When an Ex Gymnast does Boudoir

What a weird Idea, sometimes I am obsessed with strange ideas and in order to get things out of my system, I need to materialize them. So that’s what I did. Do I like the results, what did I learn? Let’s find out!

Maeva K. Hôtel du grand opera( Toulouse - France )

Fujifilm GFX50s + 1X Broncolor SirosL GF 32-64mm f4 R LM WR 1/125sec at f/4 ISO250 - 43mm

It’s really my thing, I’ve done it in the past, I’ve tried things that I ended up not liking afterward… Sometimes I enjoy the process, like the results right after, but when I look at the images months later I end up hating why I did. You can actually see some of these on YouTube and in my blog. Of course, they are no longer in my portfolio but they are accessible because I like the idea of having access to my old work and being able to see how much my work has evolved and changed through time.

We tested different things during this session, different angles, and perspectives. We worked in a familiar hôtel room that didn’t give me much space to work with this time, even less than usual. But I had the chance to have a familiar face in front of my lens… Miss Maeva. The weather wasn’t great, and we missed the best time of the day already. You know that moment the light comes through the only window you have in the room? We basically missed it or had thick clouds blocking the sun most of the time. So we had to fake it, by placing my Broncolor flash on the balcony to replace the missing sun.

Fujifilm GFX50s + 1X Broncolor SirosL GF 32-64mm f4 R LM WR 1/125sec at f/4 ISO250 - 43mm

I didn’t really Guide Maeva on this one, we tried a few different things. I simply described to her the mood and tone, gave her a few basic shapes I had on my mind, showed how I wanted to frame her and compose my shots and we built each image together.

Fujifilm GFX50s + 1X Broncolor SirosL GF 32-64mm f4 R LM WR 1/125sec at f/4 ISO250 - 33mm

Fujifilm GFX50s + 1X Broncolor SirosL GF 32-64mm f4 R LM WR 1/125sec at f/4 ISO250 - 44mm

Fujifilm GFX50s + 1X Broncolor SirosL GF 32-64mm f4 R LM WR 1/125sec at f/4 ISO640 - 35mm

Fujifilm GFX50s + 1X Broncolor SirosL GF 32-64mm f4 R LM WR 1/125sec at f/5 ISO100 - 50mm

Fujifilm GFX50s + 1X Broncolor SirosL GF 32-64mm f4 R LM WR 1/125sec at f/4 ISO640 - 38mm

Fujifilm GFX50s + 1X Broncolor SirosL GF 32-64mm f4 R LM WR 1/125sec at f/4 ISO250 - 32mm

I even brought my Broncolor Edge Mask. A tool I haven’t used much since that last portrait session I did more than a year ago.

Fujifilm GFX50s + 1X Broncolor SirosL GF 120mm f4 Macro R LM OIS WR 1/125sec at f/4 ISO100 - 120mm

How to easily make any location your studio

Never used it for this type of photoshoot so I thought I might give it a shot. Usually, I do these with at least 2 lights and a dark or black backdrop. Now I can achieve the look with a single flash and the edge mask. Thankfully Maeva has a small body so she fitted perfectly. There is a bigger version of this setup but never considered upgrading since I rarely use it.

So, will I dig further into this style of images? I don’t know, we’ll see, I will think about it in a month or 2, but I really enjoyed experimenting and trying new things. Here are a few before and after shots just to show you how much there was done to some of these images. How about you? How often do you experiment? What is the strangest session you have done so far?