As boudoir photographers with over 10 years of experience, we have seen our field change in so many levels. Some for the better, some… not so much. Today, we would like to go over what practice in the boudoir world we simply can't get behind. This is, of course, a personal opinion and everything you will read is completely subjective.
1) The Before/Afters
This is a common practice you can see on many boudoir websites: one photo is the client without any make-up on, dressed in regular clothes and the next, she (because yes, it is always women) is fully dolled-up in boudoir. Since day 1, this has never sat right with us. It would make sense if we were make-up artists, but as photographers, this is send the message that the person in the before is simply not good enough.
Boudoir is not about looks. yes, you can get dolled up to add fun and confidence to your experience but the goal isn’t to change you and making you feel less-than.
2) The use of AI
The use of Artificial Intelligence in anything artistic is simply a nuisance in our opinion. True artists need to master their craft. We need to go through the grind to learn, improve, and nurture our creativity. We have fought way too long already to prove that photography isn't just pressing a button and doesn't depend on a very expensive camera. Now, you can create anything with a bunch of (highly polluting) prompts and to us, the value of your work is completely lost. AI, if used at all, should be used with parsimony and not be the end goal. Additionally, feeding your revealing images to AI doesn't seem like a good idea to us, especially for those worried about privacy.
3) Over-editing the skin
We are in 2026, and we still see way too many images where the skin texture is completely gone. No pores, no wrinkles, no stretchmarks, no nothing.
We have a policy of removing anything that is temporary, such as blemishes and so on so you don’t have to worry about that zit who decided to show up the day of your shoot. We may go slightly heavier on smoothing the skin if the lighting used is very contrast-y and accentuating the skin texture, but it will never be totally removed. The goal is not to make you look like a doll. Our bodies come in every shape and form, and the goal of a boudoir shoot is to love it the way it is.
4) Changing bodies in post-production
Deeply connected to the previous point: changing the shape of the body is counter-productive with boudoir photography. Why would you want images of yourself where it simply isn't you…?
We bend, we twist, we arch. We luckily aren’t stick figures and it comes with creating rolls. There is nothing wrong with that! A good boudoir photographer should be able to highlight your body with the right outfits, the right poses and the right angles.
5) Not adapting the poses to the body type.
Not everybody can do the same poses and applying cookie-cutter poses just doesn't work. Some have more mobility and flexibility than others and for that reason alone, a good boudoir photographer knows how to adapt poses. You can be inspired by a specific pose, but your body might not allow it. Luckily, there are many ways to adjust so you can still have something beautiful, in the same vein of what caught your eye in the first place, without breaking your body!
We hope you enjoyed this little list, maybe you’ve agreed with some points, or maybe you didn’t. We always love hearing from you, so don't hesitate to leave a comment below or join our Instagram to discuss it more!