I was exposed to Judy’s work here on the DWF and I have always been drawn to her clean, beautiful boudoir images – they are soft and feminine and genuinely show off the client she is shooting in an utterly gorgeous way.

When I was informed that I would be reviewing boudoir DVDs, I didn’t know exactly what to expect. I was anticipating a walkthrough of a boudoir shoot and possibly some suggestions for posing. I was excited about the prospect of seeing a boudoir photographer in action.

What is it?

“Shoot with Judy” is a two disc DVD set geared towards boudoir photographers. One disc boosts a walkthrough of a boudoir session and a couples (Sizzle) shoot, while the other provides sample documentation for clients.

Description/details:

The DVDs came in a clear, two disc DVD holder.

The first DVD contains the boudoir & sizzle videos. The boudoir video is, as anticipated, a full boudoir shoot from start to finish. It starts with the selection process of the outfits, makeup application, and goes through the model being shot in a variety of poses and outfits.  There is a short segment on Judy’s home studio and how she transforms it for the shoot, as well as an explanation of her equipment and lenses of choice.

There are several tips subtly interspersed in the video, but the majority of the video is watching Judy in action, directing the model with samples images being shown throughout. There are a few small breaks between outfits to explain what is coming up next.

This disc also showcases Judy shooting a couple on a farm. There is no description, just parts of the shoot set to music as you watch the couple pose and Judy walk in and out of the frame shooting them.

The second DVD contains a PDF document of album samples for both the boudoir session & the sizzle session. It also has a sample boudoir contract, customer FAQ, a of PDF pricing and two sample client emails – informing the client that images are ready & how to proceed as well as a session confirmation.

Usefulness | boudoir & sizzle videos:

I initially felt like the boudoir shoot was geared towards a newer shooter but I also believe that the more experienced shooter will notice Judy’s use of natural light and other lighting techniques in her studio. Both can benefit from watching her interaction with the client and if you carefully pay attention, she reveals hidden golden nuggets of information.

I was beyond impressed at the variety of looks that could be achieved while shooting in a smaller studio space, but this fell in the category of hidden gems that you had to carefully pay attention to it as it wasn’t being explained during the video.

I was also happy to see that a normal sized model was chosen for the session and I watched as Judy carefully positioned her and shot from very deliberate angles. Again, this wasn’t explained in detail, but very intriguing to watch.

The voyeuristic aspect of watching another photographer in action was definitely exciting and I felt that everything that I learned came more from what was shown then what was said in the video.

Unfortunately, I was not as impressed with the Sizzle Shoot/ the couple on the farm. While the music was catchy and the video did keep my interest, there was no explanation or interaction with the clients. I did enjoy seeing some very unique poses, but I felt like this would be a great promotional video for clients rather than a teaching tool for photographers.

Usefulness | boudoir studio documentation:

The client documents are a great starting point for a photographer who has recently begun shooting boudoir. They are detailed and customer friendly.

I felt like the pricing guide and sample album layouts were pretty to look at but as PDFs and with no additional explanation, they weren’t very helpful. I would have loved to see either a video or an explanatory document discussing album layouts or pricing structures to go along with it. The layouts themselves are modern & clean, with just the right amount of delicate touches for a boudoir album.

Other thoughts:

The DVDs have the information screened on them and look professionally made, but I felt like there was missing on the outside of the case itself. The opening screen on the video disc was simply beautiful and I would have liked to see some of Judy’s images on the outside of the case as well.

Overall rating:

4.5/5    for a new boudoir photographer

2/5       for an advanced boudoir shooter

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