Sara - a first in boudoir! (Possibly NSFW)

[Austin Greene]

These are a lot of photos, so I don't expect CC on each. If you could just give me your gut reaction, or pick out one in particular to CC, I'd appreciate it

Some of you might have seen my post in the "Beyond the Basics" forum mentioning I had an upcoming boudoir shoot, a first for me. Well, it happened. Overall, I was very happy with the shoot. We budgeted three hours, the first of which comprised of me exploring the small apartment for frames, cleaning/moving things, and getting a handle on how I wanted to light things.

The first frames went off slightly uncomfortable, I was a little concerned, but as soon as her housemates left she completely loosened up. It was really refreshing to work side by side with such a beautiful girl and have both of us be completely comfortable, regardless of degree of...coverage. This was both of our first times doing boudoir (she's a student, not a model) and I didn't waste too much time on any one particular pose or setup. We chose to go for more of a glamour, more harshly lit look than I think most boudoir carries. I wanted what light I added to be soft, but I wanted to retain some strong shadows in most images. Those photos with motocross gear were taken for her boyfriend (his gear).

I ended up using the 85mm for the entirety of the shoot. It just felt so damn comfortable and instinctive to use in such a small environment. This lens is probably my favorite right now, to say it's a workhorse is an understatement. Taking the advice of TPF I often stopped down from 2.8 to 5.6 or so when shooting some of my flash images, just to pull a bit more of her into focus. My only big grief with the shoot is a few of the windows. Given my 1/160 sync speed on the 6D I just couldn't pull the ambient light down enough provided the time of day, and as it turns out we didn't have an assistant to help hold scrims, etc. I could also do with a bit more variation in expression. Things for me to keep in mind for next go around!


P.S: The model has requested I not post two to Facebook (which is tied to my FB), I'll provide a link to it on my website when I'm done with this post.

1. Not really intended to be too boudoir-ish on this one, more a portrait of her, less sex appeal.

Sara by TogaLive, on Flickr

2.

Sara by TogaLive, on Flickr

3.

Sara by TogaLive, on Flickr

4.

Sara by TogaLive, on Flickr

5.

Sara by TogaLive, on Flickr

6.

Sara by TogaLive, on Flickr

7.

Sara by TogaLive, on Flickr

8.

Sara & Bonnie by TogaLive, on Flickr

9.

Sara by TogaLive, on Flickr

 

[tirediron]

Nice job.

 

[Derrel]

Yeah, not too bad for your first time! 2,8,9 are my favorites, and 7 would be in the mix too.

 

[D-B-J]

Seems like a good set! Nicely done--the lighting seems good, and the poses are tasteful.

Jake


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[LarryLomona]

great photo in my opinion.

 

[JoeW]

First, good job with some lovely results on your first shoot of these type.

Second, here are my tips:

#1: Make it B&W. The string of pearls will jump out and contrast against her hair. She looks just a little apprehensive in that picture--not a great expression for her but otherwise nice.
#2: Lovely shot and pose. You need to add some light to her face. During the shot, with a reflector or snoot or barn door. Post-production--lighten that area. The viewer's eyes are drawn to light (the underwear) and not her face so change that and the photo will be even more effective.
#3: Nice photo. Would work better with a hint of a smile or if she looks as if she's thinking something/trying to decide what to do next.
#4/#5/#6: Better photos if they show more of her. Instead, they come off as if you're just focusing on skin or underwear.
#7: Lovely art photo. Here's how to shoot it better the next time around...get her face out of the shuttered light (dark is fine) and then lighten it (with a reflector or post-production). Have the shadow and light on her body (not breaking up her face). Then have her turn sideways to the shadow. The curves of her body will distort the lines and shadows creating interesting patterns.
#8: Outstanding boudoir shot and very effective use of bokeh. Try not to cut her feet off at the ankles otherwise that's nothing but a complete "win" in my book.
#9: Outstanding boudoir shot. Two hints the next time you shoot that pose...have the model put all of her hair on one side of her face. And have her point her feet. Yeah, it's unnatural but it creates a more flowing set of visual lines, she'll look more graceful.

 

[kathyt]

#7 is stunning.

 

[slackercruster]

Good work!

 

[Austin Greene]

First, good job with some lovely results on your first shoot of these type.

Second, here are my tips:

#1: Make it B&W. The string of pearls will jump out and contrast against her hair. She looks just a little apprehensive in that picture--not a great expression for her but otherwise nice.
#2: Lovely shot and pose. You need to add some light to her face. During the shot, with a reflector or snoot or barn door. Post-production--lighten that area. The viewer's eyes are drawn to light (the underwear) and not her face so change that and the photo will be even more effective.
#3: Nice photo. Would work better with a hint of a smile or if she looks as if she's thinking something/trying to decide what to do next.
#4/#5/#6: Better photos if they show more of her. Instead, they come off as if you're just focusing on skin or underwear.
#7: Lovely art photo. Here's how to shoot it better the next time around...get her face out of the shuttered light (dark is fine) and then lighten it (with a reflector or post-production). Have the shadow and light on her body (not breaking up her face). Then have her turn sideways to the shadow. The curves of her body will distort the lines and shadows creating interesting patterns.
#8: Outstanding boudoir shot and very effective use of bokeh. Try not to cut her feet off at the ankles otherwise that's nothing but a complete "win" in my book.
#9: Outstanding boudoir shot. Two hints the next time you shoot that pose...have the model put all of her hair on one side of her face. And have her point her feet. Yeah, it's unnatural but it creates a more flowing set of visual lines, she'll look more graceful.

A special thankyou to everyone for the feedback! I was quite pleased with the results myself, and the success of the shoot as a whole is very much thanks to your help leading up to it, prior CC, tips, or otherwise

JoeW, thanks for the write-up! The lighting in #2 is very much done on purpose. The model wanted an image or two showing off her curves. In all seriousness, she wanted to just take a photo of her rear and nothing else in the frame. Not lighting her face, and allowing the lighter areas to draw attention to her waist was my concession. The pearls were placed to balance things out For #7, it was also an intentional decision to leave out the bottoms of her feet. Cords for the shades prevented me going wider, and I wanted her feet right at the base of the frame, if not in it. Perhaps I chopped off just a tad too much!

 

[pjaye]

Love 7 & 9 especially. They are really great. I think you did an outstanding job.

 

[Trever1t]

2, 7, 8 (9) are pretty good. First time, awesome! Natural light, great!

 

[EOV]

I also think you did great for your first time. That 85mm is really working out for you. Unless it was covered elsewhere, the real question is what happend to togalive?

 

[Austin Greene]

Thanks everyone! You all have been really encouraging. Oh, and yep, Togalive is no more. Thanks to Terri I've been able to have a few things adjusted for the sake of networking, and since most people on here know me by my first name anyways

 

[IronMaskDuval]

:blushing:

 

[Braineack]

great set.

I want to like #1, but it's not a great face.

I'm sure she'd appreciate it if you went as far as smoothing out her blotchy skin on her lens. I'd also edit 3-4-5 like 6 and achieve a more vibrant shot on a whiter bg.