The Art of Boudoir Photography: How to Create Stunning Photographs of Women Paperback – January 1, 2012

Of the photography books I am going through, Christa Meola's "The art of boudoir photography" is one of the standouts.The author covers most aspects of the business of boudoir (and only boudoir) photography. If some suggestions or practices are universally applicable (professionalism, lighting), most of the book is very specific to this niche of hers.She starts by discussing the specificities of working with women, which she appropriately classifies in professional models, girls next door and the in-between category of muses (i.e. women who know how to move gracefully without necessarily being used to the camera) and point out how this niche is better manned by women photographers - unfortunately true.Follow three chapters about the mood: movement and poses to coach the model into, as well as storytelling in a single frame.After a few quick pages over equipment (without surprise), she wraps up the shoot proper with one chapter listing a few lighting recipes and one about the way to coach the shoot ("yes, that's good... gorgeous, raise the hand a little, good..." you get the drift).Then comes a chapter about post production (very basics of Lightroom and Photoshop), and Christa Meola closes the book with the description of a complete session from start to finish.I enjoyed reading this book from cover to cover. The tips are useful; the shots are technically very good, very tastefull; the poses Christa describes are obviously great and they are well described in a way that makes them useful.All in all a great set of poses, lighting tips etc. if.If you hire a professional make-up artist for the day,If you have a helping hand on the shoot,If your models are on the average naturally gorgeous,If you have access to beautiful Manhattan flats or Firenze gardens.Christa Meola's book features few pictures of quite curvy young ladies whose inner beauty is indeed revealed by Christa's lenses (see the back cover). However this is more the exception than the rule. Not to detract from the obvious mastery displayed by the author; however taking great pictures is easier when you have professional make-up, styling, hair-dressing, and frequently models.If you want more practical tips on how to flatter the less oh-so-obviously beautiful from the start, I would advise you have a look at Tammy Warnock's "Boudoir Photography". As much Christa Meola's could nearly be a coffee table book (not if you have kids around - nudity abounds), as much Tammy Warnock focusses on how to suggest while hiding, how to adjust the clothes and pose the hands to hide trouble spots etc. with a very practical collection of suggestions.Finally, one small gripe: the one aspect of the boudoir photography business that is not explicitly dissected in its own chapter is marketing - however the astute reader would have noticed the obvious examples peppered throughout the book: every ten pages there is a mention of the author's website, her (expensive) online workshop or her blog. Marketing: not much theory, too much practice.All in all a complete book that pretty much covers the subject and features beautiful, tasteful photographs. Well worth the price, especially if you get requests for boudoir sessions.

I decided to check out this book since this is an area of photography that I would like to eventually go into. I have a shoot coming up soon that I still felt would benefit from this book.First, this book is not a guide on the running of such a business or any of the legal stuff.The book starts off by explaining how to build a relationship with your client. It teaches some essential skills to communicate with your client and has some great (very important) pointers for male photographers in building a relaxing environment for the client.As basic and common sense as some of it is, most of us photographers forget these tips and this book is designed to start you off on the right foot with the client.The book has great tips on how to make the client relaxed and what to do to shake off the nervousness.The next sections cover poses and how to create positive points of interest and how to hide areas of concern on the body. The tips here are very useful and are worth writing down.The following sections cover lighting and equipment. The focus of the book is not equipment but rather connecting with your client. Without a connection you have nothing.I think it is important to already have a good understanding of lighting and equipment before reading this book. It is really not a technical guide on the toys but rather a guide to what is important.I would highly recommend this book even to a portrait photographer because the people skills it teaches are essential.One thing that I did make note of is that most of the females in the sample photos, are of a smaller size.Yes a few shots are of some females of a bigger size but the majority of the book is medium to skinny women. The books does give pointers to help shoot heavier females but don't expect any lightbulb or magic moments of clarity to solve these types of issues. You will still struggle in some situations depending on the subjects stature.The book also covers a shoot from start to finish and has a small section on editing and retouching.This book is a great investment and the information is vital to anyone that wants to explore this area of photography.Buy the book and you will not be sorry.

I was not originally in the market for a boudoir photography book but rather a portrait book as having two small children has put a huge dent in my opportunities for wildlife photography. I stumbled on this one and read the rave reviews which convinced me to purchase it. What a well written book by someone who is clearly passionate about what she does and an outstanding teacher. I read the book in just a few days. The book contains outstanding teaching of the concepts to do these shoots such as working with subjects, posing suggestions, lighting (natural and strobes with reflectors, softboxes, etc.), lenses and a little on how she edits portraits in LR and Photoshop. The flow is great and I'm definitely going to read as the concepts were so well laid out for each section with examples and pitfalls outlined it's worth a reread. Her example photos are first rate.I had problems with one book in Kindle format but I bought this in Kindle version and it was easy to link the figures and captions with the section even if they were on a separate page.

Professional and useful suggestions to approach a sensitive photography genre. Good read.