30 Days of Boudoir : 30days30years

30 Days of Boudoir

Name: Frances Matteck

Occupation: Boudoir photographer

How we met: Frances is the girlfriend of Dallas’ premier social media guru Neil Lemons, whose couch I’ve stayed on a couple of times in Texas. We met over one of the most amazing barbecue meals I’ve ever had at Lockhart’s Smokehouse in Dallas.

Frances has won awards as a photojournalist and writer for The Collegian, Tarrant County College’s award-winning weekly publication and has been featured on the Fort Worth Star Telegram‘s editorial page.

She worked for a year in a corporate portrait studio where she photographed newborns, children, families, graduating seniors, and corporate headshots but has now branched out into the sexy world of boudoir photography.

Say hey y’all to Frances:

I am a boudoir photographer, which means I take pictures of half-naked women for a living.

When I explain to people what I do, 90 per cent of the time I get “the look”. They say, “oh,” go quiet, and then the conversation gets extremely awkward. If they decide to take a chance and look at my website they are completely surprised (again) because the images are classy, tasteful, and above all beautiful.

Since Christie’s visit to Texas, I have created gorgeous images of some amazing women, been a part of a college student’s documentary project, and found a new home in a huge studio.

Why Boudoir?

Before I started my business, I invited all of my female Facebook friends to take a survey and only 1.9% responded that they felt sexy every day.

As women, we tend to have poor body images of ourselves. It’s because of this that I believe every woman should have a boudoir photo shoot. So that they can see how beautiful they truly are right now – not 10 pounds lighter, not a few inches slimmer.

My time as a boudoir photographer has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. Most of my clients come and see me because they want to give an extremely personal and very sexy gift to their significant other. What they realize after they’ve received their photos is that they’ve also given themselves three amazing gifts: self confidence, a sense of empowerment, and the knowledge that they are beautiful.

Now, I’d like to take you through the 30 day experience that every client goes through.

Days 1-14

When I receive an inquiry from a woman who wants to have a boudoir photo shoot, I know before I even open her email that she is nervous – nervous about her weight, the way she looks, her age, etc.

I help ease her through her insecurities and get her excited by diving into the fun stuff: planning out her dream photo shoot.

We discuss everything: hair and makeup, outfits and accessories, and what inspires her.

Every client gets a board on the Every Woman Boudoir Pinterest page where she pins inspiration images to her heart’s content. This allows her a chance to show both me and Lindi, the studio’s fabulous hair stylist and makeup artist, a visual representation of what she wants and an opportunity for us to see and discuss all of her ideas.

Day 15

The day of the client’s shoot, she will arrive at our 4,500 square foot studio and find her own VIP parking spot and a welcome sign. We’ve planned her shoot together for a couple of weeks now and I want this day to be all about her. My number one priority is for her to feel special and have some great images.

After arriving, she and I have a final consultation where we look at her final outfit selections and pick which sets we’ll be shooting on that day.

Then she goes straight into hair and makeup with Lindi where the music comes on, the yummy snacks are brought out, and the magic begins.

Once the client gets in front of the camera, I demonstrate every single pose before I ask her to try it, and I coach her through a variety of facial expressions. There are certain poses that make every woman look good. Throughout the entire shoot, I utilize a variety of flattering poses and lighting techniques to emphasize her favorite features.

After we’re done shooting the client’s pictures in the studio, I spend an hour or two doing some basic digital editing on her proofs while she goes and has lunch or does a little shopping in nearby downtown Fort Worth while looking amazing with her hair and makeup done.

When the client’s photos are ready, she joins me back at the studio for her Premiere. This is my favorite part. I love witnessing the amazed expressions and happiness my clients experience when they see their images for the first time. The best moment is when they blurt out, “Oh my God. Is that me?” That’s the moment I’ve been working so hard towards for the past two weeks.

During her Premiere, we discuss album design and make decisions about which images she wants to order.

Days 16-30

I spend a week completing the final editing of all the images and designing either a 5×5 “Little Black Book” or a 10×10 “Bombshell Book.”

After I receive the client’s final approval on her album design and any other fine art products she has ordered, I send her order off to a professional printing lab. Then we schedule an appointment for her to pick up her order in a few days.

I love pick up day. Every client receives a cute bag with their order with a surprise from me tucked inside.

After the Experience

A boudoir photo shoot takes about 30 days to plan, execute, and deliver the final product but it doesn’t end there.

Over the course of 30 days, the women who start out as clients become friends. We stay connected after their photo shoots through phone, Facebook, and Pinterest. Some of my clients have written wonderful, touching thank you notes. Several have shared their positive experience through glowing testimonials on EveryWomanBoudoir.com. And a few extremely brave ones have allowed me to share some of their final images on the website so that other normal, everyday women can see them and think, “Maybe I can do that too.”