I was contacted in February in regards to do a boudoir shoot. I posted a memory in my Instagram story about the first studio boudoir shoot, it was a workshop. I just had graduated from school and fresh certification decorating my wall that proved I was successful in it. One thing I felt that I was lacking and didn't have a steady hand was boudoir photography. So I decided to make myself a gift of learning and took the course.
PRE-SHOOT PLANNING
Now a year later this good shared reminder brought a person to me who's interested in doing some work together. Let's call this lovely woman Blake, Blake Knightly. A lady who is into buying all kinds of fancy and gorgeous lingerie. I just love when models are involved in pre-shoot work - we shared concepts, she sent me photos of lingerie, talked about lighting and what else we need on set. Model contribution to pre-shoot work shows how much and how good photos they want in their portfolio. It is not necessary but it is fun to do.
ON THE SHOOT DAY
We did shoot in Huzzard studios. I had in mind boudoir studio space but they didn't have boom light stand there what was needed for my light scheme. So last-minute change there and took my favorite studio space - A11. I'm actually glad that we didn't use boudoir studio space. It's something different and not bound to be in one location.
This time I took everything with me that I have criticized in my last posts - music, tripod, clothing clips, and water. Music really helps to create a nice atmosphere and there is something to talk about.
TRUST & COMMUNICATION
I would be lying if I said that trust and communication is the number one thing. It's lighting - how you set it up, how you see it and how you control it. Trust and communication is really close second. It starts from the first message you receive (or send) until you have handed over photos. And if you like to work with that model or client it should be continuous. This all plays a big part in a shooting day. I have heard from many clients and models that there is barely any guidance or feedback on the photoshoot. Even from a photographers I looked up to. In my luck, I work with two amazing photographers who show me how to interact and guide a model - Chris Huzzard and Dave Ross. And I really believe that this is one big part that makes them one of the best photographers in Perth.
EDITING
One thing that is time-consuming and there really hard work starts is editing. One thing that I'm sure professionals should NOT do is using filters and LUT-s. Let influencers and hobbyists use them. Professionals should be able to offer clients different color palettes and explanations of why one works better than the other. By using them it shows me a lack of knowledge about color theory and how colors work.
I edit most of my photos in Photoshop. It takes about 20-30 minutes for one photo to finish - color mapping, clean-up, creating different color palettes and creating a similar color solution to the set of photos.
CONCLUSION
It was a much different boudoir shoot when my first one. I can see that I have grown and developed my skills and it is a good feeling. The client is also very happy with the outcome and we are already planning our next shoot. As I said before, she loves lingerie and she has a massive collection to choose from.
Thank you for your time and stay safe!