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Boudoir Photo Book Tutorial

How to make a boudoir book.

How To Make A Boudoir Photo Book

Are you ready to make a GORGEOUS boudoir photo book that will truly make your partners jaw drop?

Putting together a sexy little boudoir book has become a popular trend for brides to give unsuspecting grooms on their wedding day but Boudoir Books also make the perfect, birthday, anniversary, Christmas or Valentine’s Day gift too! It’s always a good time to gift a Boudoir Photo Book!

Boudoir book with black leather cover

Layflat album with genuine Italian leather cover in black 

No matter what occasion, we want to make sure that your boudoir photos are presented in the most beautiful way. We can appreciate how much effort you have taken to plan out your boudoir photo shoot, invest in professional hair and make-up, not to mention some sexy new lingerie, so let us help you make sure your Boudoir Book looks just as gorgeous as YOU!

Boudoir photo book for him

Layflat album with Eco-leather cover with Serif 96pt font foil stamping – silver

Our Experience & Advice

My Bridal Pix specializes in printing boudoir photo books, so we thought it would be helpful to pass along some best practices.  Below you will find some helpful tips to help you design a  gorgeous boudoir album in the My Bridal Pix software. You can also  visit our FAQ page for some quick answers and helpful video tutorials to help you with your layout. We also offer custom boudoir album design services if you prefer to leave it to the professionals.

Boudoir book printing

Layflat album (Bridal Boudoir Template) Photo Wrap Cover 

Boudoir photography is meant to be sexy and beautiful, so you’ll want the book style you choose to also reflect this. Choose a book with exceptional print quality and substance that will flatter and compliment your boudoir portraits. Choosing to display your boudoir photos in an ordinary photo book with thin pages, will most likely leave you disappointed. You need a book that has WOW factor and one that showcases your images on thick photographic paper. Specialty papers such as our Pro Photo and Pearl photographic paper, offer greater skin tone accuracy and overall tonal ranges and richness of color that is perfect for boudoir books. Let’s face it…you went to a lot of trouble to take your boudoir photos, so go for the best quality book and you won’t be sorry.

Getting Started 

To get started, you first need to consider the following photo book options for your boudoir book. These choices will be necessary to start your layout in software.

  1. The stye book you prefer – Flush Mount, Layflat, Hardcover or Softcover Photo Book. 
  2. Book size – we have 6 sizes to choose from.
  3. The paper – paper option will depend upon book style.
  4. The cover material and color ( Leather, Eco Leather, Linen or Photo Image Cover.
  5. Foil embossing message on cover – For My Husband, For Your Eyes Only, To My Love, etc…

Once you become familiar with these options and know your preferences you are ready to start creating your book in the software! Read on to learn more details about album customizations.

Flush Mount Album -( Black Lace Template)

Tips on making the perfect boudoir book for your groom.8×8 Layflat Album with Ivory Eco-Leather Cover with Serif 14pt gold foil embossing

Book Styles We Recommend For Boudoir Books

Most customers choose the Pro quality Layflat or Flush Mount Album for boudoir books. These books offer the best in image quality, page thickness and panoramic spreads to WOW you! Page spreads lay completely flat with a very fine mico-fold down the center of the book. This makes it perfect for those eye popping centerfold spreads! The Flush Mount album has a page thickness of a quarter and the Layflat album has a page thickness of a dime. 

If budget is a major factor, we understand. Our advice is to go with a smaller sized, higher quality book, if you can still afford it. Otherwise we offer hardcover photo books and softcover books as a budget option.

What Size Book Is Best?

How many pages should a boudoir book have and what size is a question we are asked a lot. If you want a book to tuck away in a suitcase or a bedside table, the 6×6 and the 8×8 size books, work well.  If you are going for a bigger impact, and an impressive gift, the 10×10 or 12×12 are a great choice.  If you have a lot of vertical or portrait images, a 8.5×11 portrait size book may work best to prevent any cropping of your images. Most of the boudoir books we print are square 10 – 20 spreads (20 to 40 pages). The more images you have, the more pages you will need in your book. Keep in mind that good boudoir book design should not look like a collage of images. You want the images to stand on their own without too much clutter. Figure on putting 3 – 4  images per spread, knowing that some spreads will have more or less.

Paper Quality Makes All the Difference

Choose from the following lay flat album paper options:

  • Pro Photo Paper– Our top choice paper for boudoir books. This paper comes standard in our top of the line Flush Mount Albums and Layflat Albums.  The Pro Photo paper has a light lustre sheen with excellent print quality. It is known for accurate skin tone reproduction and tonal ranges which is so important for boudoir books. It’s also a coated paper so the surface can be easily cleaned with a dry cloth.
  • Pearl Paper – This paper choice is only available on Flush Mount Albums. Imported from Italy, it offers a beautiful, smooth photographic pearl finish. A beautiful choice that gives your book a little shimmer to it. It is also a coated paper so it’s surface can be easily cleaned with a dry cloth.
  • Mohawk Superfine Eggshell – This paper is a standard choice for Layflat Albums only. Perfect for those looking for a soft matte finish. While this paper is an industry leading paper, we do not recommend this paper for dark boudoir images as matte paper does not reflect light so darker colors will not have the same tonal ranges as the coated papers. We typically recommend this paper for wedding reception guest books as the paper is not coated, making it perfect to accept inks for signature guest books.

Grooms gift- boudoir book Flush Mount Album with Pro Paper and Photo Wrap Cover

 

Cover Options For Boudoir Photo Books

Leather Covers – Our genuine Italian leather adds a certain amount of richness to your book. This extra thick and padded cover is made from natural hides and has a soft buttery texture, so soft, we promise you’ll want to hug it!  Choose from 8 fabulous colors! Foil stamping, de-bossing can be added to the front cover for an additional fee. Leather is an upgraded cover option.

Lay flat album covers

 

Boudoir photo book with red leather cover


Eco- leather Covers – A standard cover option in 2 popular colors (Ebony & Ivory). Eco- leather has the look and feel of real leather and is an animal friendly option to real leather. This is probably our most popular boudoir book cover option. Eco-leather covers are slightly padded and also have the option to foil emboss the front cover and spine. Foil embossing comes in various colors, positions with 3 fonts to choose from. You will make these cover selections prior to laying out your book. The software does not allow you to change the cover unless you make the selections over again so make sure you like your cover before you finish your layout. 

8.5×11 Layflat Album with Eco leather cover and 14pt serif font in gold

 

Lush Linen CoversA standard cover option in 10 color choices. Linen covers have a soft touch and come with a slightly padded cover. Linen covers can also be foil embossed with a special message on the cover and spine of your book.

Champagne Shimmer Linen cover with 96pt Serif font in silver.

Photo Wrap Covers This cover options allows you to be as creative as you like. You can add images, artwork, text, backgrounds, etc.. You are only limited by your imagination. Photo Wrap Covers have a protective laminate finish with a choice of soft touch matte or gloss finish. The matte finish gives your book a nice soft finish while and the gloss gives it a bit of shine.

Boudoir Book With Photo Wrap Cover in Mate Finish

8.5×11 Layflat Album with Matte Soft Touch Finish

Photo Wrap covers give you the option to add text, photos, designs, etc to your cover. You are only limited by your imagination. Choose from a soft touch matte or gloss laminate finish.  

Add a Special Message to Your Cover

Our foil stamping and de-bossing allows for a special message to be placed onto the cover of your book. Lush Linen and Eco-leather covers can be stamped on the front in various positions as well as the spine. Leather covers are stamped on front cover only.

Some popular messages for boudoir books:

  • Just For You
  • For Your Eyes Only…
  • For My Groom
  • For My Husband
  • For My Love
  • Hey stud…

Tips on Working in the Software

Working With Your Images

When you first register your account in the software, you will be promoted to select a template and upload your images. Images will be saved in your account only if you save your project. You can then log back into you account another time to retrieve your project and continue to work on your layout. You can go back into your account after you receive your book and delete your images from the software.

Your images will be uploaded to our site at their highest resolution. Images may sometimes appear blurry in the software editing tool but this will depend upon your internet quality and speed. If your images appear blurry, no worries.  The PDF we generate from the software will always reproduce  your images with the exact clarity of your hi-resolution images uploaded.

When working with your images in the software, you may come across a “low resolution” icon. This is a warning that your image quality is too low. Your photographer may have only saved your images at 72DPI or your image size is just too small for the size book you selected. When you print images, keep in mind that they need to be hi-resoution- 300DPI.  72 DPI is just for viewing on the web. When working with your photographer, let them know that you plan to print a book and you want hi- resolution 300 DPI images sized to your book size and saved to in sRGB color space for best print quality. For instance, if you want a 10×10 finished book your images need to be at least 10″ high. If you plan on having an image spread across two pages, it needs to be 10 x 20 in size.

If you should receive a warning sign, you have a few options to correct. You can reduce the size of your photo placeholder in the template until the icon disappears or you can ask your photographer for the correct file sizes from the RAW files. Please note if you ignore the warning sign, there is the risk that your image may print blurry. If you have additional questions, please contact us at design@mybridalpix.com and we would be happy to assist you.

Free Boudoir Book Templates

You simply will not find our customized boudoir book templates anywhere else. Please see our Vimeo Channel for sample layout or visit our Boudoir Book detail page for more information and book samples.

Bridal Boudoir Book – Perfect Gift For Your Groom! from My Bridal Pix on Vimeo.

Little Black Book For Him from My Bridal Pix on Vimeo.

How to Customize Your Book

Our templates in the software are 100% customizable. So if you like a particular template but find that your images do not work in the pre-desinged photo placeholders, no worries. When you click on the photo placeholder, the transform button will allow you to grab the edges of the image placeholder so that you can configure and crop the image as needed. Backgrounds and matching art elements can all be found in the software tabs. Please see our video tutorial page for more helpful tips. 

The software has an auto fill option that will automatically layout your book for you once your images are upload. This is a great option for those who do not have patience to layout a book but most people like to layout their book on their own.  If you do not like the look of the autofill, just go back and  “deselect” your images and then click on “Customize Book.” This will prevent the autofill option and you can place your photos as you like.

Avoiding Design Mistakes

Center Fold – One of the biggest mistakes newbie album designers make in laying out their boudoir photo book, is not paying attention to the center of the book or the book fold. For best results keep any important images away from the center of the spread. While our flush mount, and lay flat books have a very small micro fold with panoramic spreads, you still want to pay attention to the fold line as you would not want that fold line going down the middle of a face or across the eyes of your image. Try shifting your image a little to the right or left to make sure it is not touching an import element of your image.

Laying out a boudoir photo book
When placing your images be aware of center fold line

This is especially important if you choose a basic press printed photo book ( see image below). The issue becomes that your images can get lost in the fold of the book.

Too Many Images – Another thing to avoid is placing too many images on a spread. Boudoir books should really showcase your images. Putting too many images together takes away from the impact the book will have.

Layouts- Pages v.s. spreads -When creating your own page layouts, or adding pages to an existing template,  be sure to choose the SPREADS from the Layouts Tab when working with a layflat or flush mount book. This will allow you to work in spreads across 2 pages and not single pages. Page layouts are for photo books to be designed one page at a time, while panoramic books with layflat spreads work best by choosing spreads. Another work around is just to drag your images onto the given spread and create your own layouts.

Check Margins–  Be careful that your text is balanced on the page and not to close to the edge of the book. The same is true for clipart and frames.

Saving Your Work – Be sure to save your work as you layout your book. This way you can always restart your book at a later date and retrieve your book layout from your account.

Double Check Your Work – Make sure to preview your book before you buy it so that you can check the layout of each of your pages. Mistakes can easily be overlooked in the design process. The My Bridal Pix software allows you PREVIEW to flip through the pages of your software so that you can see exactly how your book will print. Look for art elements or text too close to edge, missing photos, alignment of images, misspellings.

Update Shopping Cart – When you make changes after you added book to the shopping cart,  you must remember to UPDATE YOUR CART in the so that your updates are made to the item you placed in your cart.

Most Frequently Asked Q’s When Making A Boudoir Book

Bridal boudoir book for groom

Can I Make a Boudoir Book With Only 10 Images?

We are often asked if it’s possible to layout a book with only 10-15 images. The answer is YES! Our books have a minimum of 10 spreads or 20 pages so a simple layout on each spread or page will work best for you. You can also use the same photo multiple times, by cropping or using a black and white version to get a whole new look to the same image. Photos can also be used to make a page background and you can add a filter to it to create a new look. You can also help fill up a page with text or a special message. Clipart is another nice design option to help fill space or add balance to add to your page layouts.  Clip art, backgrounds, filters, and borders can be found in the software to the left dashboard panel.

Some customers like to upload their own artwork as a .jpg file. Just make sure the overall size of the artwork is large enough that it will be the same size as your finished book.

How Much Time Do I Need to Complete a  Boudoir Book?

If you plan on doing a boudoir photo shoot, be sure to give yourself enough time. Often, boudoir images require some editing. Be sure to ask your boudoir photographer how much time this will take so that you are not caught off guard and having to rush last minute to put your book together. Remember photographers are very busy around the holidays, and wedding season with lots of photos to edit, so plan ahead.

What is Book Processing and Shipping Time?

Our book printing turn around is typically 5-7 business days but you should allow 5-10 business days especially during the holiday season. You also need to factor in shipping time (books ship from the mid west). We ship via FedEx ground and also offer offer overnight and 2 day shipping for those in a rush. You should also consider giving yourself extra time incase a reprint is necessary.  Not that it happens often, but from time to time, books can be damaged in delivery. Please know our books come with a guarantee to be free of manufacture defects, or we will replace them for free. We ship internationally and offer standard and Express shipping options –  please be sure to factor in time for customs clearance.

Tracking your order can be done right from your My Account dashboard in the book making software. We also send a shipment notification email with your tracking ID when your order leaves our facility.  

Are My Boudoir Images Kept Private?

Please know upfront that your images will never be used by our website or published to promote our services. All the images you see on our boudoir book pages are stock images that we purchase.  We totally understand your need for privacy when it comes to your boudoir images, and we make every effort to keep them secure and private. We offer an all female design team, so if you need help laying out your book, no worries. Our print facility also uses female personnel as much a possible when procession boudoir books.

Can I have a Professional Design My Book?

If you need help with the design and layout of your boudoir photo book or you are a photographer needing assistance on a regular basis with boudoir photo book layout, we offer an all female design team.  We understand the sensitive nature of putting one of these books together and we greatly respect your privacy.  If interested, email us at design@mybridalpix.com and let us know the details of what you need and one of our design consultants will get back to you promptly.

Don’t Forget…

Take Pix’s of His Reaction! 

When the time comes to present your boudoir book, make sure you take pictures! His reaction to your book will be a priceless photo or video. The jaw dropping, eyes popping, mouth wide open expression is sure to be one you will not want to forget.

We hope this post was helpful. If you have put together a boudoir book and would like to share any ideas you may have, please leave a comment below so everyone can learn from your experience too!

Looking For More Info?

If you are a bride-to-be and just considering having a boudoir photo shoot and you are not 100% sure you can muster up the courage, read our blog post Boudoir Book The Best Grooms Gift Ever.

You can also find additional info &  product specs and samples of our BOUDOIR BOOKS on our website!

MyBridalPix

This Post Has 37 Comments

    1. Hi Giselle!
      Thanks for your interest in wanting to make a boudoir book. If you make the book yourself in the software, you need to allow 4-7 days for your book to process. If we are going to design and layout the book for you, the design process can normally be turned around in 24-48 hrs and then 4-7 days to process the book. You also need to factor in your shipping time. We offer many different shipping methods to meet your needs. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

  1. Hi quick question….Where can I find a Boudoir photographer…..Yellow pages lol. I know probably just answered my own question, just didn’t think they were listed as Boudoir photographer. Lol

    1. Hi Deanna! You can find a boudoir photographer right on the The My Bridal Pix Photographer Directory or you can post a job for free on our Job Board and let the photographers find you!

      We use a secure message board so that you do not need to release your contact information until you are ready. To use the secure message board you will need to create a free account HERE

      Please let us know if you have any other questions or need assistant with making your book. We are happy to help!

  2. I would love to have you all put together the book for me ! Can’t spend too much on it though . Please email me back with how to contact you . I’m doing my shoot next Friday .

    1. Hi Ivy!
      Thanks for your interest in wanting to make a boudoir book. You can make a boudoir book for any occasion! They make great Valentines Day gifts, birthday gifts for him or her, anniversary gifts, Christmas gifts as well as a groom gift the night before the wedding! Here is a link to another pages on our site that you may like looking over to get book specs https://mybridalpix.com/boudoir-photo-books-2/

  3. Im very interested in doing one of these books…how do i go about making one? Like do i just pick a photographer? Is there a specific one i should go to? N do i mail tje pics to u guys?

  4. I want to do a boudoir photo album for my husband our anniversary is in march. Where can I get a legit boudoir photographer in Maryland?

    1. Hi Bo! You can find a boudoir photographer right on the The My Bridal Pix Photographer Directory or you can post a job for free on our Job Board and let the photographers find you!

      We use a secure message board so that you do not need to release your contact information until you are ready. To use the secure message board you will need to create a free account HERE

      Please let us know if you have any other questions or need assistant with making your book. We are happy to help!

  5. What if you just take your own photos, and they aren’t done professionally? Could you make those into a book?

    1. Hi Caitlin,
      Good question! While we always recommend hiring a professional boudoir photographer for your photo shoot to get the best results, there is certainly nothing wrong with doing it yourself if you are on a budget or just to shy to do the photo shoot. In this blog post you will find some DIY Boudoir tips that you may find helpful. The most important thing to take into consideration is lighting. Make sure you have enough natural light so that your images are not dark. You will want to make sure you edit your images as well.

      Another option is to post a job for a boudoir photographer on our Photographer Job Board. You may get lucky and find a photographer in your area looking to break into boudoir photography!

    1. Thanks for your interest in our boudoir books! If you refer to our Layflat or Flush Mount product pages, you will see close up images in the gallery to inspect the print quality better. For best print quality, we suggest choosing our Fuji Pro Photo paper or the Double thick Fuji Pro Photo paper. Both are pro grade papers, not consumer grade papers. The only difference between the two is that the “double thick” Fuji paper is mounted to hard substrate for a very thick, ridged, non-bending page. What makes the Fuji paper unique to other layflat books on the market? With the Fuji paper, your images are “developed” much like a photograph, using a silver halide print process. Most mass produced layflat books are “press printed” books, which spray a series of dots on the paper to create your images. When you develop an image, instead of just spraying dots, the details will be finer, you’ll have greater tonal ranges of color, whites are whiter, blacks are darker and most importantly, very accurate skin tones. The Fuji Crystal Archival paper also has outstanding archival qualities to resist fading over time. We hope that answers your questions, If you need additional assistance, please let us know.

  6. Hi I’m in Australia and wondering the security of this being delivered I’ve had things from overseas not make it past customs! Also the time expectancy for this to be made and delivered would be?

    1. Great question! We ship books all over the world and have yet to have an issue with customs holding or returning a book. With that being said, there is never a 100% guarantee with international customs processing. Unfortunately we do not have any control over how fast they will process your package or control over what they will accept or not. We do offer various international shipment methods, International Next Day, International Express (2-3 business days), USPS First Class, (8-14 business days). To print your book, you need to factor in 5-10 business days…most books are processed in 5 days. When your book leaves our facility, we will email you a tracking ID# so that you can track your package right to your doorstep! Hope that helps answer your concerns.

    1. Hi Jordan! Thanks for your interest. Pricing for our boudoir books and wedding albums can be found on our website. For boudoir books we recommend either Layflat Albums (click for pricing) or our top of the line Flush Mount Album (click here for pricing). These links will give you product details. Please see pricing tab for options and upgrades. We also offer custom boudoir book and wedding album design for $5.00 per spread. Click here for more information.

      Please let us know if you have any other questions.

  7. Hi! I would love to have one of these made for my fiancé as a gift for our 6 year anniversary. My only concern is that I’m a little more voluptuous than most and I’m nervous my photos won’t be as “seductive”, do you have any advice?

    1. Hi Destiny!
      No worries….CURVES ARE BEAUTIFUL! Making a boudoir book is about unleashing that inner goddess to share with that special someone. Your fiancé loves you for who you are inside and out. Please remember that women come in all shapes and sizes, and there is beauty in ALL of them! An experienced boudoir photographer will work in the best light, have the right props and know the right angles to make you look your best. Be sure to follow our Plus Size Boudoir Pinterest page for some inspiration! Please let us know if you need help putting your book together, we’re happy to help! The look on his face when you give him a boudoir book will be priceless and totally worth all the reservations you may have!

  8. Hi,

    I’m interested in doing a book for my 40th birthday next year. Unfortunately I live in Trinidad which is in the Caribbean. I do have an address I ship to in the us. Can you assist me in anyway?

    Thank you

    1. Of course we can help you! We ship books worldwide and even offer international express shipping if you need your book quickly. If you prefer to ship to a US address, it will certainly be less expensive. You can use our free software with designer boudoir book templates (found under Layflat albums) or you can hire one of our female designers to layout your book for you…the cost is $5.00 per spread and our books have a min. of 10 spreads, so the design fee for 10 spreads would be $50.00 plus the cost of your book. Please CONTACT us here for any further questions and we will be happy to assist you.
      Thanks for your interest in wanting to make a boudoir book with My Bridal Pix!

  9. How much is shipping to Australia? I don’t want to start designing a book only to find out the shipping is too expensive

    1. Hi Esther,
      We ship books to Australia all the time. First Class International USPS will be your least expensive option. For example a 10×10 book with 10 spreads(20 pages) will be approx. $22.00 to ship and it takes about 10-14 days to receive overseas. Of course the rate will vary depending upon how many pages you have in your book, the size of the book, and your postal zip code. A great way to get an approximate shipping total is to select the book you want to make and before you layout the pictures in your book, just add the “blank book” to your cart(you can remove later) and once it appears in your cart, you can click on the VIEW CART tab and there is a section where you can ESTIMATE SHIPPING. Enter your location and you will see several shipping options, including International Express delivery. Hope that helps answer your question 🙂

    1. Hi Kasey,
      You first have to decide what style book you want to make. Please see different book styles under PHOTO BOOKS in the top menu bar. Once you select the book style you want, click the Get Started button and you register an account so we can save your work to your account. The site will then have you select the options you want for the book style you selected and take you right to our free book making software. Please also refer to our video tutorials for more information on how to use the software to create your book layout. If you have additional Q’s please email us @ support@mybridalpix.com. You may also find this blog article helpful to help you decide on which book style:https://mybridalpix.com/boudoir-photo-book-tutorial/

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