanding of what a boudoir session looks like, you can dramatically increase your customer base and sales.
No matter how lucrative your boudoir photography business may be, you’re losing money if you don’t offer your services to male clients. We associate boudoir photography with women’s subjects, but some men also like to be photographed this way. The rise of social media has made many men more comfortable sharing and celebrating their looks with others. If you choose to add men’s photo sessions to your boudoir service, you might be surprised at how many of your female clients will bring their boyfriends or husbands in for a boudoir photo shoot after a positive experience when they work with you.
Lindsay Carlisle is a boudoir photographer with studios in Tulum, Mexico and Los Angeles, California who recently began offering boudoir sessions for men in addition to sessions for women. Adding boudoir sets for men involved more than just adding a few lines of text to her website. Lindsay needed to develop the right poses for the male client and figure out how to set the mood during the shoot to make the men feel comfortable in the vulnerable setting of a sexy photo shoot. She also needs to understand how the men’s session will differ from the women’s session.
Boudoir sessions are often marketed to women as a way to recognize milestones in their lives. These milestones include divorce or turning 50. Male clients often have similar motivations for wanting to do a boudoir shoot. “What I find in my clients is that most of them are going through some kind of transformation in their lives. This could be like a divorce, leaving a relationship, entering a relationship or maybe they are on a weight loss journey. They are really discovering themselves in a new way or they are looking to learn to love themselves more, love their bodies more. Usually, my clients are waking up in some way. So they are looking to improve their relationship with themselves through boudoir photography to help support their personal growth journey,” says Lindsay.
My male clients often have the same motivation for signing up for their boudoir session. However, I find there is a difference between male and female clients as the men that I photograph, more often than my female clients, also have photos taken as a gift for you. their life or spouse. I can see this starting to change as men’s boudoir photography becomes more common. Just like decades ago, the idea of a woman taking a picture simply as a gift for herself is much less common. As the boudoir industry grew and these photos became more normal, many women abandoned that misconception and started booking photo sessions as a gift for themselves. And I think as boudoir photography for men becomes more and more popular, we will see more men willing to sign up for a boudoir session just for them.
For all clients, regardless of gender, a pre-consultation phone call is necessary to ensure that the client is fully prepared and to ensure that the client understands how events will unfold. During recording:
My clients receive a lot of preparation materials at the time of signing up for their boudoir session and depending on their gender yes, they will receive different types of materials, helpful tips and pictures in those documents. For example, usually, my male clients won’t go out and have their hair waxed or manicured before a photo shoot. So the resources that I give them before taking the photo are customized for their own unique experience with me.
The people on set are an important concern for a boudoir photographer. Whether you’re photographing men or women, putting the wrong energy on set can make it difficult to set the right mood for your shot. Lindsay often has a makeup artist on set during her female beauty sessions. The makeup artist is female. “I think my female clients are especially happy to have a makeup artist there to correct them if they need to. I think that reassures many of my clients who are like, ‘Well, what if my lipstick fades or my hair starts to fall out midway?’”
In Lindsay’s experience, men care more than women about who will be on set during the shoot:
My male clients are more interested in having someone on set to help relieve any stress or tension they may be feeling or to help them feel this is a very professional environment. They love knowing there is a small group and they are supported. Both sexes ask who will be in the photo shoot, but I tend to get this question more often from men.
Shooting lists are very important for a boudoir photographer. Most shooters charge a shooting price based on the number of shots the customer selects. Developing a stock of poses can lead to increased sales. There are quite a few standard boudoir poses for women that tend to sell well. These include women in white men’s button-down shirts, lying on their backs in bed, arching their backs, and looking out of windows. Most of these poses are not applicable to male clients, so a photographer entering this category will have to invest time developing poses that are suitable for men.
With women, my aesthetic tends to lean towards dancers or yoga. So we’re doing a lot of stretching, toe and back curls, torso lengthening, etc. With male clients, it’s all gone. We don’t just any toes, we don’t bend that much. It’s a much more comfortable position. We are taking simple movements and poses that men would naturally do and exaggerating them a bit to create an interesting image. With male clients, I usually use less angles and I don’t work to emphasize curves. It’s much more comfortable. So the poses tend to be very simple. That can be fine, but if you’re not careful, poses start to get mixed up and the images all start to look the same. And that’s where a wardrobe change really comes in handy. For my male clients, I usually recommend starting with an open button-down shirt with jeans. Then we unbuttoned our shirts and often did something similar to old-fashioned Calvin Klein commercials: topless with jeans, which I really like. From there, we usually switch to tight-fitting shorts. I recommend them to wear black because I shoot very erratically, so it suits my shooting style best. At the end of the session, my male clients will almost always be nude, implicitly or completely.
Provided the photographer understands the subtle differences between working with female and male clients, it would be wise for any boudoir photographer to consider adding male styles to their service:
That is definitely something to consider. Men deserve to feel sexy and also get a confidence boost. More and more men are opening up to the idea of doing their own boudoir, and I think this is amazing. It has been incredibly rewarding to offer my services to men, many of whom have shared their struggles to even find someone willing to photograph them. I would like to see this aspect of the boudoir industry expand to become more inclusive.
For photographers considering entering the men’s boudoir market, Lindsay suggests that photographers act on understanding when they receive requests from men. A female photographer may occasionally receive emails from men she considers inappropriate or even creepy. These emails are not questions; they resemble the kind of rude comments you see posted on any forum that allows anonymous posting. This can make female photographers a little wary of a man’s question, even if he just wants to schedule a boudoir shoot for himself.
We understand that a woman doesn’t have to have a body like Emily Ratajkowski to want to do a boudoir shoot. Photographers need to show the same level of understanding when they receive a greeting from a man. Asking why he wants to do the scene should only be done in the most positive way. It should never be framed as: “what problem does this guy have that he wants to do a boudoir photo session?”
Think out loud. Understand that like women, men also struggle with the way they feel about their bodies and overall confidence and self-esteem. Men also deserve a chance to do that through boudoir photos.
For a male photographer considering offering boudoir photos for men, it’s important that you feel comfortable in your own context. Whatever you are feeling will be projected onto your customers. If you’re nervous, you’re making the person you’re photographing nervous. Many male clients will feel more comfortable working with a female photographer, and you might consider adding one to your team. You might have an option on your website that allows clients to choose between two photographers of different genders. Clients should understand that the quality of the images will be the same no matter who on the team they choose to work with.
I think the first thing to keep in mind is that your customers will always worry a lot more than you. They were half-naked in front of someone they had just met. They are very vulnerable. I mean, it’s normal for both parties to be a little nervous, especially if it’s a photographer or a client’s first shoot. But the client is in a very vulnerable position, and the photographer’s job is to make them feel as comfortable as possible and create a professional, respectful and welcoming atmosphere. And so, I think, if a male photographer is trying to get into men’s photography, it’s important for them to put their worries and stress aside and just focus on making their clients feel comfortable and taking exceptional photos of them. I’ve heard from men in my community and they feel like there aren’t many professional photographers willing to take their pictures. With all the talented boudoir photographers out there, I hope more people start experimenting with men’s shooting sessions. They are a gift to our customers. There is a growing demand for boudoir sessions for men and, after all, we are all just human, trying to love and honor ourselves.
Image used with permission.
