Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Before Baby Boudoir

A request that seems to becoming more frequent is the before baby boudoir photography session. The desire to preserve the memory of the time before becoming a mom brings many clients into the studio. This also leads to the wonders of a maternity session 7 to 8 months later to remember this special time. As it turns out, there is always a time to capture the beauty of a women worth remembering, each one special for it’s own reason.

My clients give a variety of reasons for wanting a before baby boudoir photography session. Each one unique in their own special way. In the end it creates a memory for both him and her that will last a lifetime. Some feel the won’t feel sexy after the baby arrives, other are concerned about body changes that can occur, and still some just feel that is something that a mom “can’t do,” so they should do it now.

Whatever the reason, every woman deserves to feel beautiful and sexy at any time in her life. And that is what boudoir photography is all about, capturing the wonderful beauty that resides in every woman at any time.

In the end I have had many clients how came in before baby and returned after baby to do it again. They found that being sexy was not limited by having a baby. They tell me that doing the sessions before and after baby was the perfect way to celebrate themselves.


Orcatek Boudoir And Glamour Photography - Phoenix, Arizona

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Power of Black and White

When color photography first came out, everyone was excited. Now we could see things in the colors they actually are seen. Slowly over time black and white faded out and was seldom used. Along came digital and it started in color as we expected color from digital, just like we did from our film.

Now black and white images get noticed as they stand out from the sea of color photographs. They add an artistic value in the eyes of many consumers of photography. They create a feeling and look that just isn’t there in color.



Take the image show here. It would be very different in color. Sure it would contain more information about the tone of her skin, is she pale, tan, darker or lighter than you. In black and white it is difficult to infer. What becomes more important is the shapes and how light catches it.

Shadows vs light become the key to defining an image. Creating a digital image is not as simple as choosing black and white on your camera or in Photoshop. You need to plan ahead of time to create the textures and mood you desire. Lighting will be planned differently to get the contrast desired.

Sure I use the B&W setting on my camera to preview the idea. I also tweak those settings to fit my vision of the shot to aid in my set-up.

Colored filters are often used to create to change the color relationships when converted to black and white. In color it would throw a skin tone way off, but in black and white it can enhance or reduce features as you desire.

I like to explore black and white when create boudoir images as it brings them to another level. I find clients all love seem to love it too.

Orcatek Boudoir And Glamour Photography - Phoenix, Arizona

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Digital in the Studio

This week I had the chance to work with a wide variety of clients, with all different needs. They all had one thing in common though; they wanted to look great and were nervous about getting their picture done.

The advantage of using a digital camera quickly becomes obvious. There are several major benefits to using a digital camera. It becomes a valuable tool in putting a client at ease.

First with the instant feed back you can show them instant feedback from the rear of the camera as to what the shots are looking like. Clients what to know that they are “doing it right” when giving them direction. By showing how good the photography looks, they can relax and make the pictures even better.

Second it allows for proofing during a shoot. When shooting a head shot I will shoot in batches. Shoot a batch review on a computer to either select a shot, or use as a point of discussion to discover what they like and tune the shoot to get the shot they desire. Very often when the client sees the shots on the computer they find that they like a pose that they had never considered.

And of course digital allows for quick deletion of those really bad shots where clients blink or anything else. This gives the client a much better set of proofs from which to select their photographs.

Lastly digital allows the photographer to capture more frames. The cost per frame is much lower than film. I find photographers in the digital age more willing to experiment, knowing that it is very cheap to do so.

I know digital has made my clients happier, and it has made me more productive.

Orcatek Photography - Phoenix

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

The Rush for Valentines Boudoir


What a week. Valentines Day is rapidly approaching and I have so many boudoir and glamour sets to edit and print for a wonderful bunch of clients. The shoots are always fun and always different as each person has their own personality we work to bring through during the shoot.

I had special requests this year for cars, motorcycles, cigars, feet, guns, basketballs, poker, flowers, balloons, candy and groups to name a few. It was always interesting and sometimes challenging, but always fun. Making the photographs look sexy without looking trashy is what creates images that are fun to show off.

This year I had more clients bring in samples of what they would like to have done. This always helpful as it lets me get a feeling for their style. Sometimes they are pages from magazines, but more often it is images they have found on the web. These sample photographs give ideas where to go with their shoot. Do they prefer B&W or lots of shadows or maybe some high-key photographs.

I have my own sample book of boudoir and glamour photographs that I have at the shoots to let them look through if they do not bring any samples. It is interesting as during the shoot as they relax they often ask for some styles that they had not mentioned before. Digital cameras allow them to see what they are looking like and they realize that I will make them look great in photographs they didn’t think they could do.

I better get back to sorting out the proofs, deleting the blinks and other odd photographs and send them off to the client.

Orcatek Boudoir and Glamour Photography – Phoenix.