Boudoir is so much more than just taking pictures of a person in their under-things. It is about creating and holding space for you to make yourself vulnerable, to allow yourself to be unscripted and raw – it’s about creating an unforgettable experience where we make portraits with real emotional connection.
As a boudoir photographer, I have seen the transformation that happens when our clients are affirmed through their boudoir experience. Posing is a huge part of any boudoir session – and if you aren’t used to being in front of a camera, if can also be one of the most challenging parts of doing a session.
No matter what the styling or aesthetic is, boudoir comes down to body language. If our clients are stiff or uncomfortable, that will translate into the images. We want all our boudoir portraits to be truly intimate expressions of who you are. Your boudoir portraits should be as alive, as honest, as tangible and as sensual as you are. A lot of the poses that we do at a boudoir session are inspired by being in a bedroom – poses that are about being in a space where you feel free and at ease.
The more confident you feel, the more at ease you will feel. And that confidence and ease translates into beautiful boudoir photographs that are honest and authentic. Mindset matters. When you book a session with us, we will send you our Modern Muse prep guide that will walk you through the whole session experience, and provide a few sexy poses for your photoshoot.
Get Ready to Pose
Posing is 100% about being limber and able to move! It is not just holding one position. At our sessions there is movement – that’s what makes the images seem alive and real.
One of the most important parts for us in preparing for our boudoir sessions is to listen to our clients – we want these portraits to be authentically you.? When it comes to boudoir portraits – everything starts with talking. After our initial consult, I’ll send you our Modern Muse prep guide. We want you to feel completely comfortable so we can capture the best sides of you.
The Basics: Tips for Posing for Boudoir Pictures
Start with practicing. Here are some things to work on, if you want to, before upcoming boudoir session. Don’t want to practice? These are the things I’ll be coaching you through during our portrait session.
- Head: Elongating your neck and keeping your chin just a touch down will make your eyes bigger and give you a beautiful jawline.
- Hands: Keep fingers gentle; joints of your fingers should be slightly bent, fingertips just resting lightly on your body.
- Arms and legs: Keeping a little distance between our arms and your torso creates interesting negative space and slims down the body.
- Body length: those core muscles again! Posture comes into play. Create length from the crown of your head through your torso. Imagine pulling up towards the ceiling with each vertebrae.
- Toes: pointing the feet, without clenching the toes, elongates the line of your legs
- Shoulders: Keep your shoulders low, away from your ears, so your neck is long and relaxed
- What else can you do with your hands? Play with a necklace, your collar, the hem of your dress, run your fingertips along your body
- Eyes: You can look at the light source (window or softbox), look down at your own body line, you can close your eyes or you can look right at the camera. We’ll rotate through these four options.
- Mouth: We want to get rid of any tight muscles – those read as uncomfortable and nervous. Relax the muscles in your face. Relax your mouth. Make sure you aren’t clenching your jaw. Lips just parted can ease into a slight smile – that looks relaxed and beautiful on camera.
Get in the right mindset. Feeling comfortable is the right place to start. Think good, happy, blissful thoughts. We’ll put on music you love and get started.
Laughing and smiling is always easy and results in some of my and my client’s favorite images. Levity can be sexy! We will alternate between big smiles and small ones.
7 Sexy Boudoir Poses to Drive Them Crazy
As I was thinking through what poses I love and what boudoir poses work with every kind of body. I wanted to narrow them down to my seven choices for sexiest boudoir poses.
- The Casual Babe
- The Silhouette
- The Bather
- Sunday Afternoon
- Early Sunday Morning
- The Hug
- The Neck Rub
These are poses that I love starting with – and clients love seeing in their albums and wall art. Practice these poses yourself to see how it affects your body. What poses highlight the parts of your body that you love?
So, what do they all have in common??
- Look good with all bodies
- Reference work outside the genre
- Can work with any wardrobe and styling
These flattering boudoir poses we can do with anybody and at any shoot – the wardrobe and the lighting and the textures and colors in the frame change the look and feel of the image.
All of these poses are easy to learn and add movement to – change the direction of your gaze (directly at the camera, at the light source, at your own body, or close your eyes) and move your fingertips along your body. This does two things- draws attention back to your body and you can check in to how your body feels.
1. The Casual Babe
This is all about confidence and allure – it looks like it’s the easiest but is sometimes the most difficult to nail because so much of it is in the facial expression. This is a pose I like to start with and sometimes to end with too. Keep super casual and confident body language by curling up in a chair or on a couch or on the bed or maybe the floor. Bring one knee up and use the lines of that leg and your elbows to frame the face.
2. The Silhouette
A silhouette exaggerates the curves of your body. And it doesn’t show everything. Arch the back and get long through the spine. You stand in a position called contrapposto – with most of your weight on one foot so your shoulders and arms in a different direction than your hips.
You can shift your weight back and forth and move your torso in the opposite way your hips and facing. This gives your body a much more interesting shape than if you were standing with weight equal on both legs and your shoulders and head facing the camera. You can exaggerate the pose even more to emphasize curves. Don’t feel like you have to hold still for silhouettes – movement is beautiful!
3. The Bather
You can use a towel or a sheet for this implied nude pose. It may look like you have just stepped out of your bath, or are waking up. You don’t have to be naked underneath – but the viewer doesn’t know that. Get a forward rotation in the shoulders and hug the towel or the sheet against the front of your body. You can shoot this front the front, the side or the back.
4. Sunday Afternoon
Start seated and get a 45-degree angle between your shoulders and your hips so you are almost sliding off the couch (or bed or chair) and you arch your back and open your heart up towards the ceiling. Stagger your legs, use your fingertips to draw attention to where you want it.
5. Early Sunday Morning
Lay on your stomach in bed or on a couch, and use your elbows to prop up your head-turning your face toward the light. Roll your hips so they are at 90 degrees from your body and also facing the light. You can settle into this pose by bringing the upper knee in front.
6. The Hug
To do this boudoir pose, curl your shoulders forward and wrap your arms around yourself. You can add a knee in there if you want. Just leave a little space so you can see a bit of cleavage. Your arms will make the perfect intimate and vulnerable frame for your beautiful face. Also great for showing off jewelry. And your arms will look sexy and amazing.
7. The Neck Rub
Laying on your belly, arch your back so your hips push back toward the camera. This all about your shoulder blades and neck. Pull your hair off your neck with your hands. And drop your head. You can include more of the body and bum if you wish. You can go high key or low key.
And always – if you feel like laughing, laugh!
Related article: want to turn it up a notch (or two)? Read our spicy boudoir article.
Closing Out: Sexy Boudoir Poses to Inspire Confidence and Intimacy
These are some of the go-to boudoir poses that we can use with all our clients. Slight variations may occur, of course. No two sessions and the same, but these are some of my favorite boudoir poses. No matter what wardrobe, these poses are timeless, elegant, sexy and simply beautiful. Think of them as launch points.
For Modern Muse portraits, we don’t want out boudoir poses to be over the top. These seven sexy boudoir poses will make your photos authentic and intimate. Remember that mindset matters – so keep your hands and gaze moving.
Have fun trying our these seven sexy boudoir poses on either side of the camera!
And if you are someone who is ready to feel sexy at your own boudoir session, reach out to our Boston boudoir photography studio schedule a session planning call. Here’s a review from a recent Modern Muse client:
“Allana is incredibly talented at what she does, both in assisting with posing, and also with helping the person she is photographing feel completely at ease. I felt so dang good about myself after this shoot–it will continue to be a lovely memory. Thank you!”
Want more posing inspiration? Check out out articles on male boudoir poses and couples boudoir poses.
