High key boudoir at home ~ Pictures and inspiration

February 11th, 2011

1. Into the light, always into the light. On the limit, always on the limit. Magic happens.

This post is the result of four hours of test shooting in a 1970′s house near Milton Keynes with Agata as my model. Chloe – Jasmine Whichello first mentioned that I should shoot with Agata back in the summer of 2010. I remembered this a few weeks back when I went searching Model Mayhem for an East of England model. I had a creative day in the diary following a training day with one of my main clients in Cambridge so I decided to further research a product that I have been working on for some time. Here are my pictures

I want to take boudoir out of the studio and into the clients home. To shoot images that have ‘nothing of the night about them’ to mis quote Ann Widdecombe. I want to shoot beauty and celebrate the female form. I had one of my long term training clients with me as an assistant, observer and second shooter. The rooms we were shooting in are not opulent or indeed spacious. They were clean by design and fairly minimalist.

This set of pictures was fairly straightforward to shoot and similar results could have been shot in most homes. The look I have captured so prolifically forms the basis of a new album product I’m designing. A shoot package that can be offered to bridal clients, young mums or pregnant clients equally well. I selected 99 shots that I would have shown a client and from these Blaise my PA selected the 36 you see here.

I used just natural lights either on it’s own or in conjunction with one Lupo 1200 HMI Fresnel spot continuous light, no reflectors, no soft boxes, no flash and all the looks seen here were shot in camera including the flare shots.

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29. I shot most of the images with my camera set to monochrome in the picture styles menu. I later chose to show them in colour. That's one advantage of shooting raw.

29. I shot most of the images with my camera set to monochrome in the picture styles menu. I later chose to show the majority of them here in colour. That's one advantage of shooting raw.

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35. Agata is siting on the work surface in front of the kitchen window. A car is in the drive outside and the neighbours garage is in the background. I use a careful set of strategies to isolate the subject from the clutter of everyday life.

Join me on my boudoir art portraits workshops in May if you want to learn how to get these looks in camera with the minimum of kit. These shots can be recreated in your clients homes. Details of my workshops are being finalised by my team and will be published within a week. You can also book me to shoot 1:1 or 1:2 (bring a friend) at a Bristol penthouse flat. We will share picture ideas and create mood boards together prior to booking the right model for the shoot. Almost anything is possible. For advanced notice of my art portrait workshops or to enquire about a 1:1 type shoot please contact Blaise.

You can also browse our range of upcoming photography training courses here.

Please feel free to comment below.

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44 Comments Add your own

1. Tara Taylor | February 11th, 2011 at 6:24 pm

Great images Damien. Just shows what can be achieved anywhere, when you know what you are doing!
2. Shaun Taylor | February 11th, 2011 at 6:30 pm

Really sexy images.

Great lighting and the poses are excellent.

Great work.
3. Kim Layzell | February 11th, 2011 at 6:56 pm

Love these. So beautiful.

Your boudoir art workshops have just been added to this year’s wish list!
4. Barney Walters | February 11th, 2011 at 7:15 pm

Pure Inspiration !

Absolutely stunning Damien, images of quality I hope to be able to create one day.

I look forward to the Workshop in May.
5. Daren King | February 11th, 2011 at 7:21 pm

Damien, great images as ever…. sometimes images like this raise the question.. is a studio needed?? I would say not for a lot of cases….great images..well done.
6. Kevin Cull | February 11th, 2011 at 7:48 pm

This is fantastic as it shows what you can do with the simplest lighting set ups!. I think I need a Marko course as my photos never have that polished “Magazine finish’ even though the exposure is spot on. You certainly know how to get the best out of a model as well!! So much to learn……!
7. Steven Finlay | February 11th, 2011 at 8:02 pm

Very impressive stuff. Are you being influenced by this guy by any chance? http://www.gabrielerigon.it/
8. david cooke | February 11th, 2011 at 9:07 pm

Well Agata was certainly a good recomendation by Chloe, and Blaise has done a great job of selecting 36 images, they are all brilliant and very tastefully done, love the blown out highlights, I have only ever done one boudoir shoot and I got some lovely images but seeing these has reminded me I have a lot to learn.
thanks Damien for sharing your photos and tips.
9. Mandy L Meadows | February 11th, 2011 at 9:11 pm

Wow these are stunning!!!
10. Thorsten | February 11th, 2011 at 11:10 pm

Awesome images Damien! I’m a big fan of the KISS principle which you have employed here, so I thoroughly enjoyed this latest update.
11. Chris Hanley | February 12th, 2011 at 12:05 am

Top drawer buddy, its all coming together nicely
12. Evan Noble | February 12th, 2011 at 5:09 pm

Hi damien,

Great shots, avid reader of this site for some time now. Good post which shows what can be done with natural light. I have a question though – do you ever have problems with the camera hunting for focus when shooting into brightly lit backgrounds such as this? Maybe it’s not a problem with higher end cameras but I have this problem when shooting with a good sun backlight (though not directly in to the sun)
13. Will Polley | February 13th, 2011 at 8:28 am

These are really great images. I would love to be able to offer and create such a session. So your workshops in may look very appealing.
14. Jan Taylor | February 13th, 2011 at 11:05 am

Whoopee! Natural light stuff I love! Oh boy I want to get as creative as this with it! My other half is into speedlight and pocket wizards…but ever since I came to one of your very first workshops natural light has been my photography passion! Just hope you have a workshop date when I haven’t got a booking!!! Thank you so much for sharing all this…totally brilliant!
15. Dave Jones | February 13th, 2011 at 11:40 am

WoW! This is amazing Just stumbled upon your work, it is truly inspiring, I may just need to fork out the pennies to come to one of your training events. I feel like such a second class hack after seeing this.
16. Will Pateman Photography | February 14th, 2011 at 4:23 pm

Nice to see the natural light for a change..great stuff
17. Tony Bayliss | February 15th, 2011 at 11:02 am

Stunning – Milton Keynes never looked so good!
18. Abby Wilkes | February 15th, 2011 at 7:07 pm

This is what it’s all about; a wonderful natural way of celebrating the beauty of women. You are a genius Mr Lovegrove.
19. Steve Ashton | February 16th, 2011 at 7:09 pm

Hi Damien, I love the way this new style of yours is developing, So very opposite to what others are doing in this field.

Also interesting how the prime lenses have changed your shooting style or at least helped change it.

Good Luck with “Floppy Chicken”
20. Dennis Stanley | February 17th, 2011 at 8:30 pm

I will definitely be raiding the piggy bank for the May course… stunning images..
21. Steven Brooks | February 23rd, 2011 at 11:45 pm

I have fallen in love with these images Damien! Beautiful, Stunnng, Sensual, Sexy … How I would love to have such images in my portfolio!

Well Done Damien!
22. Bartek Witek | February 23rd, 2011 at 11:48 pm

Fantastic model and really impressive imagery Damien. Well done
23. damien | February 26th, 2011 at 12:46 pm

Thank you Tara, Shaun, Kim, Barney, Darren and Kevin for your kind words of encouragement. I feel like I am getting there now. I’ll be teaching how to shoot these pictures this year, so please do join me on a workshop. It would be lovely to shoot alongside you.

Kindest regards,

Damien.
24. damien | February 26th, 2011 at 12:59 pm

Hi Steven,

Thanks for your compliments. I’ve seen Gabriel’s work before. Chris Hanley showed me his work a while back but his images are not in my inspiration folders at the moment.

Cheers, Damien.
25. damien | February 26th, 2011 at 1:03 pm

Thanks for your kind words David,

It certainly was a team effort.

Best regards,

Damien.
26. damien | February 26th, 2011 at 1:05 pm

Thank you Mandy, Chris and Thorsten for your kind words.
And for those of you wondering what the kiss principle is. It stands for Keep It Simple Stupid or similar. One light magic.

Best regards, Damien.
27. damien | February 26th, 2011 at 1:10 pm

Hi Evan,

Thanks for your compliments. Yes is the answer to your focus hunting question. The 100 mm lens is better than most but the 5D mk2 focus engine was not improved from the Mk1 and is not great by any standards. Take any filters off your lenses and the increased contrast will certainly help with focus. I often use manual focus with the focus aid light. I can then shoot many frames without having to start from scratch with each one.

Kind regards,

Damien.
28. damien | February 26th, 2011 at 1:54 pm

Thank you Will, Jan and Dave for your compliments. I will be shooting a workshop to create these images in Dillington house with Agata in May. The details are here. You can book any one or a combination of workshops.
29. damien | February 26th, 2011 at 2:02 pm

Thank you Will and Tony for the compliments.
30. damien | February 26th, 2011 at 2:16 pm

Hi Abby,

I owe you dinner for a comment like that. Thank you.

Damien.
31. damien | February 26th, 2011 at 2:27 pm

Thank you Steve,

This image style excites me and I know it is very marketable. I’m shooting it again on Tuesday just to make sure.

Regards, Damien.
32. damien | February 26th, 2011 at 2:35 pm

Hi Dennis,

Thank you Dennis:) The May workshop will be with the amazing Agata as in these shots. Details are here.

Kindest regards,

Damien.
33. damien | February 26th, 2011 at 3:29 pm

Hi Steven,

Thanks once again for your kind words. I’m shooting these high key boudoir pictures of Agata on this workshop in May. It would be great to have you there

Cheers,

Damien.
34. damien | February 26th, 2011 at 3:29 pm

Thanks Bartek
35. Lesley Pattinson | March 3rd, 2011 at 11:05 am

These pictures are beautiful, love this style of boudoir shots subtly sexy… fab!
36. damien | March 23rd, 2011 at 12:01 pm

Thank you Lesley. Your kind words mean a lot to me.

Damien.
37. Serena | March 23rd, 2011 at 7:02 pm

These images are gorgeous! You are a true master of light and a genius, and make it all look so easy and beautiful. You are a true inspiration! lol Serena
38. Michael | March 25th, 2011 at 9:46 pm

Great set of images once again. Agate is great I had the pleasure of shooting with her in January.
39. Mark | March 26th, 2011 at 8:24 am

Fantastic: All boudoir (including mine) seems to be the same but this is fresh and, I thnk, easier to sell to most clients. “Nothing of the night” is a great sum-up: Fresh and sexy without being at all sleazy
40. damien | April 30th, 2011 at 7:43 am

Hi Serena,

Thank you for your kind words. I fondly remember the time we shot together and I hope we can shoot together again soon

Kindest regards,

Damien.
41. damien | April 30th, 2011 at 8:05 am

Thanks Michael, I’ll be shooting with Agata again next week, but this time in a workshop environment.

Cheers, Damien.
42. damien | April 30th, 2011 at 8:08 am

Thanks Mark,

Sometimes we need to reinvent a style, and as you say the switch from predominantly low key to high key did it here for me.

Cheers, Damien.
43. tatum | November 8th, 2011 at 11:07 pm

Love love love love love! Very inspirational! thank you for sharing!
44. damien | December 8th, 2011 at 11:04 am

Thank you Tatum