martycastilla

Boudoir

Aug, 2015

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Behind The Lens

Location

This is one of my favorite photos from this shoot in New York. While in New York for a Boudoir Photography seminar a group of us decided to arrange a photo shoot with a few local New York Models. Since we didn't have access to a studio while in New York we all pitched in for a master suite at a vintage hotel. It was a crowded shoot, but we all had a blast, including the models.

Time

This particular photo was shot around 9:00AM.

Lighting

I prefer shooting with natural light whenever possible. What was great about this photo shoot was the hotel suite, it was a corner room with several northwest and northeast facing windows. Across the street was a large white building adding additional reflected light into the room windows. The hotel suite had an abundance of natural light from a various directions. For this shoot I had a white sheet in front of the window to soften the light.

Equipment

I shot this with a Canon 5D MKII, 24-70mm at 70mm and f/3.2. No other equipment was used.

Inspiration

This is one of my favorite poses. I usually start with the client on their belly first with several head shots, up on their elbows, on a pillow, then moving to a few shots on their side. Finally moving to their back leading up to this particular pose. I find that this posing process leads to a more relaxed and natural pose as we progress through the photo shoot. The legs will tend to fall into a naturally crossed position along with the hair laying out without having to be adjusted.

Editing

I try and limit the amount of post-processing of the subject as much as possible. I prefer to retain the texture of the skin and not over smoothing it. I consider cropping and color adjustments standard post-processing steps. I try and only use a few other post-processing tools on the photo. First is to remove anything that shouldn't be there, a recent scratch, scab, pimple or blemish, anything that wouldn't be there if we did the shoot on another day. Next I do a little whitening of the whites of the eyes followed by sharpening of the entire eye and lashes. Once that is complete I'll use the skin-softening tool on a low flow rate and moderate density setting and touch up the face neck and other body parts that are in focus.

In my camera bag

I have a few lenses that I always have with me along with my Canon 5DMK2. The 24-105mm f/4 zoom lens, this is a good all around lens. The second is the 24-70mm f/2.8, this lens is heavy but it's worth hauling around, and is very useful when my 85mm is too long for the shoot location and it’s faster than 24-105mm in those low light situations. Next depending on the my mode and the photo shoot I'll also include a few of my Canon FDn lenses that I've converted to EF mounts using my FD to EF conversion kit (fdtoef.com). These include the FDn 24mm L f/1.4, FDn 50mm f/1.2, FDn 85mm f/1.8 and finally the FDn 100mm f/2. I started in photography with these lenses, so I'm very comfortable shooting with these manual lenses and manual focus.

Feedback

When I think about how I would advise someone on how to shoot something similar I think about what can trip me up when taking this photo. I think is comes down to lighting, depth of field, composition and makeup. When using single source natural lighting from a window positioning your subject is key to creating the right highlights and shadows. What you can't see in this photo is that she is positioned at the bottom corner of the bed at a forty-five degree angle with her head near the edge closest to the window. Don't let the setting define your subject position, follow the light and let the light determine your subject position even if the position is awkward. Using depth of field to help drawing the focus of the viewer to a specific point in your photo is great way of using a shallow depth of field. Pay close attention to the areas that are not the focal point of your photo, the background and the surrounding area. Check the position of any jewelry, earrings, straps, and clothing tags. The more time spent making sure the total composition of your photo is as the final photograph the less time you'll need to spend in post-processing. Your subject must have makeup. The amount will depend on the look you are going for but you'll be surprised how much makeup it takes to come across well in a photograph, don't underestimate this.

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martycastilla

martycastilla

Boudoir

Behind The Lens

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