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Photography is an art form that best encompass human emotions. This art form has its own special excitement that has the power to change even the most lifeless entity into the most visually aesthetic subject, which makes it a challenging endeavor to take. Although almost all the things we see today can become the subjects of photography, women are perhaps the most enduring subjects captured in film. As a matter of fact, it is photographing women that made it possible for females to emerge from the physical confines of their homes.

Under the guise of photography, women within the society were able to emanate from their private worlds towards the eyes of the public sphere. This is especially true in the case of Boudoir photography, which has been gaining popularity in the field of portraiture. Boudoir is a genre of photography that often has women as subjects but can also be done for men, capturing them in sensual or suggestive poses or setting that may contain little or no nudity. It is totally different from erotic photography as it focuses more on the aesthetic qualities of the subjects as well as the artistry of the process rather than the sexually stimulating concept of the portrait.

The term boudoir is rooted from the French term "bouder" which means to pout. Throughout history though, boudoir often refers to private rooms like the sitting room, dressing room as well as the bedroom. Such uses of the term resulted for the concept of photographing women in their bedrooms to emerge, which is why boudoir could also be referred to as "bedroom photography," although it can also be carried out in different private settings. Although it was already during the later parts of photography that the term boudoir was used, this genre is in fact already existent since the earliest process of photography and was the precursor of pinup photo shoots of the 1940s and 1950s.

Commonly, female subjects of boudoir photography aren't models. They are everyday women who artistically poses for the camera in order to show a different dimension of themselves. The idea is to let loose of their inhibitions for a while in order to commemorate female sensuality without the need to shed all their clothes, rather they artistically use their bodies to angle themselves in suggestive poses to express their emotions. Unlike erotic photography, subjects of boudoir photos can show some of their bodily flaws, resulting to a more heightened reality of the image produced, which is why they are less manipulated and retouched.

Boudoir photography is becoming a popular trend in self-portraiture. It is often commissioned by the subject but its purposes vary from one client to another. For example, a wife might give the finish product as an anniversary gift to her husband who's working in a different country, or perhaps a young man would use the portrait to audition for a magazine's centerfold. No matter their reasons for commissioning such photo shoot, boudoir is certainly a good means to develop self confidence in front of the camera without worrying about individual flaws.

In Southern California, modern boudoir is gaining a wide following among women since it started six years ago and is rapidly spreading to other parts of the country. If you are living in Orange County and you'd like to have your own mini-fashion shoot to immortalize your sensuality, you can easily find an Orange County photographer that specializes in boudoir, but before you touch that dial make sure to do your own background check in order to ensure that the photographer of your choice would give you your expected results. Overall, boudoir is a genre of photography that not only commemorates a woman's individuality, but more importantly it gives emphasis on the importance of confidence and positive self perception.