Mrs. S | This is Real Life | Boudoir Retouching

Did you know that indigosilver’s boudoir clients see their images the same day as their shoot?

Do boudoir clients’ images get retouching before they see them?

When the boudoir photo shoot ends around lunch time, our clients leave to get lunch and take a little break.  During that break, I’m hard at work polishing their images.  My workflow is something like this:

1.  Download images from camera to computer
2.  Remove images the client doesn’t need to see: lighting tests, duplicates, images where the client blinked or was talking, etc.  I narrow the images down to the best 60-80 images from their shoot.
3.  Color-correct remaining images:  If they’re too dark, brighten them up, etc.
4.  Run images through basic skin-softening filter for an overall buff and polish.

I do all of this while scarfing my lunch at my desk.  This whole process takes me about 2 hours, at which point the client comes back to view and order her portraits.

Here’s what I don’t have time for during this 2 hour break: a full retouch on every photo.  This means my clients are seeing their images with proper exposure, but they are also seeing little things like blemishes, stray hairs, and other little things on full display.  Of course, any image that my clients choose will get the full retouch before being ordered with my professional lab.

Do I really want to see myself without boudoir retouching?

I actually think there’s power in this.  As women, we see perfect images everywhere and wonder why we don’t measure up.  Knowing you’re about to see an unretouched photo of yourself, in little to nothing, can be unnerving.  My clients tell me their nerves start creeping back up after the shoot, wondering if they will look as beautiful in their images as everyone else.

When Mrs. S came back from lunch, we started her slideshow.  I almost wish I had recorded her reaction.  Jaw open, she was mesmerized.  As image after unretouched image panned across the screen, she exclaimed both delight and disbelief.  “This is real life!  That is ME!  That’s how I look?  I’m beautiful!  I can’t believe this is real.”  The thing is, by seeing unretouched images, she actually believed in her beauty more than if I had perfected them.  Had I retouched every image, she would not know how much of the beauty she saw was her, and how much was digital magic.

This is real life!  That is ME!

Ok, then why even do boudoir retouching?

Here’s the thing: Yes, it’s powerful to know that you are beautiful without retouching. But that doesn’t mean that you need a random blemish or bruise to be preserved in your boudoir photos forever.
My rule of thumb is this: If it’s temporary (blemishes, bruises, cuts, etc.), then it should be retouched our of your photos. If it’s permanent (scares, moles, stretch marks, etc.) then it is your personal choice whether to preserve your image as-is or get a little digital glow-up. Either way, there’s no judgment here!

So here are Mrs. S’s (fully retouched) images for you to enjoy.

Our Boudoir Transformation Team:

Photography by indigosilver studio
Hair and Makeup by Adrianne Lugo Professional Hair and Makeup

Want To Know More?

Click on one of these images to learn more!