Creating a Boudoir studio in a TINY space.

My goal has always been to have a boudoir studio, complete with elegant chaise lounge, luxurious rugs and gorgeous bed linen for clients to feel incredibly spoilt when they pose on them.

I’ve taken the first step, converting the dining room into a a studio, even though it is TINY. We use my gorgeous wood and wrought iron gothic bedroom suite for the bed shots. So, one room is about 10ft by 14ft, with lovely natural light, but no wall space at all for backdrops, and the other is about the same, but the shooting space is limited to about 8ft square (and yes, I’m old and still think in feet), so I thought I would show you how I make it work.

 I ordered a Chaise lounge in JULY of last year, a beautiful custom made white Louis XIV style carved wood, with gold velvet and damask upholstery. It missed the October boat, then got caught in the late november shipping dispute with the Melbourne Dockworkers, but it finally made it!

Isn’t she beautiful. I held a contest to give away the very first client shoot on her, there will be a whole post about the winner after Valentines day. The floor lamp was a bonus for up front payment from the retailer, and the air conditioner has limited movement, but I manage to shoot around it.

As you can see, I have hung lace curtains to diffuse the light coming from the front window. This is also VERY effective at stopping prying eyes and gives me a lovely backdrop to sit the the chaise against for so very beautiful backlit photos.

The main doorway into the studio is open, to the left of the chaise in the previous picture.  I have hung double layer brown curtains, one sheer, one solid, in the space and that is a lovely textured dark back drop. This view is into the studio from the outside. That tacky grey wardrobe will be gone by the time you read this.

The two main corners get lovely, but different light, so I shoot into those quite a bit, and use the lace curtains on the front corner as negative space with some interest. There are two adjustable stools that double as hair and makeup stools as well as somewhere to sit for headshots or couples shots.

The wall opposite the doorway has a mantel, but there is an ugly oil heater in it – boo. So, I use the mantle to display favourite images and products, and the corners to store some of the studio accessories in stacking boxes, as well as a lovely little upholstered stool that also doubles as shoe storage. This is also where the lamp that came with my chaise lives.  

Then there is ANOTHER doorway (did I mention no wall space??) This has sliding frosted glass doors into the family loungeroom, so again, out with lace curtains, so that I can make use of the super soft light that comes in when the lounge blinds are open. This is a great small space for boudoir chair shots (isn’t she cute! I picked her up at a vinnies store), and if I don’t want the backlit look, I can move the chaise into it.

The bedroom setting will be in the next blog post. Keep an eye out for it.