When our clients book a Sexy YOU boudoir session (as well as our standard sessions) one primary question we always get is: What should I wear? Well for family shoots, the trick is color coordination, no tacky patterns/designs and no trendy logos/characters. However, with boudoir, the considerations are different.

The Obvious

The first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of boudoir portraits is likely sexy underwear or lingerie. YES! This is definitely the easy answer to the question “What to wear?”. A few quick tips to go along with this: 1) Make sure (with two-piece outfits) the top matches the bottom and 2) lean in favor of lacy underwear. To the latter, if you are doing your session for a significant other and they find your everyday underwear is sexy, we can work with that as well!

NOTE: Abanathy Photography, LLC does not provide intimate garments for our YOU sessions. We do have a client closet, but more on that below 🙂

Now for a few considerations when shopping:

Comfort: in all the ways

First and foremost is comfort and confidence. You don’t have to go for the most complicated, one-of-a-kind outfit you can find. What you want is something you feel both physically comfortable and confident wearing. If you choose a difficult outfit that pinches in all the wrong places, it’s not going to feel comfortable during your shoot and it will show in your portraits.

Also be sure the outfit you choose inspires body confidence as well. I’ll go a little more into this below, however, you don’t want to choose an outfit that leaves you worrying about body insecurities or, worse, causes body insecurities. Once again, this will come through in your expressions and you only want confidence, not concern.

Expensive doesn’t mean better

We are often conditioned to think the more expensive an item is, the better it is. While this is sometimes true, when it comes to lingerie, it’s certainly not. Definitely don’t feel the need to break the bank and visit fancy lingerie stores in search of your outfit. I mean, we don’t mind if you do, but we’re equally saying we don’t mind if you don’t. Truth is, the camera can’t tell and we can make you look just as amazing in a $9 outfit as we can in a $900 outfit.

The best thing to do is think of your outfit as a prop. YOU are the focal point of your portraits. The outfit is just an embellishment.

One or two-piece? And a quick note about boosting confidence

Lingerie tends to come in two general varieties: one or two-piece. Up front, our camera really doesn’t have a preference, but, as noted above, this choice could have an impact on body confidence and we want that up so your portraits really shine!

Many clients are little timid when it comes to parts of their bodies including scars, moles and even a bashful midsection. This is where we would definitely recommend a one-piece over a two, in that a one piece can cover and/or reduce visibility of these sensitive areas. With that comes confidence and that is what you want in your Sexy YOU session! Be sure to stay tuned, as I plan to do a vlog on body confidence in the coming weeks.

The Not So Obvious

Many believe boudoir portraits are all about sexy underwear and lingerie, however, as noted, YOU are the focus of the portraits, not your wardrobe. That being said, “sexy” can be a little creative:

An SO’s work shirt, favorite jersey, etc.

Does your significant other wear a uniform to work? A shirt with their company logo? Do you have any idea how sexy it would be for you to pose seductively wearing it? You do now! And this is just one possibility.

Others can include a jersey from a favorite sports team or a halloween costume for cos-play. You might think these would cover a lot of you up, but there are ways to pose them to bring out the sexy.

And this is to say nothing of the props you can bring in to adorn these outfits including sports equipment/balls, work tools, characters props, etc.

Just you!

A lot of clients are so into planning their outfits that they forget one they carry with them at all the times: Their birthday suit! Nudity is not required in a boudoir session, however, some might want to include seductive or artful poses featuring more intimate parts of their body. Whether its implied, partial or full, it is definitely something to consider when planning for outfits and time for your YOU session.

NOTE: We at Abanathy DO NOT require or coerce nudity, ever. Our Sexy YOU sessions are all about you and you being comfortable and we would never ask you to do anything to the contrary.

How many outfits should I bring?

Now that you have an idea of the types of outfits, your next question is likely: How many should I bring? Well, for us, we find your top 2-3 outfits is ideal for 2-hour sessions. Any more than that and you might find your spending more time in the dressing room than in front of the camera. Definitely take a look at all options and pick your top 2-3 definite choices. You can always bring more just in case.

What can Abanathy Photography offer for my session?

So far we’ve discussed what you should bring to your Sexy YOU session. Now, I want to note what we bring to our clients. We do have a small client closet with outerwear including sheer robes, open-weave sweaters, fluffy pull-overs, bridal veils, Army shirt/jacket, a leather jacket, a Jedi robe and more. Visually, you may take the tour in the vlog above, but know we have a lot of accentuating pieces we’ve carefully curated for clients of all body types. And, while we would LOVE to have a warehouse-grade client closet, I think you’ll find several sexy options in the cozy closet we do have.

Hopefully this gives some direction on the question of what to wear to your boudoir session. Thank you so much for watching and reading!