Cedar Falls Boudoir FAQ

The women on your website all look like models. I am not “modelesque”…can I do this??

First of all, THANK YOU! I take that as a compliment of the highest degree…because…well….these women are not models. These women, just like you, at one point looked at the photos on my website and thought “Hmm..I know mine won’t turn out THAT good since I don’t look like a model, but I’m wondering how good she can make me look?”

The answer is: Modelesque. I don’t toot my horn about a whole lot, but I am VERY good at this. I know women. I know women SO well, that I know exactly what they will not like in photos. I know exactly how to pose all types of women to look their very very best. I know my camera equipment and can use it to create beautiful and ultra flattering images of ANY WOMAN.

You don’t have to know what you are doing in the slightest. I’ll direct you every step of the way, from helping to you prepare for your photo shoot with wardrobe tips, to posing every inch of you, to coaching your breathing through the session. You just need to show up and TRUST ME.


How far in advance should I book my session?

I recommend that women have their shoot date scheduled for about 2 months prior to needing the finished product in-hand. Also, being a one-woman show, I tend to book up very quickly and relatively far in advance. For weekday availability, you should email me to schedule at least a month and a half in advance. Fridays tend to be the most popular time slots and book up the quickest.

That said, DON’T WAIT to email me! It’s never to early to get on my schedule. Your photo reveal appointment will be approximately 2-3 weeks after your photo session, and your finished product (depending on what you order) will arrive between 3 and 6 weeks after that. 

What do your packages include? How much should I expect to spend?

The photo shoot experience starts at $699 +tax. That includes the photo shoot with April, professional makeup application, the retouching of your images, the in-person photo viewing for you to order photo products a la carte.

It also includes an 6×6 10 image black bedside album, and those 10 selected images as web resolution digital files on a crystal USB for personal or social media use. At your photo reveal appointment, you will receive 10% off of any additional items such as an upgraded album, additional album images, wall art, photo prints, and/or digital files. After all is said and done, clients tend to spend about $2999 (on average) for their session and the photo products they desire. Clients are almost always SHOCKED by how many photos they cannot live without from their session. They think they are going to be the one client that just doesn’t get good photos…and they’re always proved wrong (but with a smile!). Yep, we’re *THAT* good here! 

Our packages are thoughtfully built based on our clients most frequent purchases as well as the high demand and limited availability. We do have an incredible selection of additional products that you may upgrade to or purchase separately at your photo reveal appointment.  

When and how will I select my favorite images from my shoot?

Adore You Boudoir Studio is proud to offer in-person (or remote for out-of-state clients) photo reveal and ordering appointments a few weeks after your photo session. We do this for a host of reasons::: First, for your convenience.  We’ve gotten REALLY good at our little system for helping clients decide between images, showing similar images side by side for easy selection, and assisting clients with getting great variety for albums and the perfect wall art pieces. Because we do show a LOT of killer images, it can be overwhelming to navigate on your own and we don’t want our customer service to stop at the photo shoot.  The in-person photo reveal is much appreciated by our clients and is my favorite part of the whole process!

Second, for security. While doing some sort of online proofing gallery is industry standard for lots of different types of photography, beauty and boudoir can be more sensitive in nature. We don’t want to store your images anywhere online, leaving them vulnerable to being hacked and exploited by anyone but you. We take your privacy seriously, so the in-person photo reveal takes care of this!

Many of our clients travel in from outside of Cedar Falls for their sessions, and it just wouldn’t be practical for them to come back in for their photo reveal appointment a few weeks later. We have a little work-around for this and can do a live photo reveal via Google Hangout screenshare. It’s a bit less theatrical than our in-person viewings, but it is a great back-up option for those who cannot return without having to store any of your images online.

What is the difference between beauty *and* boudoir photography?

Boudoir portrait photography is our primary specialization at Adore You Boudoir. This involves a certain level of undress (either lingerie, loungewear, other intimate apparel, or nothing at all. These images tend to be a little more raw, real, candid, unposed LOOKING (although we do pose you throughout the whole shoot). These are meant to embrace a woman’s sexuality, independence, femininity, and badass-ness. Because of the posing and wardrobe, these images tend to be more intimate in nature. We do retouch all boudoir images for our clients with standard retouching. The finished product is typically a variety of about 60-70 images with a natural retouch (no special effects other than black and white on some images) that include “detail” shots such as legs, tush, breasts, back and shoulders, lips, as well as full body scapes and imagery that includes the face.

Where will my photo session take place? Do you have a studio?

ADORE YOU BOUDOIR has a beautiful studio at 2609 Rainbow Drive in Cedar Falls, Iowa! One is set up specifically for portraits with backdrops and studio lighting, and the other is designed for boudoir and candid lifestyle photography.

Adore You Boudoir also occasionally announces destination time slots around her extensive travels. Those time slots will be announced to anyone on the e-mail notification list  and typically on the Adore You Boudoir Instagram page HERE.

I’m really not comfortable with being photographed nearly nude, but I really want you to photograph me. Is that a possibility?

YES YES YES! My specialty is photographing WOMEN–that’s in ANY level of dress or undress.  Women who shy away from being photographed nude, in lingerie, etc, might be more comfortable doing an studio portrait session with an off-shoulder blouse and jeans…that’s totally fine! This would fall under the beauty portraiture style that you can also see examples of on this site.

The images on your website are very tasteful and pretty, but what if I wanted to get a little more…um…risque?

Get it, girl!  On the scale from 1-10 on the “erotic” meter, my style is more of a 3.2. What you see on my website and on my social media feeds is a very accurate representation of what I offer in the “saucy” department. I will shoot an array of clothed, partially clothed, tasteful nudes, exposed breasts and bums but no pelvic area will be visible in any of my work and that is a firm policy. While I can certainly appreciate more erotic art, it just isn’t what I offer. So if you love what you see on the website, I’m your gal.

What should I wear?

This is probably the most popular question I get….and the answer is simple…whatever you feel beautiful in. My signature style is the “effortless cool girl” look, which, lucky for you, involves things you likely already have in your closet.  A bodysuit, an oversized sweater, cropped sweatshirt and high waist panties, a robe, sleep shirt…you get the idea.  Some clients opt for lingerie. And many clients choose to do a nude set during their session.  In a 1.5 hour photo session, you will typically have time for up to 3 “looks” or outfits (yes, “nude” counts as an outfit)! Don’t stress to much about wardrobe. I could (and have!) spend an entire hour shooting a client with no other wardrobe than the bed sheets and completely rock it out. Once you’ve completed the booking process with me, you’ll also receive a detailed session guide that’ll help you with preparations and wardrobe considerations!

Can I have someone with me at my session?

Sometimes your best friend is exactly what you need to calm your nerves and give you the reassurance you need to get started with your session! I don’t mind at all if there is one friend with you! I DO ask that the friend not interfere with the shoot (running in to “touch you up” in between every shot, directing your posing, etc) as I will handle anything along those lines that needs done.  I do not allow any more than 1 friend in the room with you. Also, it is a requirement of mine that boyfriends/husbands/spouses NOT be in the room while we are shooting. That’s a firm policy.  Want to do one better than having a friend there for moral support??? Why don’t you book your shoots back to back so you can both enjoy the experience together?!  Availability, pending, of course.

On which days of the week can I have my photo session?

We accept shoots 4 days a week, Tuesday through Friday.

What should I do to prepare?

The beauty of being an Adore You Boudoir client is, all of these questions are answered in COMPLETE detail for you in the Adore You Boudoir Prep Guide which is emailed to you shortly after booking your session. This will cover exactly how you should prepare your face, body, and mind for your photo shoot, as well as a complete list of resources for beauty appointments and wardrobe for your photo shoot! No question will remain unanswered.  I pride myself on offering a photo shoot EXPERIENCE to my clients…so expect a very informed process that involves a lot more instruction than just showing up to shoot and being done with it.

How much can you “edit out”?

This is a touchy subject, but I stick to my gut (no pun intended) on this one. While we make the skin look it’s best, we keep the “Photoshop” action minimal.  I rely on my strategic poses and angles to play down “problem” areas that concern you.  We WILL edit out minor blemishes/skin flaws as well as simple things like under-eye circles and small scars (IF you request the scar-removal). My main rule of thumb is, if it’s permanent, it stays.

Many women ask about the retouching of stretch marks. While we firmly believe that your stretch marks are a part of your story and therefore are beautiful, we do also understand many women’s aversion to their own. Our standard skin smoothing process will fade the appearance of stretch marks, but please be sure to request more or less at your photo shoot appointment if you have a different preference. My post-processing techniques are more focused on contrast, skin smoothing, sharpening, etc, rather than body morphing.

I am a school teacher/pastor’s wife/high profile actress/the first lady(HEY Melania!) and if these photos were leaked it would destroy my reputation…is this secret safe with you???

First of all, I doubt that anyone seeing your Adore You Boudoir photos would result in anything other than “DANG GIRL, YOU LOOK AMAZING!”. My shoot style, if you haven’t noticed, is VERY classic, beautiful, and more about the empowerment of woman than oversexed or something to be embarrassed about. HOWEVER, I can TOTALLY understand if you don’t want your images shared with the public! You can rest absolutely assured that your images will never be shared without your permission. As soon as your session is complete, we retouch your images in-house. We do NOT send your images off to an outsourced editing company leaving them vulnerable to being stolen. THEN, you will see them directly during your in-person photo viewing!! If you are coming in from out of town to shoot with me and an in-person viewing is not possible, we will make other accommodations for you for a long distance viewing that is still secure. 

First of all, I doubt that anyone seeing your Adore You Boudoir photos would result in anything other than “DANG GIRL, YOU LOOK AMAZING!”. My shoot style, if you haven’t noticed, is VERY classic, beautiful, and more about the empowerment of woman than oversexed or something to be embarrassed about. HOWEVER, I can TOTALLY understand if you don’t want your images shared with the public! You can rest absolutely assured that your images will never be shared without your permission. As soon as your session is complete, we retouch your images in-house. We do NOT send your images off to an outsourced editing company leaving them vulnerable to being stolen. THEN, you will see them directly during your in-person photo viewing!! If you are coming in from out of town to shoot with me and an in-person viewing is not possible, we will make other accommodations for you for a long distance viewing that is still secure. 

I am always happy to sign NDA’s should you need one from me because of your profession or public visibility. 

Do you photograph men?

Yes! I absolutely do! I believe everyone – both men and women – can benefit from a empowering photo shoot like this!

Do you still shoot weddings, families, etc??

That would be like going to the best seafood joint in town and ordering the chicken. It’s probably still really good….but not mind-blowing like the lobster would be. 😉  In case you didn’t get my food-related analogy (get used to it)…no. I no longer accept bookings for things outside of my specialty.

Will you use my images on your website/blog/portfolio?

I, of course, would LOVE to use images from our session together to show other women your amazing photos!  HOWEVER, I also completely understand if you might be uncomfortable sharing them. That said, I will not share unless you grant permission. The bottom line is: I will honor whatever level of privacy you would like. Many clients are so proud of their images that they give me full discretion to choose images for my portfolio, some clients prefer that only their faceless images be put in my gallery, some clients prefer to choose the images that are posted, and other clients are comfortable with anything being posted, as long as it’s after a certain date (after they gift the images).  Just let me know where you stand on the topic and I will honor your wishes!


Have a question I forgot to answer? Ask away! I can’t wait to hear from you!