From a previous post at AustinBoudoir.com:

Unlike standard portraiture, boudoir photographs are studies in sensuality, not in the average day-to-day look of a person. The goal of traditional portraiture tends to focus on capturing a person’s likeness, or realness. Whereas boudoir is more often focused on representing an idealized vision of a woman.


A photographer’s use of color, especially overall casts and skin tones, help to determine the overall feel or mood of the atmosphere depicted in the photographs. But it is the relationship between light and shadow that is used to communicate a sense of shape, texture and tone.

Most professional photographers have personal preferences when it comes to lighting, it’s those preferences that will likely carry into their boudoir work. For example, I tend to light in a more dramatic way. I use plenty of shadow in parts of the photograph and avoid the broad and even approach — unless I’m going for a more commercial or pin-up look.

I also use artificial light so I have complete control over the look. This is not as easy as the so-called, available light approach, but I don’t want all of my boudoir shots for one client to look like they were made at the same time of day, either. With a good knowledge of photographic lighting, and proper technique, a photographer can produce images that look like they were taken at any time of day or night, regardless of the actual time of day, in a variety of environments and lighting moods.

Some photographers who aren’t comfortable with artificial/studio light make it a point to specify they only shoot “available” or natural light boudoir, which is almost always accomplished with window light. And while I also love to shoot with natural light, I feel it can be limiting for this type of photography. So, I encourage other photographers to learn to light for a little more control–over the images, and the time of day they can be produced.

More info and image examples of my boudoir work at AustinBoudoir.com >>

For a different spin, and more technical information on this subject, Neil van Niekerk has a great instructional post up on his blog about lighting for boudoir photo sessions.  While his style of boudoir photography is very different from mine, his methods might be more of a match for your  shooting style.  He prefers to use bounce flash and video lights, as well as window and available light.  My lighting style for boudoir tends to be a little more focused and dramatic, sometimes very controlled, sometimes just the opposite.  But there are no rules.  Take a little from here, and a little from there, and use whatever works best for you.

Neil’s boudoir lighting post >>