Using Your Boudoir Photos Can Be a Tough Decision

Boudoir photo sessions are a super sensitive topic. They’re incredibly powerful photos, but they’re also really personal! And it can be difficult to figure out what to actually DO with them once you’ve got them.

It is, of COURSE, completely up to you, at the end of the day. You can keep them private, you can create a digital album and keep them tucked away safely on your computer… or, you can get creative!

If you’ve booked a boudoir shoot, it might be because you want to experience the confidence-magic that comes from having a photo session. Or, they might be lined up with your engagement photos, or specifically to be gifted to a partner! But no matter what, you can always take advantage of these different ways of using your boudoir photos, whether it’s right after your session, or years down the line. That’s the magic of photos, after all. They’re an investment, that just keeps giving!

If you didn’t have a specific use in mind for your photos when you booked your session though, consider these options!!

1. Save them for when you’re not feeling confident

Not having a partner to gift your photos to isn’t a reason not to have a boudoir session.

And actually… it might even be a reason TO have a boudoir session! One of the ways of using your boudoir photos after your session is JUST for you. When you’re feeling a little less than comfy in your own skin, you can pull out these photos. You can flip through, whether printed or not, and remember what it’s like to see yourself the way your photographer saw you.

All of the perfectly imperfect parts of you. You can remember all the things your body has carried you through – trials, and happy moments alike. And I can tell you from personal experience: it’s a super badass confidence boost.

2. Use your Boudoir Photos to print an album for your partner (or for you!)

If you’ve scheduled your boudoir shoot so that you can give the photos to your partner, you can get WAY more creative than just sending them some digitals!! Gifting an album is an amazing way to highlight and preserve any photoshoot, but it’s especially perfect for boudoir photos. If you’re someone who wants to make sure that there are really limited prints of your photos out there, then an album not only keeps them all in one place, but it prevents you from having to share the digital images from your shoot!

One of the other plusses of gifting your boudoir photos in the format of an album, is that they’re discreet, and easy to tuck away. You don’t have to put a photo on the cover, so without opening the album itself, no one else would have to know what’s in there. And with boudoir images, that might be exactly the vibe you’re going for!

3. Print some sneaky polaroids

A slightly more daring option is to print some images, in a polaroid style, or as a folio box! Photographers usually offer an option like this directly through their printing provider, and you might even be able to order them without even asking your photographer for help. If you’re working with Jessica Strobel Photography for your boudoir session, ordering prints like this from your session is as easy as logging into your secure online portal, and selecting the ones you want to print!

If you have prints made, you can OF COURSE frame them and put them wherever you’d like, but they’re also easy to put in a discreet box, which gives this option more of the privacy offered by an album. Before opening the box… it could be anything in there! (Having trouble figuring out whether prints or an album is best? Check out THIS GUIDE!) 

4. Get a sexy calendar printed

If you didn’t think printing a few images and putting them in a keepsake box was daring enough, you can take it a TON of steps forward!! Printing a sexy calendar with your images to gift to a partner is definitely one of the most creative ways to use your boudoir photos. Think “sexy firefighters” calendars for charities – but… it’s you. And the person you love gets to look at it, whenever they want.

The only downside to using your boudoir photos for a calendar, is whoever you gift it to can’t reuse it the next year!! If you’re looking for someone to provide custom printing, Vistaprint offers super affordable options for personalized calendars and more!

5. Can you say “Bathroom artwork”?

If you haven’t noticed, this list goes from “tame” to “ballsy” super fast. But one of the other uses for your boudoir photos? LARGE FORMAT PRINTS. Now, I know that might sound vulnerable, but I’m here to remind you that your body deserves to be celebrated.

And if your home has an en-suite in your master-bedroom, then a great way to dip your toe into feeling more confident is to hang a print from your session in that space! You (and/or your partner!) will get to be reminded of exactly how gorgeous you are, every day. Maybe once you’ve gotten used to it, you’ll be ready for a three-panel-print above your bed!! Designing a gallery wall is always a great opportunity to feature your favorites from your session without having to choose just one!

There are other ways to use your boudoir photos after your session…

But I want you to get creative!

Boudoir photos aren’t like the photos from any other session. Like I said, they’re deeply personal, and sometimes it can feel really vulnerable sharing them. As a reminder, make sure you talk to your photographer (me?) before your session to make sure that you’re completely comfortable with the sharing that THEY will be doing from your session too. Photographers who offer boudoir are generally super understanding if you don’t want your images shared.

If you’ve got a unique idea about how to use your boudoir images, and you’re not sure whether it would work, reach out! I’d love to talk to you about making that creative gift you have planned for your partner a reality.