Sarah Brookes’ first boudoir shoot was for a friend getting married. She shot some beautiful images of her friend in her bridal lingerie and found the experience captivating. Now she wonders if it’s the best job in the world, working one-to-one with her clients on something so important to them, and witnessing their personal transformations.

“I get lots of lovely comments from the husband/ fiancé too, thanking me for capturing their partner in such a beautiful way. What a privilege!”

Sarah enjoys the technical challenges as well. Every booking is different, and on a cloudy day every minute can be too. She doesn’t like artificial light because it takes away from a natural, comfortable experience for the client. Which means she needs to be at one with her camera and constantly adjusting to the available light — from the small windows at her friend’s shoot for example.

To ensure her clients feel comfortable, and arrive for their boudoir shoot completely relaxed, Sarah sends them a comprehensive PDF with lots of information about how to prepare. She also invites them to join a secret Pinterest board where they can pin images that they are drawn to. It’s a fun exercise, and useful to Sarah as it gives her an insight in to what they are looking for.

“Several weeks before the shoot we have a nice chat over the phone to go through any questions. This is a nice opportunity for reassurance if they mention any areas that they are self conscious about, and also for building trust. The shoot takes place in their home, or a beautiful hotel room, and they are treated to professional hair and make up. We have lovely chats about their hobbies, their partner and what they are looking forward to with the shoot. We then take a look at the various lingerie that they have brought and discuss when we will shoot which ensemble, and why. I like to shoot three different pieces during the session.

“Clients feel comfortable when they know what to expect. I love getting to the stage where clients offer up suggestions: this really shows that they are comfortable and enjoying the shoot, which is very important to me.”

Sarah says her clients leave a boudoir session with boosted self-confidence, big smiles on their faces, and looking forward to seeing their album and their partners’ reactions. “After three hours ‘being all about you’ and uncovering their inner goddess, women feel that they have reconnected with their bodies and who they are as individuals. Sometimes life’s demanding responsibilities take over and we lose that connection. I know that every time the album is opened and pored over, that connection will come back to the surface and revive self confidence and the goddess within.”

Including an album in her boudoir package was a no brainer for her. “The ethos within my business is for my clients to be able to walk away with tangible photography for them to treasure forever. For me there is nothing better than looking through an old album and reconnecting with happy memories.”

Sarah saw her first Queensberry at Aspire and says she was completely taken back by the quality. “Thanks to Queensberry craftsmanship, it is a luxurious experience to turn each page, and the quality of the paper does the photography justice. Every image is produced and edited one at a time, so seeing my images on Tintoretto paper gives me such pride and really does the image justice."

Alexandria x