In this article I’ll reveal how you can learn lighting for boudoir fast.
And in bit further down I’ll show some examples with lighting diagrams for a certain kind of look in boudoir. So, stick around for that.
Now, I believe most people who teach lighting are going about it all wrong… because they break up lighting into either teaching just natural light or just flash separately.
This separation of natural light or flash adds to your confusion, and makes learning about lighting more complicated than it has to be.
My Approach To Learn Boudoir Lighting Fast
My take is that both natural light and flash should be taught together because it’s not about what type of light you’re using, but rather it’s about the positioning.
And when I say “positioning” I mean the relationship between your light source, your subject, and you, as photographer.
If you understand the basic positioning of those three ingredients for let’s say the light and airy look, or the dark and moody look, or whatever look you’re going for, then no matter what situation you find yourself in, whether you’re shooting in your own space, your client’s home, a hotel room, an AirB&B, or wherever, you’ll have the know-how to get the look you want regardless of whether you’re using natural light or flash.
It’s this positioning that is the ABCs of lighting and the key to learning lighting for boudoir fast.
And just like we teach little kids the alphabet first, so they can form words… our alphabet, the lighting alphabet, consists of just three letters… light source, subject, photographer.
And our “words” are the equivalent to our different looks… light and airy, light and moody, dark and moody, and silhouette.
So, just three “letters”, and four “words”.
Everything else is a variation on one of those four looks.
So, if you’re someone who shoots with natural light but wants to learn flash, if you understand positioning, then when using flash you just have to learn how to connect it to your camera and control its intensity… not where to put it.
I can’t stress how big a concept this is.
So, the way you learn lighting for boudoir fast is you learn positioning.
And this works whether you use natural light from a window, flash with a speedlight or strobe, or even constant light, which is becoming more popular now.
Lighting Diagram For Boudoir’s Light and Airy Look
Let’s look at an example so you can see more clearly what I’m talking about.
Let’s take the light and airy look for boudoir.
This look is defined by a lot of light.
The subject is fully lit and the room as well.
There’s just a lot of light everywhere.
If you’re using natural light from a window, which most boudoir photographers do, the positioning for the light and airy look would look like this…
Place your subject directly in from of the window, facing the window… (assuming you want to shoot her front)… then position yourself directly in front of your subject — in front of the window.
This is the positioning for the light and airy look with our three elements, photographer, subject, and light source.
Now, let’s say you’re shooting with flash, with either a speedlight or strobe, and some type of large softbox.
The positioning of your three elements (light source, subject, photographer) are going to be exactly the same as shooting with natural light.
Just replace where the window was with your modifier.
This is what I mean by it doesn’t matter what your light source is if you understand the fundamental positioning of the look you want to get.
This is the real shortcut to learning lighting for boudoir fast.
It’s not only quicker and easier but you don’t have to learn all these complex setups that other people are teaching.
What About Fill Light, Bounces, and Negative Fill?
I want to briefly mention a little about fill light and using a bounce or reflector, or negative fill.
These are all add-ons.
In other words, they’re not going to change the overall type of light you’re shooting.
They’ll enhance that look in a small way, by either adding a touch of light, or a touch of shadow, but they won’t change the overall style into something completely different.
Like I said earlier, these are just variations on your fundamental positionings for your different boudoir looks.
Boudoir Lighting Guide
If you’re interested in learning more about lighting for boudoir, check out my ebook the Boudoir Lighting Guide.