TIPS TO IMPROVE THE PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER TECHNIQUE FOR LOOKBOOK
Boudoir photography and photographer related with this technique, has become the term for a kind of sexy photography with models wearing underwears and bra.
The dictionary defines the word boudoir as ” lady’s sitting in a room for an elegant or confidential conversation, or for spa activities “.
I think instead that the maximum improvement of this type of photography could have been obtained by focusing on clients who were looking for a photographer capable of capturing their sexy side for an image to dedicate to their boyfriend or husband, or simply to themselves.
In the wake of this trend, many photographers have expanded the concept of boudoir photography to include shooting in unusual settings with an original style.
We start with the creation of the environment, the make-up, pose of the models, and the lighting schemes.
Creating an atmosphere of sensuality on the set is important.
In many successful shots we can see how often the position of the arms of our models and the intensity of their expression, their eyes, reveals all the capacity for seduction.
Adding props, when combined with taste, increases the touch of elegance to your photography.
The purpose of boudoir photography is to capture our subject at any “subconscious” moment.
Another satisfaction of boudoir portrait photography comes from presenting very ordinary people in a way that resembles the models they see in magazines or movies, or in an environment inspired by their dreams.
The constant search for the creation of new settings, therefore, plays an important and engaging role.
For example, within a required set around Christmas time, they can add party elements like garter, balloons, sparkling wine for the upcoming New Year, all those elements may inspire a model to feel much more effervescent in front of the photographer lens…
During the shooting session the portrait photographer combines reality and fantasy, becoming a witness of a visual poetry capable of making memorable photos.
People are awash with sophisticated magazines trying to turn an ordinary person into a “perfect” human being, most readers don’t realize that light and many other techniques are cleverly used to create these illusions.
The budoir portrait photographer for lookbooks and more, helps subjects change their perception of themselves when confronted with supermodels in magazines and many other.
After a boudoir photography session, most of them they discover a new confidence.
Thanks to the spread of the cult of fitness and therefore to the practice of gym, in recent years a new awareness about health and an attractive body has been transformed, so much so that it is not only the youngest who jump on the train of boudoir photography.
In this regard, one must always keep in mind that all subjects have wonderful attributes and qualities, so far the job of the portrait photographer is to discover these qualities in intelligent way that the client likes.
RENT OR BUY CAMERAS AND LIGHTS SUITABLE FOR PORTRAIT AND BUDOIR PHOTOGRAPHER
Photo equipment is important, but not as decisively important as learning to make the most from what you have yet.
The only way to grow up is to evolve, not adapt, to achieve anything less than your mind can imagine.
Portrait and lookbook photography sessions almost all take place with full frame, DSLR, and latest generation, mirrorless cameras, as far as digital photography is concerned.
Only few fearless and true masters of photographic techniques continue to perpetrate the use of medium and large format films on cameras like made by Hasselblad.
A favorite lens for vintage lovers is the Carl Zeiss Sonnar 150mm for Hasselblad.
Of course, there are hundreds of other great lenses on the market.
Choose the one that meets your needs, but stay faithful of it.
But be warned: When’re buying a camera and flash lighting system, be sure to buy one from a brand that will grow as your needs and skills grow.
Proper use of exposure, composition and lighting is extremely important, also for almost any portrait photography, the use of electronic flashes is always highly valued.
The benefits of using electronic flashes include:
The electronic flash which is short and intense, becomes the important factor that helps to capture moments of spontaneity and virtually prevents any movement of the subject.
No heat, this is a great advantage when taking portrait photos, the tungsten light, in fact, can reach a high temperature for the subject and this may cause the melting of the makeup.
Color temperature, the light emitted by the flashes can also be balanced for use with daylight, for example by applying different color gels, which is a great advantage when shooting outdoors where you need to mix the flash light with natural light.
In addition, electronic flashes provide the portrait-boudoir photographer with a large lighting equipment, easily transportable, also it can be changed and adapted quickly to different kind of situations.
There are several useful accessories available for changing the type of light, including:
Reflectors, the simplest means of control you can use is the flashlight reflector.
Its function is to direct all the rays of light in the same direction and it is available in different shapes and sizes, the flat reflector provides almost uniform illumination over a 180° area and is basically used with a reflective umbrella.
Depending on their shape, reflectors can provide all types of coverage, from concentrated to diffuse kind of light, a large diameter reflector will provide a softer fill light than a smaller diameter one.
Accessories for reflectors, the ones we find most useful are the spot grids and deflectors.
The grids control the light to provide a concentrated beam with soft edges.
The deflector is used with a reflector equipped with a large diameter “dish” and is used to obtain the light reflected uniformly, in order to make the features softer.
Diffusers, one of the best ways to soften the light is to use some diffusion materials placed between the flash and the subject.
The further away from the flash the element is, means more wider and softer the illumination field will be.
Simply ideal materials include paper for drawing, shower curtains, white sheets, frosted glass and white acrylic sheets.
It’ s important that each of these materials is white as possible, however if the color tone is slightly warmer, is acceptable.
Umbrellas as light diffuser are available in a large variety of sizes and materials.
Those from 90cm to 120cm with matt or semi-matt white reflective interior are very versatile, the umbrella is used to widen the coverage range of a small light source that you want to direct towards, or place inside, an already illuminated area.
With an enlarged illumination range, a quality of light is much more suitable for the portrait photographer.
Softboxes, these types of light boxes provide easily to control the illumination, and high quality diffused light ideal for portrait photography.
The softbox light has a very intense, soft but directional light, without mixing excessively with other light sources.
Reflective panels, to lower the contrast in portraits, you can use polystyrene panels that reflect the light towards the shadow areas of the set reducing the lighting ratio between lights and shadows, that is the contrast.
The result of the photo is a softer scene, the same one that can be obtained using a second flash, with the difference that this system can produce an unsightly second shadow as well as involving a precious point of light that could have been more useful elsewhere on the set.
Interventions on light in portrait-boudoir photography, to change the light quality for different shooting needs, plenty of color gelatins are used, useful for example to simulate morning or evening lighting effects coming from a window on the set.
The so-called gobo is nothing more than a flag or a cardboard that is used to modify or direct the path of light away from the subject or to block any type of stray light, especially when it risks ending up on the objective lens.
A polystyrene board with a series of holes is what is called a cookie and is truly a great tool for creating some moods.
Panels of different sizes, with irregular holes, create the effect of material lighting such as shadows of trees branches, simulating the external atmosphere.
Parallel holes, long and narrow, on the other hand, provide the effect of light passing through a venetian blind.
ADVERTISE YOURSELF IN PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY MARKET
The first step is to identify the four “P’s” of marketing: place, product, price and promotion and apply them to your business.
The “place” is about your choice of working in the studio or on the spot.
Ask yourself: Who is my target as portrait photographer? Am I operating in an area with too many competitors?
The product: in which format will I work? What is the advantage of this format? Can I also offer retouching?
The price includes everything from the positioning you want to give to the studio to the market situation.
Targeted Promotions: as a portrait and boudoir photographer, you will quickly realize that some occasions such as vacations (Christmas, Halloween, Easter…) are very profitable.
And, depending on the party, a myriad of typical props are at your disposal.
To take advantage of these opportunities it is necessary to think about organizing the photographic studio well in advance, in fact not only will you have to create a minimum of advertising campaign, but you will need also at your disposal a series of objects and accessories in order to do not delay the delivery to your client.
Every occasion is useful to ask potential customers to fill out a simple questionnaire: keep in mind that you are looking for information that makes portrait and boudoir photography unique.
This also allows you to count on a satisfied clientele.
Furthermore, it is about creating a list of potential clients for new job opportunities.
Referring to the hobbies of the client or his/her partner certainly means achieve the goal, and sport is one of the main ways to go, also diversify from the portrait and boudoir photographer, why not, even into a sport photography.
Another step is to often compare past projects with the most recent photo shooting, focusing of the concept of evolution into a note of paper, answering about this question: “what could I have improved?”.
It will help us to make the profession of photographer always updated, looking all the time for original ideas, always leading us to the creation of new atmospheres of portraits and suggestive boudoir photos, because they will reflect the intimate characteristics of the client.
