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Why Nude?
I look repeatedly through portfolios of both nude photographers and nude Models and I always wonder what brought the model to want to try nude modeling and what made photographers want to capture it. I'd love to hear from everyone, even if you are just now considering taking on this form of art, what makes you want to try it? Jul 22 11 07:55 pm Link The first time someone ever asked to photograph me was for art nudes; a random guy in a bar approached me with a business card, and asked if I had any interest in shooting art nudes. I'd not had nice-looking photos taken of me up until that point, and certainly never had anyone ask to take my picture just because they liked my looks, so I figured, what the hell, I would shoot some art nudes. I never really stopped modeling nude after that, and that was almost six years ago. Jul 22 11 07:58 pm Link I've never done nude myself, but I would imagine one could get into it when they meet a photographer that really understands the art of nude photography and has images that draw the viewer in, not for the nudity, but for the sheer beauty of it. That's just my $0.02 Jul 22 11 07:59 pm Link E M E R S O N wrote: It seemed like a fun and cool thing to try. I've photographed LOTS of different things at one time or another. I love the results and I love the models I get to work with Jul 22 11 08:00 pm Link I shoot nudes because I love the human form & I don't see it represented in an artistic, non-sexual way enough. I'm hoping to make art. But, I do realize that there are people who will only see a nude as lust or something dirty. I feel bad for such narrow minds. Jul 22 11 08:04 pm Link I'm younge and I wanna emerge myslef right away into nude photography! I look at nude photography and see something natural and beautiful, the human body. When I first though of getting into nude photography was when I was taking art classes and learning about greek paintings of naked woman rapped in silks. I think it's beautiful to see the differnt types of figures we all posses. These are my thoughts, at least.  Jul 22 11 08:04 pm Link Nudes are much harder to master than clothed shots , especially for the model . A lot of models have good looks but it takes a great well toned body to look good in the nude. I get a lot of offers for TF from girls who are 5ft 2in and weigh 175lb . There is no way to make a good shot of that figure . I appreciate their confidence Jul 22 11 08:05 pm Link It's always seemed to me that the question should be "why clothed?" Sure, if you're trying to sell clothes, show them off, but if you're interested in exploring the inherent beauty and grace of the human form; showing raw, honest humanity; breaking through charades and pretense to see a person's individual human strengths and vulnerabilities; exposing the inherent, primal passion of our species, and creating imagery that touches the common core of all human beings, then why in the world would you hide the human? I guess the simple answer to "why nude?" is "because nude humans, without all the pretense, connotations, and stereotypes that come with clothing, inspire me." Jul 22 11 08:06 pm Link Darkroom Art wrote: I agree, people who can only see the sexual side of nudity are missing out on a lot of richness, but I also feel badly for people who can't accept that sensuality and sexuality are a healthy, beautiful part of humanity. Jul 22 11 08:08 pm Link Because art photographers make the coolest pictures. Jul 22 11 08:09 pm Link I have awesome nipples. The world needs to know. But really, once I started modeling, I saw so many fantastic nude images. I just wanted to be part of them. Plus, it's less hassle than dealing with clothes. Jul 22 11 08:09 pm Link I actually just did my first fully nude shoot last weekend... and I got naked on an overpass. It's something that I've wanted to try for a long time and I'm doing this thing recently where I do things that I want to do and let the haters, if haters there be, stay home and hate. I had a little cancer scare a couple of years ago and didn't feel good in my skin for a while. I actually started modeling as a way to start feeling better in my body. Shooting nude I felt whole in a way that is hard to explain. Jul 22 11 08:09 pm Link This is all incredible to read, I see a lot of sameness in the responses with huge differences too. You're all pretty incredible, keep it coming! Jul 22 11 08:15 pm Link I shoot the nude because it is one of the most difficult art forms to do well. I am a long way from doing it well but I am learning. The lighting, the curves, the composition, the positive and negative spaces are all challenges. I am pleased that so many women have graced me with their willingness to let me learn at their expense. I have explored concepts, concerns and inner turmoils as much as I have the artistic nature of the image. I am always pushing myself to take that next step that make my images unique to me along and not a copy of the work of others. Quite a challenge. Jul 22 11 08:16 pm Link I shoot nudes for my personal work.. I think you should pose nude for a couple of photographers and liberate yourself to being naked in front of a camera. good luck and have fun! JB Jul 22 11 08:18 pm Link I have always loved art. But I have been limited in what I can do. I am horrible at painting and drawing (my apples look more like bananas....or something worse), and everything else looks crude. I have always been a lover of a woman's body. No, not for lust sake, but for aesthetic and beauty reasons. The way the curves flow and compliment each other is so amazing to me. I love to do art nudes because I believe I am preserving for all time how that person looks now. today. I cannot tell you how many women tell me they wish they would have done it years ago. Before babies and years. But by then it is too late. Younger women can point to the artwork of themselves 10, 20, 50 years from now and show that they were once a work of art. An object of pure beauty. So that is why I like to do nude art. To create and preserve beauty. Jul 22 11 08:18 pm Link Tim Hammond wrote: I'm ok with the sexuality, it's just the disappointment when you see someone looking at your image on the gallery wall, an image you're really proud of & you hear some guy say, " Look at those ------, I'd ------ her for days". Just don't like perving creepyness on on work. Can't control it, still don't have to like it. Jul 22 11 08:19 pm Link I look better naked, clothes just make me look gay  Jul 22 11 08:20 pm Link Photographer was good at nudes. I like his work. I got naked about it. Jul 22 11 08:20 pm Link Sensual Touch wrote: My port contains a few from a series I'm still doing on the same thought. The model holds flowers. Youth & beauty, both fragile, both temporary. Love to preserve the moment. Jul 22 11 08:22 pm Link seemed like everyone else on mayhem was doing it so i hired myself a traveling nude model. now i get paid to shoot boudoir. life is good. Jul 22 11 08:24 pm Link E M E R S O N wrote: In most cases the same hung -go attitude that makes some girls go for a tattoo and regret it for the rest of their lives Jul 22 11 08:24 pm Link I haven't had it come up before but if a model wanted nudes I feel fine doing it now. I have only wanted one of my shoots done nude and was only because in the image in my head I can picture everything but the perfect wardrobe and everything would be covered up in post work strategically. But everyone has said no or flaked. Someday that free spirit will walk into the studio. Jul 22 11 08:25 pm Link I had no intention of ever photographing nudes but I was always fascinated by it. Unfortunately, I had a lot of body issues and didn't feel comfortable being naked (sex with the lights OFF!) until an artsy fartsy chick I was dating heard about Spencer Tunick doing one of his group shoots. So we drove up and are in one of his photos (I'm the 332 penis on the left!) and that kinda fueled my interest in the naked body as art. Jul 22 11 08:25 pm Link Nude = $$$$ Not all of us are in it for "art" Jul 22 11 08:25 pm Link There are several reasons for me. The main reason is the challenge of taking something that is typically unaccepted and turning it into something interesting. To me it is about finding a way to have the nudity compliment the photo rather than it being the focus of the photo. They way I see it is I'm not shooting nudity. I'm still shooting fashion, lifestyle, or expressive material. The nudity is simply a state of the wardrobe. The other reason for me is there is hardly anyone in my area that is of quality to shoot in a state of undress. I can shoot models in tank top and jeans every day of the week. So it is a supply and demand thing. Finding a great person to capture nude forces me to work at 200% because it doesn't happen that often. Jul 22 11 08:26 pm Link I find the female body and form beautiful. So of course I would naturally want to incorporate it into my art. Jul 22 11 08:29 pm Link Nude to me means clean canvas.....unadulterated lines to follow, curves, etc. without clothing breaking them up.....it just feels natural to capture something naturally beautiful.....hey and it helps prevent boring models  Jul 22 11 08:32 pm Link Crystal Perido wrote: Really? I think many nude models would tell you how ignorant your statement is.....it's about making a responsible choice. Jul 22 11 08:34 pm Link To the OP: Are you considering on being a nude model? Why or why not? Jul 22 11 08:38 pm Link Since the dawn of time the human male has gazed longingly at the female form, we are drawn to females like a moth to a flame (second most important thing th the human male, gotta be able to cook up those brontosarus burgers!!) We are drawn to each others nakedness for reasons of procreation, closeness, comfort... Depictions of this nakedness remind us of all of the good feelings, warm & cozy, hot & horny it's all good!!;-)) Jul 22 11 08:39 pm Link Jay Farrell wrote: Please don't feed that troll. A lot of us are waiting for her to starve to death. Jul 22 11 08:40 pm Link if it happened to me, it can happen to you. the trick is to network and meet models (in person, not on the internet). Angelfactory wrote: Jul 22 11 08:40 pm Link Jay Farrell wrote: that's not what they tell me.......except for the "pros" Jul 22 11 08:41 pm Link Sensual Touch wrote: Not particularly, at least not at this time. I've thought about trying it before, but as it stands now I'm not terribly fond of my own naked body. I think women and men who are able to do nude modeling are incredibly brave, and as it so happens, beautiful as well. Jul 22 11 08:52 pm Link Because the human body is beautiful. I enjoyed many years of life drawing (drawing from nude models) before deciding to try photographing the figure as well as drawing it. I got better responses to the photographs I exhibited than I did to my drawings, so I decided to focus my efforts on the photography. (I still continue to draw, however, and I think it definitely helps my photography.) I've shot both male and female nude models, ranging in age from 18 to 65. Because the human body is beautiful. Jul 22 11 08:52 pm Link I started as an act of rebellion against the Playboy / lads' mag thing. I wanted to say that real people can be beautiful without a ton of retouch or surgery. My first serious nudes were very much influenced by classic Greek and Roman sculpture, but since then I've explored other areas including fantasy and portrait. The first goal is to have the model leave the session feeling better about her or his body than before the photos, the second is to make a beautiful photo. And just for the record, even though I'm not a super-attractive guy I have posed nude several times over the years. I have an idea that a photographer should not ask a model to do something the photographer would not do. Jul 22 11 08:52 pm Link Guess I'm fairly adept at lines and curves, shadow and light. Jul 22 11 08:53 pm Link E M E R S O N wrote: During my military career, I had occasion to compile a collection of ancient bric a brac from the cultures of Assyria, Egypt, Greece and Rome among others. I have always been captivated by the manner in which the ancients captured the human form. So a part of my interest in shooting nudes is to explore the same process an ancient sculptor explored, except that I sculpt with light. I think that some people do not like my lighting, because I am more interested in sculpting the form than in glamourizing it. Jul 22 11 08:53 pm Link E M E R S O N wrote: Why not? Jul 22 11 08:57 pm Link |
