Available Light Boudoir Photography Techniques

by | May 26, 2022

Today’s Post by Joe Farace

Complacency is the enemy of creativity.— Joe Farace

Some background: While the studio in my current house is small (11×15-feet) I really like shooting there and do so whenever given the chance. Shooting in the cramped basement of my former home, on the other hand, forced me to look elsewhere in the house and that also translated into me shooting with available light as the norm. I’ve shot some available and window light in my Daisy Hill home and feel I’ve just scratched the surface of the many, many windows in my home. As soon as I find some new, or returning models*, who would like to work with me, I’ll create some new available light glamour and boudoir posts.

I think the best way to improve your photography is by practicing. You should at least try to make photograph each day until you can get to the point where you don’t have to think about how to operate your camera. You just use it to create images.

Yous shouldn’t worry about producing masterpieces every time; I just use the camera as a sketchpad to explore possibilities. Sometimes these “sketches” will be successful, sometimes not, but try to learn from your analysis.

When photographing Indoors, look for where you can find the best light. It seems obvious but many portraits are made where the background looks best. This approach works great for outdoor locations but for indoor portraits you should look for the best light. In my former home, my favorite place to shoot portraits was the kitchen. The walls were white and a bay window provided North light that could be modulated by opening and closing mini-blinds. You may have a similar location in your home and never thought that would be a great place to make a portrait. Think about it now.

How I made this portrait: I photographed Kellie—you may recognize her from Stupid Photographer Tricks—in the space between the living and dining rooms of my former home. It’s the same place where I photographed Dusty for Creating Portraits with Minimum Equipment but in this case Kellie is facing the opposite direction. It was made using a Canon EOS 50D and a EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM lens. Exposure was 1/160 sec at f/8 and ISO 1600. Yes, it’s somewhat noisy but I used Dfine to partially tame it. The portrait was lightly retouched and layered with Color Efex Pro to soften it.

For more tips on available light portraits, pick up a copy Available Light Glamour Photography Tips that includes another portrait shot by that same door but in the opposite direction.

*Right now I’m looking for models who are interested in posing for photographs for this blog as I explore the available light possibilities in my home. If you or a friend are interested, click Contact to make an appointment for a shoot.

If you enjoyed today’s blog post and would like to buy Joe a cup of Earl Grey tea ($3.50), click here. And if you do, thank so very much.

If you’re interested in learning how I shoot available light glamour portraits, please pick up a copy of Available Light Glamour Photography which is available new from Amazon.com for $29.95 with used books starting at $19.78. The Kindle version is $22.49 for those preferring a digital format.