Dressing for Confidence: What to Wear To Your Boudoir Session

Boudoir photography allows our clients to capture their inner beauty, sensuality, and confidence through stunning imagery that makes them look and feel like works of art. Whether you're preparing for your first boudoir photo shoot or you're a seasoned pro, choosing what to wear is an exciting part of the process that helps you get prepared for your boudoir experience.


Note: what you wear ultimately is not as important as we like to believe it is! Whether you are booking with us, or just shopping around, a seasoned professional can capture anything you wear in a way that makes you shine.


Our first and biggest tip when it comes to choosing what to wear is make sure it makes you FEEL good – and fits right. Nothing kills the vibe like lingerie that doesn’t fit you, that you need to keep adjusting, and therefore feel self-concious in. The first step is to FEEL fire, and then you will LOOK fire. Promise.



With our preamble aside, in this blog post, we'll explore various outfit options to help you feel (and look) your best during your boudoir session.


Bra and Panty Set

A classic and go-to choice for boudoir photography, a well-fitted bra and panty set can highlight your curves and accentuate your figure. When selecting this option, consider colors that complement your skin tone and make you feel like your favourite self. Whether you prefer lace, satin, staps galore, or something more minimalistic (or spiccyyy), a carefully chosen bra and panty set can help you exude confidence!



Body Suit

A body suit is a versatile choice that can provide both coverage and allure. Body suits come in various styles, from sheer and lacy to sleek and modern. Depending on your comfort level, you can opt for a full-coverage design or one with strategic cutouts that add an element of spice and tease to your shoot. When picking a body suit try to opt for something without a racerback as those can be limiting to posing. We love a good bodysuit in the studio that you can also wear with jeans or a skirt for date night after your shoot!



White Tank Top

Sometimes, simplicity is best. A plain white tank top can evoke a sense of casualness and realism to your session. Pair your white tank with the shower set or our wet set for the ultimate sensual combo! Lace bottoms, Calvin Klein’s, or nothing at all are great bottom options for your white tank. We call the white tank + no bottoms combination the “winnie the pooh” ;)


Accessories that Make You FEEL GOOD

Accessories can play a significant role in personalizing your boudoir shoot. Whether it's a favorite necklace, a pair of fishnets, a special pair of heels, or a statement piece of jewelry, incorporating accessories that hold sentimental value or make you feel empowered can add a unique touch to your images. Remember, boudoir photography is about celebrating YOU!



Nothing but a Sheet

For a more artistic and sensual approach, consider draping yourself in a satin sheet or sheer fabric during your photo shoot. This can create soft, romantic images that emphasize your body's natural contours while maintaining an air of elegance, and feel like you just stepped out of a renaissance painting. By far one of our favourite outfits, and a specialty in our studio.


Still don’t know what to wear? Rely on our client closet!

Our studio has a small client closet in sizes ranging from XXS-4X. Not sure what to wear? Message us about options in the client closet in your size range! We have lingerie sets, as well as harnesses, robes, feather fans, and so much more to play with and incorporate into your experience.

Nothing at All

Lastly, the most empowering option of all is to bare it all, posing confidently in your own skin. Going au naturel during your boudoir photo shoot can be a liberating and transformative experience. It's a liberating act of self-confidence and body celebration. By far one of our favourite outfit options, and one our clients say is their absolute favourite! Going nudie is of course not mandatory, and we are here to help you if you feel nervous or unsure about this option and want to ask more questions and feel it out slowly.

Conclusion

Your boudoir photo shoot is a chance to embrace your sensuality, boost your self-esteem, and create beautiful, legacy images that will leave you feeling like a damn work of art every time you look at them. Ultimately, the most important thing is to choose outfits that make you feel confident, beautiful, and empowered. Whether you opt for a classic bra and panty set, a body suit, a simple white tank top, or something more daring, the key is to embrace your uniqueness and celebrate your favourite self. Your boudoir photographs will capture the essence of your confidence and sensuality, allowing you to cherish them for years to come.

Ready to celebrate your damn self?

Let’s get connected.

Molly AshlieComment
The Art (and importance) of Shaking Sh*t Up

As a predominately natural light photographer, I tend to start my sessions at 10:30AM to allow for the best natural light in the studio.

I love a good routine, and keeping most of my sessions around the same time allows me to provide a consistent and magical experience to each wonderful soul who walks through my doors.

But I’m also an artist, and routines for artists can sometimes become a little stagnant.

That is, of course, unless you’re making space to play

and shake sh*t up.

Enter: the importance of scheduling in creative sessions.

Making space to play, be creative, and do something entirely different helps keep your artistic brain on its proverbial toes. It’s important to throw everything you’re comfortable with out the window, and get wildly uncomfortable (and tbh probably a little bit frustrated) in the name of art.

It’s in these spaces of newness and discomfort that we find growth, expansion, and playfulness.

I will forever be grateful for Alison, my hair and makeup artist, for always being up for my creative whims and rolling with me when I say “I have a weird idea” or “I bought a new light” or I “I want to try something”

Have you stepped outside your comfort zone lately?

Molly AshlieComment
The Power of Couples Boudoir Photography | Victoria BC + Vancouver Island Boudoir

We love a solo session in our studio.

But.

We equally love the power and intimacy of a couples session.

The two experiences are so wildly different from one another!

If you’re feeling any sort of way before your session (nervous, a lil terrified) a couples session is a great way to help ease those nerves. Because you have your person there with you, and you’re in it together. Lovin’ up on one another, smoochin’ the day away, and gigglin’ your butts off. All while having your love (and steaaaaam) captured for years to come.

A couples session can be a great precursor to a solo session, or a beautiful follow up. Nothing is more beautiful for us to watch than someone who came in and rocked their own solo session, and is now ready to help guide their lover through a session together. Showing them the ropes, and encouraging the the whole damn way.

We are big advocates for exploring and documenting your love in front of the camera! Your love deserves to be shouted from the roof tops.

Molly AshlieComment
Maternity Boudoir with Anne Marie | Victoria BC Boudoir Photography

I absolutely LOVE taking maternity photos! It is such an honour to photograph and create art that celebrates the incredible, and beautiful form of the body during pregnancy. This is such a monumental time in life and should be celebrated in all its glory!


There is only up to 9 short months to feel the little flutter of the first kicks, see your tummy move, think about names for this sweet, precious being that will be joining theworld soon.

This amazing babe wanted to document this moment in her life and said that this session was about embracing her body, the female form, and all the hard work of growing a baby.

In her words:

“Being pregnant has really showcased for me the wildness that our bodies can do this, and that I am carrying around a little human being. It has helped put things into perspective - largely being that my body isn’t an object to be judged and critiqued by others, but a human form that carries my life, and that of my growing child’s.”

“I would say that to anyone considering a session like this, that any hangups they have about their body, or the idea of taking the time to treat oneself with a photoshoot, would quickly be eliminated the second they entered the room. I was amazed at how the overall experience truly felt empowering and once I have baby, will be booking again for a just me session.”

Creating life is such a precious gift; its wild, natural, raw, joyful, beautiful, and powerful – but it can also be hard – swollen feet, morning sickness, doctors’ appointments, feeling uncomfortable and stressful. This time in your life is filled with all sorts of emotions and bodily sensations that it can be overwhelming.


You session is customized for you, we will take our time, be gentle, take breaks, pamper you, and help you feel beautiful in this radiant, magical moment. This session can help you take time to connect with the marvel that is creating life, ground into your body as you prepare for the upcoming birth, and indulge in some time for yourself before your precious babe arrives.

I always take extra care for anyone expecting because posing can be extra challenging on your body when you are creating life, so please know that I am here to offer you a safe and supportive space for your session.

Maternity Boudoir is a powerful way to document your journey through creating life, and all the wonderful changes that happen along the way.

I look forward to helping you showcase this special time in your life with images and memories that you can look back on, and will last a lifetime.

With love,

Anne Marie xx

Inquire for your own maternity shoot below!

Molly AshlieComment
Educating in Las Vegas with The Boudoir Album at WPPI

I really wanted to share a recap blog of my experience teaching at the Boudoir Summit with The Boudoir Album, at WPPI (which, btw is one of the world’s largest photography conventions). So, no pressure or anything.

I wanted to share this recap – but I want to keep it real with ya’ll.

This was the scariest thing I’ve ever done in my 30 years on this planet.

I didn’t sleep a full night for over a month.

And no, I am not exaggerating (I wish I was, I love sleep).

I was a total mess leading up to this event. I wasn’t sleeping so I wasn’t super present at home, my mind was so fixated on “oh god, Vegas is coming up”, and my anxiety was cranked up past max.

It was scary to me – but it was only scary because it was a totally new and out-of-my-comfort-zone experience.

I knew, logically and deep down (like… really deep down) that everything was going to be amazing.

“If you weren’t ready for it, the opportunity wouldn’t have presented itself” (or whatever people say).

And it’s an annoying cliche – but it’s fucking true!

I was totally ready for it, and with my wonderful assistant and associate Anne Marie with me, we had the best time. I wished I could have jumped back in time to let past-me know that we were going to ROCK IT so I could get that whole month of sleep back.

Vegas was an absolute whirlwind of emotions. From our shooting bay at the summit, to our individual workshop, and shooting with delightful clients in our AirBNB… it was all a dream come true.

My Vegas Highlights

  1. We need to do scary shit once in a while. We need to step outside of our comfort zone and do something that really, genuinely, makes us want to shit our pants a little bit. Because this is where GROWTH comes in. I feel like I have such a newfound faith and belief in myself that I wouldn’t have had if I didn’t say “YES” when this opportunity came around. So do something that scares you a little bit – because who knows what version of you is waiting on the other side?

(in picture: Sabrina at the Boudoir Summit with the Boudoir Album)


2. Get outside your bubble more often. This was probably the biggest shift for me. Before I went to Vegas, I felt very isolated in my business. Running a business is LONELY, isolating, hard work. Hiring Anne Marie was a true gift, but I still felt very alone and in my own bubble on Vancouver Island, Canada – a far cry away from larger cities where many more boudoir photographers around. I never felt like a part of the community – despite being tagged in things on Facebook, and being connected on Youtube. I still felt really removed from the larger community. Oh, man. And then… Vegas. I feel like I cracked wide open and all the amazing love, support, and beautiful energy this community holds just came pouring in. There is such power in community – I wish I had left my bubble years ago. So if you are feeling a little isolated and lonely in your own business, I highly recommend going to more community gatherings/workshops/whatever you can afford. Or host one in your own community! Community is a gift. It’s our super power. We have so much more to offer when we come together as a collective.


(in picture: Ruby Roxx)


3. Boudoir is magical af. Look, ok, I know this already, obviously. But I felt it on another level while in Vegas. When I started boudoir way back when (gosh how has it already been almost 8 years!?) things looked very different. There weren’t education opportunities like this, we were all figuring shit out on our own. “The Boot Strap Kids” as Andi says. The fact there are chances for us to get together and share knowledge, connect, and resonate and raise our vibration together as a community is SO long over due. Being around all these other amazing artists really made me FEEL how magical this community is. On another level. This art form is powerful, we offer life-changing transformations with our craft. It was incredible to feel that excitement and see this next wave of the industry growing.

4. Meeting other boudoir photographers is so MUCH FUN! Look, I’m an introverted to the max. But it was such a blast meeting so many amazing humans I’ve followed on IG, or have followed me on IG or Youtube. Coming together in the real world and celebrating our art together was pure joy. If you ever see me around at an event in the future, please come say hi! I love meeting ya’ll!


Thank you for being here, for reading this, for supporting our art, and for just being you.

Can’t wait to see ya’ll next year!

With love,

M xx

Molly AshlieComment
the magic of embracing your inner wild | outdoor boudoir photography vancouver island

There is no denying that there's a power in the safe container the studio provides for people to dive deeper into self and really melt into the process...


But.


There's an equally unique and potent power in embracing the inner wildness and incorporating the earth as your playground and collaborative partner.


There's a simultaneous deep peace yet exhilarating rush at documenting yourself as part of the nature from which you came from.



There’s a magic in embracing your inner wild nature, in allowing yourself to embrace the nature from which you came.



The outdoor boudoir experience is totally unique, and incredibly powerful.. and fun as F*CK

Nothing beats the feeling of laying in the sand, the wind kissing your skin, while you breathe deep – enjoying THIS moment. Being totally present of the moment, of the sensations on your skin, of how it feels to simply exist and be. And to have that whole experience documented for you to revisit and remind yourself of the sheer joy of allowing yourself to indulge in the present moment; indulge in the simplicity yet grandness of nature.



We take all our clients to some of our favourite hiking spots – out in the depths of the forest and away from as many people as we possibly can be. These locations are west coast, wild, and as unique and beautiful as YOU.



So, is an outdoor boudoir session right for you?

It may be for you if…

✦ You have a deep inner calling to be in nature – you love hiking, camping, connecting with the earth

✦ You are an adventurer at heart – you love exploring, and you aren’t afraid to get a little dirty

✦ You love the idea of being documented celebrating your natural beauty and want to see yourself reflected as the wonderful work of ART that the eaARTH is (cheeessssy but we mean it!)

✦ You want to laugh and be present in your bod while hearing the waves crashing, the wind rustling your hair, and the trees swaying in the distance

✦ You’ve done boudoir once before but you want to step outside your comfort zone and try something new

Get in touch and embrace your inner wild

Molly AshlieComment