60 ELLIE VAYO’S GUIDE TO BOUDOIR PHOTOGRAPHY
ture of my outdoor area, and many clients have booked sessions because
of the waterfall.
Bringing the Outdoors Inside.
I know not every studio has access to a true outdoor area. Even though I
have an extensive collection of outdoor sets, the weather often chases me
inside. Many of my boudoir sessions are done in the winter months as well,
so I needed to find a way to photograph outdoor sets in the comfort of my
indoor studio. I use a beach scene from Denny Manufacturing to create
beautiful images year round. It’s important to let your background light
wash evenly across the background. Hot spots can make this style of back-
drop look unnatural.
Although most of our boudoir clients are female, I do occasionally photograph males. I always make sure I have an assistant,
preferably a male assistant. I do not photograph full-frontal nudity. I meet with male clients before the session to determine
exactly what they are looking for in their portraits. I don’t want any surprises in the camera room.
Late afternoon or early evening light is the best natural lighting for outdoor portraiture. Long exposures create beautiful im-
ages. Always try to bring the subject’s face back to the main reflective area. I created these images by mounting my camera to
a tripod. I used a long lens, approximately 200mm, to ensure depth of field. A large silver reflector provided the slight high-
light in the subject’s eyes. Be careful not to overuse your reflector and flatten out the face by shining too much light on your
subject. You still want to see shadow and highlight on your images.