I wrote this years ago, but I think it’s a good time to post it again.

I hate having my photos done just as much as everyone else. But it has to be done! We sell ourselves on our images, personas, etc. We try(most of us) to set ourselves apart from the rest of the herd. We do our best to be unique and sexy. Our photos are extremely important. It tells the clients who we are and what type of clientele we want to attract. I do my very best to make sure every lady has the right images for her personality and the right type of client she wants to attract. My photos attract the type of client I want.

Ladies are always nervous when they meet me, they get themselves all worked up for nothing! I’m very down to earth, I like to joke, I like to curse, I like to be silly. I like to take things slow and not rush. Ladies say it’s like a slumber party when they shoot with me, I love hearing that. I hate awkwardness, everyone does. I’ve been in the business(escorting) for over 22 years years. Been doing photography for about 11 years and escort photography about 8 solid years. OK enough about me!

Ladies will sometimes ask how to prepare for a shoot. I do have in detail on my website how to prepare, but I figured I’d post a blog about it and go into further detail. So here goes…

Try to Not be Nervous

We are women in the same business and we both want the most out of our photos. Ladies tell me they raise their rates, get better clients and longer dinner dates when they shoot with me. That makes me very happy. That’s my main goal, to help you make a ton of money. So just come relaxed and ready to be silly and take great images. I tend to feed off of energy of the ladies, it’s about chemistry as well. I love it when we bounce ideas off of each other. For instance. If I say turn this way and you have a suggestion in addition to that, that’s great! Or an idea in mind, I love fresh ideas! I’m soooo ADD/hyper when I shoot(without making you feel nervous, it’s kind of cute actually) and get ahead of myself with the ideas once they start flowing. So I welcome suggestions and ideas no matter how shy or embarrassed you might feel about it. It’s YOUR shoot, it’s about YOU! Some ladies tend to get more comfy with me after the first shoot, 2nd shoot and etc, and you can tell by the evolution of our work together in each shoot.  I also get a feel for the ladies personalities and how far they want to go or willing to go for a great shot. Being creative that is.

Come Prepared

Make sure you bring all of the outfits and accessories you’ll need. Make a list and mark them off while packing, and keep the list till after the shoot so you won’t forget anything. I usually help the lady pack if they are still nervous. I sometimes bring extra items, like thigh highs, jewelry, pearls, robes, hair accessories, props, even bring my own lingerie just in case the lady didn’t bring enough. I love playing dress up with my models and they always appreciate that after I send them the images. They’re glad I had extra…

Wardrobe

Have in mind what looks you’re going for. For example, I like jeans, men LOVE jeans. Bring your best pair of jeans with a sexy blouse/bodysuit. Of course we can use a bra, jacket, corset, just about anything with jeans if I get bored of the blouse. I want the lady to have a ton of pics for her portfolio with different looks. You never know if we might like the jeans without a top or with, you’ll have choices. The guys love a lady who can rock a pair of jeans to a nice restaurant with sexy heels and blouse. Plus the guys want to know how you’ll be dressed if or when you guys want to do a dinner date.

Evening gown or cocktail dress! Depending on where I shoot, I’d love to shoot more ladies in evening gowns. If that’s not your thing please bring a cocktail dress or both! Again, you want the client to know what you will look like outside of the bedroom in case you guys want to attend an upscale function or dress up for the hell of it! Make it classy, not trashy(unless you’re into that sort of thing then hey, whatever floats your boat!) Keep it simple, unless  you’re just a really flashy lady and likes a lot of bling. Who am I to stop your creative style? Bling on sista!

Lingerie! I love lingerie, I have an addiction. I’m a girl, what can I say? I love thigh highs, panties/bra sets, corsets, sexy heels, robes(I’m a robe addict and usually bring a few for the ladies to wear). Bring all that shit! I’ll help you narrow it down. I love waist cinchers, or under-bust corsets, and retro type items, unless you want more traditional which is totally fine with me. I want you to feel sexy in whatever you choose. But please don’t forget the thigh highs! Bare feet are awesome as well and that seems to be my new thing now, please get a pedicure! If you have lighter color lingerie then bring beige thigh highs, darker bring black, unless you have white lingerie then bring white. Most ladies know how to color coordinate, I hope:~)

Regular dress! Like the kind you’d wear to dinner or lunch. Could be a summer dress or a wrap around, or evening a rock a billy retro dress. Bring it! Again, you want the client to know what kind of things you’ll wear in public. Sometimes more is better, ya know? Make em wonder what’s underneath that dress. I tend to leave the hotel room and take lobby/around town shots in either the jeans or regular dress. It’s always a nice finish to a shoot and those tend to come out better than the lady expects! It’s the hurry up and take 100 more shots before you leave crunch time that turn out the best… honestly..

Tasteful nudes! Some ladies don’t like and some do, it’s about what the lady wants. I don’t mind doing classy nudes in addition to the rest of the shoot. You can be naked and classy at the same time! If you have any requests or want to bring more then by all means, bring it! Oh almost forgot, I’m totally digging bodysuits now, bring em! I think this about covers the wardrobe portion of my blog.

Eating and Drinking

Make sure you eat healthy within weeks of the shoot. Natural foods.  I mean, you can always eat healthy all of the time but please try to do more low carb/sugar a week or two before the shoot. I don’t know about other ladies, but this diet makes me feel sexier and less bloated. But I’m sure most of you have you’re own techniques. Drink plenty of water, they say drink less alcohol, but I love my wine so I don’t listen to that part! I do hot yoga and cycle and pure barre. That always makes me feel sexy and if you start weeks within the shoot you’ll feel and look sexier. But then again, most of you have that down I’m sure.

Tanning

To tan or not to tan? I quit tanning about 10 years ago, and my skin thanks me for it! But everyone is different and has their own reasons for doing it. If you tan, just make sure your tan lines are where you want them to be. It can sometimes be difficult taking tan lines out in Photoshop and what you end up with is something that looks a little too fake and edited. I’d like to add that I love natural pale skin, but if you’re skin is blotchy or thin(veiny) then maybe a light color would be best. Some women look better tanned. It’s about preference!

Because of the risks involved with tanning beds, self-tanning or professional spray tans are what a lot of ladies are choosing today. If you’re thinking about self-tanning, then you might decide to grab a cheap self -tanner at the store to do it yourself and save some money. I do not recommend going this route. Many self-tanners are hard to apply (even with the help of a friend to get to those hard to reach areas) and can streak and develop unevenly if you are not practiced at applying them. Not to mention that dreaded orange color if you have a heavy hand and apply too much. Also, your hands and feet can wind up looking dirty from applying too much of the product. If you do decide to use a self-tanner, remember that you get what you pay for. Tanning products are no different. Here are some good self-tanning tips if you decide to go that route.

I would personally recommend going with a spray tan from a well-established spa that specializes in skin care. This will usually give you a more natural and even skin tone. Be sure to ask them any questions you might have. It’s usually best to have this done 2-3 days before your photoshoot. Here are some things to avoid before a spray tan. I’ve had to lighten a whole leg before, or fix streaks that end up looking like an over photoshopped leg! Ladies, you get what you pay for, do it right! Oh and I’d like to add, if you do tan, make sure you don’t get those cheesy white lines on your booty, you all know what I’m talking about, just don’t!

Whiten Your Teeth

Whiten your teeth. That makes for a great photo when you are showing half of your face or have a light blur to show facial features. I can always whiten them in photos shop but why not just do it on the front end? Everyone loves a beautiful white smile!

Manicure/Pedicure

Get a mani-pedi! I can’t stress this enough! Make sure you get this the day before. You don’t want dry hands and feet in your photos, and I’ll need to photoshop that as well. Bring lotion for your body, hands, oils work great too. I always have coconut oil on hand. I usually bring lotion if you forget and I also bring nail polish and nail polish remover just in case. Yes, I’ve painted ladies toenails before! That’s how serious I am about hands and feet! If you don’t like nails, get shellack or just get a fresh nail color or nude the day before or same day. Just make sure you don’t have chipped nail polish, cause I will take it off, just ask around.

Tattoos

Tattoos! If you have tattoos you don’t want in your photos, try your best to cover them with derma-blend.  I can help if you need me to. If you have a small tattoo then that’s fine, I can edit that out. I’s rather fix an issue without extensive photoshopping.

Shaving

Shave shave shave! Ladies tend to forget to shave, especially the armpits. Unless you’re rocking the retro/native look then I say, rock that shit girl! But seriously, shave or get waxed… Or I usually have an extra razor if you need it. Sometimes I forget to pack, I will make a list just in case!

Tags on Clothing

Cut your tags out of  your new clothes, don’t rip them out. I usually bring scissors just in case. That’s a huge pet peeve of mine, cut the tags! No ripping! I usually cut the tags for the ladies while they get ready. Hey, I can do it all!

Posing

Practice your poses in the mirror at home. Look up “boudoir” on google or Pinterest for ideas or my gallery. Bring those ideas with you. Save them on your cell phone. I welcome any ideas. Get comfy with what angle you like, I’m good at figuring that out when you arrive and we get started. Just practice as much as possible and have an idea of what you want and get comfy with posing. And don’t be shy, it’s your shoot, get the most of out it.

Makeup & Hair

If you show your face, maybe perhaps get your make up done professionally(MAC, Sephora, Ulta at the mall usually) before the shoot and and hair, unless you find a make-up artist and hair stylist. Extensions, cut, color etc. Wear false eyelashes if you are a heavier make up type lady(usually brunettes). I’ve been known to put lashes on the ladies when they didn’t have time to get it done. Get your brows waxes. Maybe get a nice facial or exfoliate a day or two before. If you are on a budget, then you can do more natural type facials at home. I get a ton of ideas from Pinterest.  I don’t provide hair and make up at this point but should be able to find someone if you need it. Also, I’ve been known to do the ladies hair as well, I ain’t that useless ya know…

Clothing

Wear loose fitting clothes to the shoot, you don’t want marks on your skin in case we do artistic nudes, or body shots. Be positive, be on time, be organized. Please don’t leave all of your stuff lying around the location. Every single space in my hotel suite or studio or yours will be a possible shot. Ladies usually put their stuff in a room we’d never use or a corner or a closet/bathroom. Make changes quickly so we can move on. I’m always happy to help with wardrobe, hair and make up. Please no visitors unless we discuss prior. Now I’m sounding all technical! If I think of anything else, I will add more to this blog. I hope this has been helpful… Oh and be on time! OK, that’s it for now…

P.S.Ladies usually get their edited images within a week after we shoot unless I’m on tour and in that case I may edit a few while traveling in case you need to advertise. But you will always get your images promptly!

Location

I’d like to chat quickly about location. I have a few studios in and around my home if the lady wants to shoot there. But keep in mind that other ladies have shot here in the past two years, if you want something different then we can agree on a location. You can get your own if you’re going for a different look. I do my best to make sure your photos look different from other who shoots in my studio, just keep that in mind. But location is usually talked about before hand and options.

That’s about it, thanks ladies!

— Posted on February 17, 2019 at 9:38 am