The French term used to define a woman’s bedroom, room used by the ladies to change clothes or shower, also became well known in the wedding photograph. The boudoir essay is used to present the groom with sexy and provocative images of his future wife, but without nudity most of the time.
The purpose of these images is to demonstrate sensuality with feeling, valuing the curves of the woman. Therefore, the demand for boudoir albums has grown a lot and you as a photographer should prepare for this trend.
Below are six practical and useful tips for improving your boudoir essay and capturing beautiful images. See!
1 The boudoir essay place should be intimate
The environment where boudoir photographs will be taken is not very important, as long as you know how to value it in the images and give the desired effect. However, this can be a great differential for the model or client. Where would she feel more comfortable recording these sexy images? In your own home, in a hotel or photo studio?
Talk to the model and ask her these questions. The ideal would be to do the boudoir rehearsal at the house of the bride and groom or where they intend to spend their honeymoon, for example. In addition to the sexy photos serve as anticipation for this long-awaited moment, they will have an even greater meaning for the couple.
Similarly, the more intimate and welcoming the chosen place the more natural the photos will look. Not forgetting that a place known to the bride can help her loosen up during the boudoir rehearsal.
2 Leave the model relaxed
The boudoir photograph is directly linked to the sensuality of the woman and, for this, the model needs to relax and enjoy the moment. If she is tense during captures, this may be evident through her hands or shoulders.
For this reason, his work as a photographer also concerns reassuring the client. Talk about everyday issues to eliminate tension and avoid talking directly about nudity, at least at first. Try to make her forget that she’s wearing underwear, for example. Generally, people feel vulnerable in these circumstances.
If you realize she’s too tense, stop the boudoir rehearsal. Put the camera aside for a few minutes and suggest some relaxation exercises for the bride. Some sequenced inspirations and expirations are useful to eliminate tension and make it more relaxed during photos.
3 Do not overdo the equipment
When we talk about a boudoir essay, there’s a good chance you’ll need to move around with your photographic equipment. In these less hours it’s more! The smaller the number of equipment needed for boudoir photography, the easier it is to transport them from one place to another.
Because of that, don’t overdo it! For a small room, for example, two external flashes, a stand and a parasol are enough to take care of the lighting of the environment. Moreover, the settings of your DSLR camera can handle it.
Also, know how to improvise during sexy photos. You can use ambient furniture as photo accessories. A simple bench, for example, serves as a support for you to capture images from above and so on. Use creativity not only for images, but also to find improvised work tools.
4 Choose more welcoming lighting
There are no excuses, a boudoir essay should be warm, romantic and sensual at the same time. If you’ve been in the world of photography for some time, you already know that good lighting can yield these effects on your images, don’t you?
I would say that much of the effort in boudoir photography is linked to lighting, followed by interaction with the model, of course. In this case, take the time to create lighting that is consistent with the message you want to convey.
A yellowish effect, for example, gives a warmer and more welcoming look to the photograph. You can portray this in your images by going up the white balance, depending on the lighting source you are using.
5 No Photoshop is better
It all depends on the purpose of the boudoir trial. However, as it is used to gift the groom, no editing is better. Of course, color corrections or slight touch-ups have no problems, but avoid creating perfect images, like those seen in magazines.
The couple already knows each other, so it is important that the photographs are faithful to reality. At least they should be as close to that as possible. Therefore, avoid retouching the photo too much in Photoshop or another image editor.
If the customer asks you to do so, try to argue the true meaning of boudoir photography. Show her that the goal is to be sexy, but not perfect. After all, there’s no harm in having some stretch marks or not being a catwalk model, isn’t it?
6 Don’t forget privacy
We come to one of the most important items of our tips to improve your boudoir essay. Unlike in other photographic styles, in boudoir photography you have to deal with an inexperienced model, usually your client.
Because of this, the photographer should have waist play, common sense and respect above all. Respect the space of the woman being photographed and do not break into her privacy. Reserve a place where she can change during rehearsal and give her privacy.
If necessary, leave the room between catches so that it changes the look. Remember that the most important thing is to make her feel beautiful and comfortable throughout the rehearsal, okay? In addition, this professionalism can also yield indications of future work with boudoir photography.
Although digital camera settings and other care are similar to other styles of photography, during a boudoir rehearsal you have specific concerns as we saw above. These are important aspects when creating these sexy albums and achieving a spectacular end result. So stay tuned for all the tips!
Don’t forget also to use creativity at will in a boudoir essay. The more daring and creative the images, the better the effect of the album. If you’ve already made these daring captures in your career as a photographer, share your experiences below.
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