Posing Class / Boudoir Photography / Ashley Reida Photography

Posing Class

When you come into my studio, you come as you are.  There's nothing special you need to know. You don't need to know how to pose, you don't need to know how to have a 'sexy face'...trust me.  I'll guide you through all of that and you'll look like a bomb shell.

But I know it's nice to go into something so unfamiliar and want to know a little about what to expect.  You can practice these at home and you'll come in more prepared and more confident about your session! So let's do a little mini posing class...are you ready?

Pop Your Booty and Arch Your Back

You'll hear me say that all the time!  Pop it and arch it!  The best way to achieve this is to stand in a relaxed position and rotate your pelvis toward the floor.  This should exaggerate the curve of your spine and make your booty pop out a little in the back.

Rotating your pelvis downward accentuates your booty and gives you more curve

Rotating your pelvis downward accentuates your booty and gives you more curve

Put Your Weight on One Hip

Stand tall, pop one knee out while feet are still together.  Then cross that knee over your other leg.  This accentuates the hips and give your a tapered, feminine look.

Hip posing accentuates the curves of your hips and minimizes the waist.

Weight on Your Head and Your Booty

This can be done on the floor and on the wall.  It gives the girls a little lift and stretches your body out and slenderizes trouble spots.  Lay on the ground and bend your knees.  Put your head on the floor where your high pony tail would be.  Lift your back and shoulders off the floor but keep your booty on the floor.   Hawt! ;)

Weight on head and bottom lifts breasts and slims your body

Weight on head and bottom lifts breasts and slims your body

Facial Expression Tips

-When we say look at the floor or over your shoulders, we usually mean just with your eyes...so don't move your head and just move your eyes in the indicated direction.

-Keep your mouth relaxed and slightly open.  Breathe through your mouth.  We don't want photos of your closed mouth. Keeping the mouth slightly open will give you a relaxed, comfortable, and sexy look.

Keep your face relaxed and breathe through your mouth

Keep your face relaxed and breathe through your mouth

What do I do with my hands? 

Busy hands are good hands.  We will usually have you grabbing or touching something....sheets, bra strap, panties, necklace.  We also like to have you run your hands over your face, across your chest, or along a well.  We keep your hands busy and it keeps you looking busy.  We like to have your hands tousling your hair some too!

Good hands are busy hands

Good hands are busy hands

Lingerie Alternatives

Lingerie Alternatives for Your Boudoir Shoot

Some women hate lingerie.  Some women think its too revealing.  And some women want something a little creative and out of the box.  And the truth is...you don't HAVE to wear it...and you don't HAVE to be naked to avoid it!  There are plenty of lingerie alternatives for your boudoir shoot! You just have to think a little outside of the box and gather up all the cute anti-lingerie accessories you'll want to have before your photography session.  Below are some excellent lingerie alternative ideas!

lingerie alternative white sheets

lingerie alternative white sheets

-Husband/Partner's button up shirt with bra and panties to provide more coverage

-Jersey with your or your significant other's favorite sports team paired with undies.  What better way to celebrate football season!

-Off the shoulder sweater can be sexy and provide coverage and leave some to the imagination.  Plus shoulders are totally sexy

-Lacy or satin robes can be used to cover up lingerie and bra and panties. Or yourself.

-Sexy dresses....boudoir is sexy photography.  It doesn't always mean you need to be nude or partially nude! Bring in your favorite killer dress!

-Bathing suits can make for fun beach type boudoir shoots!

-Sheets covering your body strategically can imply sexiness and possible nudity without exposing you at all.

-Jeans that are unzipped showing a little bit of lacy panty with a button up shirt that's mostly unbuttoned....and a cowboy hat will be sure to set your cowboy on fire!

Have fun planning the pieces that will replace or accent lingerie in your boudoir shoot!

Can you think of some other alternatives? Comment below! I'd love to hear your ideas!

lingerie alternative jersey

lingerie alternative jersey

5 Tips for a Perfect Selfie

Do you want some tips for taking the perfect selfie?

Great!

I used to hate selfies...but then I saw a quote that went something along the lines of "I am so pro-selfie.  There are bigger issues in the world than a woman thinking she is beautiful.  One of them is women who don't think they're beautiful."  That really hit home fore me...so I decided to set up a group for self(ie) love.  You can request to join it here.

Spawning off from that I thought I'd create a fun video that gives 5 tips for taking the perfect selfie...or at least a better selfie!

 

For those of you that don't want to watch my 3.5 minute video, here are the selfie tips laid out for you...although I think you should watch the video because I demonstrate! And it's hilarious! :)

Tip 1. AVOID THE DUCK FACE! 

It's just not cute.  It's not sexy.  Please don't do it. Keep it out of your selfie and in the chicken dance. Or duck dance....is that even a thing?

Tip 2. Separate your chin from your neck.

The easiest way to do this is to think like a swan...stretch your neck up, jut chin forward and then tilt it down.  That keep the double chin from happening in your selfie.

Tip 3. Smile!

Please smile in your selfie....we love to see smiles...it makes you look happy!  If RBF is your thing, that's cool..but work for at least 75% smiles and 25% RBF!!

Tip 4. Make eye contact with your lens!

Don't stare at your reflection! You're connecting with your audience, not yourself!  Also, smile with your eyes! There's a big difference between a connection with a smile and a connection without a smile....so give yourself a genuine smile that lights up your whole face...then either keep the smile or drop the smile but KEEP THE SMILE IN YOUR EYES...simply let the smile just on your mouth drop...and look in the lens...it gives an intense connection with your audience so your selfie can be a big hit!

Tip 5.  Make sure the lighting is good!

There's nothing that ruins a selfie more than bad lighting.  Except maybe a duck face! Yikes.  A naturally sunlit room gives the BEST lighting and is the most flattering....just no direct sunlight on your face please..it will wash you out and you will squint and that's not attractive. Avoid low light areas and if you cannot snapchat has a really cool selfie feature that give you a small flash in the frame!  

Enjoy the tips and make your selfie PERFECT!  

 

 

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Samantha Mays

Introducing my lovely sister, Samantha.

Samantha Mays- college student- hard working single mom

Samantha Mays- college student- hard working single mom

Sam came into my studio to let me practice some of my new techniques.  And to have a fun girls day.  We attempted some imaginative portraiture and some boudoir.  Sam lives a few hours from me.  She's working on her bachelor's degree and hopes to one day enjoy a career she loves and raise a happy family. She has two awesome little boys (not that I'm biased) Landon (6) and Bentley (5).  She's also single (ahem eligible bachelors). ;)

We had a lot of fun during her session...getting creative and getting pampered.  And she loved her images.  Here's what she had to say: 

      "Ashley is very professional, but also loves to have fun. She was able to make me see myself in a way that I never thought was possible. If she can make me feel beautiful and love myself, she can do the same for you....I enjoyed getting spoiled while getting ready for the session....getting my hair and makeup done, yummy treats. I also found that seeing the final products made me feel so much better about myself.....I was afraid that I couldn't take good pictured and no matter what was done, that I wouldn't be able to see myself as beautiful. I was proven wrong, the pictures made me realize and feel that I am so much better than I thought I was. They made me feel gorgeous." -Samantha Mays

Enjoy a selection of her images below!

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