DIY boudoir shoot help

keljbj · Jun 8, 2012

Hi. I'm very much an amatuer photographer, but i want to do something a little special for my husband's 40th birthday. I was thinking of taking some arty boudoir shots of myself, but i'm a little unsure of how i should set up. I have an Olympus E-410 and kit lenses, plus a legacy OM 50mm prime. I have one off-camera flash, but its not very good so i was thinking of going the natural light route.

Having said all that, i'm not really sure where to start :lol:

Anyone have any tips at all? I would hire someone to take the shots for me, except i don't have alot of cash to spare (hence one reason why i want to give him this for his birthday) and i'm a little bit shy

Solarflare · Jun 8, 2012

If you can get a woman as photographer, your shyness might be less of a problem.

If you want to do it alone, you will need a tripod of some sort. As the Olympus only weights 440g, a cheap ~60$ tripod like for example Dolica AX620B100 or Benro A-150EXU Digital Tripod Kit should suffice. Preferably try to get 2-3 chairs in the room so you can raise this kind of rather small tripod to somewhat more impressing levels, if you want to.

Other than that, you need idea what motives you want, a self-timer on the camera, which apparently is existent, and probably a lot of tries and retries because you cant see what you're shooting.

keljbj · Jun 8, 2012

Thanks for your reply

I do have a tripod, its not a Manfrotto but its a reasonably decent one

I guess i'm more unsure of how to get the effects that i want, mainly soft skin tones, artistic shadows etc.

DiskoJoe · Jun 8, 2012

Just check out some other peoples photos on flickr and see what they are doing. Lots of people just use natural light for boudoir photos. Just use the light to your advantage. See how the light streams in at the good times of day, like late afternoon or early morning. The poses are the important part. A remote trigger would be useful in your situation and they are not expensive. usually you can get one for about $10.

You have to post pics too or it didnt happen.

Robin Usagani · Jun 8, 2012

Paging gsgary.... gsgary....

DiskoJoe · Jun 8, 2012

Schwettylens said:
Paging gsgary.... gsgary....

he would totally come do the shoot for free.

gsgary · Jun 8, 2012

keljbj said:
Thanks for your reply I do have a tripod, its not a Manfrotto but its a reasonably decent one I guess i'm more unsure of how to get the effects that i want, mainly soft skin tones, artistic shadows etc.

Here's some i shot for the barmaid in my local, i will have to post a link NSFW

http://gsgary.smugmug.com/People/Tina-page-3-shoot/Image00034/545307480_DoiKh-L.jpg

http://gsgary.smugmug.com/People/Tina-page-3-shoot/Image00037/545307579_cxzyk-L.jpg

http://gsgary.smugmug.com/People/Tina-page-3-shoot/Image00039/545307619_VHea5-L.jpg

Patrice · Jun 8, 2012

Look at the images gsgary linked to get some ideas to start you off.

Its not so much outright in your face sexuality but the implication or the promise of sex to come if your nice. Gsgary's images has lighting that is a little harsher than the traditional boudoir look but it still works. Why? Because the sex is not in your face with all the naughty bits boldly exposed for examination.

Self shots are probably the most difficult type of portraiture to do well. It's very easy to see and criticize our faults and overlook our positives. Every person is attractive, the photographer's job in boudoir is to bring that out without being too obvious. The suggestion of asking a female photographer is not a bad one. If you don't have the funds for a professional then ask a friend, even if she is just there to help you out with your flash or your camera it's someone with a different set of eyes.

Have fun with this. Wear loose clothing before the shoot. Buy one or two pieces of new lingerie to make yourself feel special.

And.........

No matter what shwetty says, you don't have to share with the rest of us.

xjoewhitex · Jun 8, 2012

Patrice said:
Have fun with this. Wear loose clothing before the shoot. Buy one or two pieces of new lingerie to make yourself feel special.

Very important information that most do not think about when im shooting new ladies. Tight clothing will leave imprints in your skin for quite a while after you disrobe. So plan for that ahead of time, and I see no problem with you attempting this yourself altho it may take much longer than it would for someone else to take them for you. As stated, have fun it's an interesting and challenging project but im sure they will turn out fine.

gsgary · Jun 8, 2012

Patrice said:
Look at the images gsgary linked to get some ideas to start you off.

Its not so much outright in your face sexuality but the implication or the promise of sex to come if your nice. Gsgary's images has lighting that is a little harsher than the traditional boudoir look but it still works. Why? Because the sex is not in your face with all the naughty bits boldly exposed for examination.

Self shots are probably the most difficult type of portraiture to do well. It's very easy to see and criticize our faults and overlook our positives. Every person is attractive, the photographer's job in boudoir is to bring that out without being too obvious. The suggestion of asking a female photographer is not a bad one. If you don't have the funds for a professional then ask a friend, even if she is just there to help you out with your flash or your camera it's someone with a different set of eyes.

Have fun with this. Wear loose clothing before the shoot. Buy one or two pieces of new lingerie to make yourself feel special.

And.........

No matter what shwetty says, you don't have to share with the rest of us.

Ring flash on those shots

hopelaurenphotograph · Jun 8, 2012

DiskoJoe said:
Just check out some other peoples photos on flickr and see what they are doing. Lots of people just use natural light for boudoir photos. Just use the light to your advantage. See how the light streams in at the good times of day, like late afternoon or early morning. The poses are the important part. A remote trigger would be useful in your situation and they are not expensive. usually you can get one for about $10.

You have to post pics too or it didnt happen.

That last sentence there was unnecessary.

I just did some of these for my husband, and although they didn't turn out near as good as the ones that I did for a friend of mine before her wedding... they weren't bad. I found that focusing in the correct place and setting the timer made it very difficult to get the types of photos that I wanted. I had to do a decent amount of post-processing to get the lighting effects I wanted because it was simply becoming too time consuming trying to get exactly what I wanted doing self-portraits. A remote would be nice for this. If you have an external flash on the hot shoe mount you could bounce flash off a white wall or poster for nice lighting effects... or off a tan wall for a warmer look. Desk lamps in low light rooms also give a nice warm look.

keljbj · Jun 9, 2012

Thank you so much, you've all given me some great ideas to start off with

I wouldn't have thought about wearing loose clothes before i start, i will be doing the school run first so i probably would have stuck my usual skinny jeans etc on and then been annoyed with the ankle marks lol. I do have a wired trigger, hopefully the wire will be long enough that i can press the button and have enough time to throw it out of shot before the timer sets off lol. Wish i'd gone for a wireless one now but didn't really think i'd use it much so went for the cheaper option :/

gsgary, those shots are fab! I have now been out and got myself a string of faux pearls as i love the shot where she is biting them

I'd love to get a friend here to help me, but sadly all of my female friends work when i have the opportunity (i.e no children in the house!), so i really am all on my own in this. I'm excited though, i just hope i can do myself justice!

Robin Usagani · Jun 9, 2012

USAGANI PHOTOGRAPHY: Boudoir

gsgary · Jun 9, 2012

keljbj said:
Thank you so much, you've all given me some great ideas to start off with I wouldn't have thought about wearing loose clothes before i start, i will be doing the school run first so i probably would have stuck my usual skinny jeans etc on and then been annoyed with the ankle marks lol. I do have a wired trigger, hopefully the wire will be long enough that i can press the button and have enough time to throw it out of shot before the timer sets off lol. Wish i'd gone for a wireless one now but didn't really think i'd use it much so went for the cheaper option :/

gsgary, those shots are fab! I have now been out and got myself a string of faux pearls as i love the shot where she is biting them I'd love to get a friend here to help me, but sadly all of my female friends work when i have the opportunity (i.e no children in the house!), so i really am all on my own in this. I'm excited though, i just hope i can do myself justice!

I could pretend to be gay for the day and come and shoot you if that helps