end of my lens. This doesn’t always work, and you may have to invest in
step rings or other adapters.Ambient Window Lighting.
The more ambient light used, the softer the boudoir image will look. You
can hide a lot of imperfections using ambient light. I have a bay window
that faces north in my small camera room. I create some of my softest,
most intimate portraits using the ambient light that filters through this
window. If you’re going to show any part of the window, be mindful of the
background. Parked cars, stop signs, and telephone poles can be distract-Top left—To adequately light this shot I used my on-camera flash as a fill to illuminate her back and emphasize her tattoo. I
metered the main light, which again was ambient light from my north lit window, one stop hotter than the fill light.Top and
bottom right—This shot was created using a north lit window. The subject was sitting approximately three feet away from the
window. I used the window as my main light source. My fill light was provided by a large 42-inch silver reflector, which bounced
the available light from the sun back into her eyes. Don’t overuse your reflector. Try to keep shadows and highlights in your
images. If you shine too much light back onto your subject using a reflector, you can flatten out the lighting and turn a great
shot into a mediocre one. Use just enough reflected light to highlight her eyes.
EQUIPMENT AND LIGHTING 55