So, I did a very scary thing yesterday… and I’m not talking about the actual boudoir shoot… I got on the other side of the camera.  For a change I wasn’t the photographer, but the subject… and OMG that was more unnerving than getting my kit off for the shoot!!

I can successfully say that I’ve ticked off another item from my bucket list.  Yay!! Boudoir shoot = done!

A lot of people on Twitter have been asking me how it went, so it deserves a quick blog post 🙂

The first question everyone is asking, is who on earth I got to do the shoot?  Well, I chose Yvette from Innovate Photo.  She’s a Cape Town based boudoir photographer, who travels to Joburg every few months, and I’ve been following her work for ages.  I know, she’s not local, but her style is similar to mine, and it’s real, and she was planning a trip to Joburg… so I took the opportunity to book her.  I know for her, it must have been unnerving to take photos of another photographer, so big ups to her!!

So, after getting my outfits ready after my last blog post, I also had to do a quick makeover on my bedroom.  We had planned on using another venue, but it fell through… so I made the call to redecorate my bedroom (photos to be blogged in a few days once I’m actually completely finished with it)… and it was  a mad rush to find all white linen and new bedside lamps and new mirrors and new trinkets etc… and thankfully I was ready in time 🙂

Lance was working, so Madelein kindly offered to take the kids on a picnic while we were busy… and then I was set… well… almost… apart from the nerves.

Yvette’s makeup artist arrived first, and started setting up, while I cracked open the champagne 🙂 LOL!! Therein lies the mistake.  I thought, hell, even though it’s Sunday morning, I need to relax, and this is a big deal, so lets drink :).  I didn’t think about the fact that I didn’t eat lunch, or that by the end of the shoot I’d virtually finished the entire bottle of champers!! And champagne doesn’t agree with me!!  So I ended up with a humungous headache and by the time I went to sleep I was properly hungover!

Anyhoo, it was fun.  Loved the outfits!! I ended up buying far too many, and we had about 7 to choose from in the end, if you count the sheets as an outfit.  The shocking pink babydoll from La Senza ended up being my favourite and it really worked so well against the white sheets… and my pale skin!! LOL! But I think Yvette really had her work cut out for her with me… and my body 🙂 LOL! I’m definitely not one of her usual model looking clients, and the photos I saw before she left looked amazing 🙂

I’m really glad I did it, and I learnt a hell of a lot about myself, and I reckon I’ll be  a much better boudoir photographer because of the experience of being on the other side of the lens for a change.  Some of my random thoughts about it…

  • As a photographer, I can so readily “see” the image that I want and instruct the client to move in certain ways.  But yesterday, unless it was the champagne that muddled my mind completely, I often had no idea what she was seeing, so I relied a LOT on her instructions.  Big learning… it again reinforced the importance of explaining poses properly so that my clients can understand what I’m talking about.
  • I probably should have gone to gym for a few months before this so that at least my stomach wasn’t so evident!! My boobs I can do very little about, unless I get a boob job (and that’s not on my bucket list)
  • A good makeup artist that you trust is so very important for shoots like this.  Rozaan was awesome! Loved the smokey look she gave me.
  • I knew basically what to prepare for this, but a list of outfit choices that work and lighting/sheets that you need is so important.  I’m going to get a style guide together for boudoir shoots I think.
  • Never underestimate the amount of mental preparation someone goes through when booking this type of shoot.  It’s not only about the outfits and finding stuff that you think works for your body.  It’s organising the household so that you can be alone. It’s the redecorating of a room so that light is right, or phoning hotel after hotel to book a room for the event.  It’s cleaning the room before the shoot.  It’s being aware of what you really dislike about your body so that the photographer can avoid those areas… or enhance the parts that you do like… so that she doesn’t waste shots that you’ll never ever choose.
  • If you’re unfit like me, it’s quite a workout to move and contort your body for 2/3 hours… oh man my back is quite stiff today!! And yes, I’m that unfit!
So anyway… it’s done… and now I wait to see the final images :))
Thanks Yvette for the awesome experience… and one day when you decide to do this for yourself, let me know 😉