COMPOSITION & CREATIVITY!!
To finish off our 5 Boudoir Shoot Ideas series I am going to be sharing with you my favorite composition and creative techniques to wow my clients. At the end of the day, art is art and while we are creating FOR our clients, we still want to do it in a way that fulfills our souls! Many clients love the opportunity to be the subject of an art piece and welcome the chance to help you fulfill your vision. I will photograph the standard images that clients enjoy, but then, if time allows or I have a special connection with the client I will take a chance to create some really cool imagery. Here are a few things I look for:
Set the Scene - I love creating a story with one image. As you saw in the couch and mirror blog post, I love creating sets that transport people and help them feel lost in a moment. To set the scene, I not only consider the set I am shooting in, but also my editing style, the wardrobe, and the character I ask my client to step into. Imagine if movies ONLY had a set design, but then took away the color toning, the feelings and expressions of the actors, the music, etc. how much feeling would you actually get from the movie? Certain wardrobe pieces make people confident, sexy, sensual, powerful, etc. Background music that sets the scene will help your client step into their power or fall into themselves with emotion.
For this shoot with Stefania, I brought this cute little vintage bra and panty set to shoot in her pink bathroom. We added the head wrap and wanted to channel this vintage aesthetic of a girl next door with an attitude. The juxtaposition of the soft pink and ruffly/floral pattern with the cigarette and shaving adds an element of playfulness.
For my gothic-Marie Antoinette shoot I wanted to once again juxtapose the softness of the pastels with a darker, luxury vibe. I opted for cooler tones in editing to make it more of a Renaissance kinda vibe with all the textures, colors, and patterns.
This shoot was done in a pool in the middle of the day in florida. I want to channel the excessiveness of Miami vibes by putting her in a Fran Drescher as the Nanny styled jacket and then put her in the pool for a flair of 0 fucks given. (You can see I have a theme with my ladies…) This idea of a woman jumping into a pool, not caring about her extravagant wardrobe really spoke to me - plus I always have this thing for having people splash me when we are near bodies of water.
After watching Dear White People, I fell in love with the composition and color tones and I wanted to push that a bit further with graininess of this series of images. We were in a random art studio in Oklahoma after one of our workshops so I really wanted to push the creativity. I shot this at ISO 2000 to push the grain and then added more in Lightroom. The room had a lot of large canvasses and frames that I wanted to use to make her look smaller in the frame.
I shot this image from up on the stairs. I wanted to frame her on the counter but still give perspective to the fact that she is in a regular house/home.
Go Minimalist - When I don’t like to go over the top, I go completely minimalist and love to shoot on a basic backdrop or against a basic wall to create some really glorious images. Instead of telling a story, the emptiness of the background helps the viewer focus in on the subject to truly see them. I use these images to really capture clients’ emotions.
Whip that Hair (and other stuff) - I cannot even tell you how much I love messy, windblown hair! Now, not every client will have hair that can whip about and that’s totally okay, because you can incorporate anything that moves: fringe jackets, skirts, fabric, etc. to capture the movement! I lower my shutter speed to blur the movement a little bit to capture the “energy”!
Light it up - Playing around with different forms of lighting is one of my favorite ways to provide my clients with an amazing experience. Something happens when you turn on a ringlight and have the fan blowing or you are popping off your strobe lights as though they are super models about to step onto the cover of Vogue. Having an array of different lighting skills under your belt allows you to explore and be super creative. I mean if Terry Richardson (ick) can make a name for himself using a bare flash bulb and Ellen Von Unwerth (amaaaazing) can make magic with a simple strobe then YOU can also create some epic imagery! In a session with a client, I like to utilize natural light, strobe, neon lights, and constant white lights if I am in the studio OR if I am in an airbnb or have no lighting equipment I use lamps to create an ambient mood. Don’t be afraid to try different things :D Light is light is light.
High contrast black and whites with the ring light up close to my client. (I have the Neewer version from Amazon)
To create this image, we used the Yungnuo 360 icelights to create the blue light and then I had my assistant shine a flashlight through my stained glass windows to shine pink and orange onto my subject. We played around with a few different lights (LED flashlight, cellphone flashlight, and lamp) to figure out which one gave us the vibe we were looking for!
This image was only lit up by the fridge light as she sat with her back against the counter behind her.
I love using my AlienBee strobes to create beauty portraits or fashion inspired images for my clients. These ones make for great headshots and profile pics.
Natural light will always be my favorite. I love looking for pockets of light, dapples of light, soft light, soft glowing light, etc. I think I love that it requires me to adapt and I have to make do with what is, instead of making what isn’t.
Foreground Fun - Putting things in front of my lens has always been fun for me. I’ve been shooting through shit since I shot weddings and now that I do boudoir I like to challenge myself to create magic with anything that’s even slightly translucent. Personally, I choose to shoot with a wide open aperture (2.8 or lower) and shoot towards the light source so the light refracts (or reflects!) through my item. I have been known to use little glass cubes from the thrift store, drinking glasses, coasters, iridescent gift bows, and colored plastic rulers. The sky’s the limit when shooting through stuff and will help you create some epic images for your clients!
Well, that wraps up our 5 Boudoir Shoot Ideas to Make Your Clients Swoon! I cannot wait to see what you get up to and how you implement any of the items I have recommended in this series! If you found it particularly helpful and want more content like this, feel free to join our Facebook group here or subscribe to my education platform and get new curious, creative, and challenging content every month!!
