Digital Boudoir Photography : A Step-by-step Guide to ... - Ken Gilbert

12 Digital Boudoir Photography
Two Idea Books put together over 25 years.
The Portfolio Book
So you now have your starting images. You need to put them in a book of some kind.
It is not very professional to hand someone loose prints to look at. Larger images,
such as 5 × 7s and 8 × 10s, make a better impression than 4 × 6s. There are a number
of ways to put together the portfolio. If you have printed your images centered on
8 1/2" × 11" paper, then you can purchase a package of clear document holders that
are three-hole punched to go into a notebook. Buy the heaviest duty ones you can
find so they will feel and wear better. Buy a nice, thick, three-ring binder—the nicest
you can find. If you are lucky, you can find a leather one for about 20 dollars. It will
give you many years of service. You can find those notebooks and the clear sheets in
office supply stores or you can order them online. You can also find the three-ring
“post binders” style notebooks or albums at craft shops that carry scrapbooking supplies.
The leather ones look very nice and cost about 30 dollars each. If you want to go
for a nicer look, you can find portfolio books with clear pages and black backing
sheets at art supply stores and online. They come in various sizes, shapes, and colors.
Prices range from around 30 dollars to nearly $100. Get the size that is appropriate for
the images you want to show. Stay away from the “magnetic” styles of albums found
in discount stores and camera stores. They are not good for your images and they look
cheap. Remember, you are trying to encourage trust and confidence. A nice presentation
will go a long way toward helping you accomplish that.
The Idea Book
The Idea Book has several purposes. In the beginning, when you perhaps have a regular
portfolio but don’t have any boudoir images in it yet, you can use the Idea Book to
show your models the kind of images you want to create. Later, it will give you ideas
and suggestions for images. This can be useful to stretch yourself as well as a source to
go to when your “idea well” is running a bit dry.
To create an Idea Book, start saving images from magazines
and newspapers and any online sources. Punch
three holes into them and put them in a notebook. If
the images are too small, tape them to a larger piece of
paper and put them in your notebook. Sort them into
categories in the notebook. They could be sorted by
color or by costume or by location.
How do you work with your Idea Book? First, you
show your new model your portfolio so she will know
your skill level. Next, you can show her your Idea Book
with the types of images you want to create. This is
much easier than trying to explain it with words.