Fetish Photography Tips Lighting

Lighting Fetish Photography Tips.

Daylight or Artificial Light?

Nature has given us a large, bright light source complete with some very handy diffusers (clouds). Unfortunately we have no control over when these diffusers appear and, although the sun is always shinning it reaches us with varying intensity. Since I am assuming that most of your bondage photography will take place indoors, except for the more adventurous, then you are probably going to need some form of artificial light.

But before we dismiss daylight completely it is worth considering window light. On a cloudy day this gives a strong soft directional light. It has been used by portrait photographers since photography was invented. You can control the light using the curtains and use a reflector, a simple white sheet or piece of white card will do, to bounce some light back into the shadows if these are too dark.

Artificial Light (studio flash)

Lighting bondage and fetish photography tips

A lot of photographers use two diffused lights which gives a soft even light. In this set even lighting meant that the model could move about the set without the constant need to change the lighting. A hair or kicker light was also from high top right to add a little backlight to the hair and liven things up a bit.

In bondage photographs we often want the subject to look like they are confined or in a dungeon. You can achieve this simply using one light placed off to the side and/or above the model. This simulates the light shining down from a high window. You can even add some strips of card between the model and the light to create the shadows of bars.

Nude bondage photography dramatic lighting

Check out Tanya’s Bondage Gallery to see more of these effects

Lighting Colour – Colour Temperature

The colour of lighting also creates mood: orange or red suggest warmth, intensity, fire, energy whilst blues suggest coldness, depth, isolation. Using a coloured gel on a light that illuminates the background can enhance the mood of your pictures. It is possible to create a dungeon in a bare darkened room using just a single main light with a soft box or barn doors to simulate a small window and a single background light with a gel to create an eerie blue glow.

Photo of sexy mature blonde in bondage on Secret Obsessions

What is Dynamic Range?

Unfortunately our cameras are not as good as the human eye at recording contrast detail, the difference between bright highlights and deep shadows, so we sometimes need to introduce reflectors or fill in lights to reduce the contrast to a level (dynamic range) the camera record. Always set the exposure of your camera to record detail in the brightest highlights.