Posing is not just something that randomly occurs on shoots, it's an intentional effort put forth by both the photographer and the model. This is never more true than in the case of boudoir shoots, which is why it is important to have some good, foolproof poses handy.

Boudoir photographers know that collaborations with vendors that fit their brand can be extremely beneficial for all parties involved. It alleviates some cost of the product for the photographer and it gives the vendor professional images for their sites. Getting connected for shoots such as this is not as difficult or impossible as it may seem.

Across the board boudoir photographers have seen an increase in the number of inquiries for couples boudoir sessions. While boudoir photographer was generally more known as a more intimate session for a female to either reconnect with her own sensual side, or perhaps to give as a gift to a significant other, the trend is now becoming for these couples to capture these moments together. So how do you coach and pose for emotions during a session if the inquires start to roll in?

In today's somewhat over saturated market of boudoir photography, everyone is looking to shoot something new and unique. It can be difficult to find a new perspective on shooting when so many ways have already been discovered. So how can you get creative and grasp the attention of the viewers without reinventing the wheel?

Horses have been the subject of many powerful images throughout time. They lend a magnificent presence to any photographers portfolio. Boudoir photography has been inspired by the story Lady Godiva and her nude ride on her horse for the people of Coventry.

The art of boudoir photography can get lost in translation and become something other than what it was intended to be. Don't the photographer that fails to hit the mark and misses out on an amazing opportunity.

Boudoir photography can be one of the most powerful ways to bring confidence back to an individual. Challenging their negative thoughts about themselves while repairing their body image is more rewarding to a boudoir photographer than the money itself (OK yes, the money is great but be honest — you love it when they cry those happy tears of joy seeing their images).

A few weeks ago in a boudoir forum I came across a subject on what was the most time-consuming portion of most photographers' flow. The majority of the comments referred to culling and editing. So if you are looking to speed up your own workflow with minimal editing this video is for you.

Posing a client during a boudoir session can be tricky if you are not comfortable yet in your flow. Creating a set of images that you can move through without disturbing the energy in the room takes practice and a few simple tricks.

When it comes to boudoir photography, everyone has their own opinion as to what constitutes as a boudoir session. It is soft and romantic? Is it edgy and seductive? Is it only meant to be seen by the clients partner? Or is it an expression of the client finding comfort in their own sexuality?

Couples photography has become more popular in the boudoir industry. It is a way to connect, interact and photograph moments between a couple to give a glimpse into their relationship. Although what happens when the couple is a pair of complete strangers?

There was a time in my life that weddings were my main source of income. After being laid off from my job as a scientist, my hobby soon turned into a career. When I was first starting out, I took any and every gig I could to make ends meet. However, I held a secret during that time that I would never had admitted until now. I hated weddings.

For the last several weeks, the Fstoppers team has been working with Joey Wright in Curaçao filming a new original tutorial on swimwear photography. While we were filming, we used some of our time with Joey to offer feedback to a variety of images submitted by the Fstoppers community. We chose 20 images to critique. Check out our selections below and add your thoughts and ratings to the comments below.

The only times my strobes see the light of day is when they are facing down onto the surface of the water from poolside for my underwater work. In the studio, the amount of natural light that fills the space has created a look and signature feel to my images. However, I started to wonder if I was just taking advantage of this light and not truly challenging myself to the work that can be created using a strobe light.

Client experience is one of the most important pieces of running a successful business. Kara Marie is known throughout the industry as a successful boudoir photographer, not only for her stellar imagery, but also for the experience she gives to each of her clients. Michael Sasser had the chance to interview Marie to find out just what it takes to provide this service to her clients.

Nude photo shoots can be intimidating for both the model and the photographer. Here's how I embraced the challenge, overcame intimidation, and found my creative flow.

The art in hands placement has been a tough subject for many photographers. Letting the client rest a hand rarely ends in an image filled with emotion or story. Knowing the simple techniques behind how to guide your client in where to place the hand, how to move them during the session, and how to convey emotion through the soft touch of the hand will take your session to a new level.

Unless you have a stash of cash just waiting for that moment you start filling your studio with furniture, most likely you have been at the bottom of the budget. Pinteresting your way through DIYs on old furniture, Craigslist, or even flea market finds will be how the majority start their collection of studio furniture. So how can you take something that was left for trash and incorporate it into your high-end luxury vision?

So you found the perfect model for your concept, reached out to him or her, agreed on a date, showed up at the location, and are about ready to shoot. You have never met this person in your life. Now what? We have all seen those unfortunate shots taken by our fellow photographers where the client or model looks wildly uncomfortable. We want our models to look at ease in every frame, and this can be accomplished by following these four simple steps.

Boudoir photography at its core is more about the experience the client feels than the reward of the album or other products. When the client steps foot in the door, they have already committed to a life changing event that he or she will be relying on the professional to create for them. One photographer is choosing to create an experience for her clients on a deeper psychological level that is proving to create not only a higher trust but also a connection for loyal returning clients.

Nude imagery that has been created well before our times becomes a part of a social history, not just a piece of quick entertainment. But, what happens when the said part of history is slowly beginning to fade away due to the deterioration of colors on the slides it was shot on?

Now that the holidays are over, there will be an influx of photographers on the scene testing out their new DSLRs hoping to put their own creativity out into the world. As seasoned photographers, we know that it cannot stop at the shutter click for our clients so that is where vendors and products come into play. There are many options in this industry to chose from, whether it be flash drives, custom packaging, or even financial software. So where do you begin?

Raised in a small farming community in Saskatchewan, Canada, Chad Carpenter found himself far from the idea of ever being a boudoir retoucher. Boudoir in a small conservative town can be considered taboo and Carpenter never imaged he would be leaving his job in order to work as the main retoucher for his wife's boudoir company.

A major concern I hear from boudoir photographers is the lack of a formal studio space for shooting. While I do have a downtown studio in a historic area of Palatka, Florida, if I am traveling there is not always that option of finding a shared area. Understanding how to create your own studio space in hotels, vacation homes, or Airbnbs can bring your boudoir business front and center to potential clients.

When most think about maternity photography, the visual is light airy looks with flowers wrapping the soon to be mother. However there have been many changes in the way photographers are shooting this genre and many photographers want to break the stereotype.

When it comes to liquify, less is usually best. Unless you have a model or client who specifically asks for heavy shaping, chances are you are going to have an unhappy client if this tool is overly used.

The dramatic looks that can be achieved with strobes can very well be accomplished with natural light if utilized correctly. Understanding how to use the sources and the environment will increase the overall image every time. Using pull backs of each shot is a valuable tool in order to truly appreciate and understand how each image was shot. One photographer shows just how to light dramatically with minimal set ups.

Spending countless hours on your client's gallery to present to them during the reveal means nothing if you cannot show them options to display. Creating the right line that works with your studio and brand to present to the client will increase sales, as well as referrals from that client. It is all about the workflow and how smoothly the process is during your sales session. (Codes for free gift at the end!)

As large as the photography community is in a whole, it seems small and intimate when a crisis attacks one of our own. We have seen photographers unite and rally when another is hit with tragedy. However the way one couple decided to deal with the crisis themselves leads to a whole new way of thinking for personal projects and photography shoots.

Boudoir photography is not a modern concept nor is the evolution of its ever changing look. Throughout history there has been a desire to paint or photograph the human form. As the genre moves forward from early Renaissance painters, the works of Aurther Allen in the 1920s, to today with the modern day version of bodyscaping, there has been and will always be a fine line of the differences of how people view the boudoir art form.

There comes a time where you need to cut ties with other artists who are not blending well with your company. Makeup artists are very hard to come by in my small town and when one failed to show for more than one appointment it was time to say our goodbyes. But what happens to the session that was a no show? While your client is waiting in that chair, with her excitement starting to wane, it is time to take action. If you are prepared this will be a breeze.

Boudoir photographers shoot in all types of lighting. Some prefer bright and airy while others tend to be more moved by the moody and darker looks. There is a creative style just in-between with harsh lighting that can be interesting to shoot and to edit.

While having a brick-and-mortar studio is nice, it isn't always feasible. Photographers create backdrops out of their homes, garages, or on set to disguise the location using stands with muslins, seamless paper, or even collapsible options as well. In searching for other options, I found a portable wood look to be the perfect fit.

Renowned Scottish photographer, Rankin, has teamed up with Relate, the UK's largest relationship support provider, to help reduce the stigma related to later life sexuality. Shot with a stark black and white style, Rankin and Relate have produced something quite special.

In the next few weeks, Fstoppers is going to be working on an awesome new project with the incredible swimwear photographer, Joey Wright. While we're working with Wright, we thought we'd give everyone a chance to have their swimwear images critiqued by one of the best in the business. Between now and January 5, enter your swimwear images by following the submission guidelines below. We will be choosing 20 images to give feedback to.

Swimwear Photography with Joey Wright Behind The Scenes continues today with Episode 3. In last week's episode we started filmed the first lesson of the entire tutorial but in this episode we cover 3 full days of filming.

Michael Sasser is a well-known boudoir photographer on YouTube and loves to shoot in natural light conditions only, but in this video, he is opting to use the Zhiyun MOLUS G200 lights. Join Michael in this video to see how he gets on and what amazing images he can create.

Being behind the camera for a boudoir session can be just as exhilarating for the photographer as it is for the client. You are capturing the confidence being displayed right before your eyes. Add in another subject and the room becomes intoxicating when you think about the final images you will be editing. However, understanding how to gain that moody light or that intensity needed for a couples boudoir shoot is just what one photographer explains to us all.

Hopefully, you’re enjoying confinement with people that are close to you and if that’s the case, you might want to try a project that takes advantage of what’s immediately to hand: natural light and the human body. Check out this short video for some tips on how to get started.

One of the most important things in photography is lighting. It doesn't matter if it's natural light or artificial light, how you capture it is key. Here are a few tips on how you can improve your lighting.

Color balance underwater is not always an easy task. In a fresh water spring, you have the ability to capture the red spectrum a bit more than in a pool, but still not nearly as much as on land. The approach to color correcting your underwater images is not as daunting as it may seem the moment you open them up on your computer and see just blue hues. A few tips will bring back what you envisioned the moment you submerged your camera.

Marketing yourself as a photographer can not only be time consuming but a drain on your creativity. The time that is scheduled for marketing could be going towards more sessions or creative projects. The benefits of having a team of brand ambassadors will get you booked months ahead and get you back behind the camera.

Ever since my childhood, there has been a connection to the old world. The look and feel of maps, an alidade, a sextant, and a sailor's log book were just a few of the things that were thought of when my own company's brand was being developed. However, there was always something missing to truly meld the old world with new world products until I found a fine art display that not only awakened that connection but also did not break the bank.

Blogging has been an excellent way to boost your SEO and maintain the attention of your clients. It shows off your brand, your images and your writing. However have you thought about how blogging can hurt your business if you lack consistency? If you have been stumped with new ideas on what to write about simply ask your clients to write for you.

Photoshop has a multitude of distortion tools that allow you to correct parts that distract from your image or they can creatively alter the image into a new reality. With so many options is it best to know which tools work best for optimal results in the final image. With the three most popular and sometimes misunderstood explained here you will be able to take those images that might have been discarded and create something new.

For those of you may not know, we recently created a 20 hour photography tutorial with the incredible Joey Wright on all things swimsuit photography and retouching. We've been posting a weekly behind the scenes series of the creation of this tutorial. This is Episode 5.

About ten years ago I was buying a new vehicle. I went to three different dealerships. All three sales personnel had very different approaches in their technique for sealing the deal. While I was not a sales person myself at the time (life prior to being a photographer), I understood the behavior. This is the same in the photography business, and there is so much to learn from all three approaches as to why you may or may not be gaining clients from inquiries.

Photographers of all genres rely on new inquires as well as returning clients to fill their calendar for the year. Keeping up with returning clients is easily done, however getting the fresh new leads does not have to be a difficult task if your website has a few minor additions.

Take a quick look at your boudoir photos. Are you finding that a majority of your images are too similar and you are lacking variety in those shots? If so, here are a few ways you can mix things up in your shoot to add more variety to your work.

To make a living as a photographer, you have to do more than take great pictures. You have to be a photographer, a supply-chain management expert, an entrepreneur, and, perhaps most importantly, you have to be great at selling — selling both yourself and selling your product.