We often receive inquiries in which people ask us if we provide lingerie during our boudoir shoots. It is indeed pretty common for Canadian boudoir photographers to offer this service (definitively not common in France thought, so we would be curious to know what photographers from other countries think about that).
We are assuming people like the idea of having access to more “luxurious” lingerie sets so we understand why this type of service can be wanted, but it is not something we are currently doing. Our reasons are based on our branding and personal taste, we are absolutely not denigrating our fellow photographers for choosing to provide lingerie to their clients!
Before scrolling down, can you guess what our 3 main reasons are?
Body Diversity
Reason #1 is the logistic aspect. Since we opened Scandaleuse Photography 6 years ago, we have opened our doors to people of every shape and sizes! So if we were to include lingerie in our sessions, we would need to have a lingerie store in order to keep being body inclusive and give our clients plenty of choices.
We think providing lingerie is a great option for photographers who photograph mostly the same type of bodies (such as professional models for example) or the ones who only want to offer a few pieces to their clients.
Outfit Diversity
Reason #2 is that, in our opinion, it is important to not feel like you are wearing a disguise when you do a boudoir shoot. We always suggest to our clients (AKA our Scandals) to wear outfits that make them feel like their most confident, sensual, sexy, badass, or whatever else - self they want to feel. We tell them to be creative and think outside the box when it comes to their boudoir outfits, especially if a traditional set of lingerie is not their thing.
Also, we all have different personalities. Sometimes we want to be sexy, other time cozyness is a priority, one day we feel wearing black clothes, the next day we choose colours… Bringing your own outfit is also a great way to create different sets and moods during your shoot. So if we were to provide lingerie to our Scandals it would be too restrictive, which is the opposite of what Scandaleuse is about: allowing yourself to give the spotlight to all your personalities instead of making you fit into the mold!
Is It Really Hygienic?
Even it is safe to assume all pieces are being washed after each client when photographers provide lingerie during their shoots, we personally don’t find that this practice is super hygienic. Maybe some people don’t mind it, but personally we would not feel comfortable wearing thongs or panties that multiple people had worn before us.
When you do a shoot, especially if it is your first time, you want to make sure you are as relax as you can, so if you spend half of the session worrying about the cleanliness of what you are wearing it could make you tense and ruin your boudoir shoot.
If you choose to shoot with a studio that provide the lingerie for you, make sure to ask how they clean their lingerie and how often it has been worn.
That being said, we love the idea of using unique props on our shoots, so we started offering props to our clients, for those who want to add extra badassness to their shoot. But there are upper body pieces, or pieces you wear on top of your boudoir outfit! Our collection is small so far but very cool: black and gold lace chokers, flower shoulder pads, vintage pearls top, lace chest cover-ups).
Making our boudoir shoots flexible and inclusive has been our priority since day one, and we are very proud of ourselves for keeping it this way!