Boudoir Lighting- Selective

I want to wish everyone a Happy Fourth as I write this Independence day week!

As we talked last week, I wanted to share some different lighting for boudoir. This week we will focus (a fave photographer's term!) on what I call Selective lighting. With any kind of portraiture, the photographer wants to highlight the positives and shadow the not-so-desirable parts. I hear all the time, "Can you make me thinner?" Or, "Will you make my breasts bigger?" We can do this with both lighting and posing. 

In the first image, I used a strip box which narrows the light source. The idea was to show off her tush. She didn't know what we were doing at the time. It was funny because when she saw the image, she said, "Hey! I have a butt!" The rest of her is mostly shadowed, and yes, even though she has a beautiful body we wanted to show off something she didn't think she had. Her response is a compliment that every photographer likes to hear!

In the next image, we were working with available window light. I love using shadows to create some drama. But on this day the sky was becoming very overcast and ready to rain. There was very little light coming through so I wanted to find a small beam and try to use it to bring out her features. Krista has nice shape so I tried to put her where the light would feather across her chest. There was also a little light coming across her legs, which I thought was perfect. We were both concerned there wasn't enough light coming through, but she really liked what this image did for her. This lighting would also be useful to hide some tummy as the shadows fall around her waist.

As you can see, I love the moody, low key effects. I remember an old movie where the saying was, "Go to the light." That's what we are trying to do. Lighting means everything in any kind of photography. Hopefully, in boudoir photography, we use that to flatter the woman so she feels like the beautiful woman that she is. 

Stay tuned. Next week is for outdoor boudoir!