Category Archives: Studio Business

What to expect when you book a photo shoot

If you haven’t, yet, experienced a beauty shoot in my studio or if you’ve never done a shoot as glamorous as this before, you might be wondering how the process works. I’d love to share with you what to expect when you book a photo shoot with Photography by Rayleigh near Portland, OR.

First, I invite you to watch my video below (created by Ambient Sky) because it’s a really great way to get a feel for what the experience is like. Then we can go over the steps of the entire process.

Now let’s go over the details of the process from the time you book, to the time you hold your luxurious album or folio box in your hands.

BEFORE THE PHOTO SHOOT

Ultimate Guide to Preparing for your Photo Shoot

If you haven’t received my prep guide, you can click here to get that sent to you. It’s loaded with info to help you…

  • Prepare for your session
  • Know what to expect when you book a shoot
  • Learn how to feel relaxed during your shoot 
  • Put your outfits together
  • Know what NOT to do!

Session Consultation

In addition to the detailed prep guide, we can also have a phone, video, or in-person consultation to go over details and specifics for YOUR photo shoot and to go over any questions or concerns you might have. The more prepared you are, the less nervous you’ll feel.

YOUR SESSION DAY

Come as you are

All of my sessions include professional hair and makeup by my talented hair and makeup artists. This is done in my studio in Tualatin (near Portland, OR). All you have to do is show up with a clean face and hair. Then relax, sip on some wine, if you’d like, and listen to music while we all chat and have a great time. If you have ideas for how you want your hair or makeup, you are welcome to bring pictures to show her. Otherwise, you can just sit back and let her do her magic. Hair and makeup typically takes about 60-90 minutes. Although pin-up styles can take longer.

What to expect when you book a photo shoot. This is a behind the scenes photo of my makeup artist and my client. My client is sitting in the makeup chair, having her eye makeup done. The background is my pink wall. This is the studio of Photography by Rayleigh. For more info, please visit byrayleigh.com.

Your photo shoot

Don’t worry about knowing how to pose or how to look good in front of the camera. That’s my job! My strength is perfect posing to help every woman look their best. Accentuating the curves you love and downplaying the curves you don’t love. Just relax and trust me!

How many outfits?

I don’t have a specific limit to the number of outfits you can wear during your shoot, but we typically shoot for about an hour and in that time we can fit in about 3-5 outfits. I recommend bringing a variety of outfit styles (casual, dressy, formal, etc).

What to expect when you book a photo shoot. This is a before and after portrait. This girl is in a sitting pose, wearing a casual sweatshirt and legging against a white background. She is smiling with her hand in her hair. Photo by Photography by Rayleigh. For more info, please visit byrayleigh.com.

CONFIDENT NEW YOU

the ordering session

The ordering session is where you get to view all of your gorgeous photos and choose your favorites. You’ll be shocked at how much you can LOVE a photo of yourself! I am sometimes available to do this immediately after your shoot! But if there isn’t time in the schedule for that, we can do the in-person ordering session within a few days of the shoot.

Images can be purchased individually, however, the best value is in my packages that include gorgeous presentation products that are truly the top of the line in the industry. I offer high quality wooden folio boxes and luxurious Queensberry albums. All images purchased come with the digital copy of the image, which gets sent to you shortly after your ordering session. The printed products take a few days to a few weeks to receive, depending on the product you choose.

What to expect when you book a photo shoot. this is a photo of the album I offer my clients after their photo shoot. The image in the album was taken by Photography by Rayleigh and is a picture of sisters wearing white t shirts and jeans in a sitting pose. For more info, visit byrayleigh.com

Wall art is another way to display your stunning images. I’ll be your personal designer, helping you to design a beautiful display of images for you walls.

What to expect when you book a photo shoot. The image in the frame was taken by Photography by Rayleigh and is a picture of an Indian woman in a pink formal dress sitting on the back of a white couch. The rest of the bedroom photo is a stock photo I purchased and have permission to use. For more info, visit byrayleigh.com

Now that you’ve learned what to expect when you book a photo shoot, I hope you can see that a photo shoot with me is more than having your photos taken. It’s an amazing experience that can help you change the way you see yourself. Do you have questions? I invite you to check out my blog that goes over some common concerns that my clients have before their shoot. Also, I’m happy to answer any questions that you have. Let’s chat about your shoot near Portland, OR!

Housewarming Party Promotion

Exciting news and special promotion now through October 2018.

Housewarming Party Promotion. This is a photo of the studio of Photography by Rayleigh. for more info, visit byrayleigh.com

Hey ladies! I have exciting news to share with you. Photography by Rayleigh has moved to Tualatin!  I’ve been working hard to get the space looking gorgeous for all of you.  The space has a new coat of paint (or three) by Radiant Services NW.  A beautiful new floor by Koeber’s Interiors.  And an amazing floral arrangement by Vanessa’s Flowers. To celebrate, I’m having a Housewarming Party Promotion!

Housewarming Party Promotion. This is a photo of the studio of Photography by Rayleigh. for more info, visit byrayleigh.com

I have two huge windows for gorgeous light.  And black out curtains for more artistic lighting set ups.

Housewarming Party Promotion. This is a photo of the studio of Photography by Rayleigh. for more info, visit byrayleigh.com

I LOVED my pink striped wall in my previous studio space so I had that done in the new space, too. This photo shows the hair and makeup station and the photo reveal station.

Housewarming Party Promotion. This is a photo of the restroom part of the studio of Photography by Rayleigh. for more info, visit byrayleigh.com

I may as well show you the bathroom, too, because it’s just cute. haha! I’m a big fan of gold polka dots. I’m a little obsessed, if I’m being honest.

This is what the space looked like before we moved in. It was nice but I needed to brighten it up with white paint and put in the wood floor because wood floors are just sexier than carpet.

I’d love to show off my new studio in person, so I’m offering a special promotion that you’ll want to hear about. It’s super rare that I offer discounts because although my sessions are definitely a financial investment, my past clients will tell you that the experience is totally worth it!

I’m excited to have all of you ladies in to see the new space so I wanted to offer something special. Let’s think of it like a housewarming party. Except it’s one on one.  And you are totally encouraged to party in your underwear. Now, that’s a good party! Here is the special deal I’m offering…

Housewarming Party Promotion

I’m offering $241 off my mini session which is a 30 minute beauty or boudoir session and includes your choice of 8 digital images on a thumb drive for $499. Professional hair and makeup services are optional but highly encouraged. They are an additional $150.

The shoot doesn’t have to be a boudoir shoot. If you want a beauty shoot (fully clothed) or professional head shots, I’d love to do those, too. The offer expires at the end of the month, which means that you have to contact me to book your shoot and pay your deposit this week. Your shoot can be for any future date. How does that sound?

If you have questions or if you are ready to book your shoot, just shoot me an email at info@byRayleigh.com. I can’t wait to book your shoot!

Should A Christian Woman Do A Boudoir Shoot? | Boudoir Photography Portland Oregon

I am a Christian, completely devoted to my Savior, Jesus, and I am also a beauty and boudoir photographer. Every once in a while I’m asked about how I can be both. As the boudoir photography industry becomes more popular, a lot of Christians are asking, “Should a Christian woman do a boudoir shoot?” I wanted to share with you some of my thoughts on this.

Should a Christian woman do a boudoir shoot? This modestly sexy black and white boudoir photo shows a woman in a tight, lace, black dress and black heels on the edge of a messy bed. The photo was taken by Photography by Rayleigh. For more info, visit byrayleigh.com

What is a boudoir shoot?

Boudoir is pronounced Bu-dwah or Bu-dwar. It is technically defined as, “a woman’s bedroom or private room for dressing or resting.” So in the photography world, that involves a portrait shoot that a woman does privately for her man, usually in lingerie.  Oftentimes, the motivation for a shoot is to create a gift for your husband, however, you’ll find that a portrait shoot with Photography by Rayleigh is a very pampering experience. It creates a space for you to feel feminine, lovely, and even sexy. Women spend far too much time comparing themselves to other women they see in magazines or on TV. Often feeling “blah” about themselves. Especially tired mommies who feel more like a mom than a woman, most times. Do you relate to any of this?

Men are visual.

God created men to be highly visual. They can’t help it, it’s the way they were built. They are bombarded with images of sexy woman all the time and no matter how much they try to look away and avoid lusting after the women in those images, it’s inevitable that some of those images are going to get in, and stay there, and even pop up from time to time. How great would it be if his memory was chalked full of lovely images of his wife and the majority of the images popping up in his mind were images he could cherish and feel good about?

Should a Christian woman do a boudoir shoot? This modestly sexy boudoir photo shows a woman in a tight, lace, black dress and black heels lying on her tummy on a messy bed with her feet up. The photo was taken by Photography by Rayleigh. For more info, visit byrayleigh.com

A full marriage.

When your man chose you to be his wife, he, hopefully, chose you based on your Christ-like qualities like patience, kindness, humility, faithfulness, honor, trust, truth, and hope. Those are the basis of the truest love, as we see in 1 Corinthians 13. As a bonus, God wants us to also enjoy our spouse’s body and to enjoy physical intimacy. 1 Corinthians 7:3 In a healthy, Christian marriage, a woman should feel sexy, desired, and appreciated for all aspects of herself, including her body. Even with it’s imperfections. When a woman doesn’t feel good about the way she looks, she doesn’t bring to the marriage that needed energy that can really help fuel physical intimacy. A glamourous photoshoot can give a woman that much needed confidence. It’s really amazing what a little sexy confidence can do for a marriage.

Should a Christian woman do a boudoir shoot?

As you can tell by now, I’m a fan of boudoir shoots. Many of my Christian friends have enjoyed giving sexy photos to their husbands. However, it’s also true that I do have a small number of Christian friends who believe that wearing lingerie in front of someone who isn’t your husband, including a photographer is something to avoid. I love and respect those people and their thoughts on this. So I think this is just something for each woman to pray about and see what God is telling them about how to answer this question.

Maybe a beauty shoot is more up your ally. If you don’t feel comfortable wearing lingerie for photos, I 100% get that. You absolutely don’t have to wear lingerie in your portraits to feel feminine and lovely. A beautiful dress can be just as empowering, while being modest. I invite you to check out my beauty gallery to see more photos like this. In fact, I’m falling more in love with beauty shoots and have recently expanded my focus to include all kinds of beauty sessions instead of focusing solely on boudoir photography in my business.

Should a Christian woman do a boudoir shoot? This modestly sexy boudoir photo shows an Asian woman in a peach coral dress and bare feet up on the head of the bed. The photo was taken by Photography by Rayleigh. For more info, visit byrayleigh.com

The who, what, and when of it all.

Boudoir or beauty photos are an amazing gift to give to a Groom on the wedding night. Valentine’s Day, birthdays, and wedding anniversaries are other occasions when glamorous portraits would be a very special gift.

There are a lot of amazing photographers to choose from for your shoot and you should find the one that is the best fit for you. As a Christian, I encourage you to hire a female photographer if you are wanting sexy portraits.

My boudoir style is very conservative, as far as this genre of photography goes, so if you are more on the shy side or you just want to keep things tame, I’m the photographer for you! My boudoir images are sensual but beautiful and tasteful and not over-the-top sexual.

Will my photos end up on your website?

Although, I used to share boudoir photos on my website, with permission from my clients who felt comfortable with that, I’ve recently felt more inclined to keep my client’s more intimate photos private. So now, when talking about boudoir photos, I try to share photos that have a sexiness to them but are still modest. Like what you see in this post. I have a private link to more photos, for those who are interested in doing a boudoir shoot. Of course, I only share photos with permission from my clients who feel comfortable with it.

Should a Christian woman do a boudoir shoot? This tightly cropped black and white modest boudoir photo of an Asian girl accentuates the lips. This photo was created by Photography by Rayleigh. For more info, please visit byrayleigh.com.

Conclusion

So, should a Christian woman do a boudoir shoot? Please pray about this and determine what kind of shoot might be right for you. Whether you feel that a boudoir shoot would enrich your marriage or if a beauty shoot is what would give you the confidence boost you need, I’m here to help. If you’d like to learn more about what a shoot experience is like and what to expect in my studio, please check out my video about that.

If you are ready to schedule your beauty or boudoir shoot, or if you have any questions, please contact me! I’d love to talk about it more with you.