Glam photoshoots are a large part of the sex worker experience. To ply our wares we need to advertise and to advertise we need intriguing and evocative bio’s and photos.
Some workers put such time into photoshoots, coming up with ideas and concepts that can rival a Vogue shoot. It’s inspiring seeing the art they create, the outfits, venues.
A lot of unpaid labor and time goes into photoshoots. It takes a lot of time to find the perfect venue that fits the dream you have in your head, and also is safe to use. For instance you don’t want to use your own home as it’s too personal and self identifying, official photography spaces may not be sex work friendly.
Then there’s the time to find and pick outfits, the perfect fitting lingerie set. Or maybe you want to do a casual or business secretary style outfit. To invite clients to think about taking you to dinner, flirting across the table. Or a leather and latex look with whips and chains to excite the senses.
For me as someone who offers BDSM and sexual services, I have a few considerations. I don’t want my photos to be too “GFE” (girlfriend experience) but nor do I want them to be too severe and strict seeming. That isn’t the kind of Domme I am.
I want to show my personality and what a session with me is like. Welcoming, warm, safe, sexy, naughty.
But I also want to appeal to the male gaze, so lots of tits and booty! (:
It can brain wracking coming up with themes for shoots.
Then there’s the actual shoot!
It takes hours of bending and posing, checking the back of the camera, trying to take the perfect shot. Usually standing in heels and frilly pieces of lace. I always look to the photographer for posing direction, it’s not my forte and they know what’s best.
And there’s the time to get glam, hair and makeup. Changing into a bunch of outfits one after the other.
It can be very tiring but the final experience of amazing photos is always worth it.
There certainly have been times I’ve come up with shoot ideas I love, but they weren’t exactly suited to my brand or ad sites. And that’s fine, I’ll look back on them when I’m old and grey with love and affection for how amazing I looked!
The nitty gritty:
Photoshoots usually cost upwards of $2-3k.
Photographers fees can be $400 - $2,000. Plus extra edited photos, travel costs for them.
Locations anywhere between $200 - $1,000 mattering on the fancy vibe you want. If you are renting hotels or apartments you usually need to rent for two days to be able to shoot early in the morning and get that good morning dawn light.
Glam costs upwards of $500.
Lingerie and outfits: $300 - $1,500.
Many of us will do minimum one shoot a year, many do more than that, to keep photos recent and enticing.
And then once done and dusted on the day, you relax back and now have to pick a few edits from a thousand or more raw photos, picking the smallest errors apart to find the absolute perfect shots.
And then we post them on socials, ad directories, and our websites or content sites and hope clients appreciate and love them! Bringing the correct lovely clients our way.
What a journey!
Follow along to see my new photos launching soon!
