Over the years I’ve been asked to make items that aren’t normally considered sexy look, well sexy. I thought it would be fun to walk down memory lane of some of the non-sexy items I’ve had to figure out, ‘Well how the hell do I make that work?’
Items like motorcycles, trucks, heels, and jewelry, while not in a “sexy” category like, say, lingerie, are still used commonly in boudoir photography, so I didn’t include those images, and there are a number of clients who incorporated a non-sexy item in their session, but I don’t have permission to use those photos.
So let’s take a walk…
Can you Make a BlowPop Look Sexy?
The BlowPop was actually my idea. This image of Kelly is from my very first boudoir session ever in 2014, which was on a gloomy day in January—I had no idea THIS would be the session that made my heart fall in love with boudoir and set me on the path I’m on today.
Anyway, we were playing around with ideas and did this one for fun…
Can You Make a Gummy Bear Look Sexy?
So this woman, as many as you may know, is my former assistant, Alisha. But before she came on board to be my assistant, Alisha was also my very first boudoir client, and had an interesting request for her boudoir session: Could we work gummy bears into her session because her husband loved them. My first thought was, ‘How the hell do I do this? Do I have a bag of gummy bears lying on the night stand?‘! Followed by me asking Alisha if she was crafty—could she take a real gummy bear and turn it into a pendant?
She ended up making the necklace in the image below—I suggested she have the necklace be cleavage length to help direct the eyes…
I didn’t blog about this session, but I did blog about another boudoir photoshoots she did with me, which you can see HERE.
Can You Make a Wrap-Skirt Look Sexy?
During Miss M.’s wardrobe consult, she showed me a wrap-skirt that she loved to wear and asked if we could somehow incorporate it into her session… I told Miss M. I had an idea: I wanted her to spin slowly while twirling the skirt around her. I then put my focal point on her head and used a slow shutter speed to get motion blur of the skirt. You can see a few more of her boudoir images HERE.
Can You Make a Rug Look Sexy?
Miss S. owns a fluffy area rug and asked if she could lay on it for a few poses for her session.
Can You Make Books Look Sexy?
Don’t we all just lay around in cute outfits reading books? Well, at least Corin and Sabrina do!
Can You Make Sheet Music Look Sexy?
Millie was a newlywed who wanted to incorporate sheet music into her boudoir photoshoot because her hubby played piano, so I suggested we use the sheet music for their wedding song, Brad Paisley’s “Then.”
Can You Make a Batman T-Shirt Look Sexy?
Emily is a big fan of Batman and wanted to wear a super hero-inspired outfit for her session. My concern was how do we do this without it looking like a cheesy costume, so I had here wear tall boots, high-waisted panties, and a basic Batman t-shirt. She also wore a sheer cape I have in the studio wardrobe, which I think really brought the look together.
Can You Make a Guitar Look Sexy?
Keri’s husband owns a collection of guitars and she wanted to pose with his favorite. We decided to do a rocker-babe theme, where she wore a t-shirt with her hubby’s favorite band on it (her panties from Torrid have skulls on them!) and I think she totally owned it.
Can You Make Doughnuts Look Sexy?
I wish you could have seen my face when I read the email from Madame Professor asking if there was a way to work doughnuts into her session! She said her boyfriend really loves doughnuts and she thought it would be funny to pose with a few. I was truly stumped for a moment on how to pull this one off.
SO… this ended up being a truly fun session—the team and I never laughed as much as we did for Madame Professor’s session. I took shots of her posed on the bed eating a doughnut, of her sitting in the white fabric chair with a silver tray of doughnuts on a small table next to her, and a few tush shoots (do you think her boyfriend even noticed the doughnut in this image?)
Can You Make Golf Balls Look Sexy?
Another client who stumped me at first was Betty’s request to have golf balls in her session since her man loved to play golf. I had to think of a way to have her hold the golf balls so you could see them and make it look believable…
Can You Make an Axe and White Gloves Look Sexy?
Ashley’s husband is a firefighter and on the Honor Guard, so she wanted to have his axe from his toolkit and the gloves from his Honor Guard uniform in her session.
During her session we all laughed thinking about what the garage attendant thought seeing her walking out of the garage with her axe.
Can You Make $100.00 Bills Look Sexy?
Jen wanted to be surrounded by $100.00 bills for her boudoir session!
Can You Make This Wine Glass Look Sexy?
Sarah loves a glass of wine… in particular this glass full of wine, so she asked if she could use it as a prop…
Can You Make This Coffee Mug Look Sexy?
Heather loves coffee. So much so she special orders her coffee grounds from monks! And she has a certain mug with a blue octopus on it that she enjoys sipping said coffee out of in the mornings, so we found a way to work the mug into her photos.
Can You Make a Race Car Look Sexy?
Dana wanted to surprise her boyfriend, who owns a race car, with images of her in the car… space is very limited inside the car, so I really had to think about what I could do to incorporate the car and her since I was limited on posing options and angles…
Can You Make a Fishing Vest Look Sexy?
LaCole’s now-husband loves to fish, so she wanted to wear a fishing vest as part of one of her boudoir outfits. Fishing vests are not meant to be sexy, so I had to think how I could use posing to help achieve her vision.
Can You Make a Hunting Bow Look Sexy?
Mrs. L. wanted to use her now-husband’s hunting bow as a prop for her bridal boudoir session. I felt the bow would make for a great tush shot.
I’m sure there are one or two other “non sexy” items I’ve photographed over the past six years, but I think you get the point.
So, what have you been thinking you’d like to incorporate into your session? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Contact me today to schedule a phone consult so we can discuss your ideas!
A big thank you to my stylists, Nath and Ashley, for doing a great job on hair and makeup all of these years.
Until next time,
Shannon
Contact me today to schedule your phone consult!
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