Have Her Bring a Friend.To make her more comfortable, encourage
her to bring a trusted femalefriend. Bringing a boyfriend, fiancé, or husband
is usually too intimidating. She’ll worry about his expectations and not open
up. Her female friend will be probably be just the opposite—encouraging
and positively critiquing her. This helps you in two ways. First, it protects
you from any hint of impropriety. Second, if her friend is impressed with you
and has fun at her girlfriend’s session, chances are good that she will also be-
come your client.
Touching the Subject. Often I’ve been advised never to touch a nude
or scantily clothed client. I wouldn’t go that far. I do touch even nude clients,
but we’re fairly sophisticated in the way we interpret a touch. Just be sure that
you never touch a woman in a way she would interpret as a sexual advance.
Ask if it’s okay to adjust her hair, for example.
Personalities are different, so you need to learn to judge which women
would be intimidated or take offense at a touch or a comment. Then, act ac-
cordingly. I always keep robes available in the
dressing room, and most women will use them.
Just as often, however, women will change right in
front of me and not even think about it (or maybe
they get a kick out of knowing they can show off a little without any sexual
pressure).
Conversation.The same goes for conversation. Since you’re working
with women in a sensitive, vulnerable situation, you need to be judicious
about what you say—and it’s best to err on the conservative side. Some con-
versations, particularly when your client has a girlfriend along, can get pretty
descriptive and colorful. However, personalities are different. Where one per-
son might take offense at a comment, another will think it’s funny.
Again, this comfort level is something you can begin to determine at the
consultation. It’s one reason, in my mind, why the consultation is an ab-
solute must.UNDERSTANDING YOUR CLIENTS 37Where one person might take offense
at a comment, another will think it’s funny.