Glamour Image

Glamour Image-Glamour is one of my favorite genres in photography. Boy, I am really loving it. But working as a photographer in this genre I sometimes have to pop myself the question: "Are these really glamour photos?" I believe we glamour photographers should know and be aware of the definitions of the genre we work in. Sure, we can and shout creatively freak out. We should stretch boundaries, break rules, shoot outside the box but then again, first of all we should know what exactly our box is.

Of course it is very subjective which photos fall into the glamour category and which not. My personal photographic lackmus test: Could this photo be printed in Playboy magazine? If yes, then it's most likely a glamour photo. I guess this test telegraphs my age a bit. You youngsters will rather ask: Could this photo be featured in the glamour gallery the Playboy Cyberclub website? And that's perfectly alright. The test result should be similar, even though I noticed that the cyberclubs go a little bit more into the softcore genre than the magazines do. In the cyberclub we find ourselves again at one of the boundaries: what is still glamour and where does softcore start?

So how can we formalize what makes a glamour image? I would say a glamour photo always emphasizes the beauty of the depicted model. Makeup, light, clothing and pose are chosen in a way that makes the model tempting and beautiful. I currently notice a trend that on more and more glamour photos private parts and nipples are not exposed anymore but covered by clothing or by shade.

If you as a photographer want to shoot excellent glamour photos, then a couple of steps are essential:

* care for perfect makeup
* use a high quality and subtle body oil, don't overuse it
* make a charming, 3 dimensional light, for instance softboxes from 45 degree angles
* try to get the model flirting with the camera
* care for a good retouch afterwards in photoshop

So, how about if you now approach your next model and start planning a photo of her which presents her as beautiful as humanly possible? You might start by replicating some really nice glamour photos that you find online and which your subject and you really like. Use them as a posing guide and replicate the light that make those photos shine. Once you are done with those, then you creatively go crazy, leave the common themes and shoot outside the box. There are good chances that a couple of photos from your shooting will be just stunning. It will make your model proud, it might make you proud, it might get you a lot of nice comments from you online buddies and most of all - it will be fun.