How To Get Your Boudoir Clients To Let You Share Their Images

One of the biggest struggles as a boudoir photographer, especially for those just starting out. “I’ve got a few bookings but none of them will let me share their images!”

How am I supposed to get more boudoir work if no one knows that I shoot boudoir because I can't show any images!!??

We all know that you need to SHOW what you want to shoot, right? That is one of the first things you do when you decide on a genre
or a niche….stop showing the stuff you don want to shoot anymore and only show what you want to shoot.

I have students who tell me they want to get out of weddings and just focus on boudoir, but they keep getting booked for weddings.  Why do you think that is?
Because they keep showing images of the recent weddings they shot.  

Stop showing what you don't want to do anymore…. Go ahead and take those gigs if you need them to pay the bills, but don't SHOW them anymore.

Ok?

So, I got off topic a bit there, but let's get back to HOW to show or share your amazing and beautiful boudoir images if your clients don't let you share!

Believe me, I totally understand the frustration… you do an amazing shoot, the wardrobe was on fire, your clients were fantastic and super bendy, so she nailed all the poses… but at the end of the shoot, she told you that she does not want you sharing her images, that these photos are for her husband's eyes only…. Aaaand you die a bit inside.

Sounds familiar?

As boudoir photogs, we 100% have to respect our client's privacy… no matter how amazing the photos are or how badly we want to share, if a client says no sharing, then it’s no sharing… 

We would not have much of a business if we did not honor their wishes, right? 

These are the struggles that are unique with boudoir photogs.. Along with getting FB ads rejected all the time and getting shadowbanned from social media. Or shut down altogether!  

The struggles as a boudoir photog are REAL!!

And as artists, we want to share our work with the world, and it sucks when we are told we need to keep the images private.

The first thing I want to say is that we have to make sure our clients know that we will always respect their privacy… we do not want to pressure them into sharing or guilt them into it…. We also don't want to “incentivize” them into sharing.

What I mean by that, is offering a discount or more images if they allow you to share...some boudoir photogs will offer some sort of incentive if the client agrees to let them share their images… but that puts the client in a tough situation… if they are wanting to save money, they may feel like there is some pressure to allow you to share, and you do not want that… also, what do you do if a few months down the road the client decided they no longer want you to share…. Now you gave them a discount and you need to pull the images from your website or social media… are you going to refuse (spoiler- no you are not) or are you going to ask them for the discount back or to pay for the extra images?  These ideas just create a mess that you don't need to monitor and you don't want to be put in that situation… and neither does your client.

Remember, if you are luxury, you need to give luxury service and that includes NOT pressuring your client into sharing and taking them down if they change their mind.

For those of you wondering if this happens… yes, clients change their minds, and that is totally ok.

...continued on the podcast

Listen to this entire episode on the podcast.  Sign up for exclusive content here

This is episode 19.  You will hear what to NEVER do as a boudoir photographer. Various ways to increase the chances of getting more images to show from real client shoots (totally separate from a model shoot). One simple tip. and the 3 top ways to getting more boudoir images of REAL clients to share.

Listen to it all here

~t