Boudoir photography

The term "boudoir" comes from the French language verb bouder meaning "to sulk" and was primarily attributed to women's dressing rooms or sitting rooms and private salons. Nude or sexualized female forms have been a theme of photography since as early as 1840.{{cite book|last=Warren|first=Lynne|title=Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Photography, 3-Volume Set|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cFVsBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA448|accessdate=31 December 2015|date=2005-11-15|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135205430|page=448}} Early erotic photography, such as French postcards from the late 19th and early 20th century, pin-up girls, and Hollywood culture have influenced the visual style of boudoir photography.{{cite web|url=http://wgno.com/2014/07/18/a-peek-inside-boudoir-photography/|title=A Peek Inside Boudoir Photography|last=Sinkovits|first=Tanya|date=July 18, 2014|publisher=WGNO|accessdate=31 December 2015}} Notable early artists of the form include Albert Arthur Allen, who photographed larger women against ornate backgrounds.

Boudoir's first use was in early 20th century France with upper class women being captured in their private salons.  Artistic movements during this time contributed widely to the sensual depictions of women in both public and private spaces. The Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements broke away from previous art movements by emphasizing glamour and natural form, in which boudoir fit in well showcasing feminine beauty. Photography became a more popular medium during this time, allowing boudoir to gain notoriety. Pieces focuses on romantic settings with alluring and intimate backgrounds. These themes follow the stylistic traits of boudoir throughout the 20th and 21st century. Notable photographers during this period are Jacques-Henri Lartigue and Jean Agélou, both of whom focused on erotic subject matter. In early 20th century boudoir was influenced by the Art Deco movement, feminist trends that saw the rise in female artists and subject matters beyond male depictions. The style still remained centered on upper class women and themes of elegance and glamour. Photographers of note during the early 20th century include Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, and Gertrude Käsebier. These photographers were from the pictorialism movement which moved away from the more scientific use of photography to an artistic expression.{{Cite web |title=Pictorialism Movement Overview |url=https://www.theartstory.org/movement/pictorialism/ |access-date=2023-11-26 |website=The Art Story}} Pictorialism influenced boudoir style by expanding the use of photography for pleasure, so subject matters could be an expression of one's sensuality. During this time as women were able to explore roles beyond the home female artists like Imogen Cunningham and Dora Maar were able to use common stylistic themes of boudoir to add a feminine take on photography of the era.

After the dissolution of the Prohibition Era in 1933 and the beginning of World War II, the US Government began using propaganda to encourage young men to fight for their country. With the knowledge that “sex sells”, the military began using pin-up girls on their recruiting posters with slogans like “She’s worth fighting for” or “Come home to your girl a hero”. This made the pin-up girl one of the most recognizable forms of boudoir and paved the way for modern boudoir by normalizing the female form in advertising.{{Cite web|url=https://www.celebrateyoursexy.com/2017/03/13/history-boudoir-1920s-1940s/|title=The history of boudoir: 1920'S – 1940'S|last=Celebrate Your Sexy Boudoir Photography|date=March 13, 2017|website=Celebrate Your Sexy}} The style of pin up differs from classical boudoir as pin up was used for commercial purposes in advertisements and marketing during the roaring 20's and especially during way eras of WWI and WWII. The golden age of pin up from the 1930s to 1950s with famous magazines such as Esquire and Life playing major roles in the widespread use of pin up photos. Prominent photographer Alberto Vargas led the campaign in his work with Esquire focuses on "Varga Girls" {{Cite journal |last=Elena Buszek |first=Maria |date=March 1998 |title=War Goddess: The Varga Girls, WWII and Feminism |url=https://www.ktpress.co.uk/pdf/nparadoxaissue6_Maria-Elena-Buszek_89-100.pdf |journal=N.paradoxa |issue=6 |pages=89–100}} These images would remain a staple of the key stylistic components of pin and boudoir photography throughout the 20th century. Soldiers would keep mementos of pin up photos in their personal supplies to keep up moral. In addition, it became a common form of nose art on military planes for pin up images to be painted on as a way of identifying groups, and maintaining individuality.{{Cite web |last=Strobel |first=Brittany |date=July 28, 2021 |title=Origins and Evolutions of Aviation Nose Art |url=https://wisvetsmuseum.com/origins-and-evolutions-of-aviation-nose-art/#:~:text=During%20World%20War%20II%2C%20nose,scenes%20of%20victory%2C%20and%20landscapes. |access-date=November 26, 2023 |website=Wisconsin Veterans Museum}}

Known for her “million dollar legs”, actress Betty Grable was the icon of pin-up girls in the 1930s and '40s. One of her most famous portraits was distributed to over five million troops during WWII. Not only was she known as one of the first women to take out insurance on a body part, she was also known for being one of the highest paid female actors in Hollywood during her time. Other examples of boudoir from that era include images of Clara Bow, Mae West and Jean Harlow.

Boudoir photography was popularized in the millennium{{clarify|date=January 2019}} with the arrival of digital photography.{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/businessclub/8216254/Tough-lessons-for-entrepreneurs-in-2010.html|title=Miss|last=Alexandra|first=Vince|website=The Telegraph Newspaper}} It became popular with women seeking to create a private collection of professional studio portraits. This is a deviation from 20th century uses which had a more commercial presence in magazines and advertisements.West, Michael, "The Birth of the Pin-Up Girl: An American Social Phenomenon, 1940-1946:, University of Iowa, 2020, https://iro.uiowa.edu/esploro/outputs/doctoral/The-Birth-of-the-Pin-Up-Girl/9983949490902771 Boudoir photography dates from the mid-1980s onwards,{{cite news|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20089896,00.html|title=Now for Some Real Play Mates! Boudoir Photography Proves Wives and Girlfriends Can Be Sexy, Too|last=Calio|first=Jim|date=Feb 11, 1985|work=People|accessdate=31 December 2015}} and is characterized by the empowerment of its female subjects, who now are typically the photographer's direct clients{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marisa-leigh/where-did-boudoir-photography-come-from_b_4654991.html|title=Where Did Boudoir Photography Come From?|last=Leigh|first=Marisa|date=3 February 2014|work=The Huffington Post|accessdate=31 December 2015}} rather than being hired models. While traditionally associated with women, male boudoir photography is shattering conventions and stepping into the limelight. This intriguing branch of photography invites men to showcase their vulnerability, strength, and confidence in a visually stunning and emotionally charged manner.{{Cite web |title=Male Boudoir |url=https://boudoirphotographyguide.com/male-boudoir/ |access-date=2023-09-05 |website=Boudoir Photography Guide |language=en}} Private sessions typically are formatted with a photographer and one subject, with other parties present to aid in the comfort of the subject. Sessions can be in the studio of the photographer or any place the subject feels comfortable like their home. Common outfits worn during sessions can be lingerie, costumes, or completely nude depending on the client.

It is common for women to have boudoir photographs of themselves made as a gift to a partner, conventionally on the occasion of their engagement, marriage, pregnancy or before an enforced separation such as a military deployment.{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HCcEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22boudoir+photographs%22+deployment&pg=PA55|title=Centerfold|last=Surina|first=Echo|year=2009|work=Exquisite Weddings|accessdate=31 December 2015}} In the United Kingdom, it became popular for brides-to-be to commission photoshoots as a wedding gift for the groom.{{Cite web|url=https://startups.co.uk/young-guns/alexandra-burns/|title=Miss|last=Vince|first=Alexandra|date=March 25, 2011|website=Startups}} Boudoir photography is also sometimes given as a gift with the intention of re-affirming and encouraging the romance and sensuality between partners in a long-term relationship.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/sep/02/boudoir-photography-orthodox-jewish-women|title=In the boudoir with Orthodox Jewish women | work=The Guardian|last=Kanim|first=Debra|date=2 Sep 2015|accessdate=31 December 2015}}

Increasingly, boudoir photography is seen as something that a person might do purely for their own enjoyment, for the pleasure and affirmation of seeing themselves as attractive, daring, sensual, and sexually desirable.{{cite news|url=http://www.kentucky.com/living/health-and-medicine/article44037471.html|title=Boudoir photos help women reconnect with sexy side|last=Meehan|first=Mary|date=June 22, 2010|work=Lexington Herald-Leader|accessdate=31 December 2015}}{{cite news|url=http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/posed-lingerie-celebrate/story-25965365-detail/story.html|title=I posed in my lingerie to celebrate ME! How sexy Boudouir photo-shoots unlocked the inner confidence of three Devon mums|last=Barnes|first=W M N C|date=4 February 2015|work=Western Morning News|accessdate=31 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801041347/http://www.westernmorningnews.co.uk/posed-lingerie-celebrate/story-25965365-detail/story.html|archive-date=1 August 2015|url-status=dead}}

Boudoir photography encompasses a range of styles, moods and levels of undress. Levels of undress in boudoir photography include classic lingerie, implied, artistic and erotic.https://www.sinboudoir.com/erotic/levels-of-undress-in-boudoir-photography/

Visually the genre is characterized by diffuse high-key images{{cite book|last=Hewlett|first=Terry|title=Flash Photography: Art and Techniques|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7zOCBAAAQBAJ&pg=SA5-PA92|accessdate=31 December 2015|date=2014-07-31|publisher=Crowood Press, Limited|isbn=9781847977670|page=5}} that flatter the appearance of skin, short focal distances, and shallow depth of field,{{cite book|last=Lark|first=Jessica|title=Elegant Boudoir Photography: Lighting, Posing, and Design for Exquisite Images|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vb69BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA91|accessdate=31 December 2015|date=2014-05-13|publisher=Amherst Media|isbn=9781608957279|page=91}} which together impart an intimate, "dreamy" mood. Other common styles include a low-key, deliberately grainy black-and-white, reflecting the influence of art nudes, early erotic photography, and film noir. Also common are poses and lighting setups intended to replicate the mood and appearance of classic pin-up photographs and paintings.{{cite book|title=25 Amazing Boudoir Photography Techniques|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qymxcIKXCuIC&pg=PA44|publisher=Edward Verosky|page=44}}

The motives behind engaging in boudoir photography vary from person to person. Common motives include women intending to gift the session photos to her partner, documentation of a place in time for the subject, and the personal experience of boudoir.Wentland, Jocelyn; Muise, Amy (March 25, 2010). "Stepping Out from Behind the Lens: A Qualitative Analysis of Erotic Photographers". Sexuality and Culture (14): 97–125 – via Springer Link.  Modern uses of boudoir have been linked to increase self empowerment, comfort in one's sexuality, and more positive self image.Jantzen; Østergaard; Vieira (2006). "Becoming a 'Woman to the Backbone': Lingerie consumption and the experience of feminine identity". Journal of Consumer Culture (6): 177–202 – via Research Gate.

"The Queen of Boudoir" Author Alexandra Vince published 2023 ISBN 9781399971669  Studies on the mental effects of boudoir are structured around interviews with boudoir photographers and subjects. A key part of boudoir sessions is a consultation before the shoot where all parties can communicate comfort levels of clothing, settings, and poses. Subjects and photographers of boudoir have indicated that boundaries can, and commonly do, change during the shoot as comfort levels shift.

{{Commons}}

• Boudoir
• Erotic photography
• Pin-up girl

• {{Cite book |last=Vince |first=Alexandra |title=The Queen Of Boudoir |date=5 December 2023 |publisher=Kindle |isbn=9781399971669 |location=United Kingdom |publication-date= |pages=4–15 |language=}}

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Category:Erotic photography