Ellington

Little black books” long ago went the way of sidecars and smoking jackets. But today’s women are recreating those 1950s dating directories, offering their guys albums stuff ed with enticing images of themselves in sexy, spicy and saucy poses.

Boudoir portrait sessions have become popular Valentine’s gifts, local photographers report. Men enjoy viewing seductive photos, and some women relish creating them. “This is the only time a woman gets to be treated like a supermodel,” says local photographer Lori Line.

Sensual pictures — or gift certificates for a session — are being given these days to brides and grooms, fiancées and fiancés, best friends or girlfriends. Women are booking sessions to decorate their boudoirs, or redesigning their personal brand after a dating slump or breakup. Guys are buying sessions for their gals. Even wives in their 60s are seeking to be their husbands’ Calendar Girl.

Boudoir emerged out of the “glamour” haze of the 1980s. Today’s boudoir clients, though, want less glitz and more of the genuine girl. “In the 80s, everybody did big, nasty hair and fake boas,” says Chattanooga photographer Brad Cansler.

“Today, women want to be what I call ‘naturally sexy.’ Th ey want an image that flatters, but they want to look like themselves.”

Pros focus not on body shape but personality and character strengths. Not surprisingly, this approach helps them put more women at ease. “People feel comfortable when you see them as a person, not an object,” Cansler says, “when you relate to them and find out what they want to say.”

A boudoir shoot is not “strip down and boom,” agrees North Shore photographer Lesha Patterson. Body flaws are easily diminished but “expression is the key,” says Soddy Daisy photographer Rick Taber.

Curvaceous and voluptuous or gaminely fl irtatious, every woman is beautiful when she relaxes, adds Cansler. “It’s what you project out,” he notes. “A great photo is based on how you feel on the inside.”

But creating comfort for women who have slipped, at least partly, out of their street clothes, does require thoughtful care. To craft a soothing haven, photographers meet privately with clients well before the shoot to discuss goals, hair and makeup, the client’s vision and poses. Presentation options are also discussed. From area photographer Lori Line’s 50-image “Little Black Book” ($450) to Soddy Daisy-based Rick Taber’s handpainted canvases ($1,500 and up), options seem endless. Session prices start at $100 and rise to $3,000 or more, Cansler says.

Linen-bound albums or printed coffee table books are most popular presentation modes, he adds. Images may also be displayed in online galleries, on CD, in traditional framed prints or on high-tech media such as aluminum tiles. Boudoir portraits have been displayed everywhere, from living rooms to closet walls, local photographers note.

On session day, photographers crank up the heat as they dial the tension down. Some photographers serve wine, others eschew it. Some require female assistants and a friend to be present. Others prefer

to work solo. Some pros ask clients to toss out the padded bras and body-hating thoughts. “I don’t allow women to talk bad about themselves,” Patterson says.

“They’re not allowed to use the F-word, which is ‘fat.’”

Shedding clothes leads some women to exhibitionist ecstasy. “Most people forget they’re naked by the end of it,” says local photographer Lori Line. “They’re comfortable, laughing and having a great time.”

But tuning in to timid temperaments sometimes challenges photographers to explore new styles. “I tried to draw out the ‘sexy vixen’ out of a woman engineer for two hours,” Patterson recalls. “She’d bought lingerie for the shoot, but it was not her. So I put her in my office chair with a laptop, a fedora and man’s shirt with a bra showing underneath—then, buddy, she was hot!”