When Is The Right Timing For Your Boudoir Session?
A Boudoir Portrait Experience has been on your personal Wishlist for a while now, but among other things one question that continues to surface is:
When would be the right timing for this experience?
The spontaneous, creativity-loving, self-celebrating, goddess-minded side of you shouts, “There’s no such thing as the wrong time to treat myself!”
The practical, detail-oriented, planner in you interjects, “…But might there be a right time? There’s gotta be some strategy involved here…”
Both sides of you have valid points, and I’m here to provide answers.
So let’s dive right in and get you some clarity and confidence when it comes to timing your boudoir experience.
While it’s true that there is no wrong time to celebrate yourself— and you certainly don’t need a reason like a birthday or a romantic partner — there are ways to set yourself up for success when preparing for your session.
Do you have an actual Deadline or “Goal Timeframe” for your session? Let’s talk actual timelines.
It is fun and absolutely liberating to make a spontaneous decision and act on it right away. I am all for just going for it when the mood strikes in most circumstances.
Your boudoir session is not always one of those circumstances. When reserving your date, it is necessary to coordinate up to 4 different schedules: Yours, mine, the studio (for in-door sessions), and your hair/makeup team.
With this in mind, a 4-6 week window between inquiry and shoot date is the minimum leeway to leave. Additionally, the lead time between your shoot date and receiving finished products in hand is another 4-6 weeks; meaning your shoot should take place a minimum of 8 weeks before you would need a printed product in your hand.
For example, let’s say you’d like to gift yourself some wall art for your birthday, which is in June. You’ll want to have your session sometime in mid-late April and make initial contact with me no later than mid-March to snag your date. Because planning and preparation is key, the earlier you reach out the better!
Prepare your finances for the gift of investing in yourself.
This does not mean waiting until you’re rolling in expendable cash to have your session; rather, it means budgeting and planning far enough in advance. The ultimate goal for your session should be minimizing stress and maximizing enjoyment.
Preparing yourself financially with plenty of breathing room is a large part of reducing the stress, while also ensuring the maximum satisfaction of walking away with exactly the artwork you desire!
Money finds a way to spend itself if you are unintentional about expenses. So set your mind to the fact that a fine art portrait experience is a non-negotiable investment in you. Consider having your session during a time where other obligations will not be vying for financial attention: Holidays, family celebrations and vacations are all big investments of time and money.
So set yourself up to fit both into your budget by spacing them out and strategizing accordingly. Make room for the “both”. Don’t settle for the “either/or”.
Saving and budgeting for a session is no different than squirreling away money towards that dream vacation: Both have value and both must be planned for if you want to turn dreams into reality.
Prepare yourself mentally for the opportunity to celebrate yourself.
A boudoir session is not a quick fix or a Hail Mary for when your self-love tank has bottomed out.
It does not heal deep-seated wounds, cure heartache, or transform your body in the blink of a shutter click; not by itself, anyway.
The truth is, Beauty, that I can guarantee I will take some of the best portraits you will ever have captured of you.
But I can’t guarantee how your mind will receive these images when you see yourself in a completely new light. You have to be open, ready, and excited to receive the gift of seeing yourself beyond the body you’ve either been ignoring or critiquing in the mirror every day, beyond the beauty pressures you apply to your face, your skin, your hair.
You deserve the opportunity to have the type of “Out of Body Experience” that will simultaneously make you feel perfectly at home in in. And you have to know this in your bones that you deserve it.
The final takeaway is to prepare yourself in all senses to ensure a seamless, stress-free, and wholly fulfilling boudoir portrait experience. While there may feel like a lot of ducks to line up to get the timing right for your session, I am your knowledgable, experienced, and excited duck-herding tour guide, ready to support you through every stage of the process from booking, to planning, to delivering a timeless work of art to remind you of just how worth it you are.
If you’d like to work towards any of these steps, send an email to hello@chanelfernandezphotography.com and let’s talk!
With payment plans, timing tips, and supportive community all available to you, we can get you on your way to planning your boudoir experience for when the timing is right for you!