Photographing the Nude
One the last few years I’ve come across a lot of superbly photographed nudes through Instagram, Pinterest, 500px and some other venues. There are some really great photographers out there.
Growing up and as I started creating with photography, if I wanted to find decent inspiration, I had to look in bookstores and magazines. There were many, good and bad, but two fantastic artists come to mind that had wonderfully artistic eye.
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Robert Farber was and still is amazing. I have a book of his from 1991 (I purchased around that time) subtitled ’20 years of Farber Nudes’ or something like that. So, he has been doing this for a while. Real art, not just naked bodies. Definitely someone to emulate.
Steve Hanks, who passed away in 2015, was a renowned watercolour artist. I poured over his early nudes and have in the past tried to emulate some of his work. He painted a lot of other material besides nudes, all of it otherworldly.
The majority, well, all of the women that I’ve photographed nude have been friends or acquaintances. At great embarrassment to other friends and relatives, I used to ask just about everyone I met, the ladies, if they would be willing to pose for some nude art. I got a lot of ‘no thank you’ but persevered.
The photos I’m showing here, I’m adding a couple of edits, three of each using Lightroom and Photoshop.
I was never interested in just shooting a naked body, I was as much interested in what shadows could hide and make mysterious as to what was in the light.
I know many photographers have very exact ideas of what they want as a product when shooting nudes. Not so much me. I often will take an idea from a painting or another artist to start. But from there I will bend the light and form into different patterns. A lot of what I shoot doesn’t always work. But as they say, Babe Ruth swung out more than anyone else. And that is likely why he got more home runs than anyone.
Working with Models
The most important thing I have found working with models is being respectful. Make sure they are comfortable with whatever you are asking them to do. Tell them what you are doing and why, with lights etc. Even if it is ‘Let’s try this…”.
Reassure and validate your model. Be calm. Be as confident as you can. Serve your model tea, water or wine. (But only a little of the last.) Have a cloak for them to wear and place for them to change.
And try and make it fun.