Photography is perhaps one of the art forms that best encapsulate human emotions. This art is able to generate its very own special excitement that has the capability to transform the visual aesthetic of its subject, making it a challenging endeavor. Although almost all the things we see today can become the subjects of photography, women are perhaps the most enduring subjects captured in film. In fact, photographing women is what made it possible for females to be released from the concept of domesticity.

Under the semblance of photography, women were able to emerge from their private worlds into a quite different public space. This is especially true in Boudoir photography, a process of portraiture that is gaining a wide following among women. Boudoir is a genre in photography wherein the subjects are usually women, but can also be done by men, in provocative or sexually suggestive poses or setting that may contain little or no nudity at all. Boudoir is distinct from erotic photography as it gives emphasis on the subject's aesthetic qualities rather than the sexually provoking nature of the portrait.

The term boudoir is rooted from the French term "bouder" which means to pout. Back in the old days however, boudoir is used to refer to different private rooms commonly utilized by women which includes the sitting room, dressing room and bedroom. Because of the subtle uses of the word, the modern concept of photographing women in their bedrooms emerged as an offshoot of boudoir, which is why this genre of photography is also known as "bedroom photography," though it can also be carried out in different private environments. Although the term for such genre of portraiture was coined later, boudoir was already existent during the earliest photographic process and was the precursor of pinup portraits during the 1940s and 1950s.

Commonly, female subjects of boudoir photography aren't models. They are everyday women who are artistically captured by the lens of the camera to show another side of themselves that they rarely see. The main idea behind this concept is to arrive at a portrait that would feature them at their most sensual poses without necessarily taking off all their clothes, rather they just show a bit of their skin in sexually provoking poses to exemplify their emotions. Unlike erotic photography that are almost digitally perfect, boudoir leaves a room for the subject's bodily flaws to be exemplified with little or no image manipulation.

Boudoir photography is fast becoming a popular portraiture trend. Oftentimes, the photo shoot is commissioned by the subject but its purposes differ from one client to another. For instance, a wife might want to give her husband a gift for their anniversary, or perhaps a young lad would like to use the photo as an audition piece for a magazine's centerfold. Whatever their reasons might be, boudoir is definitely a good means to build one's self esteem in front of the camera despite your bodily flaws.

In Southern California, modern boudoir was introduced six years ago and has since been gaining a wide following especially from women. If you are living in Orange County and would like to have your own boudoir mini photo shoot, you can easily find an Orange County photographer who specializes in boudoir, but be sure to do your research first before you shed some of your clothing in front of the camera to ensure that the photographer you are about to commission will definitely provide you a self-portrait of a lifetime. Generally, boudoir is a genre of photography that celebrates women individually, capturing them in a different light that could reignite self-esteem and the way she perceives herself.