No, this has nothing to do with chopping down trees in your frilly nothings. Axes is the plural of axis, which is a reference line for a system of coordinates. I know that sounds pretty math-y, but it isn’t, really. I’m just using it as a way to describe a concept. (There will be no test at the end. Honest.)

One of the things I used to ask during the dreaming session, when the client and I would sit down and talk about ideas for the shoot, was how sexy they wanted the shoot to be. The question was phrased like this: "If you were to order this shoot at a Mexican restaurant, would it be rated one jalapeño (barely spicy) or five jalapeños? (call the fire department it's so hot)" Which I thought was a fun way to ask the question.

I had one client say "oh, a two at most."

Cut to the actual shoot, where she did the entire shoot topless. Meanwhile, another client who said they were going for “four or five jalapeños” stayed fully clothed during the shoot.

Which got me thinking about the fact that, maybe words like "hot" and "sexy" mean different things to different people.

That’s a good thing, but it means that the original question needs to be replaced with something that allows a little more fine grained control. As I see it, there are three things that convey the idea of sexy in a boudoir shoot.

The first is outfit. This runs on a scale from sweater to skin. From fully covered to fully uncovered. Most shoots start with some degree of clothing and move to less. This could be just switching outfits, from this lingerie to that lingerie, or it could be a progression. We start in this outfit, and slowly remove layers. There is no limit to the number of outfits you can wear during a shoot, but the more time spent changing the less time spent shooting.

The second axis of sexy is expression. What you do with your face. There is not a single progression as with outfit, but a variety of emotions that can be conveyed. Your expression can say happy or sad, angry or confused. Mostly we stick to the positive ones, but even then, you can smile, laugh, look strong, look excited … and, like outfits, this will change. But over the course of the shoot we will probably circle around an emotional anchor, depending on the mood you want to create: light and silly? Dark and passionate?

The third axis is pose. This is not the photographer telling you to sit like just so, turn your head just so. Rather, it is how you hold your body, what you do with your hands, and what feeling you want to convey. You can twirl around with a dress, which can convey a sense of fun. You can sit backwards on a chair, which can covey a sense of strength and power. You can lay on a bed, which can convey a sense of sensualness. If your hands are touching your face, and your eyes are closed, it creates one mood. If your hands are roaming over your body and your eyes are closed, it creates a different mood entirely

In all of these, you, the person in front of the camera, have control. But I will help you with the finer points. “Drive your left leg across your right to emphasize that curve,” or “drop your chin a bit more and look up at the camera.” If needed, I’ll even show you what to do, which generally causes much hilarity, as shown above.

So if you’re in Grande Prairie, or Dawson Creek or Fort St. John and want to find out more about what goes into a beyond boudoir shoot, feel free to fill out our magic consultation form. (It’s magic because you you can fill it in and not need to buy anything; it’s just a chance for us to talk.)