Jennifer Rozenbaum of Jenerations Boudoir, is a New York boudoir photographer who is fast rising in prominence. She was featured in a recent interview on Good Morning America with their insert on boudoir photography for Valentine’s Day. For a Tangents guest post, Jennifer kindly sent in a few tips on how we can improve our boudoir photography.

3 tips to improve your boudoir photography

by Jennifer Rozenbaum, New York boudoir photographer

“WOW! I can’t believe that is me…I AM hot!” This is always the reaction that I aim for when a client first sees their boudoir images, and thankfully it is usually the reaction I get.

Getting a reaction like this one isn’t easy. It takes planning and a lot of thought. What do I do to insure this reaction? There are three main areas of consideration that I always address before pressing the shutter.

1. Pose

The way you pose a woman can easily accentuate her “goods” and minimize her “not so goods”. Seems simple, right? Well it is….kind of. See, every woman is built differently. They have different shapes, they are different sizes, and of course what they are wearing plays into the equation as well. So how do you know what pose will flatter the woman standing in front of you?

My best advice for this is to PRACTICE! Even if you are a guy – practice posing in a mirror. See what happens to your body when you put your weight on one side of your body – then shift it to the other. Does your body look different? What happens when you turn your shoulders, or arch your back?

Once you are sick of looking at yourself in the mirror, it’s time to practice on real women. Ask them to make those same adjustments and see how it works on their bodies. See how it looks in camera and make adjustments from there. I do this with every single client. You can’t guess what will look good – you have to see it to believe it.

In the photos here you can see how my position with the camera, in relation to the client’s pose and the light, affects the entire way the image looks. In photo #1, my clients hip is pushed toward the camera. This makes her look much larger than she really is. In photo #2, she is in the exact same pose – but I moved around to the other side of her body and immediately I could see it was much more flattering from that side. Her hips looks smaller, her waist looks tiny, and her shoulders not as broad.

2. Light

This might seem like an obvious one, after all we are photographers…and what is photography without light? But consider this…how AWARE are you of the light? Have you tried to move your client around to see how the light will hit her (especially in natural light). Have YOU moved around your client to see how the light looks in different directions? I so often see photographers just snapping away without really observing. Make smarter lighting decisions.

In the sample photos, I am using one Alien Bee and a Strip Softbox on the left hand side. When I shoot from the same side as the light, you can see how the light is really not accentuating her “goods”. Let’s face it, she has a beautiful body and she certainly doesn’t look awful – but when I move to the other side of her (again same pose in photo #2) – look at how the light is skimming her stomach, showing off the definition she works so hard for. Her breasts also benefit from this light. Notice how much fuller and rounder they look in photo #2. All of these changes were simply made by me taking 4 steps to the right.

3. Camera angle

This is such a tricky one. So many photographers seem to offer the advice “shoot down”, especially on curvier girls. Break out your step stool and shoot from 2 feet over her head. I cringe when I read this and then cringe more when I view all the photos of curvy women with stumpy legs. Please be careful with this one. Chose you camera angle carefully. It can make a difference. Photo #1 was shot at a little bit of a lower angle than photo #2. Here it is more flattering to shoot on level with the client making sure her proportions are correct. The most important thing to keep in mind is to not only move around your subject, but up and down as well.

All the advice I have given you today is fairly simple to implement, doesn’t cost a dime and will kick up your images 100 notches. It takes a little time, so don’t rush through your sessions. I used to worry that if I wasn’t pressing the shutter at every moment, then the client would think I was a novice. Well, that’s because I was a novice! Now that I have a lot more experience, I take my time. If a client questions it, I simply say “I am just looking at how beautifully the light is hitting you and making some decisions”. We are not only working when we are pressing the shutter. In fact, that’s the easy part!

- Jennifer Rozenbaum

- lighting for boudoir photo sessions
- more articles about boudoir photography

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies.   Thank you!

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Also join us on the Tangents forum for further discussions.

Boudoir photography seems to have a surge in popularity in the past years. More and more interest by photographers – and it’s no wonder. As much as boudoir is a fascinating genre, it is also quite challenging. The pressure is on *you* as the photographer to get the best images you can of someone who is most likely feeling quite vulnerable. So not only are your lighting skills and posing skills and your general skill as a photographer tested … your people skills really need to kick into gear too. Boudoir photography is personal photography on so many levels.

book review: boudoir photography, by Critsey Rowe

Subtitled, the complete guide to shooting intimate portraits, Cristsey Rowe really did aspire to write a book on the topic that covers every aspect of boudoir photography thoroughly.

The 30 pages devoted as a posing reference is the core of the book, in my regard. Posing the boudoir client is where the photo session can easily come unglued. While under pressure, you can easily run out of ideas with a momentary “brain-freeze”. Therefore, it is essential for a boudoir photographer to have a repertoire of ideas on hand to use. Attention is also given in this chapter to corrective posing, and working with a plus sized client.

The chapter on post-processing is also an important one. In my experience, boudoir photography’s biggest time drain is the time spent in front of the computer, carefully retouching the images. The other chapters in the book cover the actual photo session, and the presentation afterwards.

Such a thorough overview of the subject would of course be less appealing if the book didn’t contain numerous sexy and alluring photos. The printing is also of a high standard.

For a look inside the book, check the Amazon link:
Boudoir Photography: The Complete Guide to Shooting Intimate Portraits

My final summary – right now, this is in my opinion the best book available on the topic of boudoir photography, bar none. Highly recommended.

further reading:
- lighting tips for boudoir photography
- best photography books
- recommended photography books
- reviews of photography books on Tangents

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies.   Thank you!

Stay informed of new articles via the monthly newsletter.
Also join us on the Tangents forum for further discussions.

Hanging out with my friend Brooke, (NYC boudoir photographer), at a recent workshop, I noticed some of the images on her iPad that she was showing to explain her lighting techniques. The photographs had an interesting mix of gold and blue tones, and I thought the way she achieved it would be of interest to everyone. It might be familiar to regular followers of the Tangents blog. (Oh, Brooke is co-presenting a workshop on boudoir photography, and there’s a discount for Tangents readers.)

inspired boudoir lighting

by Brooke Ismach, New York boudoir photographer

Since launching Inspired Boudoir, a joint photography venture with fellow photographer Laura Eaton, I have been lucky enough to speak quite a bit about boudoir photography. Which means I’m showing boudoir images to photography groups. Consistently, I am asked one question more than any other: How did I achieve the “blue” background lighting in the attached photo. Most photographers guess using gels, but the answer is actually simpler than that …

When it comes to boudoir, I feel confidence is sexiest thing a woman can wear. If a woman isn’t projecting sexy, flirty, playful, hot – some believeable emotion, the image is going to fall flat, no matter how amazing your backdrop is. That said, when given the opportunity to shoot in a venue that has almost as much personality as my subject, I’m going to treat that venue like a second invited guest. Not quite with the same priority of my subject, but I know in addition to all the tightly framed sexy shots, I want to capture at least a few wider images, that also showcase the venue.

The speakeasy where this image was taken, was stunning. But it was also very dark, almost solely candle-lit and without windows.
I knew I had two challenges. First priority was to flatter my subject; and secondly, flatter the venue. Which in this case meant lighting both separately.

I ultimately used 3 light sources in this photograph.
The main light, faced toward the model is a Lowel ID Light (video light) on a stand. The second, the noticeably blue background light, is a Nikon speedlight, powered by a pocket wizard. And the third light, is an LED video light that I simply placed on the floor pointing upwardto illuminate the brass ceiling.

As I said, my first priority was to create an image that flattered my subject, meaning believable skin tones. My second was to show off the venue. That said, accurately representing the color of the couch, or showing every minor detail of the room, was less important to me, than not allowing the background to fall off and go dark. The Lowel ID Light is a tungsten (very warm) light, whereas the Nikon speedlight is a much cooler light. Had I set my camera to account for the light output by the speedlight, the Lowell would have turned my subject a very warm sickly orange. Instead, by setting my camera to account for the tungsten lightening, I knew my subject would look natural and the speedlight would throw off a very cool, blue-ish light.

If the speedlight had been gelled for tungsten light, then the color of the flash would’ve been more neutral in relation to the video light. But by keeping the color temperature of the Lowel ID-light, and the color temperature of the flash separate, there was this distinct jump between the colors. By setting the camera’s WB to Tungsten, the light from the flash turned blue.

Boudoir is about fantasy. The blue works, because it creates visual intrigue, in this case, compliments my clients blue lingerie, gives the background some umph and creates depth separating my client from what’s behind her. Success.

 - Brooke Ismach

- lighting for boudoir photo sessions
- more articles about boudoir photography

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
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using a small softbox for lighting an intimate / boudoir photo session

With intimate photo sessions, I use a number ways of lighting my subject. This helps to bring some variety to the images. It helps mixing things up a bit by not using just one specific way to light the session.

While I sometimes use a softbox, the medium sized softboxes (or the 24″ x 24″ softboxes) are just a little too big to swing around in a small room. With a recent on-location photo session in New York, I used the Lastolite 8.6″ Ezybox (B&H) a few times. I took it along on that photo session because it is so compact.

So when I arranged with a model, Carly Erin, to do another photo session, I instantly thought of taking this smaller softbox along. With the previous intimate photo session with Carly, I used bounce flash and tungsten light (the Lowel ID-light).  But this time I decided to predominantly use this new small softbox. And I really liked the results …

(before clicking on the ‘more’ link,
be aware that the rest of this post has images with some nudity.)

Here is the full image shown at the top:

The first thing to notice here is the fall-off in light. This is due to the small size of the softbox .. but also not due to the small size of the softbox. Let me explain …

By feathering the light from the softbox upwards. My assistant Jessica, (you know, the one with the attitude), was holding the softbox up in her hand. So by instructing Jessica to move the softbox in an upwards arc, we got the edge of the light from the softbox to fall on Carly’s face. And that is where that specific shadow comes from.  The light gently illuminating Carly’s body lower down, is from the light bouncing off the ceiling and walls.

Therefore the light you see in that image, is a mixture of light from the softbox and indirect light from the bounced light. And it works beautifully. While I did this on purpose, with an idea of what I wanted, the feedback from the camera’s preview was essential in getting to the specific result. And I really like the result.

camera settings:  1/60 @ f5.6 @ 500 ISO; flash set to TTL.
My on-camera speedlight was set to Master, but with its own output disabled. This Master speedlight tripped the Slaved speedlight that was in the Lastolite 8.6″ Ezybox (B&H).

So the result here was due to the small softbox … since the spread of light isn’t as wide as that of a medium softbox, it was easier to feather the light like this and thereby force this kind of light fall-off. So the light fall-off isn’t a negative side-effect of the softbox being small.  The light fall-off was intentional, and the small size of the softbox facilitated this.

equipment used for this photo:
Nikon D3;   Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 AF-S (B&H) … used at 50mm
Nikon SB-900 (B&H); Nikon SD-9 battery pack (B&H)
Lastolite Ezybox speed-lite 8.6″ (B&H)

Yes, that was shot at the 50mm focal length, but isn’t a close-up head-shot.

With this image, the softbox was used directly on Carly:

I liked the way the edge of a table to the left-hand side of the image, caused that shadow. But what you see there, isn’t quite how it looked. Here is the actual image:

We were in the living room area, with Carly sitting in the passageway leading to the bedrooms. The kitchen behind her. There just wasn’t the working space. So with some use of the Clone Tool and Healing brush, and a lot of use of the Content-Aware Fill tool of Photoshop CS5, I was able to make the green wall much larger. So now there is space. The Content-Aware Tool is certainly a great addition to Photoshop, but the person who really should win the Nobel Prize there at Adobe, is the genius that came up with the Healing Tool.

equipment used for this photo:
Nikon D3;   Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 AF-S (B&H) … used at 40mm
Nikon SB-900 (B&H); Nikon SD-9 battery pack (B&H)
Lastolite Ezybox speed-lite 8.6″ (B&H)

I was lying on my side on the floor to get that angle.

With this image, I really liked how the light from the softbox looked like light streaming in through the window, perhaps with the curtains half-open.

camera settings:  1/100 @ f2.8 @ 800 ISO; flash set to TTL at -1 FEC
My on-camera speedlight was set to Master, but with its own output disabled. This Master speedlight tripped the Slaved speedlight that was in the Lastolite 8.6″ Ezybox (B&H). With the light on the bookshelf on the background, this image really does have a sunshine-y look to it with the light from the softbox. My choice of settings were such to let the background blow out a little bit by over-exposing it. It also helps that it is so out of focus.

Equipment used for this photo:
Nikon D3;   Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 AF-S II (B&H) .. used at 125mm
Nikon SB-900 (B&H); Nikon SD-9 battery pack (B&H)
Lastolite Ezybox speed-lite 8.6? (B&H)

Here is the image with the flash disabled, so you can clearly see what the softbox lit up.

Then, just to change things up, I asked Jessica to point the sotbox into the room to bounce the flash. I pulled down the FEC to -2 EV so that the light from the flash is just a kind of fill light on her, retaining the mood.

Here is the pull-back shot:

While Jessica made the shoot much easier in that I could do minute adjustments to the position of the light without getting up, this small softbox would’ve been ideal on a compact light-stand.

One final image, this time just with available light and bounce flash (with the black foamie thing) to fill in the shadows.

camera settings:  1/250 @ f5.6 @ 800 ISO; flash set to TTL at 0 FEC

equipment used for this photo:
Nikon D3;   Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 AF-S (B&H) … used at 50mm
Nikon SB-900 (B&H); Nikon SD-9 battery pack (B&H)

All the photos here were retouched similar to described in the article on retouching and post-processing for portraits.

Final comment about the softbox:

When I bought the Lastolite 8.6″ Ezybox (B&H), I thought it seemed like it might be useful at some point somewhere. But after using it during this photo session, I can see that it will be an essential part of my lighting gear I take with me on photo shoots. I really do like the results.

One thing that helped with some images where we bounced the light from the softbox, was to remove the front baffle, and this gave us more control about the direction we were bouncing the flash towards. The edges of the softbox then flagged the light to an extent, giving us more control over the direction of light.

Related links:
- minimilast lighting for an intimate photo session (w/ Carly Erin)
- lighting for boudoir photo sessions
- boudoir photography and the 50mm lens

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies.   Thank you!

Stay informed of new articles via the monthly newsletter.
Also join us on the Tangents forum for further discussions.

boudoir photography and the 50mm lens

With working space often times so tight for boudoir photo sessions, there is the temptation to use a 50mm lens for tighter headshots. (On a full-frame D-SLR.) Instead of stepping back a bit and using an 85mm lens or longer, a bit of visual laziness comes into play, and we rely on the 50mm lens too much. It really is too short a focal length for a tight portrait. I think many photographers are even too in love with their 50mm lenses, and use it without thought of how this would distort someone’s face when used too close to their subjects.

I totally understand the need for compromise. Quite often the angle we need to shoot from – whether because of the shape of the room, or the direction of the light – dictates a shorter-than-ideal focal length. This still doesn’t make the 50mm a default lens to work with, and still doesn’t mean the images we’re getting couldn’t have looked better with a longer focal length.

On a crop-sensor camera, the dangers of using a 50mm lens as a portrait lens is reduced. Because of the crop factor of the specific camera, it forces a different perspective, similar to that if a short telephoto lens had been used on a full-frame (FF) camera. So the rest of the discussion here relates more to how the 50mm lens behaves on a FF camera, but users of crop-sensor cameras will find this relevant.

Now, before we delve deeper into this, some disclaimers to head off a few obvious arguments:
- yes, a 50mm lens can be used effectively,
- yes, wider lenses provide interesting angles and perspective,
- and I’m even aware of Bill Brandt’s work,
- yes, I am all for individualistic style,
- and yes, I know Suicide Girls style of photography,
- yes, I know my favorite pin-up photographer, Robert Alvarado, mostly uses a 24-70

For all that, here is the basic problem in using the 50mm lens as a tight portrait lens – it is just too short for what is attempted.

My general advice for choice of lens for boudoir photography:
- fall out of love with your 50mm lens. Use it when it is appropriate.
- use a longer focal length. Start with an 85mm lens.
- even then, use the 85mm lens for a loose portrait, rather than a tight portrait.
- use a 100mm / 105mm macro lens.
- use a 70-200mm lens rather than a 24-70mm lens.
- when you do use a 24-70mm lens, try it at the longer focal lengths first.

As an example, the photo at the top was taken with a 50mm lens.

This is as close as I would come with a 50mm lens in terms of a portrait of some kind. For me, the 50mm really is more of an environmental portrait type lens, rather than a tight portrait lens.

So please, for the love of all that is good on this planet, fall out love with your 50mm lens and pull out some other lenses better suited for portraits and specifically, boudoir photography!

Regarding the lighting in that photo, it is described in the article on lighting for boudoir photography.

recommended lenses for boudoir photography (B&H affiliate links)

Cano 85mm f/1.2L II		Canon 50mm f1.2L		Canon 100mm f2.8L macro IS
Nikon 85mm f1.4G AF-S		Nikon 50mm f1.4 AF-S		Nikon 105mm f2.8 macro VR

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies.   Thank you!

Stay informed of new articles via the monthly newsletter.
Also join us on the Tangents forum for further discussions.

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 …

Shooting close and tight, the end result isn’t entirely boudoir, but a little more portrait-y … yet still sexy and intimate.
I wanted to retain a mood of gentle sensuality to the sequence of images.

For my lighting, I ended up using either video light or bounce flash for my light.
The photos with the birdcage veil are all done with a single video light on her, and a dimmer video light on the background.  The tungsten and fluorescent lights in the ceiling and elsewhere in the room did register to an extent.

To control what I included in the frame, I used a few simple techniques.
Shallow depth of field as in the image above, where I purposely composed the image so that the out-of-focus Christmas lights helped frame her.
In other images here, I shot tight from above so that the red silk sheets dominated.
Other times I shot from a low viewpoint to eliminate what I didn’t want to include.

We went a little retro with the bird-cage veil at the start of the photo session,
but soon lost that for some sensual portraits …

More images from the rest of the session …

techie details:

camera: Nikon D3
lenses: Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 AF-S VR II (B&H),
except for image #4, where I used the Nikon 105mm f2.8 AF-S VR macro (B&H)

settings: all images at f2.8 … shutter speeds varied from 1/100 to 1/125

more articles:
- bounce flash photography
- video clip on using the black foamie thing
 - using video light for photography

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies.   Thank you!

Stay informed of new articles via the monthly newsletter.
Also join us on the Tangents forum for further discussions.

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 …

In this case I positioned her so that the bedside table lamp gave a beautiful rim lighting on her.  Her reflection is lit up directly, but from my point of view, I get a more dramatic light.

1/250 @ f2 @ 1600 ISO
Nikon D3; Nikon 85mm f1.4 (B&H)

Before specifically directing her, I loosely positioned her so that I can figure out the direction and quality of light falling on her.  The background is of huge importance as well.  Only when I am sure there is something there to work with, do I guide my model or client, and then start shooting a few frames.

It helps immensely to show her on my camera’s preview what we’re getting.  This reinforcement is a huge boost to everyone’s confidence in the shoot.

Another image where I shot against the main source of light.  I specifically wanted those highlights in the background to blow out like that, and positioned her for that.

1/160 @ f1.6 @ 1600 ISO
Nikon D3; Nikon 85mm f1.4 (B&H)

Choice of lenses obviously also have an influence on the final look of the images.  The change in perspective forced by a different focal length, helps breaks things up again.  The change in depth-of-field between using a fast prime lens and using a zoom, also helps create variety in the images.

Two images from a recent boudoir photo session, where I changed to different lenses for parts of the session.  A 50mm f1.4 optic and a 105mm f2.8 macro lens.  Again, both where taken with just the available light from the window in the hotel room.

1/100 @ f3 @ 1250 ISO
Nikon D3; Nikon 105mm f2.8 AF-S macro (B&H)

.

1/160 @ f1.6 @ 1250 ISO
Nikon D3; Nikon 50mm f1.4 AF-S (B&H)

.

Bounce flash

I do use on-camera bounce flash during these sessions, but I  concentrate on using the existing lighting in the room.  Part of the problem in using bounce flash, is that it can open up the scene too much.  You quite often lose the interesting lighting patterns and the interesting way that the available light falls onto your subject.

But it can work, if that’s the effect that you want …

1/100 @ f3.5 @ 1250 ISO
Nikon D3; Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 AF-S (B&H); Nikon SB-900 (B&H)

With that image above, my settings were such that the ambient light in the room registered.  I could’ve used a much lower ISO and smaller aperture, but that would’ve given a different effect than I wanted.

With this next image, I had her stand in a doorway.  This kept the rest of the room from ‘opening up’ with the bounce flash.  But I then had to carefully position her against the background to create some separation.  I also wanted some interesting defocused elements in the background.

1/250 @ f3.2 @ 1250 ISO
Nikon D3; Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 AF-S (B&H); Nikon SB-900 (B&H)

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Video lights

As mentioned in a previous post, one of my favourite piece of lighting equipment at a boudoir photo session is the video light.  I use the Lowell iD-light.

1/60 @ f3.5 @ 1250 ISO
Nikon D3; Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 AF-S (B&H)

The video light gives a concentrated light, which can be quite dramatic if used carefully.  The key is to look at the way the light falls on your subject’s face, and how the shadow of your subject’s nose falls.  It is best if you avoid the shadow of your subject’s nose falling over their mouth or across their cheek.  With this in mind, I always instruct my assistant to follow my subject’s movement with the video light .. and to carefully look at how the nose’s shadow appears.

To counter-balance that effect of the video light, I often add bounced flash to the equation.  But I dial down the flash exposure compensation so that the flash merely helps to lift the contrast of the scene.  And it is also essential that I gel my flash for Tungsten in a case like this.

1/250 @ f2.5 @ 1600 ISO
Nikon D3; Nikon 50mm f1.4 AF-S (B&H); Nikon SB-900 (B&H)

But then, just to mix it up, here I used  video light and ambient light.  I diffused the video light with a coffee filter to give a softer light.

With the video light diffused like that, and mixed with the daylight filtering through the curtains, it gave a nice warm mix to the scene.  And it works.

1/250 @ f3.2 @ 1600 ISO
Nikon D3; Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 AF-S (B&H);  Nikon SB-900  (B&H)

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The idea remains then that it is crucial to really consider the existing light.  Look at the direction of the light.  See how many light sources you have.  Then figure out whether you need to add additional light, and what kind of light you want to throw into the mix.  In the end it always comes back to the quality of light you have … and how you use it and supplement it.

For more examples of my boudoir / intimate sessions photography, please check out my gallery.

recommended lenses for boudoir photography (B&H affiliate links)

Canon 85mm f/1.2L II		Canon 50mm f1.2L		Canon 100mm f2.8L macro IS
Nikon 85mm f1.4G AF-S		Nikon 50mm f1.4 AF-S		Nikon 105mm f2.8 macro VR

If you find these articles interesting and of value, then you can help by using
these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies.   Thank you!

Stay informed of new articles via the monthly newsletter.
Also join us on the Tangents forum for further discussions.

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, hyper focal distance, and so on.

But a working approach might just be simpler than that …

Previously, lenses had DoF engravings on them, which gave you a visual clue as to what might appear sharp enough at specific focusing distances, for a specific aperture for a specific lens.  You could carry DoF tables with you.  You now even have applications for the iPhone which tell you how much DoF you will have for specific lenses and cameras.

As a portrait and wedding photographer, I don’t bother with that much any more.  Partly experience (and that always helps), but partly because for myself, I’ve now reduced the question of “How much depth of field do you need?”, to this answer:  just enough.

That might seem like a dismissive and facetious reply.  However, how much depth of field do you really need?  Just enough.

Now, depending on what field of photography you’re in, your requirements will be different.  A portrait photographer has other criteria than a  photographer that might primarily be dealing with landscapes or  commercial work or architecture or sport or news.  So do keep in mind that my answers here might not apply to you.  I have to add that qualification before the rest gets shredded by the readers of this blog. ; )

I decide on depth of field by grouping my needs into three categories ..
- shallow depth of field (f1.4 to f2.8 .. or even f4)
- medium depth of field (around f4 – f8)
- lots of depth of field (f8 and deeper)

When I photograph a portrait, I am often just interested in getting the subject’s eyes in focus.  So a shallow DoF would work.  Therefore any aperture between f4.0 and f1.4 would work.   The way the background renders, and how much of your subjects face is in focus will obviously vary.  But the most important aspect of nearly any portrait – the eyes - will be in focus, and with that you’ll have captured the essential part.

The images accompanying this post was taken during a photo session where the intention was to capture the mood and and a certain sexy allure.  For this I wanted a very shallow depth of field.

How much DoF did I need?  Just enough.  Meaning … f2.8 would’ve done it, as well as f2 or f1.4 or anywhere in-between.  The way the photographs would’ve appeared would’ve changed a fair amount between f1.4 and f2.8 .. but neither would be incorrect for this scenario.  I could’ve used any aperture there and still have been successful.  But I wanted very shallow depth of field, so I settled on 1.4 which was especially helpful since I was shooting mostly around 1/30 – 1/160th at 1600 ISO during the entire session.  All hand-held.

The point I am trying to make here is that with this scenario (and I’d happily wager that it is true for most shooting situations), I didn’t have to consult DoF tables.  I just had to decide on a range of apertures that I should be working in. I wanted shallow depth-of-field, and would’ve achieved that effect with a fairly large range of apertures.

Also, keep in mind that DoF doesn’t have strictly definable edges.  Meaning that if your DoF tables of DoF calculator tells you that at f5.6 you’ll have enough DoF between the range of (let’s say) 1.5 meters to 4 meters … that doesn’t mean that at 4 meters everything will be crisp, and at f4.5 it will be dreamily out of focus.  It doesn’t work like that.  It’s a gradual changing of how sharp something appears to be.  This is important in understanding the effect of DoF and a change in apertures.  It is gradual, and not step-like.

This implies that there is such a gradual change between adjacent 1/3 stop values for an aperture, that it becomes trivial to pursue the difference between f3.5 and f4 … it is a more practical method to decide on a range of apertures where you need to be, and find the appropriate shutter speed and ISO range … and then juggle those three balls (aperture, shutter speed, ISO), to give you practical and useful settings for your camera.

Obviously with a group you’re going to need more DoF, and then you’d most likely be working in the range of f4.0 to f8.  If your subjects are standing (or sitting) in a way that their eyes are more or less on the same plane of focus, you could easily get away with an aperture of f4 on a full-frame D-SLR.  But as soon as they are staggered, you’re going to need a smaller aperture.  f8 .. or even smaller (which would mean a numerically larger number for the aperture)

With landscapes, photographers often need lots of DoF, but it depends on your artistic approach.  You could as easily use a very wide aperture to isolate an element in that landscape.  But, if you need greater DoF, you’ll be working in the f11 and f16 region.  But at f22 and smaller you’re starting to hit a ceiling where diffraction starts to seriously degrade image quality. (But that’s another intense topic that you could investigate further with a Google search if need be.)

As a final aside, using shallow depth of field allows me to direct the viewer’s attention.  Here are two images .. in the first image I focused on her eyes, and the second image I focused on her hands.  For me, both images are equally successful.

Finally, to sum up this meandering post .. I wanted to indicate a way to free you up artistically from the anxiety of deciding on a specific aperture .. especially if you’ve been using  DoF calculators.  My working approach to decisions about DoF:  Decide how much depth of field you approximately need, and then use an aperture in that range where you’ll have  just enough depth of field.  Self-apparent in its simplicity.

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using a video light for boudoir photography

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 use video light for photography lighting.

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these affiliate links to order equipment & other goodies.   Thank you!

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