The Rise of Dudeoir Photography (It’s Real)

According to the article, “Boudoir Photography is Bringing Sexy Back,” published on August 26, 2013 in the Sacramento Bee, “The national research company Wedding Report started keeping track of boudoir photography trends in 2009. About 134,000 brides—7 percent of the number of brides who hired professional photographers—paid for boudoir services. In 2011, that number jumped to 230,000 brides, or 12 percent. For 2013, 237,000 brides have hired boudoir photographers so far.”

But today, ever-present boudoir portraiture has a friend: “dudeoir”—the male version of the sexy “bedroom” shoot that has been popular among ladies for some time.

All photos © Catherine Leonard and Alistair Quick

Photographers Catherine Leonard and Alistair Quick have received buzz for the studio they opened in June—NYC Dudeoir—located in New York City’s Flatiron District. They have enjoyed an outpouring of new clientele who seem to be excited about this brand of photography.

Leonard, who has been photographing traditional boudoir with Quick for the past four-and-a-half years, says they decided to open their new studio after they had received several inquiries from men. “They’d come in kind of shy and ask if there is something we could do. We talked about it and thought this is great—why don’t we do it for men as well?” Leonard says. “I was shocked at how quickly it took off. I thought it would be a slow burn, but it hasn’t been.”

She says recently they’ve received inquiries from men who want to create calendars for their wives. Prior to this, it was mostly men who wanted images for themselves—photos they could use for dating and social media websites. She says a lot of men come in saying, “Why don’t we do a shot like David Beckham?”

But is photographing partially-clad men different than female clients? “I think (the approach) is all the same,” Leonard says. Male clients, who are typically over the age of 30, also receive styling before the shoot.

“Everyone comes in nervous. Everyone wants to look a certain way in his mind. And we try to make it possible.” She says that men, however, tend to be easier to cajole into a relaxed and open state on set. “Men will bring up insecurities but seem easier to persuade to do it [shoot] than women—they are trusting. Women second-guess everything, but I think it’s just the nature of the beast,” she says.

Leonard notes that she and Quick couldn’t figure out how to place mens’ hands in the shots at first. “We were hysterical laughing about it,” she says. “We had this big long talk about hands and what to do with them.”

And although she wasn’t sure how the business would be received, the number of men embracing it has pleasantly surprised her. “I was really shocked at how many people just wrapped themselves around it,” she says.