Posing Tips for Nailing Your Boudoir Session

Hello, gorgeous! 🌟

So you’re here because you wanna know how to take sexy pictures. Well, you’ve come to the right place! I’ve been a Boudoir photographer for over a decade, and over the years, I’ve come up with a few tips and tricks for making sure you’re feeling as prepared and confident as possible so you can slay your boudoir session.

Being Nervous About Posing is Totally Normal!

It’s perfectly normal to worry about not knowing how to pose during your boudoir session. If you were already a posing pro, you wouldn’t be hiring me! You don’t need to be a professional model to absolutely SLAY your boudoir shoot. My job is to guide you through every step, making sure you feel comfortable, confident, and, most importantly, fabulous! 😘

The quickest way to sabotage your boudoir session is not trusting your photographer. This is why it’s so important to find a boudoir photographer who specializes in boudoir, knows what they’re doing, and will have your back from the beginning of the shoot to the end.

As your photographer, I will guide you through your session pose-by-pose—we do NOT just hold up a camera at you and say “ok, go!” That makes me nervous just thinking about it! 😅

I do a LOT of talking during your session. I am constantly doling out posing direction—you honestly don’t even have time to be nervous! 😂 I’ll be telling you exactly how to pose and what to do the whole time. You are NOT alone!

How to Soothe Your Nerves Before Your Boudoir Session

Even though I do my very best to calm your nerves before your session, there are other things you can do to help soothe anxiety before you show up to your session.

• Making sure you are fully packed and prepared the night before your session so that all you have to do is roll out of bed, eat some brekky, and roll on over to us at the studio. This way you don’t have to worry about making sure you packed everything and didn’t forget anything for your shoot!

• In the weeks leading up to your session, every time you pass a mirror, I want you to stop, look yourself in the eyes, and tell yourself your favorite positive self-affirming mantra. If you don’t have one, here are some to try out and see how they feel 🥰

  • "My body is perfect just as it is. I embrace my unique beauty."

  • "I am worthy of love, admiration, and respect."

  • "I radiate confidence, grace, and beauty.”

  • "I am stepping out of my comfort zone and into my power."

  • "I am proud of my body and all it has achieved."

  • "I deserve to feel glamorous, sexy, and empowered."

  • "I am enough, just as I am.”

  • "Today, I let go of self-doubt and welcome self-love."

  • "I am a work of art, worthy of being seen and celebrated."

• Another thing that can really help you feel prepared for your boudoir session is practicing your facial expressions in the mirror or your front-facing phone camera!

  • Practice relaxing different parts of your face individually—forehead, lips, jaw, neck—so that you can get used to how that feels. A lot of us hold so much tension in these parts of our bodies and don’t even know it!

  • Something I say constantly during your session is “Relax your lips and breathe through your mouth.” (That’s right—we’re a bunch of mouth-breathers over here, y’all. 😂) Practice what this looks like in the mirror! What this doesn’t mean is “open your mouth like you’re trying to catch flies!” 😜 It just means drop your lips open a tad bit, so that you’re not pursing your lips together. This helps to avoid any tension in your face, making your expressions look effortless and natural.

Quick and Dirty Boudoir Posing Tips

• Arch for your LIFE

  The classic back arch is imperative to that dramatic, iconic boudoir shot. Pretty much all of them—ok, not all, but it’s pretty ubiquitous in the genre. I highly recommend stretching (cat-cow yoga poses work wonders) before you come in for your boudoir session, because of how many of the poses we’ll be doing utilize the back arch. After recording posing tutorials for tiktok and instagram, my back is always screamin’ 😂
  

• Point your toes - barbie feet

  I am always telling my clients—“Point those toes!” because it’s another simple way to bring the shot from “great” to “holy shit, that’s good.” There are two different types of toe-pointing, though, one being “ballerina feet,” and the other being “Barbie feet.” The former is where your toes are pointed so the feet are totally flat on the top, and the latter is that classic Barbie doll shape, where the ball of your feet are flat on the floor, but your heels are raised up. I’ll tell you which one works best for each pose 😜
  

• Soft “Ballerina” Hands

  Completely contrary to the point above, with hands, we’re looking for soft and graceful, not stiff, Barbie-doll hands! This means that your fingers are relaxed so they are slightly bent, but not intentionally bent. What helps is to slightly raise your pointer finger slightly above and away from your other fingers, almost like you’re gently pointing at something. I’ll help you with this by demonstrating during your session, so don’t worry if this doesn’t make the most sense.

Now It’s Your Turn! 💖

Remember, the key to how to take sexy pictures is to relax, trust your photographer, and have fun. This experience is all about celebrating YOU! Over the years, I’ve learned that the most beautiful photos come when my clients let go of their fears and embrace the moment. I’m here to support you every step of the way, making sure you feel like the queen you truly are.

So, are you ready to give it a shot? ✨

When you book your session we’ll make sure you’re feeling confident, gorgeous, and ready to SLAY your boudoir session—every time! 🥰🥰🥰

Xoxo,

Karri Bird