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Tangents

intimate photo session

March 27, 2010

style in photography – intimate / boudoir photo sessions

I did a recent photo shoot with a model, Carly Erin, to expand my boudoir portfolio.

Sometimes you get to work in large spacious rooms or studios.  Sometimes you work in smaller more intimate locations.  When you work in a tighter, more intimate setting, the choice to include the surroundings or not will greatly affect how you shoot.  I made the decision that I didn’t want the location to be identifiable and this affected how I shot …

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lighting for boudoir photo sessions

January 19, 2010

lighting for boudoir photo sessions

The one type of photo session where I work the most at getting my lighting just right, is with a boudoir session.  I find these intimate photo sessions quite a challenge.  I have to get a variety of looks in a short time.  For this I have to not only concentrate on posing and angles but also concentrate on the lighting.  On top of that, I have to make sure my model or client is comfortable and relaxed at all times.  The session has to be fun and really show her off at her best.

I bring a variety of lighting equipment to these shoots – speedlights to be used on camera,
and as a softbox setup.  I also favour  video lights.

But I keep the equipment portable and compact and easy to set up .. which means that I mostly use available light where I can.   By closely looking at the direction of the various light sources in a room, I can position my subject in relation to the light (eg, a window), or simply move the light source if it is a bedside table lamp.

With the light levels fairly low indoors, this necessitates fast optics and high-ISO capable cameras.  The style that I prefer is sensual and romantic.  Sexy without being overly sexual.  With boudoir photography, I feel that a ‘hint’ works better than being more direct.  But styles and tastes vary of course.

An example of where I used the soft light coming through the window as the main light source.  I didn’t add any light to this.  The window light was soft, and it was the dominant light source from this viewpoint.  Easy to use.  Now I could concentrate on directing the flow of her movement.

1/30 @ f2.8 @ 1600 ISO
Nikon D3;
Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 AF-S (B&H)

The image above was shot ‘with’ the direction of light, giving even light on her.  It is also good to break it up a bit and shoot ‘against’ a light source, or at an angle to a main light source …

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how much depth-of-field? just enough! (model – Priscilla)

April 8, 2009

choosing the necessary aperture for depth of field (DoF)

Depth of Field (DoF) is one of those elementary factors in photography which seem to mystify most (new) photographers.  A question that I’m often asked is, “How do you know how much depth of field you need?”  Now anyone who has delved into the topic and has done some research knows that you soon stagger back .. your head spinning trying to tie together all the concepts:   circle of confusion, focal length, subject distance, size of enlargement, format size, hyperfocal distance, and so on.

But a working approach might just be simpler than that …

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video light & boudoir (model – Precious)

April 6, 2009

An image from a boudoir photo session today.  I ended up mostly using a video light (or two) for the directional and dramatic quality of the light.  I tried on-camera bounce flash a few times, but even when I carefully flagged and bounced the flash, there were a number of times where I found that the bounce flash just evened out the light too much.  Sometimes it is soft light, and sometimes it just becomes flat light.

With the video light (held up by my assistant), I was able to ask my assistant to flag the light and drop the light off dramatically to the model’s legs.  That’s the beauty of using video light - it is completely WYSIWYG.   You can make immediate changes to the position of the light – or how you position yourself – based on the light and light patterns on your subject.   And with an assistant holding up the light, instead of fixed on a stand, you even have voice-activated automation in how the light is placed.

More on the video light equipment I use, and more examples of how I go about using video light in photography.

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