“If I’m going to do boudoir photography, then I’m going to find my own voice.” That is often how any endeavor in my career has started and Legend was no different.
When circumstances opened a path for my artwork in Denver to play in that sensual photography realm, I chose shape as the first study that I would take to master this genre. The shape of the human body (when focused on through the right composition) could illicit a lot of strong emotion in the viewer. The body parts that I chose – their position and angle to the camera, could really focus the viewer’s attention. All that was left was to address storytelling, which has always been the cornerstone of all my artwork.
Highlight and shadow was the first breakthrough. It isn’t enough to just have the body in the frame – the light and corresponding shadow can add to the impact of the story. Where a breast comes into the light and then leaves it for shadow, it can tantalize the viewer’s emotions even more than just the body flow itself.
I’ve often taught about this at photography conferences and workshops; however, the lesson has a funny/odd approach. I tell the students that great boudoir photography is akin to a good horror movie – if you can’t see the monster then your imagination makes that monster truly horrific. Furthermore, if the full reveal of the monster occurs toward the end of the movie (with small glimpses along the way) the more powerful we respond to the whole story.
Simply put, tease the audience with clothing, sheets, shadows and smiles; make them work for it.
So, the plan was set: less is more and how I light it will make for a great story. I just needed one final thing to truly set my work apart and that was an art style to apply to it all. Enter gel lighting. Adding color to the highlights and the shadows not only sculpted the human in the image, but the choice of colors added to the story. Plus, the whole piece had quite a striking visual allure to the viewer and brought them in, immediately.
As with all my work I work hard to master it and consistently try to innovate new ideas to keep it alive and new. Gel lighting has been a never-ending journey that I have been thrilled to go on and share with my clients along the way.
Each image can also be customized into unique pieces of artwork that align to our shared vision of your story – your art.
Join me on the adventure and let’s together tell your story through this beautiful visual style. All great legends begin with a story – let’s create it together. Be the Legend.
