Boudoir photography reveals a sense of sexiness and sensual creativity and artistry of photographers. The photos produced from this type of photography are often times labeled as “porn” by people who don’t understand and see art within the photos. On the other hand, boudoir photography has very minimal use of clothing but not totally naked. That is why boudoir photographers try their very best to make the standards of their photos as high as they can be to avoid the label and wrong notion of it.
SJW Boudoir 10 by MissIngwer. This image shows the application of natural light. As you can see, the model is placed near a window to use the natural light available for this set up.
Moreover, boudoir is a French word which means a “woman’s bedroom or private room”. In French, it literally refers to a sulking place. In addition, this type of photography explores more on the woman’s creative and astonishing body parts. It studies its contours, body angles, curves, etc., through intimate shots and various poses that highlight their bodies.
As a step to help amateur photographer who want to delve in to this photography, these boudoir photography tips might be of great help to you.
Purple Burlesque by vampireleniore. This image shows a specific theatrical theme. The costume accentuated the body and the background highlights the whole image
Pick a theme.This is the most crucial part in every photoshoot. You might first want to identify the theme of your photoshoot so as to clearly define the things you’ll be needing like props, hair and make up, costume or attire, atmosphere of the studio and editing style. Once you have chosen your theme, everything else follows. Some themes may be gothic, fantasy, valentines, rock and roll, fashion (where you wear your sexiest attire), career-inspired (sexy policewoman, soldier, nurse, etc) animalistic (cat or dog fur) and cartoon-inspired (wonder woman, justice league, etc.) or any other themes that you may want to explore on. Don’t forget to bring props that match the theme and the concept of the shoot.
FRENCH BOUDOIR - III - SPECIAL by ~Shireen18. This photo entails more creativity by using natural light and the composition of colors (b&w and original colors) shown through the use of mirrors.
Hair and Make up. Normally, most women know how to make up their own face. However, for photoshoots like these, you need to hire somebody who can get exactly what you expect to appear in your photo. Tell your make up artist the theme and the clothes that your model is going to wear. Also, make ups should be darker as they will look lighter when the imaged is processed.
Identify the best place for the session. The best place for the shoot is your studio where the lights are already set up. However, if your client insists that they be photographed in their house, hotel or even secluded places or streets, then arrange for the decisions.
Make the shoot private. Not all women are comfortable in shooting outside their houses. So make sure that they can move around and feel at ease. Another thing that should be kept in mind is the privacy of the pictures after it is taken. Be sure that no one else can get a copy of your images so that your reputation as a photographer will not be damaged. Keep it and use it just as what it is stated in your contracts.
Use props. Props can add dynamic effect on your images. It can accentuate the body parts of your model and even add context to the story behind the image. Use only appropriate props so that the viewers of your image will not divert their attention to the props, instead, they will look at your model and her body. For themes like career, specifically police, you can use police items like a gun or what have you in mind.
Use natural lights. Natural lights can give off very beautiful effect on the images. A usual lighting set up that is used to achieve natural lights is the use of light coming from the window. Shoot near the window and use a softbox located at the left side of your camera, as it faces the subject. The natural light will open up a shadow but not does not cast shadows.
These boudoir photography tips may help in lifting your stratum in the wide field of digital photography.
Stunning images!