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Question to "art--nude" photographers
Hey! I am starting out (so far did 2 photoshoots) with nude-photography. I was wondering how can a picture tell a story? there are people out there who say "this pictures tells a lot about... this and that" what is it? Those professional photographers, how do you create them? Dec 13 14 03:12 am Link I don't really seek to tell a story with my art nude photography. I seek to draw emotion from whoever looks at the image. "The picture tells a story" is more for photojournalism and editorial photography, in my opinion. Dec 13 14 05:07 am Link First, figure out how much you want your pictures to imply some narrative. Representational art tends to connect with words in a more narrative fashion, as opposed to non-representational works which often have more of a connection with critical theory. Eroticism has nearly limitless narratives of desire, excitement, viewing, exhibition, orientation, social roles, etc., that the photograph can serve as material to inspire or even incite. So, what are your aims with your work? Dec 13 14 05:30 am Link One single image would be hard to tell a story. Off course the facial expression if the model as acting abilities could help. Possibly series of related images could help if you can think of a theme that connect them together. Dec 13 14 05:42 am Link You concept first, and then you shoot the concept. Dec 13 14 06:17 am Link ^^ that And - I was taught that any storytelling image has to have 3 components - like a stool with 3 legs - if you don't have all 3 - it can't stand on it's own. Person/person's Distinct Setting Visually identifiable action/activity the usual girl posing on RR tracks = Why is she there? - what is she doing? The answer is there is no reason for her to be there and she's not doing anything but a pose. the same girl posing on a RR platform - looking up the tracks with a pile of suitcases beside her and a coat over her arm Person - Setting (RR platform) - Action (traveling) You can wonder why she is leaving town - and where she is going - (add 2 sets of luggage and you imply she is traveling with somebody) Now when the subject turns to nudes - it makes things a LOT more difficult - because what plausible clues to actions and events, can you include in the image to tell a story that occurs when somebody is nude? (Besides, the tedious sexual overtones) But, the same rules apply Dec 13 14 07:05 am Link A photo doesn't have to tell a story. My ultimate goal with the images I take is for the viewer to look at it for more than 4 seconds. It's my opinion that beyond 4 seconds, now the viewer is thinking about what they're looking at. As long as I get them thinking, rather than just looking, I'm serving some purpose as a photographer beyond providing something colorful or boobs. Dec 13 14 07:15 am Link I think you're asking a very difficult question. Its really going to depend on what it is you're trying to shoot & what it is you're wanting to say & a lot of times the context. Essentially its a matter of finding your voice. That "voice" will vary. What works for Person A will not essentially work the same way for Person B. Take this picture for example:  ...taken during the height of the Tet Offensive. It instantly became the poster child picture for the US Anti-War Movement that showcased the wanton brutality of our involvement. What it does NOT tell you, likely because few bother to read the photographer's captions, is that the man was a Viet Cong infiltrator & had been captured by the South as they retook one of their captured targets. A better showcase of that is below:  (FYI: I'm simply using the photojournalism field because its the easiest way to get that point. Their entire reason for being is to tell a story within a single picture...or at least try to.) Dec 13 14 07:25 am Link Photography in general is subjective. That is especially true when it comes to telling a story or even just attempting to express an emotion. Others may not see the intended message in your image. People ask me what story my images are saying. To be honest, I take a photo because the I like the mood, the lighting, the model's expression, etc. I rarely set out to make a statement or tell a story. A friend of mine always pushed new photographers to think of the story they are telling with their photos. He can't seem to get past the idea that a good photo doesn't have to tell a story. It can simply be beautiful or captivating or artistic in its execution or composition. Quite often I feel people are rather pretentious in their assessment of art. Even some of the replies here are full of buzz words and lofty vocabulary. It sounds fake to me. I'm not saying there are not sincere people out there that see photos in a deeper way than I do. They think that way and speak that way. I may not understand what they are saying or seeing, but to each his own. My life is far more simple and straightforward. Dec 13 14 07:40 am Link I'm on different art and glamour nude photography groups and I see a lot of peoples' work...and often times they try too hard to tell a story and spoonfeed the viewer, rarely in my opinion does it effectively translate to the photos. In my photos, I let the viewer take their own version of it for themselves....if they bother to look. I focus on mood, the female form, lighting, and textures and use that to create the mood. That by the way not all viewers will see the same way as I do. Dec 13 14 07:41 am Link I think it's how the context ( such as location) interacts with the person and their body language, including their expression. Dec 13 14 07:48 am Link I think art-nude is a purified or distilled version of something poetic. What that something is depends on the artists voice. But you have to have something to say....not just "she has a pretty figure", otherwise the only meaning conveyed is static. Art has a voice, and the ability to haunt one's mind with it. Dec 13 14 08:01 am Link Sometimes, people seem to think that every picture has to tell a story, and I believe that a pretentious title and a good mount will always help to sell a photo, especially where the market is not particularly sophisticated. Dec 13 14 08:11 am Link Here's my take: First of all it takes two to tango when telling a story--One to tell it and one to hear it. If the person hearing it doesn't hear the same thing the teller is telling the result may be either no story or a different story. Here, for example,18+ https://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/pic/34571605 18+ the woman is breaking out of the restraints that bind her and here,18+ https://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/pic/23404490 18+the girl is pretending to tease a lover. The "what" is pretty straight-forward but the "why" is up to the viewer to provide. But sometimes the story may be subject to more interpretation. Here, 18+ https://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/pic/34882825 18+ we have a woman looking out a window but the back story has more possibilities--Is she waiting for her lover? Perhaps he's in the garden talking to her rival? Is she checking the weather to see what she wants to wear? Here 18+ https://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/pic/35004035 18+ we have a naked woman in a public park--a wider range of possibilities that the viewer has to provide in order to complete the story. Is she making a political statement? Is she suffering from dementia? Is she simply sunbathing? Or is it a public park? It might be that she's extremely wealthy and is sunbathing in her own back yard-or perhaps she's the mistress of the head of state of some Latin-American dictatorship. The "what" that the viewer provides affects both the "why" and the probable outcome of the story. Unlike a movie or a play, or even a collage, a single picture can only tell the "now" of the story (although it can hint at what's happened before and what will happen later), But the viewer has to complete the story with his interpretation. The more options the viewer has the more likely he is to become involved actively in viewing the picture and therefore the more successful the picture is artistically. All IMHO as always, of course. Dec 13 14 08:12 am Link Good Egg Productions wrote: +1 well said Dec 13 14 08:32 am Link I do like when a picture communicates something more than "Oh, look -- a pretty naked woman!" But few pictures do (and that includes my own). Here are some of my thoughts, in random order: ... I love working with experienced models (and yes, that usually means paying them). These models tend to be confident & comfortable (where newbies can be nervous or over-excited). ... But sometimes there is a downside to working with experienced models. They pose. The create the same shapes that have made them successful, producing images just like all the other images they've made. Sometimes, these poses look less "real" to me. In particular, I hate the "staring off into the distance", "staring out the window", "looking over the photographer's shoulder" poses. I also hate the blank expressions on models' faces. ... The way I work -- I get all the technical adjustments out of the way up front, then I step away from the camera, use a cable release, and give the model my full attention. We interact and thereby get more interpersonal portraits. ... The word "collaboration" is popular here in these forums, and for many reasons, I don't like it being used. One reason is that a collaboration can muddle the artistic direction of the image. It's like seeing a movie that has multiple writers -- the vision gets compromised and decisions are made to maximize revenue (and not to maximize artistic impact). This is another reason I prefer to pay experienced models -- they certainly contribute to the picture, but I'm making images to please me, not necessarily us. ... For decades, I've had a challenge for myself -- create a 3 image sequence that tells a story. I've often challenged myself, but I've never succeeded. My advice -- take a look at the work of Duane Michals; he's a master at doing this. In short, it's the interpersonal connection that creates the kind of image I think you are talking about. Like...  Good luck. Dec 13 14 08:37 am Link I don't set out to go tell a "story" with my photos but I do try to capture emotion and mood depending on the collaboration and flow of the photoshoot and what develops in the process of the session... The viewer Then has the right to interpret a story from that if they wish. Dec 13 14 09:32 am Link Early on, I used to try and tell stories with my pictures. Then I realized that attempting to do so is a.) a pretty lofty goal and b.) exceptionally pretentious in most cases. So I let go of that. I do try to evoke an emotion with a photo, not merely attempting to arouse. Ultimately, I see my photos as curiosity prompts: a gateway to the viewer creating his/her own story for it. Because, ultimately, while I'm a huge proponent of acknowledging the intentionality of the artist/creator, I also accept and embrace the fact that intentionality means little to most viewers. Cannot be present to walk each viewer through each of your works. They will make up their own stories (or not) when they see them. My interest is in stopping a viewer, like some others have said. I don't know what the average amount of time a person spends looking at an individual photo (which, honestly, could be very few seconds in an Instagram world) but we see and forget thousands of photos every day. I just want to make images that stick with people. It need not have a story to do that, it just needs to be compelling for some reason. Dec 13 14 01:00 pm Link For me it's all about the lines and shadows. Dec 13 14 01:25 pm Link wow, thank you guys! I am new to this forum and didnt expect so many replies! thought 3 will be the maximum I get. There is a lot to learn from and you all have great advice! Definitely something to bare in mind!  You're awesome! Dec 14 14 04:19 am Link Vintagevista wrote: Well said, and wise words. Dec 15 14 05:58 pm Link In "art" photography, telling a story doesn't necessarily mean a personal story. Story telling is the expression of ideas, some times the idea is a mood or of a place real or imagined. The following link is an Art nude, it tries to evoke the idea of an event on the horizon but if you turn your head to the right you can see the nude. http://www.redbubble.com/people/dagger1 … k_main_nav Good luck in finding the voice your art has for your ideas. Dec 15 14 10:51 pm Link Darkroom Art wrote: So true! Often a photograph is just a photograph. There is no meaning, just an interesting composition of light, shadow, line, and form. These can still create an emotional response in a viewer. Dec 16 14 07:18 am Link Either you have it in you to tell a story in a photograph....or you don't. Dec 16 14 12:52 pm Link EROart London wrote: "I was wondering how can a picture tell a story?" The same way words tell a story. Like words, the amount of description that you use, and the arrangement determines the depth and completeness of the story. A single photograph's story is usually a short story, but there are times when there is considerable depth. Dec 16 14 03:01 pm Link EROart London wrote: I think some form of aesthetics is needed more in nude art then a story requirement. Dec 16 14 04:26 pm Link Lallure Photographic wrote: +1 Dec 16 14 05:31 pm Link You create a story with the subject acting, or reacting to something, or in a situation or place that makes the viewer want to know more. You then add elements to lead them in the direction you want, or leave them out to let the viewer find a story for themselves. In nude art though, a lot of times it's just light flowing over a sweet rack. There's nothing in the world wrong with that. Dec 17 14 12:08 am Link There is a certain irony here. If people could tell you in words how to tell a story, wouldn't you be better off writing short stories? Pictures can tell stories but not all stories are verbal. I don't know that my photographs tell a story, probably not but, if they did, I think people would look at them and say "that's cool" and that would be about it. As Martin Mull said, "Talking about painting is like dancing about architecture." Maybe talking about the story of a painting, or photo, is the same thing. Dec 17 14 02:08 pm Link I think people imagine stories to be much bigger things than they are. If you've ever people watched with someone and come up with descriptions of what two people are doing or why are they together - or you can clearly recognize that two people are on a first date - that's recognizing stories. So a picture that's of a person sitting there doing nothing can still have a story in it. Sometimes the specific details aren't there, but maybe it shows them lost in thought. Then maybe there's a cue that they're bored, or that they're processing a traumatic event - it doesn't have to be literal like them holding the American flag they were giving when their friend was killed in Iraq, though clearly that's a common symbol. If the photo is vague, the viewer may project a complete story onto it. That's still telling a story. It's not necessarily telling the one that's intended, and there doesn't even have to be one intended to tell a story because the story is told by what the viewer sees in the photo. The photo will always tell a story. It's just a question of how much you want to control what story it tells. In 2014 a photo of a model on railroad tracks is a story of fitting in. The photo tells the viewer that the people who made it are wanting to make photos like everyone else has made. The best thing I've ever heard about story telling with photos is when I asked Antonin Kratochvil how he'd shoot the lobster dinner we were going to that night. His answer was "I'd shoot the debauchery". I don't think the meaning of story telling can be made any clearer than that. Dec 17 14 03:38 pm Link I don't need to tell a story. I'm just looking for one good shot. Dec 17 14 07:11 pm Link Art Silva wrote: Exactly. Photographing human body is not about telling a story but evoking emotions. Dec 30 14 01:48 pm Link I like images that inspire the viewer to create their own story from what they see. Hopefully, with some of mine, I have accomplished that feat. Other images are just for the sheer aesthetics of it. Some things are just wondrous in form, beauty, uniqueness, etc. If I were to create images to tell distinct, specific stories, they would be elaborate, sarcastic, interesting and, without doubt, would piss off many viewers. Dark humor, the desire to slap someone's cerebral cortex, and all that good jazz. With artistic nudes I am very interested in capturing "something" about that person and their experience at exactly that moment. Along with form, usually, I want to lock in their substance. Sometimes it happens. Sometimes it don't. Sometimes a great picture of a (physically) amazing person is enough. Dec 30 14 02:37 pm Link You are selling an idea, more than telling a story. That idea is that the human form is both graceful and beautiful. Some sell a different idea........but that's what makes their images different from mine. EROart London wrote: Jan 01 15 09:45 am Link |
