Saturday, 23/3/2024 | 1:41 UTC+0
Photography Directory

5 Nude Art Photography Tips

Photo by Kristian Liebrand

Nude art photography is something that many photographers and potential models are interested in, yet there are others who find it offensive. If you’re among the latter, please, skip this article. If however, you’d like to know more about nude art photography, whether about taking photos or posing, I do invite you to continue reading. Images you’ll find here are made by award winning nude art photographer, Kristian Liebrand.

Photo by Kristian Liebrand

Most photographers never even think about doing nude art photography, simply because they don’t believe anyone would be interested in posing for them. But, what if something like that happens? Being asked to take some nude photos means a model trusts you and think of you as a photographer. To help you not to let down your clients, I’ll share 5 simple yet useful nude art photography tips with you.

1 – Prepare Yourself

Before saying yes to your clients, it is crucial to be well prepared for the project you’ll be doing. Are you the right person to do the job? If you think you won’t turn into a fool when you see a naked model and you respect your models highly, you might be able to create good nude art photography. Although nude and clothed models do differ, only an experienced portrait photographer can make nude models look well enough; having some competence with posing and lighting people is essential for nude art photography.

For novice nude art photographers, it’s recommended to find some good examples of poses to aim for. Otherwise, you’ll end up with bad shots neither you nor your client would be satisfied with. Start with “classic” nude shots and soon you’ll get the idea on how to proceed.

Photo by Kristian Liebrand

2 – Black & White

No matter how beautiful your model is, everybody has some blotches and blemishes on their skin that could be “too visible” in shots. Although you can shoot in color and afterwards convert these images to b&w, your model might be overwhelmed by non-edited images. Unsatisfied client is an unmotivated model; your further photos would be even worse. To avoid that, shoot in b&w; the shots will become more about the light, the shape and the shadow and less about skin imperfections and the body.

This, of course, doesn’t applies to models who are experienced in posing for nude art photography; they are well aware of the power and possibilities of photo editing.

Photo by Kristian Liebrand

3 – Covering up Helps

Even though it’s called nude art photography, it doesn’t mean your model must be absolutely uncovered. Your models can cover themselves up by using their arms and hands, blankets, sheets, unbuttoned shirt, short skirt or transparent clothes. Sometimes less nudity is more, even in nude art. In fact, plain old nude is often rather boring, while well-done art photos are often strategically posed to hide those girly or manly bits.

In most cases, it takes models a while to warm up and get used to being naked in front of your camera. Thus, it is highly recommended to start off not completely nude; this will warm your model up and make them comfortable with camera, lights and posing.

Photo by Kristian Liebrand

4 – Anonymous means Mysterious

In nude art photography face can but doesn’t have to be seen. Sometimes it is better when your model’s face is turned away from the camera; not seeing the face adds a little mystery to the shots.

Photo by Kristian Liebrand

5 – The Mood Counts

In the beginning, nude art session might be a little awkward. Therefore, keeping the mood fun and relaxed is highly recommended. If you can do this with your clothed models, you’ll be able to relax your naked models too, but you’ll need to practice. When you make a pause, make sure you have some blankets and sheets handy for your models to cover up and keep warm.

Once again, I’d like to thank Kristian Liebrand, award winning nude art photographer, for letting me use his breathtaking photographs.

About