Photoshop Tips

Post processing is a crucial part of modern boudoir photography, so in this section I will outline photoshop tips which I use regularly.

photoshop tips: eyes, step 4 - set the blending mode to Overlay and opacity to about 25%I should start by saying that I am not a fan of over-airbrushed, textureless skin and drastic photo alterations, so techniques like bright eyes will all be quite subtle.

Photoshop workflow will take you through a 5 minute process I normally use when improving a boudoir portrait, with each step explained in detail.

boudoir photograph using a curves adjustment in PhotoshopAirbrushing skin shows a simple way of getting that glamourous glowing smooth skin that you see in so many boudoir photographs.

boudoir photograph using a curves adjustment in Photoshop

Curves Adjustments is a simple but powerful way of increasing the contrast and impact of your pictures. It is the secret behind many of the somewhat stylised boudoir photographs you will see in professional galleries (including mine!)

boudoir photography of Natalia Forrestconverting to black and white in photoshopConverting to black and white shows different ways of making your pictures B&W, along with some additional steps you can take to ensure they have maximum impact.

boudoir photograph with a vignette effect created in photoshopThe vignette effect is one I use a great deal, often only subtley to emphasise the subject.

boudoir photograph using high pass filter in PhotoshopHigh Pass Filter shows you how to increase the apparent sharpness of your pictures. This is particularly useful if the lighting was very flat or you have a modest lens on your camera (eg compact cameras or DSLR kit lenses).

I am going to assume a working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop, but these techniques translate equally to other photo editing packages.