Boudoir Photography: How to Get Started, with Audrey Gueton

Boudoir is still a niche specialty in France, far from the place it holds in the United States. Yet demand is growing. In this episode, Anthony Heukmes talks with Audrey Gueton, a photographer based in Saint-Étienne who has been shooting boudoir since day one and now trains other photographers.

She explains how she built this side of her business and shares practical advice for anyone who wants to give it a try.

Who is Audrey Gueton?

Audrey Gueton (website in French) has been a professional photographer since 2014, based in Saint-Étienne, France. She covers what is often called "social" photography (weddings, maternity, newborn, family, portraits) and, since the very beginning, a rarer specialty: boudoir photography, which she prefers to call intimate portraiture.

• A dedicated brand: her boudoir work has its own identity, KorZéaM, for women and for couples.
• A pioneer in France: when she started training in 2013, there were almost no resources in French. She looked to the United States for her references.
• An educator: she runs training sessions for photographers and, in 2019, organized meetups for photographers specializing in intimate portraiture.

What is boudoir photography?

Boudoir covers very different approaches: lingerie and glamour, posed, lifestyle, sensual photography, with or without nudity. Audrey started with glamour shoots in lingerie, then moved toward a more sensual, even erotic approach, and toward couples.

Her definition of intimate portraiture goes beyond nudity:

"Intimate portraiture means photographing people in moments where nobody else sees them."

Audrey Gueton

For a couple, that might be cuddling under a blanket while watching a show, or a hug over breakfast: the photographer becomes a witness to everyday moments that nobody else gets to see.

Boudoir in France: a market starting to stir

Audrey is clear-eyed about it: France doesn't have the kind of boudoir market the United States has, where it sits alongside weddings and newborn photography. She sees two reasons:

• Professional photography is valued more highly in the US, and women of all ages get photographed at every stage of their lives.
• In France, getting your picture taken is quickly seen as vanity. Few people even display photos of themselves at home, let alone nude ones…

But over six years, she has seen things change: more requests, and more and more photographers offering sensual sessions, not necessarily involving nudity.

A great complement to your business, especially in winter

Boudoir usually isn't enough to specialize in exclusively. But it is a very good complement: Audrey developed it to add variety to her sessions and to fill her slow winter season, when weddings stop.

1. Is boudoir photography right for you?

Audrey's first piece of advice: test it before you commit, and ask yourself honestly why you want to do it.

"Don't do it because it's trendy or because a colleague does it. Do it because it inspires you."

Audrey Gueton

Photographing the body and stepping into someone's intimate space: some photographers feel at ease with it, others don't. Anthony shares that his wife, also a photographer, found this kind of session genuinely uncomfortable. Audrey experienced the same thing the other way around: she did posed newborn photography for several years even though she felt it wasn't right for her, before switching to lifestyle.

2. Set clear boundaries and know your limits

It all comes down to communication, before the session even starts:

• A consultation every time: at least a phone call, or even a coffee, with every client. Everyone sets their limits and you see whether it's a good fit.
• Limits can change over time: for years, Audrey only photographed women on their own. Today she offers couples sessions, while staying even more vigilant.
• Consistent messaging: what you show attracts clients who are like you. When she showed glamour lingerie work, Audrey attracted clients looking for exactly that.
• Trust your gut: as soon as an inner alarm goes off, she explains that she isn't the right photographer for this session and refers the client to a colleague.

3. Get trained and step in front of the camera

Resources in French are still scarce, but they are growing: online courses, workshops, meetups between photographers. Audrey herself trains photographers in intimate portraiture.

There's no magic to it: the fundamentals are the same as for any portrait (light, posing direction, composition), with the added dimension of intimacy.

The best exercise: getting photographed yourself

Her top tip for improving: step in front of a fellow photographer's camera. Since she did it, she directs her sessions much more, because she understands from the inside how the person being photographed feels.

4. One brand or two?

It's one of the big questions boudoir photographers face: do you need two websites and two Instagram accounts?

Audrey has tried both. She chose to keep them separate: posting a baby portrait, then a wedding, then a very revealing intimate portrait on the same account didn't feel consistent to her, especially since she photographs a lot of families. Hence her KorZéaM brand.

Other photographers succeed with a single brand, by building a common thread around couples, pregnancy or women's bodies. There's no single right answer, just one requirement: your messaging has to stay consistent.

5. Image rights: showing your work without breaking trust

Audrey's rule is strict: without explicit consent, she doesn't publish, not even a photo where the person can't be recognized.

"They trusted me enough to let me into their private world. I'm not going to share photos they don't want published."

Audrey Gueton

The result: she only gets publishing rights for about one session in ten. That doesn't stop her from selling, since 80 to 90% of her boudoir clients come through word of mouth.

But she admits she held herself back for a long time. She is now rebuilding her website and SEO, and has been talking openly about her couples sessions for two years, with one simple conclusion: "you sell what you show".

6. Facebook, Instagram and censorship

Boudoir runs into social media moderation rules:

• Nudity is tightly restricted: a visible nipple is enough to get a post taken down.
• Reports go much further: Audrey has seen a photo on her regular account reported for simple cleavage, and she has already been temporarily blocked on Facebook.
• Reduced reach (shadowban) can make your posts invisible without warning.
• Advertising is the real wall: as long as you don't boost posts, moderation stays fairly loose. As soon as you pay for reach, it gets much stricter. Audrey had to justify portraits of speakers who simply had bare shoulders.

The upshot: don't bet all your marketing on social media. Use several channels, choose tamer visuals for your ads, and keep your bolder images for your website, where you're free to show what you want.

7. How to make your clients feel comfortable

Even when someone has chosen a boudoir session, undressing in front of a camera is anything but easy. Audrey's approach:

• Prepare ahead: the consultation is the time to talk about each person's insecurities, so you can adapt how you shoot.
• Direct at the start: the first few minutes are the hardest, so she guides a lot, then lets the session flow.
• Humor: her sessions are a fun time, like hanging out with a girlfriend, or a moment for two with couples. It's not phototherapy. This approach isn't for everyone, and that's exactly what sets her apart.
• Few props: she doesn't do lingerie photography. A pair of black panties is enough, because it's the person she is photographing.
• "Come as you are": your usual makeup or no makeup at all, and retouching limited to what isn't permanent (a pimple, yes; the person's body, no).

"The goal is that when they see the photos, they think: oh yeah, that's me."

Audrey Gueton

Anthony points out that it's this client experience, as much as the quality of the photos, that sets a photographer apart. It should come through on your website, to attract the clients who relate to it.

8. How to find boudoir clients

Who are the clients?

Audrey's clientele has changed along with her style. With glamour lingerie shoots, she reached women of all ages. Since she started offering a more sensual approach and couples sessions, her clients are mostly between 30 and 50: women around forty and couples who have been together for a long time. Not an Instagram crowd.

Your current clients are your best source

Many of her boudoir clients are past family, maternity or wedding clients, or guests she met at a wedding. For a long time she didn't mention it, convinced the two sides of her business shouldn't mix. Today she presents boudoir as just another type of session and shows her work: once the first amused reaction passes, the quality of the images changes how people see it.

Anthony suggests a practical idea, especially during the slow season: once you have a few sessions under your belt, send a newsletter to your past clients to introduce this new offer.

9. Prints and albums: what clients order

Without a studio, Audrey doesn't hold viewing sessions and doesn't consider herself much of a salesperson. Yet with the prints offered through her online gallery, almost all of her boudoir clients order at least one enlargement or an album:

• couples tend to choose an album;
• women on their own tend to choose prints;
• some brides and grooms give their future spouse a boudoir album while preparing for the wedding;
• some couples hang a large anonymous print in their bedroom: an intimate photo nobody else can recognize.

The same motivations come up often: parents-to-be who want a keepsake of their relationship before the baby arrives, or longtime parents who want to remember they are a couple before being parents. And behind the excuse of a gift for a partner, there is very often the wish to treat themselves.

A professional service like any other

Audrey champions one idea: boudoir should be just as structured as any other photography service. She wants to put an end to the cliché of the shady amateur photographer, and that means using professional tools: quotes, a contract covering image rights, invoices, online payment.

She sees it with her clients: receiving a quote, signing a contract and paying online through Fotostudio reassures them, and stands in contrast to past experiences that were less buttoned-up.

"It feels solid, it feels structured."

Audrey Gueton

Mistakes to avoid when you start boudoir photography

Boudoir photography FAQ