"Sexy" facial expressions...?

I had my very first "boudoir" session yesterday with a young lady who had never done anything even remotely like this before. She has very low self-esteem, but wanted to do a sexy calendar for her husband for their anniversary. She was brave enough to have partially nude photos taken of her by two complete strangers (my friend and I).

Here's my question - she was nervous at first of course, but warmed up to us and said we made her feel very much at ease. She was easy to get to smile, and easy to get to NOT smile...but there was absolutely nothing in between. I was telling her to give "doe eyes" which was lost on her. I asked her to try a more sultry facial expression and she just went into a fit of giggles.

This being my first time dealing with this type of shoot - do any of you have any suggestions on how to TELL someone to do a sexy facial expression? I think she was willing to do whatever we told her to do, but I fell short in my knowledge and I am frustrated by that.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

I think it would be easiest to have some examples around next time. Whether these be shots you bookmark on the web or from a magazine a visible example is the easiest way to understand what you are trying to explain. Keep in mind that not all people look flattering with certain expressions. It may work, it may not. Feeling natural will often lead to the best shots and if someone is acting in a way that they are not familiar, it may show in the photos.

OK, let me preface this by saying that I've never worked with a model, or even taken portraits beyond the casual ones that everybody has.

That being said, I think the self-confidence issue you mentioned is the heart of the matter, and is the thing that needs to be overcome in this case - and telling her to try for some undefined "sexy facial expression" probably only makes it worse.

I think what she needs is to be allowed to feel at ease. That moment ("the look") will come once she's comfortable in herself with you. I don't know if you'll have any more time with her or if this was a one-time thing, but I would imagine it takes some trust on her part to let her guard down enough.

The internet is filled with pictures of girls trying to achieve that so-called "sultry glare", and looking ridiculous as a result - it's the ones who are natural and comfortable with themselves that can achieve it.

I don't expect any photographer to be able to fix someone's self-esteem issues in one session, but I do think that's at the heart of the matter.

Thank you both for your input.

I did have pictures with me and was showing them to her, but she felt like what Junior was saying - that if she tried it she'd look ridiculous. I completely agree that it was a matter of self-confidence. She did relax and she had a great relaxed look in a couple of them, but it was just sorta "plain"... not sure if I can describe correctly.

This may sound odd, but I was thinking along the lines of her mouth-pose mostly. Like you know the old thing where people say "say cheese" because it forces them to "smile" when they say it? Something like that.

I had photos of women who's mouths were slightly open in a very sexy way, like "ahhh" but I didn't know how to tell her 'say ahh' without sounding like an idiot, lol.

One of my favorites was when I got her to put her pinky in between her teeth, then put her chin down and look back up at me to give me bigger eyes. That one came out great.

So, just wondering if there were any tips like that, that are often used on non-professional models?