Female Photography

Some of the worlds best pieces of art have depicted females; the Mona Lisa, the Venus De Milo and Whistler’s Mother. Photography is no different, females are probably the most popular photography subject, with or without their clothes on. Need help with your female photography? Follow this simple guide and the ladies will be undressing for you in no time!

Find a subject

When practicing female photography, use any subject you can, they could be anyone, young or old, your- sister, daughter, mother, spouse, in-law, girlfriend, friend. It’s probably not a good idea to get your family to undress, however. If you are desperate you can hire a model from one of the many female photography modeling agencies worldwide. To get the best results you should make sure your female is okay with you taking pictures of her and that she will be willing to pose for you. Candid shots just won’t cut it.

Set the Scene
This could be anywhere so get creative. Some ideas are; in a photography studio, near some foliage (bushes, trees), on a chair or lounger, on the beach or anywhere else you can find. it’s up to you and your subject. Lighting is a lot easier in a photography studio but there is more freedom when it comes to scenery and movement when you are outside the studio.

Lighting
A soft bulbed light is probably going to work better than a flash. It should come from her left or right, rather than shining straight on her. This helps to bring out the much needed detail in the face. You could also bounce the flash off the wall or the ceiling to get the same effect. Another thing you could try is using a soft side light to create shadows and a filler flash to lighten your female’s face. This achieves fine detail with light shadows rather than dark shadows or none at all.

Getting the shot
It is recommended that you use a long lens and move away from you’re subject. Being close and using a short lens can be annoying for your subject and it will distort facial features which is no a desired effect. Use a tripod or put your camera on a surface to get it steady. Use a small aperture and a long shutter speed and ask your subject to remain still. Take as many pictures as you can and get your subject to move and change expression between each shot. Remember that the more pictures you take the better chance you have of getting that perfect picture.