What should I expect from my first boudoir photo shoot if I feel nervous about being photographed?
What to Expect from Your First Boudoir Photo Shoot If You're Nervous
first of all, good. nervous means it matters. nervous means you're about to do something real.
but here's what's different about booking with me as a embodied transformation focused photographer versus booking with a regular boudoir photographer. you don't just show up on session day and hope for the best. that's not how this works.
I’m brii Cher’ri , North Carolina Erotic Fine Art Photographer + Intimate Life Coach.
My Studio is based in Jefferson North Carolina near Boone NC, and here is what to expect boudoir session with me.
Q: Brii, when someone reaches out to book, what's the first thing you want them to know?
First reach out, I want you to know you are talking to ME , not a robot, assistant, or someone else. Me. Crazy wild, blunt adhd funny + REAL. I’m down to earth and there isn’t much of a businessy proper uptight bone in my body. From the first connect to wayyy after the photos are taken. I am by your side with you for the whole thing. That includes guiding you into my self discovery course where I help you explore who you are truly and where your power is and how to take back control of it . This process means when you are finally at your session you aren’t faking or posing confidence you are embodying it.
you're not walking in cold. you're walking in prepared.
months before you ever step foot in this studio, you get access to POWERED, my self-authority curriculum. real assignments. real work on your relationship with your body, your shame, the stories you've been carrying around for years like they're facts.
by the time your session date arrives, something has already shifted. not because I told you it would. because the work actually does something.
I also send personalized prep guides. I ask the right questions before your session. I learn your body, your story, your specific brand of self-doubt so I know exactly how to meet you when you get here. every person who walks through that door has been communicating with me, building this with me, so they're not a stranger walking into something terrifying. they're someone who's already been in it with me.
Q: What does that pre-session communication actually look like? What kind of things do you talk about?
That Course is a huge part of the pre session communication, its like having a brii in your pocket to help uplift guide and show you the way. Its also the prep guides that lead you on exactly how to prep for your boudoir session, from hair cuts to tanning to water intake and shaving. I’ve covered it all in the prep guides. But I don’t leave it all to you to prep alone because I send you at least 2 questionaires, one to get to know YOU, your style, vibe, hair, makeup, sizes, feelings on your body and what makes you feel GOOOOD. and the second to “design” your experience.
This shows all different types of vibes that I have created and you choose a couple to give me an idea of the energy you are thriving for!
the day of your session
on session day, I do your hair and makeup myself. every session. it's not a stranger touching your face. it's me, and we're already talking, already laughing, already in it together before you've even changed outfits.
that part matters more than people realize. it's not just vanity prep. it's your nervous system settling down. it's you starting to feel like yourself instead of like someone about to do something terrifying. by the time glam is done the vibe is completely different than it was when you walked in.
then we get into the session itself, and the whole experience runs 3 to 5 hours start to finish. not rushed. not a conveyor belt. real time to actually get somewhere.
Q: What do you do when someone freezes up or hits a wall during the session?
Oh this is my favorite, it actually doesn’t happen a lot but in the first 5-10 minutes some people are like AHHHH I feel awkward/stiff, so I put on a song and I dance it out and get them to wiggle, throw their arms around loosen the tightness. I ike to run through a few stretches together before too to just wake up your body and movements.
I don't do poses. I do something different.
I coach your body the entire time. connective touches, real movement, real moments, not "put your hand here, tilt your chin there." I'm watching for the moments that are actually you, and I know how to find them because by that point I already know you.
you never have to figure out what to do with your hands. you never have to wonder if you're doing it right. I'm directing the whole thing, and what comes out the other side doesn't look like you trying to look good. it looks like you, finally seen correctly.
the nerves go. every time. because you were never doing this alone to begin with.
Q: What's the moment in a session that still gets you? The one you never get tired of?
I think most boudoir photographers say “when they see their photos for the first time” or when they show the back of the camera and show them how good they look, but for me as someone who really focuses on the transformation, its when they go from just following guidance on touches and movements and start exploring their touch on their body on their own. The natural flow they develop with themselves and the exploration of their curves and skin, the power they find while doing it. I feel like I’m in the studio with a completely new person.
what happens when you see your images
this is the part nobody warns you about.
it's not "oh those are nice photos." it's something quieter and bigger than that. it's recognizing yourself. maybe for the first time in a really long time. people describe it differently but the feeling is always the same. something settles. something that had been braced for a long time finally lets go.
because the images are proof that something real happened in that room. not proof that you cleaned up well. proof that you were always this.
Q: What do you want someone to know if they're on the fence and have almost booked three times but keep talking themselves out of it?
First. Reach out. You aren’t being a bother, and I will celebrate the courage it takes just to make the call. So take the baby step and lets chat because The truth I like to highlight here is that I have NEVER had a boudoir client say “I wish I had waited till….” but have had so many who say “I wish I had done this sooner.” Theres nothing to lose in an experience with me and everything to gain. I have neve had a client who didn’t love their boudoir images, but even more so I’ve had the tears hugs and praise of so many women who let my embodied boudoir experience change their life.
the short answer to "what should I expect"
you should expect to be prepared before you arrive. you should expect to communicate with me directly the entire time. you should expect hair and makeup done by me, a session that runs as long as it needs to, and coaching through every single moment of it.
you should expect to feel nervous and have that nervousness mean something. and you should expect to walk out different than you walked in.
you just have to show up. everything else, we already did together.
ready to start the conversation?book a personal chat with brii
