We Never Wait to Be Asked: The Things We Handle in your photoshoot Before You Even Notice
By the time you'd think to bring it up,
we've already handled it.
That's not a tagline — it's genuinely how a Life Portraits shoot runs.
You don't need a checklist of things to remember or worry about on the day. Here's exactly what we're doing in the background while you're focused on nothing but feeling good in front of the camera.
Most of the nerves around a first photoshoot don't actually come from the camera. They come from all the tiny "what ifs" running in the background — What if my strap's twisted and nobody tells me? What if I don't know what to do with my hands? What if there's a pimple in every single shot
Here's the thing: at Life Portraits, we never wait to be asked. We're already on it. Below are four things we quietly handle on every single shoot, so you can stop carrying the weight of them.
1. We Check Your Angles
You don't have to carry the pressure of knowing how to pose. Before you've even glanced at the camera, we've already adjusted your stance to suit your body and shifted the lighting to enhance your best angles.
Posing isn't something you need to arrive already knowing — it's something we direct you through, down to your fingertips.
2. We Fix the Little Things
A twisted strap. A tag sticking out. A flyaway hair catching the light.
These are the things that quietly wreck a shot — and exactly what we're watching for constantly, sorted before you even realise it was a problem. We call it real-time retouching: keeping every frame clean and elite as we go, not just in post-production.
3. We Hype You Up
Confidence needs a soundtrack, and we bring it.
Every single click gets a reaction — "yes, that's it," "queen," "who is she?!" It's not performative. It's how we keep the energy high enough that camera nerves genuinely melt away within the first few minutes, until you're directing your own poses without even realising it.
4. We Edit That Too
Pimple flare-up the morning of your shoot? Random bruise from leg day? A patchy tan line, a stray hair, someone's bag in the background? We've got you.
Professional skin editing and cleanup is already built into your final images — it's not an upsell, and it's not something you'll ever need to bring up. It's simply part of how we work. (Our line in the sand: we'll polish, we'll clean up, we'll colour-grade — but we'll never artificially morph the body you've worked so hard for.)
That's the Life Portraits Difference
We don't wait to be asked — we make sure it's already handled. It's part of why over 85 clients have given us a five-star review, and why they all say some version of the same thing afterward: they felt at ease, confident and empowered. You'll never forget how we made you feel.
Curious what the full journey looks like, from booking your date to gallery day? Read our step-by-step guide to planning your photoshoot (link once published).
Ready to experience it for yourself? Browse upcoming Brisbane studio dates →
Or DM us on Instagram and we'll talk you through exactly what to expect.
5 Ways We Make You Feel Unstoppable: A Guide to the Life Portraits Photography Experience
We don't just take pictures. We create experiences that make you feel unstoppable — however you're celebrating your journey.
Chances are, if you're reading this, you've felt the same flicker of nerves every single one of our clients has felt before booking.
Will I know how to pose? What do I even wear? Do I deserve imagery like this?
Here's the truth: over 85 five-star reviews in, it's rarely about the camera settings.
It's about the experience around the camera — the guidance, the hype, the feeling of being genuinely seen.
So whether you're chasing a fitness milestone, celebrating your own skin, telling your love story, building a brand, or rewarding a team that's worked their hearts out, here are the five ways we turn "nervous energy" into "I can't believe this is me."
1. Fitness & Health — Document Your Dedication
You tracked the macros. You worked hard in the gym. You pushed your limits. Whether you're stepping off a bodybuilding competition stage, celebrating a weight-loss milestone, or simply documenting your strength, you deserve imagery that matches your dedication — not a stiff, forced smile that doesn't reflect the work you put in.
And if you're worried about feeling awkward? Don't be. When you shoot with Life Portraits, you're not just getting a photographer — you're getting a posing coach, an expert director, and a personal hype woman rolled into one.
We guide you through every single movement, down to your fingertips, so you can step in front of the lens with absolute, unapologetic confidence. You don't need to be in "competition shape" to book — 95% of our clients have never stood in front of a professional camera before.
"Em made me feel so comfortable & confident, guiding me on how to best showcase my physique while still keeping it feminine. Her direction was so professional yet warm." — Jacinta
Fitness & Health section → lifeportraits.photography/healthfitness
2. Boudoir — Feel Confident and Seen
A safe, supportive space to celebrate self-love, personal milestones, pre-bridal moments, or connection through sensual, beautiful imagery. Nervous? That's completely normal — our posing guidance means you'll feel like a supermodel within the first five minutes.
This isn't about the lingerie or the lighting. It's about the moment you remember you're allowed to feel beautiful, exactly as you are, right now. We welcome every body type, every age, every background, because everyone deserves to be seen and celebrated exactly as they are today.
Your privacy is guaranteed — we will never share your images without your explicit, written permission.
"I'm quite awkward with poses & she helped guide me through everything so I didn't look like a robot in the photos." — Georgia
Boudoir section → lifeportraits.photography/boudoir-glamour-photography
3. Teams & Groups — Celebrate Your Community
An empowering group experience for coaches to celebrate their clients' progress and build real community — photographed at a stunning location for up to 6, 10, or 15 people. Clients consistently tell us it's the most fun they've had at a photoshoot, leaving with a confidence they've never felt before.
We handle the location, the lighting, the posing, and the hype, so you can just be the VIP host while your team feels like an absolute supermodel squad. Every package includes both epic group shots and individual portraits your clients will treasure — plus a fully licensed image library you can use to market your next challenge.
"You treat everyone with such enthusiasm & respect… something awakens within them where they realise 'I am beautiful' & they feel so special." — Tammie Sarkozy, Coach & 12× Team Shoot Client
Teams section → lifeportraits.photography/team-group-photoshoots
4. Couples — Capture Your Love
The ultimate, boundary-pushing fun experience. We expertly direct you through natural, intimate posing that celebrates your connection — steamy, soft, or romantic, we make you feel completely at ease.
At Life Portraits, we don't do awkward. Whether you're a fitness power couple who trains together, a pair wanting an intimate studio session, or you'd rather keep it soft and lifestyle-driven on a beach at golden hour, we act as your directors — guiding you through natural movements and prompts so you can stop stressing about where to put your hands and start focusing on each other. Within ten minutes, the nerves disappear and it just feels like a fun date that happens to be professionally photographed.
Couples section → lifeportraits.photography/couples
5. Commercial, Branding & Lifestyle —
Build Your Vision. Your Brand.
Growing a brand? We create a strategic library of commercial, branding and lifestyle imagery designed to build trust with your audience and elevate your marketing. This is where craft meets strategy.
Whether it's headshots, product imagery, architecture, or a full lifestyle library for your social media and website, this is about walking away with more than "just photos" — it's a visual asset library that works as hard for your business as you do. (This is the home of our sister account, @lifeportraits.branding, for anyone building a brand instead of a body of work.)
"The gold standard of commercial photography!!!" — Julian D'Souza
Branding section → lifeportraits.photography/commercial-branding
Ready to Feel Iconic?
With 85+ five-star reviews and clients returning for their 10th shoot and beyond, we've built a legacy on making you look and feel iconic — whatever your journey. Our work speaks for itself, but our clients say it best.
"I had the best experience with Em for my first photoshoot, ever! She was amazing at guiding me throughout the process and what to expect. I loved the process but am even more in love with the photos!" — Suraya
Which one's calling your name?
Browse upcoming Brisbane studio dates and book your session →
Building a brand rather than a body of work? Head to @lifeportraits.branding or explore our Commercial & Branding services.
Frequently Asked Questions of Fitness, Health & Boudoir Photoshoots: Brisbane Health, Fitness & Boudoir Photography
The Team at Life Portraits are the fitness, health & boudoir specialists and we love creating unique and personalised imagery for each individual.
Whether your photoshoot is a weight transformation photoshoot, bodybuilding photoshoot, a portrait session with your family documenting your results, boudoir or more professional images for your social branding, we can help you.
After working in the health and fitness industries heavily over the past few years, we have learnt from our clients that getting a photoshoot can sometimes be one of the most daunting things you’ll do. but at the same time get you out of your comfort zone and make you feel incredibly positive about your self-esteem and body image.
That’s why we have created a comprehensive frequently asked questions e-book to help all our potential clients that explains the process of booking, payment, FAQ's, example styles of imagery and outfits, delivery of your images and planning. Feel free to download the full booklet HERE or read below to find out more. We've also created this great blog post on the 7 tips to nailing your first photoshoot which features behind the scenes vlogs and lots of tips and tricks, you can see our blog HERE.
You can see our work at www.lifeportraits.photography/fitness or all our current work on our instagram at @lifeportraits_fitnessWe will go through all of this in more detail below. Together, the LP team will make you feel comfortable, at ease and most importantly you will be so proud of the end result.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Whether this is your first photoshoot or you’ve done this before, we like to guide our clients through the Life Portraits planning and ideas process in order to create something unique with the LP WOW factor. Prepare for a run experience with the passionate LP Team.
As part of our pre-photoshoot planning approach, we will help you through the following steps:
Locations - we supply a full location gallery of suburbs of Brisbane to assist in your planning
Outfits - how to coordinate this with your location and we provide Pinterest boards to help you
Style of imagery - we help guide your style - boudoir, fitness, glamour, fashion which is now all detailed in our e-book with example imagery
We pride ourselves on a seamless experience, creating the most striking, beautiful and high quality imagery that matches your vision and style.
OUR PROCESS
Preparing for a photoshoot can be daunting so Life Portraits want to ensure that you are aware of the process from pre-photoshoot planning, to your photoshoot day to post photoshoot with the delivery of your images. Our priority is to ensure you enjoy the experience, have fun, with no stress involved.
INITIAL CONTACT: At the initial stages of all enquiries we provide our packages & pricing, planning information & possible dates for your photoshoot. From here, if you wish to book with us, we will email you a detailed email & a booking proposal.
BOOKING PROPOSAL - A booking proposal is emailed to you detailing the services that LP will be providing, your package options, a questionnaire to assist planning, an online legal portrait contract & payment portal for the selected package. Once this booking proposal is signed by you, the final stage of the proposal is to pay a 50% non-refundable booking fee* to secure the session, with the remainder 50% being paid the week of your photoshoot. After the booking proposal is signed & payment has been made, you will be sent an email with login details to access your own Life Portraits portal. This features your details, contracts, galleries & invoices. The proposal is signed by both parties electronically via our online database and becomes a legal binding document. *Booking fee can be transferred to another photoshoot if cancelled.
PAYMENT OPTIONS - Payment can be made via the booking proposal portal by Paypal, credit card or bank transfer. We also offer Interest free payment plans and this information is sent at the initial stages of booking. We require $150 upfront then regular payments leading up to your photoshoot. If you have any issues with the payment terms, we can discuss this in the initial stages of booking to create a payment option that works for you.
HAIR, MAKEUP, TAN & STYLING - For all our sessions we recommend you get professional hair, makeup & tan done so you look & feel your best. We have teamed up with the best in the industry to provide these services, we recommend using Shique Beauty shiquebeauty.com.au
And if you’re wanting to have your photoshoot styled with clothing to look your best, Clique Styling are your ladies!PREPARING FOR YOUR PHOTOSHOOT - The LP team will keep in regular contact with you leading up to your session, in particular the week before your photoshoot. To be prepared for the session, we suggest ensuring the following things are done:
Hair/make-up/tan booked
Outfits organised
Aware of locations & timings
Have your photographers details
AFTER YOUR PHOTOSHOOT - Within 2 weeks of your photoshoot, Life Portraits will send you a full online proof gallery with basic editing on your images to give you an idea of the style and colour tones of the end result. From this gallery there is a favouriting system where you choose your final images as part of your package to be edited. Once you have submitted your final images, LP will professionally edit these images and have them delivered to you within 2 weeks. An online gallery will be sent via email with a logo & non logo version of all your images. If you wish to purchase additional images to your package, you have the option to purchase in bundles after your shoot. We also have artwork available such as albums, wall art & coffee table art that would make beautiful pieces in your home. We will provide a full pricebook of artwork with your gallery.
SOCIAL MEDIA - We ask that when posting images to social media, that you use the logo versions of your images and tag Life Portraits. When posting on instagram please tag @lifeportraits_fitness LP will use your imagery in social media and the website unless you have stated otherwise in your questionnaire.
FREQUENCY ASKED QUESTIONS - FITNESS, HEALTH & BOUDOIR PHOTOSHOOTS BRISBANE
PREPARING FOR YOUR PHOTOSHOOT
Do I worry about getting professional hair, makeup & tan done or can I do it myself?
INVEST IN THE PROFESSIONALS! If there’s any advice we can give our clients, invest in getting our hair & makeup done professionally as it looks a million dollars in your final photos. We also suggest a home or professional tan which is great for making the skin look more seamless in photos. Go darker than you normally would as this comes up great in the images & we can play with the colour of the tan/darkness in post production.
Don’t’ forget the little details, nails & toes. You can get them done professionally or just buy some & put them on. As per our process page, we suggest Shique Beauty in Brisbane for all our photoshoots. They are the dream team!
I’m unsure about what style of photoshoot I should do?
The first step to planning a photoshoot is to determine the style of imagery you want. Once you have secured this style we can then guide you in choosing your location, outfits and types of posing. We provide a pinterest gallery of examples to help you decide what you’d like to do. These styles include:
Boudoir - lingerie, bedroom, topless, sexy
Fitness gym - fitness wear in the gym, workout style images
Fitness fashion - fashion clothing showing off your fit body with some fitness style poses, urban street settings, coloured walls
Beach - bikini or fashion on the beach, tree areas, boardwalk
Lifestyle - Business imagery, portraits, ‘candid’ imagery,
We will show examples of this in the following pages from our own client photoshoots.
Have you got any examples of behind the scenes on photoshoots?
Yes we do! These Vlogs feature how to prepare, tips on posing, outfits and behind the scenes fun. This will give you a good idea of how we work.
How do I choose a location?
You’re in luck! At Life Portraits we provide our clients with a full suburb breakdown of locations around Brisbane as well as houses, studios & gyms. Once you have the style of imagery that you want, we can then match a location to this style. Common locations include; gym, beach, graffiti walls, coloured walls, street style, lifestyle greenery open spaces, apartments/houses for boudoir. You can see lots of great examples on our instagram page.
Have you got any ideas for where I can get outfits for my photoshoot?
The style of your photoshoot will dictate the outfits you will wear. We outline some ideas below, however there are numerous places you can go online and instore to purchase:
Local designers
Online: Zaful, Shein, Peddal & Pup, Pretty Little Thing, Runway the Label, Fashion Nova, Beginning Boutique
Kmart/Target/Big W/Best & Less - You would be surprised the finds!
Ryderwear, Muscle Nation, Echt, Gymshark, Lorna Jane, Lululemon
OR get Clique Styling to style your outfits for you - they come to the photoshoot with your outfits and help you on the day
Common ideas include bikinis, one pieces leotards or bodysuits, booty pants, fashion wear, fishnets, lingerie, sports wear, leather jackets & boots, body crystals etc. Narrow down your outfits depending if it’s a silver or old package, Have them all ready in a bag for your photoshoot day, dressed in outfit 1 to start the session.
THE DAY OF THE PHOTOSHOOT
How do I prepare for the photoshoot day? What do I need to know?
You’ve done all the hard work to get to this point, now you want to look a million dollars for your photos!
1. Make sure you have a bag packed the night before so you’re not rushed for the photoshoot, you’re calm & ready for the day. The bag should have your outfits, shoes, a towel to wipe off oil if we spray you for sheen, a sheet for getting changed on location, pump up bands, snacks, water & MUSIC! We usually bring a speaker, so have your favourite spotify list ready to go to help you get into the groove in your shoot.
2. We always suggest that you get your hair, makeup & tan done professionally so that you are looking 10/10 for your photoshoot. Having this done reflects in your photos, looks a million dollars & boosts your confidence. Have this done a few hours before your photoshoot so you can come straight from the appointment to your photoshoot. Allow 2-3 hours for hair/makeup & travel.
3. Text your photographer when you leave hair/makeup & give them an update on how you’re going. We suggest you arrive 10 mins or so early to your photoshoot location so you can relax & pump up if necessary.
I don’t know how to pose, help!?
Don’t worry at all about posing, we always hop in & show you some poses first, give you some ideas & then let you run with it. We put on music to get you in the groove to help you with motion & feeling relaxed.
AFTER YOUR PHOTOSHOOT
What happens after the photoshoot? How do I get the photos? Do I choose or do you choose the finals?
After your photoshoot, please allow up to a week or so for us to create & email your online proof gallery. This gallery is all your images from the shoot (minus blinks & the BTS mess up shots haha) with our colour tones on them with no final post production done. Then the fun part comes, choosing your final images based on your package! We have a simple gallery favouriting system, for the images you want, click the love heart below the images.
Once you’ve picked all your final images, go to the top right hand corner & ‘submit to photographer’. It’s always nice to follow us up with an email to say you’ve submitted & let us know what you thought of the photoshoot. If you want more images than what your package includes, as mentioned previously, we allow single image purchases, 10 image upgrades or the full package (50 images). This is all detailed with pricing and options in your proof gallery email. Once you’ve picked your finals and submitted to us, we then get to work on those finals. Please allow up to 2-3 weeks for the final images to be edited and delivered back to you as an online gallery ready for download.
Can I purchase artwork on top of my digital package? What do you have on offer?
Yes we do! We have a range of wall art, albums, prints and coffee table art on offer. We send this information through with a pricebook on delivery of your final images.
OTHER QUESTIONS
Can I do some fitness imagery, some boudoir and maybe a couple of more professional ones for my business or LinkedIn?
In your session, we allow you to do any look you like. Even if you want to get a couple of photographs with your partner, we are happy to accommodate this also. We just remind clients of timing and if you’re wanting to get a bit more variety with different looks, we suggest the 2 hour Gold Package.
Can I brings someone along to the photoshoot for support?
YES OF COURSE!
What if I want to book a session, but can’t pay the 50% up-front straight away? Have you got other options?
Yes we do. We have a payment plan option which is detailed in your email, or we can setup a weekly/fortnightly payment system in our database to help you pay the photoshoot off over time. We are very open to helping our clients as this is an investment you will cherish for a lifetime.
What if I have a preference for a female/male photographer?
Life Portraits has both male and female photographers, so just let us know your preference.
If I want to do my photoshoot in the studio, how does that work?
We offer studio photography as one of our options in our locations gallery, however they are an additional cost to your photoshoot package as we hire the studio for your session. If you’re interested in doing the studio session, let us know when booking and we can add the additional cost to your total package.
Can I get black and white images in my package?
We sometimes do a black and white version of your images if it looks great. Let us know if you love black and white images and we can do this.
Brisbane Health & Fitness Photography | Brisbane Boudoir Photography | Brisbane Commercial Photography
The Elegant & Graceful Bodybuilder: Brisbane Fitness Photographer
"What you get by achieving your goal is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals"
I was lucky enough to shoot with Bec twice over her bodybuilding competition season and loved watching her grown as a person and her confidence shine.
In our 2 seperate 2 hour sessions we created an incredible set of imagery….
.....Fitness, Fashion, Boudoir, Beach & Poolside!
Bec is so beautiful, humble and a pleasure to work with, she blew me away. She's had a very successful season in figure and also getting back into competing in weight lifting and so glad we could work together on creating a variety of content for her social media as well as memories to keep for a lifetime.
Em x
Hair/Makeup: Shique Beauty
Brisbane Fitness Photographer, Brisbane Fitness Photography, Brisbane Swimwear Photographer, Brisbane Portrait Photographer, Brisbane Boudoir Photographer
A Very Successful Creative Collaboration: Brisbane Fitness, Glamour & Boudoir Photography
I am always looking for new ways to be inspired.... I get to work with some pretty motivational, inspirational and creative people and sometimes you get an opportunity to collaborate your talents on a photoshoot.
I regularly work with the Hair & Make-up team Shique on my Brisbane and Gold Coast fitness, glamour and boudoir photoshoots. The Shique beauty ladies were all coming together to do each others makeup and create some content for their social media platforms and asked if I wanted to come on board. With a beautiful penthouse overlooking Brisbane city, 4 beautiful ladies and lots of creative vibes, I couldn't resist.
We created a set of images that were boudoir, fashion with a touch of stylish woman. The results were amazing and can't wait to share them with you below. Check out some of my favourtie images!
Featuring Hannah from Shique
Stella from Estel Artist
Maddy from Illicit Artistry
Kelly from Kelly Lane MUA
See more on our Brisbane Fitness, Glamour and Boudoiur Photography Packages Here: www.lifeportraits.photography/fitness
Beautifully Strong... Boudoir photography with a bodybuilder: Brisbane Fitness & Boudoir Photography
We recently had the honours of working with the beautiful Bodybuilding WBFF Fitness Pro Bec on a boudoir photoshoot at Noosa Trails Estate. We had a vision for these images, inspired by the the unbelievable colonial location we had to work and Bec's classy and elegant look and the result is breathtaking.
Come behind the scenes on the photoshoot below with our Vlog as well as the end result through the stunning images achieved.
It was a great collaboration between Andy & I as photographers, Bec as the model, Camilla on hair and makeup and the location Noosa Trails Estate.
Em x
