Lighting erotic photography, or "cracks kill."

Hi everyone. Ryder here. There are many ways to shine light on a model for an erotic photograph. The two photo sets below show two of my favorite ways, one using studio strobes, the other using natural light.

I used to follow the "prime directive" of lighting photography for adult websites. That rule states that all the nooks and crannies of the female body must have some light in them and be completely visible without dark shadows hiding the fun parts.

I don't follow that rule anymore - it's too restrictive and the light is too "flat." I now feel that some well-placed shadows can be very erotic, as long as there are some photos in each set that show everything. ;-) To accomplish that goal, I sometimes ask the model to point her butt, or whatever, right at the light, so some light can get into that crack.

I hope you like these samples of some of my favorite light. Well, some favorites for today, anyway!

- RAP

New model - Prinzzess in jeans
83 photos
There is a name for the lighting setup I used with Prinzzess: "side" light. I feel that this type of light makes a model like Prinzzess "sparkle," giving her highlights around the edges and revealing her skin texture.

All photo sessions for Torrid Art are shot on location rather than in a studio. It is rare that I have enough space in these locations to set up my lights in the arrangement I used with Prinzzess. But even this location was restricted, and I had to put two lights outside, pointing in through the window behind Prinzzess.

One little detail about this setup, which used six lights, is that the "main" light is to the left of the camera position (normally, in side light, it is behind the camera). Depending on the mood of each pose, I can ask Prinzzess to turn her face into the light, like this photo of her sitting, or away from the light and create a more moody look to her face.

Prinzzess's model page at Torrid Art

Mya on the patio
112 photos
The light on Mya is one of my favorite forms of sunlight, filtering through some kind of open patio roof. Roofs like this can produce some interesting patterns of sunlight that add interest to the photos. Additionally, as in this case, a little direct sunlight on Mya's jet-black hair helps it stand out against a dark background.

The light in these photos of Mya is not completely natural. To reduce the contrast, I added some fill light with two studio strobes (you can see their reflections in her eyes). That was done to keep the areas of direct sunlight from appearing too bright.

Previous newsletter with more pictures of Mya
Mya's model page at Torrid Art

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