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Mine will be in a studio. I looked at a couple places before I got a coupon for mine which made the decision for me, but one place offered to do it in my home (makes it more personal is what the photog told me) and another offered a package where you could get it done in a hotel room, honestly those looked AMAZING! If I could have afforded it I would have gone for the hotel but I am perfectly happy with the studio.
I really want to do boudoir photos too, but the photographer I want isn't cheap, so I don't want to spring for a hotel room on top of it unless I can surprise FI with a night out on the town on top of it. Could you contact the photographer and see if there's a studio option? I wouldn't really want to do it at home either. oooh or what about going out to a big field (reaaaaaaaalllllllllllllly far away from anything, LOL!) and doing them outside? That would be amazing!
Honestly in having someone come to your home seems a little creepy to me, I would prefer a studio.
Many freelancers don't have the space and so they travel to you. Like you, I had similar issues, so any photographer that didn't have space for me to use, I didn't consider.
Maybe you can ask a friend to use her place, otherwise, I'd keep looking.
My photographer just did some boudoir photos outside. They were AWESOME. She has them on her blog, so PM me if you want the link for ideas.
But I've heard that you often rent a hotel room. I did sexy shots outdoors, but they weren't "boudoir" per se. I was wearing leggings/boots/tank top in some, and a very short dress in others.
Have you looked around at some local hotels? We've got a couple boutique hotels in Dallas (Aloft, NYLO, Hotel Zaza) that have awesome decor and aren't very expensive (>$100 night). Look around and see if you can find something similar in your area! Also, if your reception is at a hotel or you've got a block of rooms for your wedding at a hotel, you might ask them if they can donate a room for you to use for a couple of hours.
Would a friend's apartment be an option? Around here, a lot of freelance photographers share studio space so privacy sometimes is an issue.
I had mine done at my house, my photog is a female, so i've met her prior and had no problems. You can book a hotel room if you don't want to do it at the house, or may be your photographer can rent a studio, but i'm sure you will have to pay for the cost.
Other Bees have already suggested this, but do you have a friend who you could "borrow" their house/apt for an hour? Just say you want to do a photoshoot as a suprise for your FI & offer to make her dinner that night or have a girl's night.
Or rent a hotel room, try priceline.com or a website like that to find a good deal & do it on a weekday (like a tues) cause usually they offer cheaper rates on weekdays. If you can plan it like 2 weeks or more out, you get better deals. Just ask your photographer for days that work for them.
Also, if your photographer doesn't have a studio (& most beginning/intermediate photographers don't), it doesn't mean they're not a good photographer. Studios can cost hundreds maybe even a thousand to rent a month, so unless they have a lot of clients, its hard for photographers to do this.
Since your date is pretty far away you could wait until the 'off season' where you are. Hotels around where I live are generally dirt-cheap during the winter months and during the week day. Also small or locally owned B&Bs or Inns might be more willing to help out with letting you use a room for an hour or 2. I find that smaller places are often more unique and decorated well so they look more like a 'real room' than a generic hotel room.
I like the idea of making it a surprise outing. You could take the afternoon off work and check in at 3, do your shoot and then text hubby and tell him to meet you there after work. You will be all glammed up and could have a nice little dinner and night away.
Also ask your photog if you can have an escort come along like a close girlfriend that will stay out of the way (that is important). If they flat out refuse I would be wary.
Doing it in a private space or hotel really does produce the best results. If you decide to do it outdoors you are totally at the mercy of the weather. My clients love choosing stylish hotel rooms for privacy and the different location. I am sure if you discussed it with your photographer you could do the session in the afternoon (check in at most places are 3pm onwards) and by the time the evening comes you could use the room personally with your fiancee for a special night out.
A lot of photographers like myself choose not to have studios because the cost of running the operations is too high and that would then have to be passed on to the clients. Plus. there just is not enough versatility. Once day you want to do a shoot with a 50's style theme you need background, props, furniture that you have to purchase. The next day you choose to do a shoot with a 70's retro feel you need to have backgrounds props and furniture for that too....more expenses plus you are left with dealing with a storage problem. So much easier to just rent locations based on client needs.
Message me if you have any other questions!
True it's not common for wedding photographers to have a studio, but from what I have seen it's very common with portrait/glamour/fashion photographers and those are the type of photographers that will deliver the best B pics. Many rent space full time or have a setup in their home and do studio shoots all day long. If they do enough business, the overhead isn't a huge burden, and it actually adds less cost to the customer than if they need to rent space or a hotel room every time they need this type of setup. It also tells me that the photographer probably doesn't have portable studio lighting or has a minimal setup because why would they invest in it just to do a sesssion once a month in a hotel room?
Thats right User876, a high end fashion photographer would have a studio, but they also bill out at ridicuously high rates, pay for assistants, stylists, makeup artists, etc. They pass all of these expenses and even bill a client for a studio fee whether the shoot is done within the studio or not. The rates quoted are prices only corporations or people with extremely high budgets would pay. Costs of goods or services sold are always passed on to the client because that is the natrure of business.
My point was, if it was a studio shoot, everytime a different look is required, the studio would either need to rent furniture/props and pay for transportation because if they pictures over time would run the same look.
I know you are looking out for brides to watch out for want to be photographers who will not delliver good pictures. But I thinki it is wrong to say that a photographer who chooses to always shoot on location most probably does not have the proper gear. I would suggest to brides to just do more research at that point and just ask.
My motivation is the versatility. I live in South Florida, which has great weather year round, and my clients choose to have engagement shoots at a Spanish Monastary, by the lighthouse, a landmark hotel like the Delano, or in the comfort of their own home. If I had a studio I would have to increase my rates for all my clients when not even a quarter of them want studio work. Doesn't mean I dont own studio gear, it just means I don't use it in all of my shoots.
@ndadlani: Sorry I am really not following the point of your post. The OP was about a boudoir shoot. A bed, a couch, etc, not a jack of all trades type studio that can accomodate any look. Most of the portrait photographers in my area have home studios or small rented spaces where they can do high or low key looks for headshots, senior pictures, or use different muslin backdrops, and some even have a room setup in their home for a boudoir shoot if they offer that....and they DON'T bill out at ridculously high rates either so I am not sure how or why you are stereotyping this. Yes there are expensive portrait photographers just as there are expensive wedding photographers, but having a studio doesn't automatically make them expensive. In fact on some of the other forums I have seen that brides have been disappointed that they had to shell out money for a hotel room or were creepd out when asked to do the shoot in their own home....basically expecting a studio.
A studio may not make sense for you because of your business model, product offerings, budget, skillset, # of bookings, competition,etc, and it seems like you have a good line of BS when it comes to selling customers on the notion that they can't afford a photographer with a studio.
Sorry, the point of my post was to reply to your attack on my post. Remember, this forum is supposed to help brides and answer their questions, not attack other photographers who are just sharing their business practice with brides. I had a studio and never used it except to meet clients. Its not selling BS. As a lifestyle photographer and the clients who come to me don't want that kind of work. But I'll point out just like you, that isn't the concentration of this post, so how about you stay on topic?
The OP was a bride asking about the photographer she chose not having a studio and my post was to educate her on the fact that there are legitimate photographers out there who just do on location work. Her dilema was on keeping the shoot a secret and looking for a way to make the session work with the photographer she looked at. If you read the comments by brides, a lot of them liked or even loved the boudoir photos done in a hotel.
Again, if you look refer to my original post I said that a session in a private space or hotel is better than something done outdoors for the comfort of the bride. That includes sessions done in studio....i just commented after that girls like doing it at a hotel of their choice because they get full control over what sort of look the hotel has. If you would like to reply more personally please feel free to do so over private message.
I worked with a fabulous photog for my boudoir shoot, and we did it in a hotel suite. Many photographers will do boudoir weekends, where they booked multiple shoots over a weekend and therefore cover the cost of the suite rather than the client renting the suite for their shoot.
From personal experience, this was fabulous - a hotel suite gives you many different elements for a boudoir shoot - awesome big mirrors, cool furniture, fun bathroom, great big bed, etc. I wouldn't want to do it in my home because it's definitely not as pretty as a hotel suite, and I wouldn't want to do it in a studio because you're probably not going to find the variety of props/furniture/etc that you would in a hotel.
I'd inquire with your photog if they have anything coming up like a boudoir weekend that would help cover the cost of the hotel, or even if they have other clients looking to do boudoir that you could coordinate splitting the hotel price with.
Have fun - my boudoir session was a lot of fun and I'm so glad I did it :)
You summarized it perfectly stilleto! Btw, love your image choice. Louboutins are my absolute favorite designer.
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Did you have yours taken in a studio, or at home, or elsewhere?
I had assumed they'd have props set up in a studio, but the photographer I just looked at (and I can't look at many at the moment, not all the websites work on my phone and I'm at work so I don't really want to search on my work computer) said that photographs would be taken in the client's house or another location such as if you rent a bed & breakfast room (at the client's expense) or something.
If that's the case:
#1 it won't be a secret from my fiance because we live together and work the same hours
#2 I have no nice place to take pictures (we don't really have a nicely decorated bedroom or nice solid sheet sets
#3 I have 3 dogs that would be in the middle of everything!