Boudoir in Berlin ~ 70 monochrome pictures

Sep 26, 2011 | Continuous Lighting

I’ve been shooting at such a rate lately I don’t seem to have enough time to download, select and prepare my pictures. That’s the way I like it sometimes because I love being a photographer, setting up shots and capturing precious moments. In Berlin I set out to capture enough pictures of our model to fill an album with 40 prints. I had two workshops to shoot and here are 70 shots from the two days. As you know I love minimal post production so these meet my style requirements exactly. All the shots are 3×2 aspect ratio and apart from a couple of slight correction of the verticals they are as shot in camera. I used a combination of my Fujifilm X100 and my Canon 5Dmk2 with 21mm, 50mm and 100mm lenses. All the lighting was from a pair of Lupo fresnel lights. We had no make up artist, hairdresser or stylist. We had a couple of hotel rooms and a delightful young local girl to model for us. Here are my pictures in no particular order.

1.

2.

3. We simulated night with full CTO gel on the Lupos. I shot in monochrome so the colour didn’t really matter to me.

4. Lit with available light in the bedroom

5. Lit with sunlight on the floor

6.

7.

8.

9. Lit with a Lupo and a bit of magic

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

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18.

19.

20.

21. One of my favourite shots of the set

22.

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26.

27.

28.

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32.

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35.

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46.

47.

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57. On day two the group opted to stay in the bedrooms all afternoon and we did a few wet look shots.

58.

59.

60. It’s amazing how similar the Lupo is to sunlight. We could be on a beach, not in a hotel bedroom.

61. On day one we spent the last hour on the streets around the hotel.

62.

63.

64.

65.

66.

67.

68.

69.

70. Into the setting sun to end the session

I’m currently planning more Feminine Beauty and Boudoir workshops in the UK, Munich, Stuttgart, and Chicago. If you have a suitable location in any city or country to shoot such a workshop please get in touch by calling Blaise on 01275 853204. If you would like to be kept informed about the next workshop like this please email Blaise and she will give you priority notice of future events.

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

Tweets:
@damienlovegrove Great work Damien. Who’s that girl ;-). Love the table top shots. I’m still smiling and have found memories. Grrrr
http://twitter.com/#!/tygrrr19/status/118456621306355712

@damienlovegrove Stunning Damien, each and every one. 32’s a favourite.
http://twitter.com/#!/SiEveritt/status/118456915687784450

“@damienlovegrove: News @ ProPhotoNut: Boudoir in Berlin ~ http://t.co/hn73YIUH just beautiful. So elegant.
http://twitter.com/#!/sarahfphoto/status/118561495964594176

Please feel free to leave your comments.

26 Comments

    • damien

      Thank you Bruno. Kindest regards, Damien :)

      Reply
  1. Pat Bloomfield

    Wow, great selection of images Damien.

    It’s great to see how you captured such a great variety of styles portraying differing feelings by using the environment and different lighting. Inspiring stuff!

    And Berlin is such a beautiful city :-)

    Reply
    • damien

      Thank you Pat :)

      Reply
  2. Barney Walters

    wish i could of been there. whats more than the great pics is the fact that I love Berlin!

    Reply
    • damien

      Hi Barney,

      Berlin was a city I had to tick off my list. I’m shooting similar pictures on this Femme Fatale™ workshop in an old country house in Somerset. It may not be Berlin but we have a lot of heritage to celebrate too. I hope to see you again soon. Best regards, Damien.

      Reply
  3. Christopher Wilson

    I love your work and this shoot is no exception. When you cite the canon 100mm 2.8 – which lens are you using specifically? Is it the EF 100 f2.8 macro or the new EF 100f2.8L macro?

    Thanks & Best Wishes, Chris

    Reply
    • damien

      Hi Christopher,
      I use the 100mm f/2.8L Macro with IS

      Thanks :)

      Reply
  4. Neil

    Fantastic set – great use of light.

    I need to get myself on one of your workshops.
    #savingmypennies

    Reply
    • damien

      Hi Neil,

      Ooh a hash tag. That’s a first on my blog. I’d love to have you join me on a workshop. Have you seen this one? Femme Fatale™

      Kindest regards, Damien.

      Reply
  5. Richard Mortimer

    Beautiful pictures Damien. I love the B&W conversion. Would you be willing to share this?

    Reply
    • damien

      Thank you Richard,

      I use the button marked Black and White in the top right of Lightroom and I accept the default B&W mix. I keep everything simple, no fancy effects, plug ins or looks to become dated.

      I hope this helps,

      Damien.

      Reply
  6. David Cooke

    Superb photos Damien, great lighting I love the look of the lupo, great model too did you find her through an agency ?.
    46 through 50 are my favourite shots, I think they are all amazing though, thanks for sharing.

    Reply
    • damien

      Hi David,

      We found our model on an internet model forum called Model Mayhem. I’m keeping these shots annonymous at the moment until my model approves the images. You know what Google Images is like;) Thank you for your compliments.

      Kindest regards, Damien.

      Reply
  7. Sean Shimmel

    I admire your formula (but NEVER formulaic)… begin to imagine possibilities, cast a vision on a mood board, search for a model and begin to collaborate, render the vision while still remaining open to unexpected ideas.

    Eager to see it Chicago style :)

    Reply
    • damien

      Hi Sean,

      ‘Chicago style’ will be week 2 in April 2012 – I’m confident that this workshop can travel anywhere and my continuous lighting system is so simple it can be learned by nearly all levels of photographer, making this one of my most accessable workshops. The key elements that I teach are; generating a rapport, recognising picture opportunities, lighting with simplicitiy and capturing beauty. Anybody that can use their camera in Manual mode is qualified to attend. I’m testing the water with another level of workshop here. I might run both the Femmes Fatale™ and Feminine Beauty™ workshops in Chicago.

      I look forward to catching up with you soon.

      Best regards, Damien.

      Reply
  8. Kevin Cull

    Just love the simplistic effect you achieve but the images are so sympathetic to your model and an absolute delight to view and admire like levi’s quality will never go out of style!

    Reply
    • damien

      Thanks Kevin.

      I keep it simple and fun. Your compliments are appreciated.

      Kind regards,

      Damien.

      Reply
    • damien

      Cheers Chris. Our Tuscany adventure is just weeks away now. I’m excited already. Lupos at dawn :))

      Damien.

      Reply
  9. Sona aka Lila

    Hi Damien, as always stunning photos. It is sooo hard to choose just couple of favourites, so here is my long list again:) 1,4,16,17,21,35,47,60,67.

    Can’t wait to do the workshop with you one day. Hopefully early next year.

    Reply
    • damien

      Thank you Sona,

      Your feedback and compliments are always welcome. I’d love to have you join me on a workshop in 2012.

      Best regards,

      Damien.

      Reply
  10. Murray

    Some great images but I see nothing that says Berlin, this could be anywhere.

    Reply
    • damien

      Hi Murray,

      That’s okay then because this workshop is showing delegates how to use a hotel room in their home town or country to shoot boudoir images. I just happened to be giving the workshop in Berlin. In every city in the world hotels like this have a plethora of rooms available from 11am (check out time) until 4pm (check in time). It makes great sence for the hotelier and photographer to hook up and trade.

      Best regards, Damien.

      Reply
  11. Tom Q

    Wow, all great images. I especially like numbers 17, 28, 32 and 46. Which ones here were shot with the x100?

    Reply
    • damien

      Hi Tom,

      Thanks for your kind words, All the wide shots were taken with my X100 – 1,2,5,6,8,12,17 etc… about ⅓rd were shot on my Fuji X100 with it’s 35mm eqv lens. ½ were shot on my Canon with it’s 100mm lens and the rest were shot on my 50mm or 21mm lenses.

      Kindest regards,

      Damien.

      Reply

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