Couples Boudoir

Boudoir photography of a couple presents a whole new set of challenges. Each of them can be overcome by the photographer. Many of these issues are the same in a multi-person photograph, but some are more specific to boudoir and glamour.

Lighting multiple people is always a challenge, but boudoir tends to use much more dramatic lighting than your typical portrait. More shadows from direction light. Often the couple will be facing each other so care must be taken by the photographer to keep one of the faces from falling too far into shadow. I always use the main light on the woman’s face, the guy is secondary. Here I may use a fill card to bounce some light, or a fill light with various modifiers to keep the light from hitting parts I wanted in shadow.

Posing the couple also adds some challenges. First you always make sure that she looks great. Then he is posed to work with her body. The limited to lack of clothing also adds a few challenges. In my studio, no shots can show genitalia, poses must always conceal. Additionally clients may have other levels of modesty to preserve in the photographs. Sometimes it is a movement of a fraction of an inch of an arm or a leg to provide the needed coverage. Always checking through the viewfinder as they move from pose to pose, it takes a careful eye to keep the shots perfect.

Probably the most difficult challenge is the interaction portrayed in the photographs themselves. The photographer has to work to create a sensual image without it looking like something from an adult entertainment site. The best inspiration comes from fashion magazines, where they often show couples posed sexy but not trashy. The emotions I work to evoke from my clients are desire, love and passion, but avoid lust.

I have found boudoir couples sessions to be an emerging trend. I have been getting more and more questions about this type of photography. Hopefully the trend will continue, as the couples who choose to do boudoir together tend to be great fun to work with.

Orcatek Boudoir Photography – Phoenix, AZ