Bridal boudoir photography in Newcastle, Durham and North Yorkshire
Are you a bride-to-be and considering a bridal boudoir photoshoot in order to gift your partner the most stunning, personal, unique and perfect wedding gift ever? Or maybe a boudoir shoot has always been on your bucket list but you haven’t quite been brave to actually make it happen yet? Then read on… Or take a look at my non-bridal boudoir or couple’s boudoir photo pages. Or contact me to chat!
Here’s the story of Beth’s boudoir shoot - partly in her own words, complete with some of her totally gorgeous photos of course.
Boots: @houseofelliotlaceboots Veils: @starandleafveils Flowers: @norfolkpampas
Meet Beth! Beth isn’t a model, just a regular client who, luckily for us, was happy to share some of her stunning photos. Thank you Beth!
“Doing a boudoir shoot was always something on my bucket list, but I never thought I'd be able to do it. I never liked the way I looked in clothes, let alone without them!”
I find this, or a variation on it, is THE most common opening line from anyone booking a boudoir photo shoot with me. I have met very few clients who didn’t tell me they were worried they wouldn’t take a good photo, that they weren't photogenic, that they thought they always looked bad in photos, or similar - it the perfect challenge to me and I love proving them wrong!
Beth is getting married next year and wanted to surprise her future husband with something totally unexpected - a stunning album containing… her! This is what led her to book a bridal boudoir shoot with me.
I’m happy to shoot in a client’s home if they have a suitable space, or at a location they have arranged. However, most often, I’m asked to arrange a hotel location for the shoot, like the one I used with Beth. I often use this particular hotel in County Durham, but only 20 minutes from Newcastle, as it has the benefit of gorgeous large rooms with great natural light - perfect for boudoir photography. Beth wasn’t from the North East, but like many clients, was happy to travel to the Newcastle area for her boudoir shoot.
Soon after a client contacts me to arrange a boudoir photo session I ask them to snapshot a few boudoir images from Google/Pinterest that demonstrate the style of boudoir photography they like (there’s a huge range of styles), and send them through to me. I find this is the easiest way to home in on the style they are looking for. Some like light, airy and innocent, some want dark, shadowy, more sexy and edgy, some want to mix things up with a variety of looks through the shoot - easily possible as I usually suggest bringing 3 outfits for the shoot. We can then choose the style of lighting to suit each outfit. Everything is possible!
Once you’ve made your booking, I email clients with a confirmation along with a ‘Boudoir tips’ sheet. This contains tips to help you prepare for and get the most from your bridal boudoir photo session.
“Geoff would keep in touch with me about his process, and was very patient with my struggles to find white/ivory lingerie in my size. He also arranged a phone call closer to the day so I could get to know him a little better. He knew that as a male photographer, he needed to above and beyond to ensure I knew I was in safe hands, and he really did.”
On the day of the shoot we met in the hotel reception and had a quick chat just to go over how the shoot would run again. We then headed up to the room to make a start on the photos.
“The venue Geoff chose was gorgeous. As soon as we met, we got straight into conversation.”
The bathrooms in the hotel I use are large so I suggest clients store bags in there and use the bathroom as their changing room. This provides privacy for clients and also keeps the main room free of clutter.
“Geoff kept the whole experience light hearted. We laughed and joked throughout the poses and he would show me ones he had just taken of me so I could see if I liked them. “
Photo sessions are relaxed and fun! I’m happy to suggest and refine poses but shoots work best as two-way process so it’s good, if like Beth, you also suggest ideas and vary and develop poses I suggest. Some ideas will work, others won’t - but that’s what the delete button on the camera is for!
A shoot usually lasts up to two hours. There is time for you to use 3 different outfits plus a couple of variations too.
A bridal boudoir shoot doesn’t need to have a ‘bridal’ look if you don’t want it do. You might want to start with a more traditional bridal look and then move to non-bridal style outfits… You might want a darker, edgier more sensual look to your boudoir photos…
…or you might miss the bridal style altogether and go straight for a range of other outfits. All this can be planned in advance so we know what we are intending to do and we get the most from our shoot time.
As with Beth, later on the day of the shoot, I usually offer to send a few sneak peeks across as I know you’ll be dying to see how they turned out! I will edit the rest over the following days and within a week you’ll receive a link to a password protected gallery with all your downloadable hi res images.
“As Geoff was editing, he would share sneak peaks of his work before sending me the whole gallery and giving me the opportunity to remove any picture I didn't like. By the end, I still had over 100 pictures!
Amazing considering how much I hated photos of me beforehand.”
I edit photos sympathetically, making the most of your looks while retaining a completely natural look - I won’t make you look like a plastic doll.
A few points here about all my boudoir shoots as I don’t work in the same way as most boudoir photographers. All my shoot prices INCLUDE all the edited hi res images (over 100). If that’s all you want to spend that’s fine - you’ll have your images. I can of course supply albums, prints canvases and other products in addition at reasonable prices if wanted (or I can quote a package price to include the items you know you want in advance, offering a saving). You won’t do your shoot only to find you have to pay £100 for a single digital image, or £200 for a small print - amazingly, lots of other photographers do operate like this!
After her shoot Beth wanted to purchase an album to gift to her partner on their wedding day. She selected around 20 of her favourite images from her online gallery and I set about creating a gorgeous album design with them. Once complete, I emailed her a draft of the album to view. After a few tweaks she was very happy and it went of to a pro wedding album company for printing. The albums I use are of the highest quality, beautifully boxed in wood and fabric, personalised and make stunning gifts. Imagine your partner receiving one of these albums on your wedding day - but with you in it of course!
If you’d like a bridal boudoir shoot like Beth’s, in Newcastle, County Durham, Northumberland or North Yorkshire then please contact me to discuss and I’ll be able to provide you with pricing. I’d love to chat! I also do non-bridal boudoir and couple’s boudoir shoots.
PLEASE NOTE - I offer a FREE bridal boudoir shoot with ALL wedding photography packages booked. For this the shoot is free but unlike all my regular bridal boudoir shoots, it does not include any images. You can try before you buy and products are then offered at very reasonable prices should you decide to purchase.