First Intimate Shoot..

[Tamster]

Super excited yet nervous about this this weekend! I'm doing it for a friend just as a favor and to get the experience. I hope we get atleast a few good shots. All i have are a bunch of poses in mind and a external flash to work with.. But in looking at a lot of the shots of some others i'm not so sure they even use the external flash looks like softer ambient lighting. Well we will see what we get! Any tips or helpful advise would be greatly appreciated! And don't worry she's not expecting anything extravagant, she knows i've never done this before but still would like to make it nice!
TGIF!!

[Murtasma]

By Intimate do you mean pornographic?

[Tamster]

Originally Posted by Murtasma

By Intimate do you mean pornographic?

Oh sorry... No Bourdior! Don't think i'll do that great to officially call it that Fingers crossed though! I'm just hoping she is comforable when we atart to do it, because this is something WAY out of her ordinary! Her husband is goign to be shocked when he receives them for christmas!

[zona5101]

So to get that soft lighting you need a large light source. You have a speedlight so the easiest way to make that a huge large slightsource is to bounce it...off the walls mostly. When you bounce off the ceiling you get shadows that fill eye sockets, under chins and stuff. Try off the wall and you'll get a different type and usually more pleasing tyoe of shadow. Also colored walls will influence the color of the bounced light...this will play into your favor as it adds a moody tone to the lighting which should match well with what you are doing. You may find a position where the flash is pointed towards the top of the wall gives you the best result. The majority of the light coming from the side but some fill coming from the ceiling. Good luck.

[Tamster]

Originally Posted by zona5101

So to get that soft lighting you need a large light source. You have a speedlight so the easiest way to make that a huge large slightsource is to bounce it...off the walls mostly. When you bounce off the ceiling you get shadows that fill eye sockets, under chins and stuff. Try off the wall and you'll get a different type and usually more pleasing tyoe of shadow. Also colored walls will influence the color of the bounced light...this will play into your favor as it adds a moody tone to the lighting which should match well with what you are doing. You may find a position where the flash is pointed towards the top of the wall gives you the best result. The majority of the light coming from the side but some fill coming from the ceiling. Good luck.

Thank you! Yes, i know what you're talking about. I was messing around with it last night and boy if it was in a certain area there was a harsh spotlight glow! Will def keep playing with the bouncing! This was with the speedlight on camera, is it best to take it off? Or would this be ok?
Thanks again..

[wulf]

You might want to drop Sime or Saralonde a PM to ask about access to the "Nudes" section. A lot of the discussion there isn't just about nude work but also the kind of boudoir vibe you are talking about (that also goes for anyone else with questions about that kind of work - see the FAQ for more information).

Wulf

[Tamster]

Originally Posted by wulf

You might want to drop Sime or Saralonde a PM to ask about access to the "Nudes" section. A lot of the discussion there isn't just about nude work but also the kind of boudoir vibe you are talking about (that also goes for anyone else with questions about that kind of work - see the FAQ for more information).

Wulf

Oh ok, Will do. I didn't realize there was a different section for that! Thanks for the advise!

[joep]

The softer the lighting the better, if you can get your flash off of the camera, rim lighting is an excellent choice for what you are doing..........Good Luck!!

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by Murtasma

By Intimate do you mean pornographic?

Not to be rude, but how the HELL did you get "pornographic" from the OP's first post?

[BigFuzzy]

Just a couple of quick comments.
You need to make your flash a large light source either by shooting though (or bouncing off) an umbrella, shooting through a large lightbox or bouncing it off a wall/ceiling.

Yes, to get the best possible, you absolutely need to get your flash off camera. So much of 'intimate' photography is about texture and shadows and curve and depth.. and the minute you put your flash directly on camera, you say 'screw it' and throw all those things out the window, trust me.

Good luck, and post some results!