Final Artwork Lead Times
Every year women contact me to schedule a boudoir session as a gift for an upcoming event. Many end up delivering their gift late… Oooops. This post is here to change that so that we can blow his mind proper on the actual day of your special occasion.
Final Artwork Photo Shoot Deadlines
The following is the minimum recommended time you should have your session photographed by to receive your final artwork on time.
2 Months
3 Weeks
So what does this mean exactly? Well let's say for example you'd like to gift an album to your honey on Christmas day (Dec 25th). That would mean that you'd need to have your session photographed no later than October 25th to get your album in time. Folio boxes, 3d viewers and wall art would need to have their sessions photographed no later than December 4th.
If you're paying attention, you'll also note here that this doesn't take into account scheduling your initial consultation. It also doesn't take into account any pre session prep you might want to do before your photo shoot.
If you're feeling lost or overwhelmed right now, you can start from the beginning and check out my boudoir guide for a concise overview of my boudoir process.
TL;DR:
plan further ahead then you probably think to get your final artwork in time for your special date.
The Best Boudoir Photos of you Possible
In my experience most people don't realize how far in advance they must plan to get their artwork in time. After all there are quite a few other photographers out there who will get your artwork to you MUCH quicker.
In this post I'd like to take you behind the scenes and show you why I require longer lead times for my boudoir albums. I also want to show you why this is actually a good thing IF you want the best boudoir photos and experience possible.
Planning Your Boudoir Photo Shoot
planning your boudoir photo shoot is a must for getting an above average final set of images. Occasionally I’ll have someone call me asking to do a photo shoot next week and have all their images ready by the following Saturday…. Sorry, not gonna happen.
That time table is probably way too tight for us to secure your location, have all your lingerie shopping done and have all of your pre-session appointments booked. Then we still need to allow time to have your session photographed, allow me enough time to cull, edit, design, and in some cases print your final artwork.
Quick question what’s the first thing you think of when someone says “rushed artwork” to you? Have that vision in your head? Now imagine yourself as the main subject of this rushed artwork.
Still want your session photographed next week and images by Saturday? Ya didn’t think so ;-)
Before & After
For those reading this that want beautiful images of themselves, like I present in my portfolio, I invite you join me for an initial consultation. This consultation is specifically so we can help you properly prepare for your session, and thus, get the most amazing images possible from your session. I’m also happy to schedule a Skype call with you if you’d just like to ask a few questions or see if I’d be a good fit for what you have in mind.
This initial consultation is when most of my clients find out just how much planning is involved to make their photo shoots exceptional. Many of my clients later tell me they got a lot of really good tips and ideas from this consultation. The vast majority of my clients also show up very well prepared and set themselves up for better boudoir photos as a result.
TL;DR:
Until we can get together and discuss your intended session, we honestly don’t know when your final artwork can be delivered by. Contact me to schedule a Skype consult so we can discuss your intended session. Only then can I give you an accurate estimate of when you can expect to receive your final artwork.
Editing Your Boudoir Photos
I’m often asked how much editing I do on my images. My simple answer is as much as I feel would make them look their best. I’m not into super crazy skin smoothing or heavy body manipulations, but I think everything in moderation is pretty great.
I want your images to be the best representation of you, but not roll your eyes over the top unbelievable. The before and after below is a pretty good idea of what you can expect your retouching to look like when you book your photo shoot with me.
Most of my images have roughly and hour’s worth of retouching in them. I edit everything under the assumption that each image will be hung large on your wall. I only edit the best captures from your session and strive to do so as thoroughly and as light handed as possible.
My colleagues tell me I’m crazy for putting so much work into my edits, but I kind of can’t help but do the best thing I know how on everything I do. So I just roll with it.
Remember that thing that I said earlier about rushed art? What do you think this final edit would look like if I had run it though some bullshit skin smoothing app.
Ridiculous is how it would look, so no thank you!
I want your images to live way beyond the whole facetune social media dumpster fire and be the best they possibly can. I want you to look back on these pictures 40 years from now with pride saying fuck yes! That was me! My worst nightmares is that you look back on them and think Yikes! Those are definitely 80’s glamor shots I hope no one ever see’s!
Words are meaningless in this context though, so below are some enlargements of the same image as above so you can determine the quality of my retouching for yourself.
My philosophy with retouching is to embellish your photos while still keeping everything believable. That little bit of cellulite, the tummy imperfections, the stretch marks, all that stuff will all be taken care of.
For those that need a bit more editing then the example above, I will help guide you towards lingerie styles and personal care appointments to help get as close to a finished image as possible in camera.
The ideas is to get everything as perfect in camera as we can, and then lightly, but thoroughly, embellish and polish your images to perfection.
TL;DR:
High quality editing and attention to detail takes time. Asking me to rush your editing to meet a deadline would be a great disservice to you and therefore I have no interest in promising anything sooner than my minimum lead times.
Designing Your Boudoir Album
In addition to editing your photos so you look omg gorgeous, I am also designing your final album for your image reveal appointment. This meeting is where you will get to see all of your final images for the very first time.
Every session I photograph is with your final artwork in mind. Once captured I carefully select what I consider to be the best images from your session. I then pre design and edit your album for what I think would make the most compelling collection from your session.
I literally spend hours designing and tweaking your album for what I think will make the perfect collection from your photo shoot. To be completely candid I spend way too much time making sure each image is color toned perfectly so each image flows seamlessly into the next.
Most of my clients are in awe when they see their final images and album design for the first time. Most decide to have their album printed exactly as I present it, but you will always have the final say in what ultimately gets printed if you choose to move things around.
Your Hand Crafted Boudoir Album
I put a ton of work into making sure your images are the best they possibly can be. I do my best to help you prepare, direct for the best captures I can, edit those captures to the best of my ability and design your album in the most compelling way I know how. It would be an incredible shame at this point if I didn’t have your album made by the best lab out there.
When I first started my business I spent thousands of dollars buying sample albums from multiple companies. I chose my current lab Finao when the sample albums I purchased literally took my breath away. They are far from the cheapest option, but they are far and away the highest quality books I’ve found to date.
Everyone that holds one of my albums is immediately struck by how heavy and dense they are. The leather covers leave little doubt that these books will last your lifetime and beyond.
Printed on true photographic paper and mounted to thick pages, your final album is specifically designed to be an archival grade, premium viewing experience.
I chose this lab above all the rest I tested because I feel like their quality matched or exceeded my own. Hundreds of albums later and I can honestly say I’ve never been disappointed with single album I’ve had them make.
Part of the reason my lead times are so long with my albums are because of the incredible quality of these books. My lab requires 4-6 weeks lead time (depending on the time of year) to build and ship these to your door.
High quality custom final artwork takes time to create. I have zero interest in throwing your photo shoot together, rushing your edits to build you a sub par book for your sub par images. Fuck that!
I want to create the highest quality experience for you that I possibly can. Photographing your session next week and having your images ready for you the following Saturday isn’t the way this happens.
TL;DR:
My albums are the highest quality books currently available on the market. Creating them takes time, so don’t expect them to show up on your doorstep a week after your photo shoot.
The Bottom Line
If you want to gift an album for your husband or boyfriend by a specific date it would behoove you to reach out for an initial consultation as soon as possible. We can schedule you’re actual photo shoot up to a year in advance so there’s really no excuse to not schedule your initial consultation right now and figure out the specifics so we can create something amazing for you both and have it ready on time.
