DeBoudoir

I went in because of a promo, but it became much more than that! These women were not only inspired, talented, professional but also super nice, which is really important for such an experience where on may feel a bit vulnerable…
The photo shoot itself, the experience of being so beautiful was really impressive and I have Lisa, Becca and Andrea to thank for the whole thing…
I cannot thank you enough, this is a once in a lifetime!

My Fiancé purchased a Groupon deal and surprised me with some very beautiful pictures! Her experience was ONE of a kind in which she was provided both hair and makeup, champagne and was pampered to the fullest! The staff was extremely professional and treated my fiancé like a Queen (which she loved!) The experience was one to remember and the photos will last forever.
Andrea was especially helpful and VERY accommodating. I HIGHLY recommend to anyone looking for classy and professional photos that will last a lifetime, to look no further!
Thank you so much deBoudior and Andrea!

I did a Deboudoir photoshoot last week, and had my follow up appointment yesterday to see the photos.
I am BLOWN AWAY by how great they came out! The entire experience was wonderful!
I am generally pretty cheap with myself, and not one for frivolous spending.
I had purchased the Groupon to offset the sitting fee, and it included hair styling. I did my own makeup and brought my own outfits. The original plan was to buy one, maybe 2 and definitely MAX 3 photos.
The day of the shoot Kali styled my unruly, frizzy hair into big glamorous bouncing curls that got compliments all evening at the dinner I attended after. She also helped narrow down which outfits would look best for the camera. I was initially kind of tense in the shoot, but Andrea the photographer made me feel totally relaxed.
When I came back in to see the photos I was still sort of nervous that they would look goofy, or catch bad angles, or worse yet that they would have to photoshop me into oblivion to hide acne scars and cellulite– but not so.
Andrea A helped go though them with me, and I was practically giddy at how well they came out! She was super patient and sweet as I tried to narrow them down and couldn’t choose between the last… 20!!!
So I went for the payment plan and am happy I did– every woman deserves to feel as beautiful and sexy as these photos make you look! Totally worth it!

Amazing! I admit that I paid a fortune for the entire gallery +fine art but I had over 150 pics and I love love love at least half of them. Will make a few photo books. :)
I bought the livingsocial coupon without realizing how expensive the photos are. But I thought it would be a fun experience anyway and I don’t mind paying for them if they are really good.
Tips:
1)having them do your makeup and hairs pls! It makes a huge difference
2) bringing as many as lingeries, heels, jewelry as possible. they will mix and match for you and listen to them. They are pro. Check out their gallery for inspirations.
3) relax and have fun
In short totally worth it if you can afford it and I feel really good now.:)

Don’t waste your gas and stress to find parking! Every picture is 150 $ Groupon doesn’t show you that! I got a parking ticket & they wouldn’t help me with it. If they did I would have bought some pictures. Fun experience but waste of energy/​time/​money.

I had the wonderful experience of working with the ladies over at De Boudoir. Given the nature of the business, it would be easy to be uncomfortable or nervous. Their professionalism, relaxed and comforting environment, and general easy going mentality made the whole experience great. I was a little nervous before going, but I’m so glad I did it. Beyond just the comfort aspect of the whole experience, there’s the reason I went in the first place — the pictures! They were incredible. They came out so beautifully. I’m glad I went and you should too!

Andrea is an amazing photographer with an amazing eye for angles and lighting! She knows exactly how to make you look your best – worth every dollar! Like every woman, I have body image issues but Andrea put me at ease very quickly and we’d never met until the day of my shoot. Not only did she make me feel comfortable, but she made me feel stunning in my own skin and it truly shows in my photos. They’re classy and beautiful, and everyone who sees them agrees. One photo looked so perfect, like it was supposed to be in a magazine for a perfume or lingerie ad. I had a lot of fun during the session and my husband’s reaction to my photos was priceless! Truly remarkable experience — I’d do it again in a heartbeat!

I saw the deal on Groupon and said what the heck. I only live once and I look good for someone that gave birth 10 months ago. I was a little nervous and was not ready to do this but the staff here were all WONDERFUL! Kali did my make up it looked great! Here color choice compliments my outfits and wasn’t too dramatic. Andrea the photographer knew I was nervous and did a great job making me feel comfortable and I had fun posing for the camera.
Thank you Andrea A. for helping select my photos!
I loved my first time experience at DeBoudoir! I walked away from this feeling SEXY, ELEGANT, AND CONFIDENT ABOUT MYSELF AGAIN! The time and money spent was all worth it. THANK YOU GIRLS! I SHALL BE BACK!

So yes, I was also a LivingSocial deal buyer. Didn’t read all the print about pricing :(Started to regret it after the shoot. But the shoot was worth its price, so I expected the pictures to be worth their full price.
Let me begin by saying that I am a makeup artist, and I have worked on the other side of the camera for awhile. This has been a year of growth for me, so I decided to be the model this time. I did my own hair and makeup (well, curly hair really styles itself) And had 3 outfits ready. Like another Unilocaler said, I thought 3 would be ok. They really push 4 outfits. So I paid for a 4^th outfit. It actually became the saving grace of the shoot.
My photographer Andrea was amazing! She loved my hair and makeup — she sometimes stopped to show me what the pictures looked like on her camera. We had some difficulty in posing, but only because I was disappointed in the setting. I was really hoping to be on a bed with sexy sheets to cover parts of my body or have daytime window lighting. Instead, it was colorful backdrops and chairs which took away from the focus of my attire. The $ 159 photo fee was what I was willing to pay for at least 1, unless I could justify 7.
I was also surprised at how quickly you need to view your photos. I managed to get a viewing on my day off (yay!) with another Andrea. Luckily she saw my pictures before I did and let me know that I would be pleased. I sure was! 137 photos to choose from. The 4^th outfit was perfect for posing and lights in that location. She set me up with a payment plan, too. I got what I expected from that shoot and ended up with my 7 :)
Some are for me. Some are for my love — it will be his Christmas gift. Let’s just hope I can keep this a secret til then!

I came to this studio after purchasing their deal on LivingSocial. The entire experience was excellent! Yes, it’s pricy but it’s one of those things you do it once a decade if not once a lifetime!
Lisa did my make up and hair and it transformed how I looked. It was not too heavy but I definitely looked different. She was very friendly and gave attention to details. Becca was my photographer and wow, she was so fun to work with. The one hour photo shoot went super fast. I felt so comfortable with her that I went straight into doing fine arts photos.
I went back for the photos few days later and sat with Andrea. The finished photo was amazing! I didn’t recognize myself (in a good way) and was blown away with the photos. Andrea was very patient and helpful even though I was her last appointment of the day (I live in San Jose). She never pressured me into buying packages.
Thanks to DeBoudoir, I have a fantastic photo book to show for.
One side note that was more of a misunderstanding on my part: the studio does not allow any men. Period. That was very clear to me doing the photography as the nature of these session called for privacy. However, I didn’t think showcasing the photo would be in the same space, therefore, I could not bring my better half. I know, this should’ve been self-​evident, but for ladies out there, if you want to bring your men, be sure to talk with the staff ahead of time and make other arrangement. By the time, I realized this, it was too late to make alternative arrangement. But I’m sure if you talk with the friendly staff, it may be arranged.

I had so much fun at my first boudoir shoot here after purchasing a Living Social deal. Did my own makeup and had my hair done by Lisa (which was included in the voucher), who was super friendly and very cool. She gave me a glass of wine to sip while we chatted and she curled my hair. I was never pressured to purchase any additional items but opted to get a cute pair of ruffled shorts to wear with a corset I brought. I’m usually behind the camera and not in front of it so was a little nervous about how the photos would turn out, but the photographer told me exactly what to do and made me feel very comfortable. We got through 4 wardrobe changes in about an hour!
I returned a few days later to view about 100 edited photos from the shoot and they were so beautiful! Very classy and not trashy at all. I couldn’t be happier with my decision. I ended up purchasing 12 photos which came in at about $ 100 each. Pricey, yes, but who knows when I’ll have another opportunity like this?
A very empowering experience and I highly recommend that every woman who is on the fence take the plunge. You’ll feel glamorous and gorgeous.
A few pics from my shoot are posted on my tumblr:

hmm…
first of all, all the 4 – 5 star reviews are slightly misleading. Unilocal shows this place as a solid 4 star place. of the 21 reviews, 10 are from Unilocalers that have done under 11 reviews– tons of which only have 1 – 2 reviews. (sorta makes you wonder if the place is paying people to review this place. hmm…) anyways, if we factored these people out of the equation and calculate the stars for only established Unilocalers (who wrote more than 15 reviews), deboudoir has a rating of only 3.2. this adjusted 3.2 rating is more in line with my own experience.
here’s the deal: my roommate from college gave me this groupon as a gag gift for my birthday. i say «gag» gift mainly because in my opinion, i didn’t think there’s actually an industry dedicated to people who purposely want to do glamourshots in their undies. i certainly wasn’t going to get this for myself. but since i didn’t want to waste my friend’s gift, i went in.
my groupon deal included the sitting fee and someone to do my hair. however, 1) makeup isn’t included. if you suck at doing your own makeup, you have to fork over an additional $ 75. you got to be in full makeup before you get into the studio. 2) if you don’t own sex/​naughty underwear, the deal i had also gives you $ 50 off a corset. but… keep in mind the corsets start at $ 120. 3) also, apparently the sitting fee is worth $ 399. yes… $ 399 just for posing for the photographer. so it makes the groupon look like an «amazing» deal 4) oh and TIPS aren’t included either. they will happily take your credit card if you don’t have cash on you though.
the cloudy entrance door to deboudoir is very nondescript. i think i passed this place numerous times and didn’t even noticed it was there. the hair artist was friendly but the photographer was slightly pushy. but overall, it was a good photoshoot. i was actually excited to see my pictures.
here is where they get 2 stars knocked off– you have to pay $ 160/​digital copy of the picture. $ 160! ONE HUNDRED SIXTY DOLLARS. they don’t even print it for you! the price tage made my eyes bleed. they won’t give you a discount unless you get at least 5 photos. you want the whole gallery? please cough up $ 1,999. of the 120+ pictures they took of me, i was able to easily narrow down to a handful of pictures and after a long deliberation period, bought only one photo. why just one photo? because GOOD GAWD it is $ 160!!!
bottom line: it was kinda cool doing a photoshoot. but if i want to do a boudoir shoot again, i would look elsewhere for a much better deal. $ 160 is just too darn ridiculous.

Ladies! Five stars all the way. I had such a positive, empowering experience at DeBoudoir. I purchased a Living Social deal that included photoshoot, hair, and $ 50 off a corset. When I arrived I was immediately greeted by Lisa who offered me a glass of wine to help me relax after a hectic day. We got to play dress up for a bit and she helped me try on a few corsets which were gorgeous and all very unique. Then we went downstairs and she worked magic on my hair — it came out awesome and I was feeling super hot.
Upstairs I got to meet Becca who was very professional and clearly a very talented photographer. The girls looked over my outfits and help me make appropriate jewelry and shoe selections. Then we got down to it. There are several different shooting backdrops which include really cool Victorian type lounges and a really beautiful bed to lay on. The studio lighting was awesome and Becca gave directions very well. I’ve never modeled before, but with her help and suggestions I felt like a supermodel. Shooting took about an hour, I was overall impressed at how much time the girls devoted to my appointment, I was there for about 2 hours total and treated like a princess the whole time. These gals definitely know what they are doing and it isn’t like some back alley garage kind of place, this is a legit establishment.
A few days later I got to meet with Andrea and review my photos. There were about 180 shots to choose from, and I would say I narrowed it down to about 10 incredible photos. The caveat is that the photos are not cheap — they are very clear about the prices when you first arrive for your appointment, so there are no surprises. Andrea was able to work with me so that I could take home a few photos and not break my budget. The way I see it is that this is an investment in yourself — a way to feel empowered, beautiful and also inspired. We aren’t getting any younger, ladies so make this an experience you will never forget and treat yourself to something special. You deserve it!

I think the hardest part about this whole process was having to narrow down what pictures I really wanted. DeBoudoir did SUCH an amazing job.
I found out about DeBoudoir through a Living Social deal, which included hair styling, $ 50 off a corset, and the sitting fee. The actual photos themselves were not included in the package and are pricey to buy BUT it is an investment and when you see the way you look they are completely worth the price.
My friend and I had back to back appointments which made the experience even more enjoyable since we were both extremely nervous because we had never done anything like this before. When we arrived there we were greeted right away and given a glass of wine to put our nerves at ease. The ladies took time to show us the additional outfits they had for sale there with no pressure to buy at all. Then Lisa, the makeup artist, took me downstairs to fix my hair exactly as I had pictured.
After hair and makeup was picture time. The photographer looked at all my outfits and helped me piece together different looks and sets that would work with each and put me completely at ease. She gave me amazing direction and helped me place my hands, body, and even down to the expression on my face so that my pictures would come out amazing. In the hour that we had, I was able to change into 4 different outfits and switch between different stations (bed, couches, different back drop colors, etc). I also love the fact that this is an ALL FEMALE studio so that there is no awkwardness at all and I felt more comfortable to go a little out of my comfort zone.
I scheduled my consultation to come back and review the pictures a few days after my shoot (there turn around time is so quick). I was so nervous to see how they turned out! There is always a disconnect for me in pictures of the way i THINK i look and the way i ACTUALLY look in pictures lol. When I walked in the room with Andrea, the Director, I was shocked! The pictures were amazing!
OVERALL: I’m 100% happy with all the pictures I received and the customer service experience I received at this place. Yes, it is a little pricey BUT the pictures, the memory, and just the overall experience was worth it.

VERY PRICEY ALL AROUND!!! I had a Living Social deal for this place and this is my first time doing a boudoir photo shoot. I wanted to do this as a fun experience with my best girlfriend and while my body is young. This place was very cute, private, professional and couture like.
The location was perfect and not hard to find! What sucks is that when I booked my appointment the associate didn’t give any advice for San Francisco parking. There is street parking in front of the place but is very expensive. It is best to go up the street one more block and park at the garage for $ 10.
I did the boudoir photo shoot with the add on of the fine art (which was black/​white nude pics). I was greeted by the front desk lady who does all the setting up of stuff. Her vibe was not comforting or fun at all. The first thing she told me when I got there is that we had time for hair and makeup (which I didn’t make an appt. for) and we came with our hair and makeup done obviously already. She just kept pushing it and that would have been an add on charge of $ 130. We said no thank you and she kept implying that the cameras and flashes take off 50% of your makeup and I told her I was already wearing heavy makeup for me personally already. Then she kept pushing me to buy lingerie.
There are no customizing of the rules here for each client’s needs and wants. The boudoir shots required 4 outfits. I only wanted 3. I didn’t see the big deal if the photo shoot you pay for is based on the amount of time you take pictures and keep in mind this place is super pricey so you would think they would customize the rules a little for these well paying customers they have. IT HAD TO BE 4 OUTFITS! So basically I have a bunch of shots I didn’t want to purchase because of the outfit I was in. Keep in mind I have a funky style so I didnt want to just wear all lingerie. I had a lot of outfits that were like cropped tops and panties (plus I was doing the nude pics anyways so I didnt feel the need to have all sexy pics). The vibe I got from the front desk lady when showing her my outfits was more like criticizing and kept pushing to buy lingerie there.
When it was time to change and take pictures, you go up stairs to this photo studio place and your photographer will be there and instruct you what to do. Thank God my photographer was super amazing, friendly, fun and made me feel super comfortable! I loved working with her! You can tell she knew exactly what she was doing!
After that you make an appointment to come see your pictures.
I came back a month later and had like 200 shots to choose from which I’m very happy that I had a lot to choose from because I’m very picky. The lady that went through and showed me all my pictures was so amazing!!! She was very helpful and I loved all her opinions and she was truthful and not pushy at all! The pictures turned out amazing! I ended up buying 5 digital prints that totaled to about $ 1,000. Pricey but I knew I was not getting any younger and I knew this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Never again! I would totally recommend everyone to do this one time! The pictures definitely boosted my confidence and made me feel super beautiful!
TIP: Bring cash to your session because they expect tip.

I very rarely take the time to be a disgruntled customer, but this time around, I’ve got to do it because I feel a bit scammed.
I also purchased the LivingSocial deal ($ 29), which didn’t turn out to be much of a «deal» afterall unfortunately. I know I should have read the fine print more carefully– hindsight is ²⁰⁄₂₀! My «deal» ended up costing me close to $ 370 for JUST ONE DIGITAL PRINT.
This being said, the ladies at this studio are young, ambitious, and super friendly. I now understand how much work goes into a shoot like this. The experience was fun, albeit an expensive one! However, I was not super impressed with the quality of the makeup for what I paid (at least in the photos) nor the editing, although I really appreciated the direction that the photographer gave me and how comfortable she made me feel. The studio is cute and centrally located.
SO, I ended up paying about 70 $ for a corset, in addition to having my makeup done for another $ 70+, and then after tipping both for the makeup/​hair and the photography (suggested MINIMUM of $ 20 EACH), I decided to purchase one print for $ 160.
My «deal» ended up costing me close to $ 370 in total (not including taxes) for JUST ONE DIGITAL PRINT. I’m glad I tried it, but I would have never have done it if I knew it would add up so quickly! It was one thing being sold one thing after the other, («well, if I am getting my hair done, I should probably do makeup too… and then I should probably get a corset because I’ve already invested this much»…), but once you put your foot in the door, you feel a bit pressured to continually buy more. I didn’t like that part of this experience. I also think it’s silly that they spend so long editing the full library of photos and then simply delete them after all that work if you don’t but them! Very strange. No one is benefitting here (especially not full time students who just simply cannot afford more!). FINANCING seven digital photos? For real?!
As far as the company goes, I think it is poorly run, and poorly organized. The online system is complicated and impersonal, and I did not feel the «luxurious» vibe they claim to provide.
I’m sticking with more local studios in the future, with a more personalized, less capitalistic experience.

I found out about DeBoudoir through a Living Social deal and had an AWESOME experience. This turned out to be a great present to myself for my 40^th birthday.
The deal included the photo shoot and $ 50 off the purchase of a corset (which I’d been wanting for a while anyway). I also splurged and added on makeup and hairstyling. The corset I got was GORGEOUS, as was the additional lingerie I purchased. I LOVED what Lisa did with my hair and makeup. So, day of the the shoot, I already knew the extra money spend was well worth it.
The shoot itself was beyond my expectations. Andrea did a great job of making me feel comfortable and sexy, giving great coaching on posing and playing with props. It was a bit intense for me at times and now I have a new respect for models (!)
The wisdom of my investment was confirmed when I came back the next week to view my pictures. WOW!!! I again splurged and bought the entire portfolio since i couldn’t narrow them down enough to buy a cheaper package. There were SOOO many amazingly beautiful photos — that I now have the rights to do whatever I want with!!! Who knew I could look so incredible. Andrea (dff person) also gave great suggestions on other companies that could do photobooks, etc for me.
This felt like an excellent gift to myself.

Overall very nice. I am happy with the quality of photos, etc.
The girl who did my makeup and hair was very pleasant and she did a fabulous job. She was very nice and talkative, helping to ease the process a bit.
My photographer was very professional and did some quality work. She was very sweet, too. My issue was there are a lot of things to remember while posing and it is hard to know what you are looking like :)
The girl, Andrea, who went through my photos with me was quite a sweetheart and was very helpful without being pushy. I think she was my favorite :)
The editing department seemed to do a nice job. Photos looked magazine ready.
Concerns/​Pitfalls:
–Expensive… but for photography it really wasnt that bad in expense… just felt very expensive.
–The living social deal seemed like such a great deal, but it really doesn’t include much… but overall it did provide something… just A LOT of small print. (i.e. photos cost extra and they don’t do prints, but you do get the digital rights, hair and makeup are really needed and those are an additional 75 per service, they give you $ 50 towards a corset but it is ONLY for corsets, not lingerie or anything else in their store and the corsets base price is $ 79 or something like that)
–Wish they wouldn’t just sent via email and instead would provide a disc or something with photos…
Again, overall it was quite good. Don’t think I would probably do it again but it was a fun experience and i liked the end result.

I had an amazing experience with these lovely ladies, they are so professional, friendly, and knowledgeable! I love the way my photos came out! Yea photos are pricey but so worth it!
Bring lots of outfits and accessories, well help to keep your price down.

I signed up for this shoot after making two assumptions that I clearly should not have:
1– I thought there would be some kind of availability. Clearly I was wrong. There is never any open days, and if you catch a random day that is allegedly available, you have a 90% chance that there won’t be any time slots available for that day! How strange is that?! The day is available but there aren’t any times on that day that that’s available. Every other location (Seattle, San Diego, Portland, etc) seems to have many days to choose from, but the San Francisco location is perpetually ‘booked-​up’. …oh, and don’t bother e-​mailing them telling them you have a job and can’t take the only Tuesday at 10am they have available over the next three months, they won’t do anything to assist you.
2– I thought I would be able to get a CD of the images. I did enough research to understand that a printed /​touched-​up image would cost me $ 160. I figured I wouldn’t get any of that. I assumed I could just have (or buy for some fee) the unedited image. I was wrong. This facility is a SCAM. You DO NOT get a copy of the CD, nor can you buy one unless you have hundreds of thousands of $$$. Assuming there are 100 photos on the CD, you would have to pay $ 16,000 for that CD. Every other boudoir facility will sell you the CD for about $ 200-​$ 300, which seems reasonable to me… but not this place.
I’m just shocked to know I was about to pay hundreds of dollars (yes I canceled my apt, I will be going to work that day) for a photo shoot and I wouldn’t even get a single photo without paying at least $ 160+ dollars more.
Oh, and don’t bother calling. They won’t pick up and they won’t call you back.
SCAM SCAM SCAM SCAM