Embracing the Challenge of Nude Photo Shoots
Nude photo shoots can be intimidating for both the model and the photographer. Here's how I embraced the challenge, overcame intimidation, and found my creative flow.
Nude photo shoots can be intimidating for both the model and the photographer. Here's how I embraced the challenge, overcame intimidation, and found my creative flow.
Social media has the most confusing and arbitrary policies on what constitutes adult content. If you don’t want to have your account deleted for posting fully clothed people, you need to understand these rules.
Cara Delevingne has joined the crypto game and is selling an NFT all about her vagina. The successful model and actor is auctioning a video in which she appears to be naked.
Renowned Scottish photographer, Rankin, has teamed up with Relate, the UK's largest relationship support provider, to help reduce the stigma related to later life sexuality. Shot with a stark black and white style, Rankin and Relate have produced something quite special.
The vast majority of fashion photographers have worked with nude models. A smaller minority work only with nude models. As a fashion photographer, I am often asked if I shoot nude models. While I find the question silly, it’s important to understand that nude photography is absolutely not fashion photography.
You may think the whole genre of erotic photography is perverse, but the truth is there are so many ways of shooting it. From subtle eroticism to aggressive fetishism, this type of photography is bound to be controversial.
If you are thinking about shooting nude models, there are a few extra things you want to consider beyond other photoshoots. Here are a few tips to help you get started.
The shoot done by photographer Ana Dias is a Playmate of the Month pictorial for Playboy US (Miss March 2019). The model is named Miki Hamano, and she comes from Japan. The whole photoshoot was done in a modern villa in Malibu, California.
Nude photography is a very complex subject, one that can be viewed from thousands and thousands of points of view. The final product can range from what most would consider straight-up porn to what many would think to be fine art. But why do people on both sides of the camera do it?
Boudoir photographers are constantly on social media's radar. Images are flagged daily even if they are subtle. With numerous lingerie ads being approved daily, boudoir photographers have been working to get an answer on why this type of photography is still considered against Facebook policy.
One of the Internet’s most notorious platforms for pornographic images has announced plans to prohibit all nudity and images of an adult nature. Tumblr, a predominant blogging site used by many photographers, will implement the changes on December 17.
Boudoir photography is not a new concept, however, the way in which it is viewed has changed drastically over the years. When it once was an art form on the female body, represented solely indoors in a bedroom, the title now has moved to include other versions. It could be argued that if it does not adhere to specific criteria, it cannot be called boudoir. In my opinion, the original term might just need to be evolved to include other concepts as the term among the majority of photographers in this genre refer to boudoir as more of a feeling than a location.
A thick blanket of white covers falling tree limbs in a beautiful landscape just calling for you to shoot your outdoor session. Navigating the labyrinth of paths to get the perfect scene is obtainable with a few from fellow photographers. Last week we discussed how to prepare for shoots in the desert and now we go to the opposite side of the spectrum with a winter wonderland shoot in the snow. A few suggestions will help the safety of your clients as well as getting those killer shots.
Last week photographers from around the world came together for the annual WPPI conference in Las Vegas. It is common to hear many photographers talk about their plans to hit the desert for incredible landscapes or portrait sessions in between classes and workshops. A few tips from pro boudoir photographers can help you the next time you are able to take the trip.
When I spoke with photographer Anthony Manieri, he was sitting at home in the middle of editing images from a routine event before preparing to fly to Los Angeles to do another shoot for a personal project that has been more successful than he ever anticipated. He didn’t expect a one-off shoot to turn into a personal project taking him around the world creating portraits of diverse, mostly gay men to promote positive body imagery.
What started as an innocuous trip to the craft store ended with myself and a model sitting in my studio with tears running down our faces. I shouldn’t say that it ended there, though, because the first session of A Woman’s Soul was only the beginning of a month-long process of emotional vulnerability, bravery, and change.
Sports Illustrated is doing something it has never done before in a project titled, "In Her Words," for its 2018 Swimsuit Issue. The magazine ditched the swimsuits for fully nude, all black and white, unedited shots that convey incredible messages to society.
The upcoming March issue of British Vogue has a Hadid sister on the front and back cover draped in shimmering Versace gowns and in the inside spread a photo suggesting incest?
Many times clients have asked to have the shower scene added to their boudoir sessions. For many photographers this may seem impossible to accomplish if they lack a shower, or the space is too small to accommodate. So I asked a few fellow photographers to give some examples of their shower scenes and techniques to show how this can be accomplished regardless of space or an actual running shower.
It’s been said that when directing any project, 90 percent of your time will be dedicated to communicating with personnel. This means that directing, while it’s often branded as a personal, individual process, is inextricably tied to the quality of the relationships you hold with the creatives on your team.
A Scottish photographer has become entangled in a bitter legal battle with The National Trust over “artistic nudes” he shot inside one of their castles.
Ever since my childhood, there has been a connection to the old world. The look and feel of maps, an alidade, a sextant, and a sailor's log book were just a few of the things that were thought of when my own company's brand was being developed. However, there was always something missing to truly meld the old world with new world products until I found a fine art display that not only awakened that connection but also did not break the bank.
Sometimes the only things standing between us and achieving our photography dreams is... ourselves.
The best creative projects will leave a permanent impact on someone, whether that's the photographer, subject, or viewer. The best projects will move the world. Renowned sex and relationship expert Layla Martin set out to help women feel more comfortable in their own skin by showing them and their partners pictures of their genitalia, and the results are remarkably powerful and moving.
Andreas H. Bitesnich is one of the world's most renowned fine art nude photographers, with work published and exhibited internationally for the last 25 years. His images carry a signature style and a simple aesthetic that combines beauty and form. Recently, Bitesnich created a photography tutorial that delves into how he achieves his incredible looks. That wealth of knowledge is now available to the Fstoppers community.
"Everything She Says Means Everything" is the name of Spencer Tunick’s latest art installation. 100 women gathered together in protest and for art in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention.
As a boudoir photographer for over seven years, I am always seeking new ways to keep the artistic appeal to my images. Sometimes we work so hard to create something so epic, that we forget about that simplicity is usually the key to greatness.
To say New York City is a high-energy city would be a wholly plain and severely understated description of a city with which many have a deep loving, hateful, or love/hate relationship. The complexity of this relationship is further compounded by an unconditional love that many of its inhabitants feel, although that love might often be one born of a deep respect for its power to make or break those who hope to succeed within its confines. "F*cking New York" is a new photographic fine art book that expresses much of this tension, freedom, and energy through a visual exploration of a hypothetical "sexual relationship" with New York City.
Four German body painters and photographers have teamed up to blend the human body and natural landscapes into an art project they call "Metamorphosis." Photographers Laila Pregizer and Uwe Schmida have been working with body painters Jörg Düsterwald and Léonie Gené since 2008 to integrate their subjects into various natural landscapes in all seasons. It's notable that the project does not rely on Photoshop to create the images, but rather on the skills of the artists.
Glamour photography, fine art nude photography, lingerie photography, swimwear photography — all of the above involve nudity. Sex sells — no explanation needed here. Or, at the very least, it will get you more likes on your page or your Instagram account. Is the sexiness in itself a problem? This is a recurrent debate. The #WomenNotObjects campaign, launched by Advertising Executive Madonna Badger, is calling on the advertising industry to put a stop to objectifying women for marketing purposes. As photographers, do we have a responsibility in this controversy?
The next time you're having a rough day thinking about how all your photography is looking the same, the competition is stiff, and bookings are down, remember that there are photographers out there taking pictures exclusively of the male anatomy and translating those into $10,000 limited edition prints.
The unveiling of the Pirelli calendar is due... well, it just happened... and it's going to blow your socks off. Or not. Check out the behind-the-scenes video below.
The porn industry is a bit of an early adopter. It is some of the most consumed content and as such its creators are always keeping current with the latest technology to gain an edge over the competition and to bring the consumers the best and latest experience. As such, it is not a big surprise to see that virtual reality is the next big thing being explored on porn sets.
German-based photographer Olli Waldhauer has started a social media campaign protesting hate speech using breasts. Guess what? It’s working, and not because Facebook is taking down hate speech but because of its war against the female nipple.
In an all-time low for humankind, this one can clearly be filed under "Phenomena Against Humanity." I truly regret to inform you that, in a fit of absolute male narcissism, people are finding beautiful landscape views, dropping their pants, and positioning their cameras "just so" in order to capture the bottom of their man-junk hanging in the frame. What at first seems too obtuse to be true, slowly, photo after photo, becomes a rather gross case of human failure henceforth to forever be known as "nutscaping."
Demi Lovato is finally at a place in her life where she is comfortable with the skin she is in, and Vanity Fair photographer Patrick Ecclesine was there to capture this very personal and very public experience.
I woke this morning to find that director Matt Rycroft, over at the Cooperative of Photography, had dropped this little gem in my mail box. In their latest video the COOPH team up with first class celebrity portrait photographer Greg Gorman, as he demonstrates how to approach a nude photography shoot.
A few months ago we launched the Fstoppers Community which allows members create profiles, share their portfolio images/videos, and connect more easily with other readers and the Fstoppers staff. I've compiled a list of 10 of my favorite photographers on Fstoppers right now.
I'm not stating opinions here, folks. It's the truth. There aren't many reasons to consider purchasing a magazine in this digital computerized age, but this is one of the few. Since it's debut seven years ago, this issue is consistently one of the most anticipated issues of the year.
For the "Preservation" project, widely acclaimed Los Angeles-based photographer Blake Little covered a variety of models in 4,500 pounds of honey. You read that right. The idea for this shoot was originally inspired by a previous session where he depicted a man as a bear eating honey. He was startled by the way that the honey gave the appearance that the man was "preserved in amber" and by how it can "distort and amplify forms."
A lot of us became photographers not so much for the pay check but because we were passionate about photography. Still we all have to pay the bill and please our clients which means a lot of the time we have to shoot whatever comes our way. But every once and awhile we get the opportunity to do something fun and inspired like this creative collaboration by photographer Steve Shaw and painter Gregory Siff for Treats! Magazine. I know not everyone will get what these artist have to say and there will be plenty of trolling but when peers come together to create, how can we not want to celebrate the process?
Leonard Nimoy passed away this week at the age of 83. His long career and legacy will always be remembered in his portrayal of the iconic character "Spock" from the 1966 TV series Star Trek. With numerous film spin-offs and a resurgence to the 2009 blockbuster Star Trek as the half-emotionless Vulcan he was just as relevant today as he was 40 years ago. Though his film career was beyond fulfilling in its own right, his photography work is what will also stay with us for years to come.
Fine art nude photography is unique in that the nude form is your blank canvas. The possibilities for expression are endless. There is no clothing to detract from the subject, just the model in all their purity. This is why posing, one of your strongest elements for expressions, is of the utmost importance when it comes to creating beautiful fine art nude images. Here I will show you three go-to poses when working with fine art nudes and how to vary them for endless possibilities.
Photographer Polly Penrose documents the beauty of the female form through carefully planned self portraits. Seven years ago while visiting her step father's factory she discovered beauty amongst the cold metal of industrial machines and decided to photograph herself with them. Illustrating the juxtaposition of the bare and fair skinned female body against an unlikely environment, Penrose's series "A Body of Work" captures the relationship between subject and space.
If you’ve been following the photography industry in recent years, there’s no doubt that the term ‘boudoir’ has entered your lexicon at one point or another. While the century-old niche has enjoyed renewed momentum as of late, there are many more different groups of people that seem to be losing their inhibitions today than upper-class exhibitionists of the early 1900s. Individuals and couples of all walks of life are seeking boudoir sessions and it’s becoming an increasingly lucrative business. But what exactly is it? And how do you do it?
Today I stumbled upon the incredible body painting work of Emma Hack and I started surfing the web for body painting projects. I ended up finding 13 totally unique body painting projects that I believe are worth sharing.
ESPN's Body Issue 2014 is out -- and the results are stunning. Every one of the 59 images in the "Bodies We Want" piece is a beautiful portrait of the pinnacle of the human form. There is no doubt these are professional atheletes with perfect, sculpted bodies. No puffed-up editing, no extraneous fluff. This is the real deal: clean, sharp, and on point. Oh, and did I mention there's a BTS video? No, wait. There are 13 BTS videos featuring the likes of Jamie Anderson, Michael Phelps, Venus Williams and many others.
In his first ever published book Behind The Scenes, photographer Patrick Van Dam creates thoughtful juxtapositions out of snapshots taken behind the scenes on playmate photo-shoots. According to Van Dam's website there are "over 150 photos of unexpected, undirected and natural responses; humor, disillusionment, absurdism and vulnerability in an erotic setting."