How much does a boudoir photo shoot cost?

There Are boudoir Photographers For Every Budget

So the big question is, “How much does a boudoir photoshoot cost?” The short answer is that there are boudoir photographers available for almost every budget. Don’t let anyone tell you that in order to get amazing boudoir photos you have to spend thousands. There are of course trade offs depending on what you value most.

There is good, fast, and cheap. You can realistically only choose two out of three of those options. If you want boudoir photos and an experience that is good and cheap, then it probably wont be fast. If you want boudoir photos and an experience that is good and fast, then it wont be cheap. If you want boudoir photos and an experience that is fast and cheap, then it wont be good.

Just like everything, expensive and cheap are relative to your situation. Take sunglasses for instance. (You can almost replace the word sunglasses with boudoir photography and the point will still get across.)

Sunglasses aren’t a necessity. If the sun’s in your eyes, you can use your hand to block it. Having sunglasses is a luxury. Sunglasses changes the way you see things. Sunglasses can make it easier to look at certain spots.

Our twin girls have sunglasses we bought for them at Oshkosh in Opry Mills Mall back when they were 2 years old. I think we may have spent $10 total on them. There’s no way we were going to spend more than that on these glasses because we figured they’d probably chew on them, break them, or lose them. (Turns out they still have these same glasses today!)

Hang in there! This sunglasses concept will make a lot of sense in a few seconds. While the girls have some $10 kid sunglasses, we both have a pair of Ray-bans that I think we may have spent about $250 on.

When you read that last sentence about how we spent $250 each for sunglasses, you thought 1 of 3 things…

  • 1. Why would we spend almost $500 on sunglasses?
  • 2. Spending $250 for a pair of sunglasses sounds about right.
  • 3. Wow, you only spent $250 for a pair of sunglasses? That’s cheap for sunglasses. You must not really be into them

Just like a pair of sunglasses, you can find someone to take your photos based on what you value most in a boudoir photographer. Below are the most common ways to find a boudoir photographer in your budget range.

You can find someone who will take boudoir photos of you for free

If you’re just trying to get a few free photos of yourself in lingerie, there are so many people out there who would jump at the chance to shoot with you for free.

You can use facebook to find a local modeling group. Most of the time, it will be a group called [your location] + models. Do a quick search for that on facebook and you’ll get multiple results.

You can join the group and create a post letting the group know that you’re looking for a photographer who would be interested in shooting some boudoir style photos for you. Be sure to include a few recent photos of yourself so other members of the group will be able to decide if they’d be able to deliver what you’re asking for.

Pros & Cons Of Free Sessions:

Pros:

  • – You could possibly get some really great photos in exchange for nothing but your time.
  • – If you really connect with a photographer, they may continue reaching out to have you come in to test new ideas or techniques.

Cons:

  • – You can never be sure if these free photos will turn out the way you want them to.
  • – There are a lot of predators (both men and women) who look for women to take advantage of when shooting boudoir photos for free.
  • – If this is your first experience having boudoir photos taken, it’s possible that you will connect with the wrong photographer and have a horrible experience and believe that that’s how all boudoir photographers do things.

You can take your own boudoir photos for free

Just like pretty much everything in the world, there are ways to DIY (do it yourself). Don’t believe us? Go google “how to pull your own teeth”.

These days, as long as you slightly understand finding good light, you can for sure take some solid boudoir selfies. Technology has come so far that you probably already have an amazing camera in your pocket. Most cell phones have cameras built into them that can take photos you’d be proud to print off.

Posing yourself and setting your self-timer can be a bit tricky but taking your own boudoir selfies is definitely possible.

Pros and Cons of taking your own boudoir selfies

Pros:

  • – You don’t have to worry about feeling nervous having someone else take your photos.
  • – You get to see the results immediately.

Cons:

  • – You have to know how to pose yourself.
  • – Setting a self-timer can be super frustrating.

You can find someone who is just starting their boudoir business and possibly pay as little as $50-$200

You can probably throw a rock and hit a photographer no matter what city you’re in. Sometimes when photographers first start, they feel like they need to build up a big portfolio before they can start charging what they need to in order to have a successful business.

There are times that newer boudoir photographers will charge anywhere between $50-$200 in exchange to be able to use your photos as marketing material. They will most often deliver an online gallery full of images for you to download.

Finding a photographer just starting out can be beneficial in the long run for you, even if they decide to charge more in order to create a sustainable business. More than likely, they will remember you and possibly reach out to you when they want to try new techniques.

Pros and Cons of finding boudoir photographers just starting out

Pros:

  • – Can sometimes be less expensive than hiring a more established photographer.
  • – If it’s your first time having photos taken in lingerie, you’re both new to the concept and there can be less pressure to feel like you need to be perfect.
  • – You’ll probably get more final images/products than you would with a more established boudoir photographer.

Cons:

  • – New boudoir photographers are more than likely still learning how to properly pose and photograph women. This could make an already vulnerable situation awkward.
  • – If privacy is a big concern to you, there’s a chance that new photographers don’t have proper things in place in order to keep your photos and privacy safe.
  • – New boudoir photographers may not have access to the products you’d like to have.

You can find a Shoot & Burn boudoir photographer For $300-$500

There are boudoir photographers who will charge $300 – $500 and give you almost everything included in that price. They’re known in the photography industry as “shoot and burn” photographers.

In order to stay in business and charge such a low amount, these photographers have to almost run like a factory and shoot several sessions in a day. In order for them not to get backed up with ordering products or editing photos, they just upload the photos they took for you and either put them on a thumb-drive or upload them to a gallery for you to download.

They do this process over and over again and are normally able to keep pretty booked up. If you’re looking for a super quick, no-bells-or-whistles boudoir session then this may be a nice option for you.

Pros and Cons of shoot and burn boudoir photographers

Pros:

  • – You get everything plus the kitchen sink for not that much of an investment.
  • – You usually get your images back really quickly.

Cons:

  • – Shoot and burn photographers can sometimes get burned out from shooting so many sessions over and over and their work can start to suffer.
  • – Sometimes they can be very cookie-cutter in the way they approach each woman. Kind of a one-size-fits-all situation.
  • – Sessions can feel rushed if they need to hurry and get you out before the next woman shows up for her session.

You can find boudoir photographers who charge a session fee and then give you the option to buy products later.

Most established and professional boudoir photographers will charge a session fee that covers the cost of your session day. Some will include hair and makeup in that fee, but not all do. We’ve seen session fees range anywhere from $99 all the way up to $800.

The big thing to make sure you’re clear on is what the session fee covers and what is included. Most of the time, the session fee doesn’t include any products. You get to choose the products you’d like to purchase after your session. Product pricing is honestly all over the place depending on how each boudoir photographer runs their business. If you’re unable to find product pricing on a website, you can always reach out to photographers you’re interested in. Some may ask you to set up a consultation call in order to go over pricing and session detail info.

Professional boudoir photographers are for people who are ready to really invest in themselves and want to experience what the best boudoir photography has to offer. If you’re trying to surprise someone with a boudoir session, here are a few tips on how you can keep your boudoir session a surprise.

Pros and Cons of photographers who charge session fees

Pros:

  • – You can pay a session fee and then decide later which products will be perfect for you.
  • – Most boudoir photographers who charge session fees understand that they have to deliver an amazing experience as well as great images in order for them to sell any products.

Cons:

  • – Some photographers may try to hide the fact that you have to make an additional purchase.
  • – If you’re not sure on pricing, you may end up making a much bigger investment than you originally planned.

How much we charge for boudoir photography

Through out the years, we’ve been through each of these pricing structures. One of our first boudoir sessions was for a friend of ours. She was getting married and reached out to us with the idea. At the time, we had no ideas about boudoir photography but she was a great friend of ours so we took on the challenge.

After that, we wanted to see if we could actually make boudoir photography a side hustle of ours. We started reaching out to women we knew and women in different facebook groups to find who would be interested in letting us take photos of them in exchange for letting us use their images in our portfolio.

Once we built up our portfolio and got more confident in our skills as boudoir photographers, we finally started charging women $150. That $150 got you all the photos in a Dropbox folder and honestly we delivered great final images back then. We were charging so little because we were learning and didn’t have the business side of boudoir photography figured out yet.

We quickly found out that in order to make any kind of profit, the amount of sessions we’d have to shoot was just crazy. There were times we were shooting 3 sessions a day, 7 days a week. That didn’t last long because we got so burnt out.

Today, at Speechless Boudoir, we charge a $495 session fee and sell products separately. Our products start at $1500 with options for every budget. We’ve had the most amazing clients and are so thankful for everyone who has trusted us enough to invest in themselves and have us capture their boudoir images.

Are you interested in planning your own boudoir session? If so, reach out to us at the form below and we can make it happen.

Contact Us!

You Deserve To feel sexy! If you think we are the boudoir photographers for you, please don’t hesitate to send us a message!