Digital files kind of suck

It's Christmas Eve and I'm feeling nostalgic

We live in a digital world. It's how we communicate (duh, you're reading this), it's how we socialize, it's how we shop, and it's how we entertain ourselves. 

Sadly, it's also the primary way we hold on to our memories. I remember flipping through my Nana & Papa's wedding album and family scrapbooks. Holding those photos in my hands, I felt like I was taken back in time. 

I'm old enough that I grew up taking selfies with a polaroid or disposable film camera. Con: Most were terrible Pro: I still have most of them in a box. Then shortly after college, everything started switched to little digital pocket cameras. Then came the iphones. Pro: practice makes perfect on those selfies Con: I have literally no idea where most of those digital files went and I have a few corrupt drives that probably mean I'll never see them again. Well, what about the cloud? It's not as much fun to hover over a digital screen with all that stress-causing blue light and click down memory lane. 

 I don't even have a wedding album!!! I've been married for more than 15 years. 7/8 discs are backed up on the cloud and i'm too overwhelmed to make my own album. So I look at the one and only framed print we have on the wall of my bedroom. And my wedding was way too much fun to relegate to a single posed photo. I still don't know what happened to disc 7, but its gone and took the memories with it. 

All of that to say, I'm a firm believer in prints and, even better, albums. It's really difficult to lose a 12x16 handmade album. It's also a lot more fun to browse page by page than it is to scroll my phone. So if a client truly demands digitals only, I can do that for the same price and throw in a free album. 😉 I offer the best of both worlds, a beautiful album you'll cherish for decades and still have the ability to send a naughty text. And yes, you'll have the full size files for backup. Because sometimes physical things do disappear in fires, floods, etc. So indulge in the tactile intimacy of an album and fall in love with both yourself and your photos.

What we retouch, and what we don't

I get a lot of questions about retouching for boudoir.  Especially, "You an make all my cellulite go away, right?”

Yes, but it's not usually with photoshop or other filters.  Here are the steps to ensure your photos display flawless skin:

1. I instruct my clients to prepare their skin at least a week in advance. Drink lots of what, moisturize as much as your skin can handle and exfoliate a day or two before the photoshoot.

2. I provide my clients with a lotion the day of with a little bit of light reflecting particles.

3. I light with flat lighting on the potential lumps and bumps. No shadows? No cellulite!

4. If I get a fabulous pose with less than fabulous flat lighting, then I'll lighten up those unflattering shadows in post production (aka Photoshop)

So what DO I do in photoshop?

I delete bruises, pimples, spider veins, skin tone changes from being hot cold or nervous and stretch marks if I can even see them after the lotion is applied. I look for any wandering makeup that makes the eyes look dark where they shouldn't. I also will smooth out any bulges created by posing.

For example below, I should have had her legs resting together slightly differently to avoid that tiny little curve on her leg. My bad. But I'm not going to punish my client for my oversight.  As you can see, I'm not making any changes to her beautiful shape or size, I'm just polishing out the things you would never notice in real life.Because with a booty this fabulous, who would notice that tiny bruise on her top cheek?

The second photo is me! Because I didn’t feel right asking someone else to post a before picture.

before and after retouching with Lavish Boudoir studio

Albums are perfect for boudoir

First you think you might want to give this boudoir thing a try, First name / friend. You get a little more into the idea as you research. But then you think.... "what do I do with these photos???" 

Let me tell you, my clients all fall in love with their photos when they see them printed in a handmade album. Here's why: 

1. When you arrive for your reveal, you'll get to choose your yes photos and your maybe photos. 

2. With you by my side, I create a design with all of your chosen photos. This lets you see how they will look on a page together rather than individual files. 

3. You select your album cover from swatches we have in the studio. 

In the end, you take home the most perfect album you can imagine. 

Wondering what my top cover choices are from clients?

 FAQs: 

What happens to my "no" photos? 

They go in the trash. If you don't love them today, you won't love them tomorrow. 

How do I choose which photos I really want in my album? 

We play with designs until you are 100% satisfied. 

How many photos go into an album? 

My smallest album is 10 photos and my largest album is unlimited. Love every photo? Take them all. 

What if I want digitals? 

Any photo you choose for your album will be sent to you as a digital file. I can even airdrop it to you if you have an apple device. 

What happens to the photos I don't put in my album? 

You have the option to purchase the low-resolution (not printable) files at an additional cost of $40 each, this also means I'll back those up in a gallery for 6 months if you choose to create another album. See you next Tuesday!

Bondage lingerie for boudoir

I am so excited to share these spicy lingerie with you!

I'll admit, the work I show on my site is pretty vanilla. Let's just say, I don't want anyone adding my site to their spank bank. Trust me, it took ages to stop ranking for men searching "couple's e r o t i c boudoir" or "p r i v a t e boudoir gallery" I don't even know how. I mean really... is this post from a decade ago "e-r-o-t-i-c"... not even a little bit past pg-13??? But back to the topic of the post. Every now and then a client like Ms. A from the last newsletter wants to showcase her spicy side in a classy way. That, I can get on board with. 

My favorite bondage lingerie and accessories come from  Honey Birdette. Whether you want to bring it to a session or just your own bedroom, Honey Birdette is crafted with elegance and quality and just the right amount of kink.

Featured lingerie shops:

 Honey Birdette

Yandy.com

4o is brutal on the body

But it doesn’t have to be.

Whoa, turning 40 changed A LOT! I thought 30 was a major change in metabolism, but 40 was like a screeching stop. Suddenly without any changes to my diet (fairly healthy) or exercise (very regular), I weighed more than I ever did while pregnant. WTF. I am not menopausal, but I’m sure it’s in my near future.

Then TikTok introduced me to Dr. Mary Claire Haver. I started to think... hmmm maybe something is up. I had lost my dad to cancer shortly after my birthday. I stopped sleeping well. I started craving sugar for the first time in my life. My weight would NOT budge. I wasn't comfortable with the age old: eat less and exercise more. I don't eat much and I get 10k-18k steps per day plus regular workouts. That's when I looked into cortisol levels when I realized my waist was packing on the padding for the first time in my pear-shaped life. I have a friend who is shameless about discussing health and body issues. There is no topic too gross for her. She recommended something for my digesting from Happy Mammoth. Welp, that opened my eyes to a whole slew of supplements. I started taking the Hormone Harmony and Bloat Banisher and started feeling changes immediately.

After a year of 3 am cortisol spikes and the restless wakeups that come with it, I was finally FINALLY sleeping through the night. Ha. I sound like an infant. But seriously, I was more tired and sleep deprived than I had been when my toddler woke me every night at 3 am asking for a bottle. Around this time, I started checking my hormones and getting an Rx for that (I'll share more later), but I knew this stuff was working because if I missed a nightly dose, I was sure to be spending 2 hours with my eyes wide open and praying for sleep.

I am not a doctor (duh), but I wanted to share my experience with this brand because I know there are so many of you out there who just don't know WTF is going on in your bodies or how to help it.

Here is my refferal link (I earn points) and you get a discount

Sauna boudoir session

I have been photographing women for so many years, that it’s rare to find a brand new way to create. But oh what fun it is to do something completely new!

I love a good self-care routine and my husband and I decided to splurge on a sauna. Bougie, I know. But we are officially 40+ and it takes more than drinking water and a jog on the treadmill to stay healthy.

My husband and I were sitting in the sauna soaking up all that infrared goodness under the red lights. As usual, I can’t really turn off my brain. Inspiration struck when I saw the shadows on his face and I had to make these sexy, sweaty photos for a client. I knew Miss A would be perfect with her dark features and saucy body language.

You would absolutely die laughing if we had filmed behind the scenes, because I’m spraying A down with avocado oil spray and water, trying to get the look of glowing sweaty not swamp donkey sweaty (my usual look). I’m dragging a cheapo ring light and wrapping it in a red filter to mix with the blue overhead light. I’m trying to figure out if I can fit in the sauna with her. I’m trying not to break my camera in tight spaces. Oh my goodness, if you know me… you know how clumsy I am. Lucky for me, A can keep her composure.

Finished product? Better than I hoped for and I cannot thank A enough for letting me experiment.

If you want to book a steamy session, make sure to reach out. I can’t add them on to every regular session because of the extensive prep work… but I may hold a special day for them. Just text me at 667-321-9837 and mention that you saw this post.

PS: She filmed her husband’s reaction and it was everything. He was just sitting on the couch watching baseball, minding his own business. She texted him and he looked at his phone like, “Why is she texting me from the kitchen?” When he opened the message, his eyes went wide, he looked around and then hustled over to swoop her upstairs.

I’m Leslie, owner and photographer at Lavish Boudoir!

I offer transformational boudoir photoshoots, complete with makeover, to help you feel confident, sexy & comfortable in your own skin.

I’d be honored to have you in my Maryland studio.

Schedule Complimentary Consultation