5 Reasons To Do An Erotica Session
by Teresa Conner
When people first hear about our studio offering Intimate Photography or even someone they know having an erotica session of their own, a very natural question to ask is, “Why would you want to do an erotica session?”. It is also a natural first assumption to think that erotica is simply a sex thing. Just like boudoir, it may seem that the breathtaking final images are the entire story, but there is most definitely more to the story. . . We are seeing time and time again that for our erotica clients, their session is merely a stop along the way in a brave, often unmapped, journey to build or rebuild themselves into strong, beautiful beings that can experience pleasure on their own terms without shame.
There is no hierarchy to the reasons someone gets interested in, and ultimately chooses to have their own erotica session. The truth is everyone’s story is more nuanced than just one specific thought that brings them to Boudoir Studios New York. When you do take that first brave step to reach out to us, we will schedule a Discovery Call to get to know more about your why, give you all the details about the process, and answer any questions you may have. Wherever you are in your exploration of erotica, our team is ready to come alongside you as you decide if erotica is the right choice and if now is the right time for you.
So let’s answer the question: Why would someone do an Erotica session?
Reason # 1: To Celebrate Life’s Milestones!
Whatever this means to you, we’re here for it! Erotica wants to meet you in the honeymoon phase of every relationship, for all your birthdays, every time you find a community where you finally are safe with chosen family, after that breakup when you’re buying yourself flowers, whenever you’re feeling extra sexy, and whenever you’re in a place where you would like to be feeling extra sexy.
Reason # 2: Bringing Spice Back To A Long Term Relationship
Erotica is the ultimate rut buster. There can be a sense of feeling trapped that many of us have been prey to at some point - we go about our daily responsibilities and routines with an expected amount of affection, communication, and physical touch. We make our homes, families, careers, and calendars run while everyone continues to be clean, clothed, and fed. You and your Love are holding it all together, but has it been too long since you’ve been able to shake off the teammate/ co-captain/parent/homeowners costumes and take time to just be passionate lovers with nothing on your agenda but to feel and be felt? Your session is exactly that moment PLUS beautiful photos as forever reminders that you can keep returning to every time you need a spicy pick me up to get you through until your next date night.
Reason # 3: For A Gift
There is no gift more thoughtful and less disappointing than a set of erotica images. Whether your partner is overseas or in the next room…. If you’ve already given them a boudoir album and wanted raise the stakes or you have never done anything remotely close to this and you’re going to knock their socks off…. Maybe it’s not for a partner… perhaps you’re planning to post these images as a gift to the world… Have you worked hard to to be where you are and deserve this gift yourself? We know you do. An erotica session as a gift is a great reason, and we’d be honored to help you with it.
Reason # 4: To Accentuate Or Take a First Step To a BDSM or Kink Lifestyle
The client who is already practicing BDSM or Kink could want an erotica session as a beautiful way to document their skills or interests. At BSNY, we welcome your wardrobes, ropes, props, toys, scenes, and partners. How wonderful to have albums showing how you’ve evolved over the years as you keep coming back!
For other clients who mostly identify as vanilla, but think an erotica session would be a “safe” or “tame” way to introduce intimacy outside your home or other people seeing you be intimate, you may find that those desires get met differently than you initially expected. An erotica session at BSNY is a deeply intimate experience between you and your partner (or just you, solo erotica always counts, too!). The entire process is curated to ensure it doesn’t feel like the photographers are watching you. As a matter of fact, we’ve done our jobs well when you’ve forgotten all about us. The same goes for the space. We have brought you into the studio before your shoot date on purpose. You’ve been here a while. You’ve taken your shoes off. Heck, you’ve taken your pants off! It’s home now. The session itself is not going to be the exhibition/voyeurism adventure that perhaps it seemed initially; however having those images with the option to keep them private or share them if you’d like is the quite exciting first step into the lifestyle that often accompanies a client like this. We commend the bravery to step outside your comfort zone and learn about something new, no matter what it is.
Reason # 5: To Reclaim Autonomy
One common and most powerful reasons we hear for wanting to do an erotica session is to make a tangible statement that, “I decide who I am, how I feel pleasure, and with who.” There are many reasons someone may have experienced a loss of autonomy and would include an erotica session in their healing. Whether it is birth or medical trauma, surviving crime or abuse, breaking away from a culture/belief system/upbringing that brought secrecy or shame to bodies or sexuality, transitioning or coming out as LGBTQIA+, or any other wounding that took or left you questioning your independence, competency, and authenticity.
With this in mind, the entire team at BSNY has taken care to become trauma informed, ensuring our entire experience is SAFE, POSITIVE, and HEALING for every single one of our clients. Every erotica session is planned in detail starting with that first discovery call, then in an in studio planning appointment where boundaries and consent are explicitly discussed and are always at the discretion of the client. We are here to collaborate with you, and by the time we start taking photos we will have built trust and everyone will be comfortable with the plan. This is your session. Further, all Erotica sessions are simultaneously photographed by two (our male and female) photographers, meaning you will not be one on one with our staff while undressed or posing. There will not be any other appointments or shoots happening while you are in our studio.
Whether you are discovering for the first time or, redefining after a life change (self, safety, sex, trust, roles, relationships, fun, freedom, family, or love), Boudoir Studios New York has purposely created our space to be a nonjudgmental, safe place to welcome you in, hear your story, and deliver final images that honor you and your reason for doing an erotica session.