Ellie Vayo's Guide to Boudoir Photography

edges of the box. I do not use broad lighting techniques or barn doors in

the camera room unless I’m creating something more theatrical.

General Equipment.

I use Lexar Professional CF cards. I like to keep 2 GB cards around so I

hold a decent number of Raw images. I use a Sekonic digital light meter

to accurately measure the output of my lights.

Please note that by the time this book is published, my studio may be

using different equipment based on technological advances. I will continue

to upgrade my lenses and cameras, but will stay within the same brands

(Fuji and Tamron) based on the results I’ve had so far.

Studio Lighting Styles.

The proper lighting for boudoir is a little different style than what I do for

families, high school seniors, etc. Lighting is critical if you want to slim, en-

hance, or change the way she looks without doing everything in Photo-

shop. Get it right before you spend forever at the computer monitor. Get

your life back, and don’t spend all your hours at your computer. You’re the

creator. Hire someone else to do the retouching and printing. If you must

do your own computer work, make it easier on yourself by shooting cor-

rectly in the camera room. There’s very little room for error when shoot-

ing digital. Fixing improperly exposed images in Photoshop works to some

degree, but the image quality suffers. Meter your lights, and pay attention

to the settings that work best for certain circumstances. This helps you to

easily and quickly set up your lights when you have a client in the camera

room.

The distance from your client to your various light sources is very im-

portant. At this point, I have memorized the distances for the setups that

I use the most. Until you get comfortable, use spike marks or string to

make sure you are setting up your lights as consistently as possible. The last

thing you want to do is fumble with your lights in front of a client. Prac-

tice whenever you have time. Looking professional and polished will help

your reputation and increase your sales.

My favorite lighting is a large light source. I like to use the edge of the

softbox to get a softer look on boudoir portraits. This lighting is harder to

control on smaller light sources. My 1250-watt Photogenic has digital con-

trols so I can adjust my light to a wide variety of output levels.

Old Hollywood Lighting.

This style of lighting was taught to me by my great teacher Frank Criccio

at the old Winona School years ago. I absolutely love using this style of

lighting on younger women. This lighting is harsh, however, and not very

EQUIPMENT AND LIGHTING 51

Facing page—I usually set my camera’s
ISO to 320 for boudoir photography.
This is due to the fact that I am shooting
a little more loose than normal to ac-
commodate props and full-length shots.
The image was created with a large soft-
box on the left side of her face. The
main light was metered at f/11. One 750
watt (metered at f/16) was fitted with a
green gel. The light rimmed the sub-
ject’s body and played up the backdrop,
snake, and boots.