Bunni Teaches Boudoir: Lesson i
I am dubbing this month Self Love September!
This month I will release a 4-part tutorial series about how to DIY boudoir photos.
This is part one of a four-part tutorial series.
Lesson one will cover the general overview of how to plan for a self-portrait boudoir style shoot.
Hey y'all! First and foremost:
- These posts will contain mild nudity.
- This tutorial series is adult in nature and talks openly about sexuality and includes provocative imagery.
- If you're not comfortable with a bare nipple or suggestive imagery, please do not proceed.
- This is intended to be an empowering yet sexy DIY tutorial. Any negative comments will be deleted. It is not my intent to censor people, however, the purpose of this post (and my message in life) is positivity. Negativity, sexism or other inappropriate comments will not be tolerated.
- Lastly, although I have been a photography hobbyist for 14 years, Boudoir is not my specialty (yet). Please remember, this is my personal experience and I am sharing because I want to spread my message of body positivity and self-love.
- If I can do it, so can you. Seriously!
Some of you may have seen my post from a few weeks ago. I decided to take boudoir style photos of myself as an experiment and was pleasantly surprised by the results. So happy with them that I've decided to do an anthology! I realize that the photos made me see myself in a new (more positive) light and want the whole world to have the same experience (see my original IG post below).
Now, some important things that you need to know about me:
- Until 7 days prior to this shoot I had never shot portraiture. I did however have a lot of experience with landscapes and macro photography; and already owned some camera equipment (which of course you will need for this). I tried to do this project with the least amount of new purchases, mainly because it was somewhat last minute but also because I really want everyone else to realize they too can do it with a small or even non-existent budget.
- I am hardly what anyone would consider the "perfect" or ideal body type. I'm short and very busty with long legs and an extremely short torso. I carry extra weight in the middle 'cuz I'm a grown woman who loves cinnamon rolls and sourdough. My thighs definitely touch, ( because they love each other) and although I don't have much cellulite, there certainly are a few ripples. All of these are normal reasons someone would feel they shouldn't do this and I felt that way too. Which I now realize was very silly, but we will dive into that more later.
- I have zero modeling experience, and don't know how to pose at all (and sometimes it showed). Seriously, I regularly look like a drunk potato in photos because I have no idea what to do with myself. I'm awkward and definitely no glamazon but did it so you most certainly can.
- Except for cropping and the addition of a watermark all images in this post are not retouched unless otherwise noted. I felt it was important to show you what they truly look like since we will be altering things in lesson iii.
This series will be broken up into a four-lesson tutorial.
Lesson One: Overview & Supply List
Lesson Two: Posing, Style & Setting a Tone
Lesson Three: Photo Editing
Lesson Four: Prints & Albums
What You Need
- Camera with a remote and/or timer function. (I used my trusty old Nikon D5100 and an 18-55mm kit lens. Yes, the most basic and cheap setup possible.)
- Photo editing software. I have the full Adobe CC suite and used Lightroom for all of these.
- Tripod, telescoping would be ideal. (I already own this Manfrotto tripod so this is what I used.)
- A fill light that can be diffused. (I bought this one for my photography class for $33/light on Amazon.)
- Cute outfits. (I pulled all of mine from existing items in my closet. I'll touch on this more down below.)
- Time and supplies to do your hair and makeup.
- A couple of hours to yourself.
- Mood music.
Prep Work
1 Week Before Shoot Day
Before I began this project, I performed several google searches for boudoir photography ideas. I feel like this is THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP. I took screenshots of images that appealed to me, so I could quickly reference them later and put them in a folder on my cell phone. It helped me when I was looking through my closet to come up with outfit, hair and makeup ideas.
I figured if I got stuck when it came to poses, I could reference them faster than doing web searches and killing my groove. I seriously took a ton of screenshots (see below) but once I was shooting didn't have to reference them because I somehow remembered my favorite shots/poses.
Seriously, I took a ton! The internet is full of inspiration, use your tools.
Now that I had some ideas I used these as inspo for outfits and props, I figured out what I needed to purchase.
Select Your Setting
For the first session, I selected our bedroom. Mainly because it has a light airy feeling and I thought my DIY headboard would make a great background. Was this perfect? Definitely not, but I like the personal aspect the setting adds to the photos. If you don't have a place in your home that you absolutely love for photos, book a night at a hotel. A really posh or cool vibe hotel room will serve as a great background for boudoir photos and can be a great one-night getaway. Plus, by removing yourself from your home it makes it easier to surprise your spouse (if that's what you want) or create a real experience for yourself.
It's not perfect but it's intimate and personal to me and my husband.
Bedding & Props
Really the only prop I needed was white sheets and since I have an existing obsession with white linens this was easy. I ordered a fresh set of my fav sheet set from Amazon. Additionally, I had a few yards of a variety of tulle fabric lying around. I knew this would be perfect for a makeshift veil so gathered that and some bobby pins, so I could pin it in my hair the day off.
A sheet can be a really versatile and cheap prop. The best part is you can actually use it afterward!
Shoes and a sheet can be a great simple set up. (unedited image)
Observe
The most important part in creating really great photos is lighting, so keep an eye on when sunlight comes through a window. Here in Seattle, sunlight is sort of fickle, so although we get lots of summer sunlight, the grey can get in the way a bit. Check the weather forecast and sunrise and sunset times. Make sure you select a time slot where the light in the room is even and bright but not directly shining into the room. You'll see the issues I faced when we start going through the shots below.
Clothing Optional
Since I was going for an airy, relaxed feeling for these I also picked up a fresh set of my favorite undies so my buns would be photo ready. This was definitely optional as I could have used ones I already own (I wanted new undies guys! :)). I did a quick scan through my closet to see if I had a sweater that was loose that I'd like and was sure that my lingerie drawer had plenty of lacy items to toss on when the time came. If you don't have lingerie, you can get a ton of inexpensive, yet pretty pieces on Amazon. This took all of 3 minutes so don't be shy about peeking through your existing collection and don't forget shoes!
I've had this open front cardigan for years and knew the loose, comfy, stretchy material would be great to drape around myself.
My very well loved, 10+ year old AC/DC shirt made for a great playful option.
I wear this leather jacket almost daily but it was the perfect prop for a soft yet bad ass pose.
Shoot Day!
Make sure you're up early enough to give yourself plenty of time to bathe, make your bed and do your hair and makeup (if you choose to). I lightly steamed my sheets to minimize wrinkles. While you get ready, wear loose comfortable clothing. Avoid anything that would create indentations in your skin. I'm very comfortable naked so just got ready in the nude but you could wear a robe if you're a bit more bashful.
Clear the Set
Clean your room! I know I sound like your mom but seriously, clean your room! Remove items from tables, change the sheets to your crisp, ironed/steam pretty white sheets and close closet doors. Make your bedroom look like it did the day you decorated it or if you were showing it at an open house. A clean, distraction free set really makes you the focal point.
(unedited image) This is a great example of why clearing the set is important. The following day I decided to try to take some snaps of my floaty, breeze swept mock veil. Unfortunately, I forgot to close the closet door, clear the pile of pillows from the bed (upper right corner) and remove the item from the Mr.'s table on the left side of the bed. If I altered the angle of my camera, this would have helped but it's always best to minimize the obstructions you must shoot around. Also, in my haste, I forgot to hide the release remote. That could easily be removed with a bit of editing in Photoshop or Lightroom but with all of the issues combined I deemed this image unusable.
If I were to redo this, I would close the door and hide the spare pillows in the closet. I would remove the paper from his nightstand and move the floral arrangement from my nightstand in the background to the foreground by placing it on his. It'd fill in the negative space there and warm things up a bit.
Prep Yourself
Don't rush! I suggest shaving the night before to avoid bleeding from nicks. I didn't and wish I had. The morning of eat a little breakfast and take a shower. Lotion your skin (because you should anyway but also dry skin isn't pretty in photos). If you're hangry it will come through in your photos. Make sure the temperature in the room is comfortable and you won't be annoyed or sweating moving around (unless you want a sweaty look). You're going to be moving quite a bit, it doesn't seem like work, but it is, trust me!
Hair & Makeup
This time, more is more. 101 of photography is makeup needs to be heavier to be noticed. Today is the day to bring out that eyeliner and those false lashes. Put on more blush than you normally would. Now this doesn't mean go full Barnum and Bailey's, but this is definitely a time where more is more. Your makeup with depend on the style or mood you're trying to go for with your photos. For these, I went with a soft smokey eye and soft nude lipstick to compliment the soft, airy feeling I was shooting for. I have more dramatic makeup planned for some of my future shoots with more edgy vibes. The same rules go for hair, add more volume. Clip in extensions or a good wig are great for this type of photography. Volume and tousled hair scream sex kitten.
I also used hair and makeup time to practice my poses and faces. I have tend to smile too big and my cheeks make my eyes look tiny. It felt super vain to spend 3 minutes posing and staring at myself in the mirror, but I am so happy that I did. I focused on how my face and body felt when I did poses that I really liked the way they looked so I could replicate it during the shoot.
Attire
Get organized! Set everything out somewhere out of view that you can easily access. I hung my items on a hanger off the doorknob so between shots, I could easily grab items and switch into the next item.
Lights, Camera, Action
The light is your friend, face the light! Set your camera up. I placed my tripod in the corner of our bedroom. Our bed is quite large in proportion to the size of our room, so I was limited on placement. I wanted to be sure to shoot in a direction where my face and body was towards the light. My camera was placed next to the window and I planned to angle my body/face towards the window or 45 degrees to the left or right of it.
If you're more comfortable with your camera's functions use aperture priority or manual mode to get your exposure settings just right. If you're a noob, no worries! Set your camera to its automatic mode and let it do all the work. You can either use auto focus or manually focus your camera if your body has Wi-Fi connectivity. There are great phone apps that act as a remote release and allow you to select your focus point from your position in front of the camera.
As for my fill light, I angled that back towards the corner. I wanted to fill in the dark shadows of the corner opposite of the window to assure that the room was more evenly lit.
Lastly, and possibly one of the most important items, set up your music! Some good tunes really can help get you relaxed and grooving. Find a playlist that makes you happy, it will come through in the photos and really bring out your inner beauty.
Shooting Order
Start with the nude stuff and move your way up. As previously mentioned you want to avoid indentations in your skin. I know this feels sort of counter-intuitive as you'll feel more comfortable as you take photos, but you'll really appreciate it when it comes to post production (editing). Take a second to peek at your saved shots so you have some inspiration in mind.
Do the Damn Thing!
Take tons of pictures. I mean it, TONS! I took 164 photos this session. When posing I made subtle adjustments (and I mean SUBTLE). Hand placement, amount of smile, eye direction, body position. The devil is in the details and a hooked pinkie can be the difference between you loving or hating a photo. (I'll get super nitpicky on the shots below for you to see what I mean).
Subtle differences like head tilt, smile, hand placement make a big difference! (These are raw, unedited photos.)
Make that shutter release remote your bitch! I tried to be clever on how I hid the remote in my hand, under a pillow or behind my leg. I used the 2 second delay, remote shutter release function so I had 2 seconds to get my pose tight and hide the remote.
Be sneaky with your remote placement. It will save a lot of time in post.
Don't neglect the details! Photos of your shoes or lingerie can make for useful shots in an album. Plan ahead and take these photos while you have everything out. They make great filler and transition images and in the digital age, you'll never regret taking more photos than you need.
Transition details make for stunning, professional looking albums.
What I Wish That I Did Differently
I wish that I used studio lighting for all photos. Daylight despite being amazing changes by the minute and towards the latter end of this shoot the light was shining directly in the window. My curtains are dark velvet so wouldn't have diffused the light nicely and starting to cause some issues.
A grey card! Using a grey card to help with white balance would have been amazing. I always struggled with white balance when using my D5100 body for some reason so having taken a test shot while holding it, would have helped tremendously. Grey cards are also great to help with exposure (their original purpose). If you don't know what a grey card is, or what modern photographers use it for here is a great video. There are lots of ways to use it, but I prefer this method.
Bonus Education
There are some great resources online when it comes to photography. If you're brand spanking new to this photog thing, I recommend bingeing some videos on YouTube to learn about your specific camera and check out these YouTube channels. I am not affiliated with any of these YouTubers but really think their videos are great resources for new and experienced photographers alike. Remember, your best shot is your next shot!
Sorelle Amore: Her posing and advanced selfie tutorials are great resources! Plus, she's totally adorable and a delight to watch. Check her out, seriously!
AdoramaTV: Everyone's favorite camera store also has a deep archive of tutorials, with new ones released all the time. These both inspire me to try new things with my photography, teach me new tips and tricks and is a great resource for those new to photography.
Gavin Hoey: I'm a huge fan of his videos. He breaks things down in easy to understand terms, shows quick and easy ways to edit in Photoshop and presents photography in a fun way!
Of course, if you feel like you're not skilled enough or don't want to put the effort into a self-portrait boudoir photo shoot, I'd love to shoot you! Contact me if you'd like to book a boudoir session.
The next post in the series is coming soon. Next time, we will focus on posing, style and creating a mood.
Lesson three will discuss the editing process, tips on things to be mindful of when shooting and some quick helpful tips about editing in Lightroom for noobs that will work on all images.
Lesson iii will show you how to take the raw image to this.