intimate photoshoot

bc3544 · Jan 21, 2009

I am a beginner with a basic Canon 8 mp camera. I'm wanting to take some nood and partially clothed shots of my wife. She is kinda shy but let me take a few in a hotel room already.

What do I need to know to get the best poses, angles, crops, etc?

Also, what is a good free program to crop and process the pics I already have. All I have on my home computer is Microsoft Paint.

Samriel · Jan 21, 2009

What kind of nudes do you have in mind? A lot depends on that. You should now what kind of mood you want to capture - erotic, romantic, gentle, hard, honest, abstract, glamorous, dynamic, tranquil, snapshots, fine art etc.

What are your lightning options? If you're not doing outdoor nudes, some form of artificial lightning would be highly advisable.

As for editing software, many use Adobe Lightroom 2.0, Aperture and others. There are however one or two free editors which seem to be quite good, but I can't remember their names... Maybe someone else will.

EDIT: I think Gimp was one of them, but I'm not sure. Also, didn't you receive some kind of editing software with your camera?

flyin-lowe · Jan 21, 2009

I know many on here will disagree with me as it is a photo forum, but I work in law enforcement and I have seen nothing but bad come from people taking nudes of each other. I am sure a lot of people do it and have no problems but when things go bad it gets really bad. The good side is that the pics are going to be of your wife and not you.

my vote :thumbdown:

Lyncca · Jan 21, 2009

If she is shy maybe she would like to do more lingerie type shots or implied nudity (she is nude but nothing is shown in the photo due to posing positions). I think these are sexier anyway than full nudity.

ShutterSpeed · Jan 21, 2009

question: how did you ever convince your wife?

bc3544 · Jan 21, 2009

Tasteful. Nothing hard, but semi erotic yes. Romantic, yes. Tranquil, sometimes. So far most have been in briefs and topless and maybe one without the bottoms from behind.

I've seen some very nice "profile" (is that the right word?) shots taken thru a translucent shower curtain that I might try to duplicate. Beyond that, and the few I have taken I'm trying to think of ideas.

I'd like to do outdoor at some point but it is hard to find private locations that are suitable. For light I just have a flash on the camera and then whatever window/ceiling lights are available in the room and at that time of day.

bc3544 · Jan 21, 2009

ShutterSpeed said:
question: how did you ever convince your wife?

I told her I'd put the photos in a protected file that only I had access to so nobody would ever find it. It still took months of begging. Then she didn't like some of the pics, so I told her I will crop them.

rotchcrocket04 · Jan 21, 2009

I've done some shots of my girlfriend (of 3 years) and I must say, using artificial light (indoors) is the way to go. Do some research on some lighting and maybe consider this an option. You'll be amazed at the difference between other forms of lighting compared to a flash.

Although, if you have sufficient lighting in the room you're in give it a shot. Get the feel for the poses and ideals that you're trying to capture. Once she gets a little more comfortable with it, maybe then introduce lighting and try some new ideas.

It took my girlfriend and I many times before she was comfortable with it (because she had never done anything like that before). Although now she is alot more open to the idea of doing different shots, I think mostly because she understands my love for photography.

Lyncca · Jan 21, 2009

rotchcrocket04 said:
I think mostly because she understands my love for photography.

... and naked women... :lmao:

flyin-lowe · Jan 21, 2009

C&C thread?????:lmao:

bc3544 · Jan 21, 2009

flyin-lowe said:
C&C thread?????:lmao:

First you don't think anyone should take the pics, then you want to see them?

I wouldn't mind seeing a few examples, but I'm not sure I can post mine unless I can anonymize them first.

SrBiscuit · Jan 21, 2009

if your wife is anything like mine...and i would imagine most people who allow their pic to be taken with little to nothing on...be prepared to take a ton of photos, and toss most of them in the trash...my wife is VERY critical of herself when it comes to glamour/nudes.

as i have posted in the past, one thing we like to do together is browse thru deviantart.com artistic nudes or glamour sections of the photography...it gives us some ideas to run with and helps me in this capacity, as im not great at posing her and creative lighting yet...

here is the ONE shot she opted to keep from a set of over 100.

*crap...im blocked from getting it at work, but i'll post it up as soon as i get home*

keep shootin'

cosmoepic · Jan 21, 2009

i did a nude with my gf, she held a frame in front of herself then i PSed multiple images of her going inside the frame

came out well maybe ill post it...

Samriel · Jan 21, 2009

I suggest you try looking at some (ok, better a lot) of nudes to see what kind of poses and angles you and your wife prefer. I found that when taking nudes there are fewer universal rules as it is a somewhat taboo theme, so just feel free to play with your imagination. Many people dislike wide angles as they tend to distort the proportions too much, but on the other hand some people like them for exactly the same reason (can be useful to make the legs look longer i.E.).
Best is to think about the shots before the actual session, draw or write down your thoughs and make a plan of exactly what and how you want to take it. This will of course be altered here and there as you go, but I suggest you have some general guidelines and directions before you start.
You wife needs to get undressed and get in a bathrobe ca. two hours upfront for the underwear traces on the skin to disappear. Therefore if you are taking both nudes and semi-nudes in one sessions, start with the full nudes. The most important thing during the session is the comfort of your wife. The more comfortable she is, the more relaxed she can feel, the better and more natural photos you can take.

Some books I found helpful for the nude photography beginner:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Nude-Photography-Craft-Pascal-Baetens/dp/0756631769/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232581868&sr=8-1"]Nude Photography: The Art and the Craft, Pascal Baetens[/ame]

Has a bit of all: history, lightning, posing, mini-portfolios. A nice overview of some nude photography basics. Nothing spectacular, but quite useful.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Lighting-Nude-Photography-Professionals-Secrets/dp/294037810X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232581992&sr=1-2"]Lighting the Nude: Top Photographers Professionals Share Their Secrets, Roger Hicks and Francez Schultz[/ame]

This book is fool with photographs and small lightning graphs. Good for inspiration as well as a guide to learn about other photographer's lighting.

The best thing however is to look at many many nude and semi-nude photos, alone or with your wife, and see what you like and would like to try. For a beginner there is no shame in drawing inspiration from other's works, or even trying to mimic them.

mrodgers · Jan 21, 2009

bc3544 said:
I'd like to do outdoor at some point but it is hard to find private locations that are suitable. For light I just have a flash on the camera and then whatever window/ceiling lights are available in the room and at that time of day.

My backyard is quite a private location, I have no neighbors. You are welcome to come to my place for the outdoor shots.

Oh, it will have to be weekdays between 3:30 and 4:00. I get home from work at 3:30 and my daughter gets home at 4:10, so you have to be gone by around 4 :lmao: