A Beyond Boudoir Photoshoot in a Century Old Portland Home

NSFW

Several weeks ago, I put out the word that I wanted to do some photoshoots in private homes so that I could post some photos on my blog.  Since the images of my paying clients are protected by my strict privacy policy, that means I needed to work with models who already have their images all over the net and are OK with me posting them here on my blog.

I had not worked with Floofie in a long time, but she remembered me when she saw my casting call on Model Mayhem.  Floofie is more than just an internationally famous model.   As I found out, she has a lovely old home in Portland that was built in 1906.  She also has two adorable cats that like posing for adventurous boudoir photographers.

When I do a house call, I have two types of shots that I always try to set up.  The first is by a large window that lets in soft daylight.  Sometimes it's tricky to get the light at the right angle without have something distracting in the background.  Floofie's great old house actually had two large windows, one in the living room and one in the kitchen.  It was a very cloudy day and the South facing windows cast a lovely diffused light.  Sitting in front of a South facing window with your hot coffee is something that Portlanders do to survive the long, cloudy winters.

Canon 40mm "pancake" lens at f/2.8 on Canon 5D3 at ISO 400, window light

Floofie Reading Portland MagazineFloofie looking seductive with her coffee and a copy of Portland Magazine

Canon 40mm "pancake" lens at f/2.8 on Canon 5D3 at ISO 400, window light

Portland Magazine, Best Bars - Model: FloofiePortland Magazine, Best Bars - Model: Floofie and cat pose in the Winter light.

Sigma 50mm at f/2.2 on Canon 5D3 at ISO 400, 1/160, window light

Canon 40mm "pancake" at f/2.8 on Canon 5D3 at ISO 400, 1/100, window light

Floofie Poses in the Winter LightA typical Portland girl enjoys the Winter light along with her coffee.

The second type of shot I like to do when I make house calls is more or less classic boudoir photography.  In this case,  the bedroom was just fine for some photos of Floofie on the bed.  There was no natural lighting, so I used a single Alien Bee B400 monolight with a modifier that the Brits call a Brolly Box.  It looks like a typical reflective umbrella, but it has translucent fabric across the opening like a soft box.   To me, it works just like a soft box, except that it's super-easy to set up and it is very efficient.  I rarely need more than 1/4 power.  You might notice that the second photo is a bit softer than the first.  That is entirely due to a shift of a single slider in Lightroom.

Sigma 50mm on Canon 5D3 at f/2.5, ISO 50, single brolly box on alien bee 400

Floofie with Cat in BoudoirA boudoir portrait using a single brolly box. NSFW

Sigma 50mm on Canon 5D3 at f/2.5, ISO 50, single brolly box on alien bee 400

Floofie with Cat in BoudoirFloofie poses with cat in the boudoir. Illuminated with single brolly box

We did one more scene in the kitchen, where I used the brolly box as a fill light to balance the light outdoors.  The trick here is to make sure the light does not reflect back at the camera in the window.  It took me a few tries to get the light positioned correctly.  This shot is actually a reject, since you can see the hexagonal shape of the brolly box in the window.   Again, this is with a single Alien Bee on a light stand to camera right.

Canon 85/1.8 on Canon 5D3 at f/2.5, ISO 100, brolly box on Alien Bee 400

Floofie in the KitchenA brolly box photo showing the shape of the light in the window reflection.

The next photo shows the result of proper placement of the brolly box in relation to the camera.  To remove the reflection, the light was raised much higher.  If this photo were for a client, I would probably remove some background distractions, but I wanted to leave it as shot for this blog post.

Canon 85/1.8 on Canon 5D3 at f/2.5, ISO 100, brolly box on Alien Bee 400

Floofie in the KitchenFloofie poses in the kitchen. Illuminated with single brolly box. Nudity, NSFW

If you like the concept of a boudoir photographer who makes house calls, you might enjoy reading an earlier blog post:  Beyond Boudoir Photo Makes a House Call

If you would like to follow Floofie's blog, you can find it here.

Stay tuned for the next episode of Tales of an Adventurous Photographer in Portland Oregon!