There are so many different definitions and understandings of what "boudoir" means. It's an archaic French word from the root word meaning "to sulk, or reflect." A "boudoir" was a woman's private changing dressing room or bedroom. It was a room where she could be alone and focus on herself, not her roles as a mother, a wife, a cook, a housekeeper, or any of the other hats she wears. But the French word for bedroom is "chambre" not "boudoir." So, if boudoir was just about shooting in a bedroom, it would be called "Bedroom photography" or "Chambre photography." But it's not because it has nothing to do with being physically in a bedroom. That's why some of the largest photography organizations have categories for "outdoor boudoir." Boudoir has to do with reflecting on yourself and putting yourself first. Boudoir is about celebrating your physical beauty for you as opposed to doing it to sell something or please someone else.
It's different from glamour or pinup. When you look at a Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition or even a sexy picture from FHM or Maxim or Playboy, those are pictures where the model is generally trying to come across as sexy solely for the viewer in order to sell a product or sell copies of the magazine or simply to seduce the viewer. Those shots are all about pleasing the viewer. There's nothing wrong with that style of photography, but it's different from boudoir.
Boudoir also has nothing to do with what you are wearing. You don't have to be nude or in lingerie. It's just about focusing on you and what makes you feel good. Are these pictures fashion or boudoir? Who decides? You do when you are choosing what empowers you.
When you do a boudoir shoot, even if it is a gift for someone else, it is about capturing you being beautiful for you, and the power of the confidence radiating from that. The pictures can still be seductive, alluring, and sexy, but they are those things for you first and foremost. The pictures are not judged by how many copies they sell of something, or by how many other people think they are hot. They're judged by what you think about them because they are for you to reflect on yourself.
If you want a shoot for yourself or just want to find out more, reach out here:
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