5 Things You Should Avoid when Composing Your Glamour Images

Every artist, from a total beginner to a seasoned guru, realizes that a model is always the main character and the most important element of Artistic Glamour Photography. When comfortable and at ease, the model can make your shot… or might as well ruin it – if stressed and tense.

There are nevertheless crucial issues just as important for any glamour photographer out there. Everyone, from dummies to gurus, has at least once got those wrong. By the above mentioned I mean arranging composition and lighting, ordering your model around and defining the mood of the shot.

Just like any art, glamour photography doesn’t point at right or wrong way – you are only bound by your own imagination and your sense of taste. Concerning the former, you are free to exercise as much as necessary. Speaking of artistic taste, however, it would be fair to mention that Glamour Images have some unquestionable “no way’s” you should be mindful about.

First
Always give some thorough thought to light matters. By “always” I mean literally always. Lighting should be your primary concern when planning the visual aspect of your glamour photographs – it is critical for both atmosphere and visual impact. Once again, there are no concrete rules, only guidelines. If you want, head for the dispersed kind of lighting, soft and subtle, which gives a glamorous, glowing touch to both the model and the image. The choices are infinite – some artists enjoy balancing light and shadow in quite and edgy, contrasting manner; some go for hi-key photos just because they like it… Your artistic vision is your best guide and your finest critic – that’s why, if even you fail to see anything artistic in your latest creation, it is probably not very successful.

Second
As I wrote in the very beginning, your beauty pictures should be concentrated on the model rather than what surrounds her. So basically you could some fascinating job with little more than your model and a proper background. This wasn’t a lame minimalism manifesto but a simple recognition of the fact that your model should not blend into background. Therefore it is hardly a good idea to pile up trinkets and tokens in the back and on the girl. This kind of strategy will pay off in well-balanced shots.

Third
Watch the colors. A model with some unnatural skin tones doesn’t look particularly glamorous and enchanting, does she? This is the ultimate reason to mind your white balance – it is easily adjusted with your DSLR, some quality paper and a camera manual most people somehow forget to read. If you got the lighting right and neat, your camera will be able to handle it without interference. A possible exception from the “natural colors” requirement is if you intend to colorize your shot in order to appease your “artistic license”. If this is the case, you are free to experiment, but let us make it at least aesthetically appealing, shall we?

Fourth
Another critical issue to face and harness would be composition. It comprises lots of stuff, just a few of them being the wide-known “rule of thirds”, your shooting position and possible problems that arise when you crop your model where you shouldn’t – the girls need space, you see. I’ll say it again – if you can smell that stepping away from those guidelines can give a stunning result, give it a try. Just how many beauty photography masterpieces were made using the “I have a check-box with all the rules at hand” method?

Fifth
This is probably the most important one. It is a downright no-brainer we all somehow miss out – always be imaginative and creative. What you consider a mistake or a delirious idea might send your artistic glamour image soaring to heaven of magnificence and beauty… or may well strike it down to hell of banality and vulgarism. You never know unless you give it a try. There is nothing solid and compulsory in the art of glamour images – perhaps, it’s the best thing a photographer might realize!

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