With all the clamour and whoop-ti-do about nude photgraphy on this site and
these forums, here's a  a piece of  "raw meat" I'm tossing into the lions den.

Question:  Why do you if you are a photographer, photograph nudes and why if you are a model  do you pose nude?

Here are my reasons:

Ultimate way to photograph the beauty of a woman:

For me as a beauty and glamour photographer(as opposed to a fashion photographer),  I'm am interested in the total, real beauty of my subject.  To me a woman is amazingly beautiful as she was created, in her natural form.  Whatever clothing I use in a particular shot should be to enhance that beauty and not hide it.
It is the same rationale one would use when photographing a beautiful flower or a beautiful sunset or landscape; your just trying to capture what is already there.

Because I believe being nude should  be about more than just sex:

I believe we need to learn see the nude human form outside of the confines of just sex. I believe learning to see the human body artistically is a way to do this.  Now I know not everyone can do this but there are those of us who see the human form for the thing of beauty that it is. The human form especially the female human form is very visually appealing and it is always a challenge to find different ways of incorporating that beauty in a photograph.  As a photographer and visually sensitive person,  I'm  sometimes just impressed with just how something looks, too include the nude female form.

Makes the image timeless:

This is more so important for my fine art work. The human form is the human form and photographed a certain way that image will not be dateable.  Fashion changes constantly but the human form is consistent.  An image about form, curves, texture or what have you, shot thirty years ago may be still as valid and poignant as the one shot yesterday.  That makes for good fine art photography

Because it is rude to stare or there is a time for everything:

Haven't we all seen a woman so beautiful that we just couldn't take our eyes off of her, I'm sure men and women alike have had this experience.  Of course the next thought(especially for men )is " I wonder what she looks like naked?  Of course, sitting there staring at her is rude and inappropriate as would be walking up  too her and saying, "You are a very beautiful woman, could you please take your clothes off so I can see if you are beautiful all over?"  Way, way out of line.  Photographing  a woman nude actually provides the proper time and place to capture observe and appreciate that womans beauty with the her consent.

Because it is fun:

Of course the obvious, I'm a photographer but I'm also a heterosexual male.  It is fun when a woman is willing to take her clothes of for my camera but as a serious and dedicated photogrpher my experience is different than average guy's. A few years ago myself and a photographer friend of mine where discussing this very topic.  Someone had asked him whether he just went numb while photgraphing scantidly clad women.  We both had a big laugh at this because the obvious answere to that question was a definite no. In fact we both agreed that we never want to be numb when it comes to feminine beauty and the female form.  I'm a happily married man and have been with the same woman for over 10 years; the sight of my wife nude is still exciting to me.  What is important is being disciplined, knowing where your boundries are and in control of your lower basal nature.  Certain thoughs may be in your head but your job as a photographer photographing a beautiful nude woman is to control, transcend and rechannel those lower basic impulses into your art.  As a photographer you have a more sublime(or nobler) purpose than to just feed your libido.


Other thoughts:

I feel privileged and honored when a woman agrees to pose nude for me because....

A) Her cooperation helps me in the pursuit of my art.

B) She is showing me a very special level of trust in both me as a man and me as an artist.  This is why I prefer to not work with models who only pose nude (or any way) for a fee.  It is important for me to know that the model likes my work and trusts my motivations.  My skill and insight as a photographer is just as valuable as her skill and insight as a model and a situation of mutual trust can only mean a future of bigger and better things.

     1. Not that I wouldn't pay a model in certain instances mind you(i.e. client footing the bill, special project whereI knew for sure I would get my investment back) but even then it will be with modelsIi've establish a certain level of trust.( a little insight from the photgrapher's point of view)



Ok, I think that is enough for now(yeah I know I went off on a tangent...meat for another forum).   Y'all go at it!!!

Christopher

The primality of it all. Nudes are the most human images.

I never pose nude.

it's a living.
it's a proud, time honored tradition.
it's sexy as hell.

I don't like shooting nudes, it's boring.

I like hanging with naked chicks.  And the pictures never become dated.  And women really like my pictures and ask if I'll photograph them.  Then I get to hang with (and photograph) more naked chicks.

-Don

I've noticed that no models have spoken up yet.

Beauty in its purest form, nude.

I think photographing nudes is about bringing out beauty that you don't get to see ordinarily (at least not in many modern cultures).  It's about seeing what is usually hidden, and appreciating the beauty there.  I'm certain there are many different views, and reasons for photographing nudes, and reasons for wanting (or not wanting) to pose nude.   To some people nudity is something that should remain private, and I respect that, to others nudity is natural.  I can appreciate a beautiful body just as much as a beautiful face, or a beautiful sunset, or hell even an old rubber tractor tire if it's photographed well. 

-R

I don't model nude either and I have never photographed nude, but some of my models have been. Nude that is.

I shoot nudes because it is the most honest of photography. No fancy make up, no fancy clothes just the model in nature. My preferred method is to use the light available with no modifiers like reflectors or flash, working with what I have available and trying to be creative with that. Now I also do studio nudes and that is another ball of wax. I love working with light trying to get that perfect mix but really I prefer being in nature.

I am thinking my reasons for shooting nudes are far less noble than a lot of you.  I do it because I get paid.  I do enjoy it, but then I also enjoy shooting fashion, cars, boats and a lot of other things.

I do a lot of toy packaging.  I find it boring, but I also do it because I get paid.  So I guess I shoot nudes because I get paid but enjoy it as opposed to shooting toy packaging because I get paid.  The other things I do for money or for fun as well.

If God had meant b(o)(o)bies to be covered, he would have made them that way!!!! It's as simple as that. Naked chicks are "intelligent design" for sure.

GWC!
(PS - if God had meant guys to go around topless he wouldn't have made us guys hairy, smelly, or with beer guts that hang over our belts and collect coffee stains. Naked guys appear to have "evolved" from apes for sure.)

Different Strokes for Different Folks!

Models who have hang-ups have a hang-up.  Models are called on to model, period.  When a person is a Model, the body is no longer a sexually objectifiable thougt, the body is a artistic subject to be captured in the complete beauty out.

Ladies need to think what modeling consists of before jumping into something not thoughtout.  Fashion designers have no time for hang-ups nor do photographers who utilize Models to convey a message in print.

Posing nude is a liberation.  If you are a Model (a Model in the truest form) modeling nude is part of the norm (par the course).  If you are an aspiring Model, .. you have not modeled for a photographer nude, you have cheated yourself of the true abilities of a Model.  When you have nothing more than yourself, that is the true test for and of a Model.

Crazy Dee
Lordland Photographer
www.crazydeephotographer.com

The body is the greatest creation of art.  It should be looked at as something beautiful created by GOD, whether man or woman.  I believe a true artist has an understanding of that and try to create their own interpretation of this art form.  I think a lot of models are turned off by nude modeling because there are alot of sleazy photographers out there putting in their own perversions first which makes it harder to trust the true artistic photographers.

I feel that women have been suppressed by socities view that nudity or empowerment of their body is "not lady like". Those people will not understand what a feeling of freedom posing nude brings. I think most women embrace a false view of feminism in an emasculating power trip instead of feminism in a beautiful light. A women is beautiful...a mother, a wife, a sexual godess, classy yet uninhibited! Nude does not always equal sex and that's where "we" as a society have to change! It is art at its' finest because the only beauty there is what the model holds within!!! But to each there own...a mind may only be unlocked if one is willing to use the key they hold.

hmmm i am comfortable with my body and LIKE it and if i like a photographer's work and he wants me to pose nude, i have no objections.  i realize im the only model up here thus far but i think most models out there who aren't, ya know, CATHOLIC or anything and who don't need to show everything they do to Maw, Paw, and Bobby Sue wouldve posed nude for say Helmut Newton or Herv Ritts... naw mean? 

some guys clearly have no style and just want to hang out with a naked chick in which case we say "No!" or "Pay me 125/h and I'm bringing my thugs!"

but some of the photographers on here are creating some mindblown art and if they want a nude chick to be a part of it count me in!!!!!!!

we'll all be famous some day!!!!!

no terry richardson though.  if he asked me to pose id break his glasses.

My favourite photographer is Helmut Newton.

Of course I shoot nudes. His work inspires me.

Because there is nothing more beautiful in the world to photograph.  Note: I didn't say it's the only thing.

Ron

hahaha oh man.
Terry Richardson.

My project is to present fat people in a positive and beautiful light, something we pretty much never see.  It just makes sense to sometimes be naked when I do it, to show that I don't need to hide who I am in order to be acceptable.

That it freaks people out is just a bonus.

If the whole point is to photograph a person, I like to photograph the person not their wardrobe.

haha i think nude modeling is a beautiful thing!! (both as a model and photographer)

And i think it is silly to think that the nude form, whether male or female, is not sexual! It is sexual! (maybe not in the classical way) We are sexual beings, by creation! How are we still here if we were not?? Even bodyscapes are sexual in a sense. Implied nudes are sexual too..and they are not showing anything.what do you think attracts the eye to the photograph in the first place? what keeps it there...wondering? I think it goes along with the attraction to burlesque...the art of not showing too much, but keeping the audience wondering.
and no.. i do not think porn is beautiful. that is taking it to a whole other level beyond art and should not be seen as such.

  I think nudity is a great thing. I pose nude to show people that no matter what you look like..scars, pregnant, out of shape, amputation, whatever! you in your own mind should not be afraid to be proud of your body.
i am not the best thing in the world to look at..but at least i have pride in myself and my body. and no matter what you look like..the naked human form can be beautiful.

but i dont consider their work porn.. there is art in it.
The act of having sex can be absolutely beautiful when caught correctly on film. When it isnt about the sex, but the connection. you know?
but i see what you are saying.

porn- as an industry is not about art, though. Most porn directors and writers do it for the money

actually i think nudes get very boring, enough though i do erotic work, i never as a girl to be nude, and i think i have only shot one nude.  I think being semi-nude or clothes with some expusore, its a lot more sexy for an artistic stand point (not that full nude can not be). 

Just most photographers are guys like horndogs and like nude women.

But even my friends who work at playboy, usually the last thing they want to see is another nude girl, even though their all guys.  Full nudity get really boring if you see it all the time, and must shoot nude pretty unartistically generally.

I model nude because: I can show my tattoo, I look terrible in clothes, and I'm not comfortable in front of the camera when I have clothes on. Call me crazy but I dread when photographers want me to wear some clothing or lingerie! But once I get the chance to remove my clothes during a shoot, they are usually surprised at how much more relaxed I am. There's my two cents...

Imaging nudes is not a part of my business model-- I don't see a way I make any coin from it.

If I were to shoot nudes I'd go full-on raunchy...forget Playboy/Maxim...I'd do Penthouse-style shots with zero airbrushing...Denys Desfranco does a great job of reality-just-short-of-xxx shooting. I'd also use models from the xxx side of the house...MM/OMP models just aren't into that scene. Too, California has a bunch of smokin'-hot xxx models that know and enjoy that scene.

I model nude because it's freeing.

It makes me feel sexy.
It makes me feel beautiful.

I love a woman's bare body. 

Honestly, I love the thought of someone enjoying a photograph with me in it...nude.  It's very thrilling.

Nude bodies make beautiful art.



ps.  i fucking love porn.