Boudoir and dudoir photography grows in popularity

Back arched. Shoulders back. Chest out.

Kristi Elias, an internationally acclaimed photographer, shared those how-tos on posing with her client, Natasha Creger, who wore a red wrap and gazed out at the ocean during a boudoir photo session on a recent afternoon.

Elias, who owns Kristi Sutton Elias Photography in Long Beach's Shoreline Village, creates what she calls timeless boudoir photos — with women and men dressed in elegant clothing, fashion from the past or tasteful lingerie — by posing her clients for a couple of hours then editing in backdrops that tell a story.

"In the end, it looks like a masterpiece portrait that's painted," Elias said. "It's something you will have forever. It's a conversation piece, not something you expect from a boudoir session."

The sexy, sometimes revealing photography inspired by the French word for a woman's dressing room, has been on the rise in recent years. More than 260,000 people follow an Instagram account called boudoir.photography, and prices illustrate the demand: Sessions for the photography can run up to a few thousand dollars, depending on the skill of the photographer and the work an artist puts into their craft.

The genre has taken off so much that member groups have formed to help photographers master techniques and grow their businesses. The Association of International Boudoir Photographers, formed in 2010, offers cash prizes and publishing opportunities for exceptional boudoir photographers.

The group also publishes "PHILOSOPHIE," a boudoir magazine featuring its member-artists, with an online page for lingerie and outfit designs that has more than 405,000 views.

Erin Zahradka, the Denver-based founder of AIBP, said boudoir photography has grown in popularity for many reasons. Women are signing up for the sessions to mark special occasions like anniversaries and birthdays, or life milestones such as pregnancy and weight loss, or even as a way to celebrate overcoming domestic violence or breast cancer.

"I think that people are finding that they're beautiful, and are celebrating themselves as such," Zahradka said.

She likened the boudoir photo experience to a day spa, where women sometimes sign up in groups.

"They'll go into a studio, and it's a half-day or a full day ordeal," Zahradka said.

Zahradka said the association's wedding photographers estimate that 80 percent of their new brides book boudoir sessions, in addition to engagement sessions.

Dudoir

Photographers also have a term for photos of male clients – "dudoir." Photos can include men in as much, or little, clothing as they would like, and often mark life achievements or guys posing with their significant others.

Advertisement

"Couples boudoir is more popular because of 'Fifty Shades of Grey,'" Elias said, referring to the hit best-selling book and movie.

Elias said clients are influenced so much by movies and magazines that she keeps an eye on movie trailers to spot potential trends in what clients will want.

Creger sought out Elias' services to promote her fighting career and businesses. She runs T Fit, a personal training business, and trains fighters in fitness and conditioning at Chute Boxe USA in Long Beach. She and her husband, Gerson Schilipacke, head coach at Chute Boxe USA, posed in their fighting gear for portraits.

"We have it up in the gym," Creger said. "When people come in, it catches their eye."

Photo no-nos

Creger said she's shy, but Elias makes the photo sessions pleasant and fun. As they worked together, Elias often posed first, giving tips on photo no-nos.

Those include "the claw," where a photo subject clutches at a chair, instead of relaxing their hands. That's similar to "baseball arm," where a client stiffens her arms in a pose. She tells women they may not want to go with the hand over the tummy look — unless they want the world to think they're pregnant. And she often discourages women from using what she calls the "human bra" technique, where they try in vain to look sexy by covering their breasts with their hands.

"She makes it comfortable," Creger said of Elias. "A lot of photographers are focused on getting you in and out."

Indeed, professional photographers warn that the boudoir genre is so prolific, those with little understanding of the craft are trying to make a quick buck. Derided as "turn and burn" sessions, some photographers make money with minimal effort, letting women dress however they want, posing them in cliched forms, and selling only digital files of the photos.

"I'm really against it," Elias said. "It brings down the art of the industry and people aren't going to hand those (photos) down."

Elias, who photographs only three or four clients a week and is booked several weeks in advance, endeavors to create fine art out of boudoir photos.

Her sitting fee is $300. Her average sale is $3,000.

Exposing yourself

In many cases, boudoir photos will never end up on the wall of a home office, library or bedroom. Instead, the photos will go straight to social media sites, like Facebook.

Mark Carrier, a psychology professor at Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson, said people are crafting an image and looking for social approval when they post boudoir photos or other risque images on social media.

"One of the main prefaces of Facebook is to manage the impression of yourself that you give to other people," Carrier said. "It's really difficult to do that in real life ... getting people to say you look great, that reinforces the image they want of themselves. If that's the purpose, I don't fault people for that."

At the same time, photographers urge clients to keep in mind the boudoir photos they share online or through email and phones can be passed along to others. Before a session, clients should meet the photographer to discuss concepts for the photos and clothing ideas, and set boundaries for comfort. It is recommended that women bring a female friend if working with a male photographer, or ask if he will have a female assistant there, so boundaries aren't crossed.

The art of boudoir

Brian Doan, a photography instructor at Long Beach City College, said students have always been interested in boudoir, but he's seen an increase in curiosity lately. Doan has shot more nude portraits than boudoir, and says the latter is not as easy as it may look. Photography is storytelling in visual form, and even professionals are prone to cutting corners creatively.

"It's extremely hard to do boudoir," he said. "It's too easy to rely on the beauty, the body type, and forget about the concept of the spirit and the body language. Many photographers get overwhelmed by beauty and body type, especially male photographers shooting females. You have to control your emotions when you shoot."

Benny Howell, a student of Doan's, is a retired sheetmetal worker who said he enjoyed photography in his early 20s. Like Doan, he shoots nude photos, but boudoir is a growing interest. He shoots photographs for students, and sometimes for women who've seen his work and want to create boudoir photos for an anniversary or Valentine's Day, or to send to their boyfriends in the military.

"I always try to make it tasteful," Howell said. "I'm not going for the erotic or vulgar. I always ask the person if they want somebody there. I want them to feel comfortable. It doesn't matter what their size is, or what they look like, I try to work it into the pictures so it flatters them."

For those who haven't sat for a boudoir session and may be nervous about the experience, Doan said he enjoys photographing such clients, because they don't bring with them stock ideas about how to model.

"I love to shoot people who are not familiar with the camera," he said.

Source: Boudoir and dudoir photography grows in popularity