Learn to Take Great Nude Photos With These Important Tips

Nudity truly goes back many, many years. The ancient Greeks and Romans painted and sculpted great nude gods and goddesses to bow to their beauty. Whether in religious art or portraits, the nude body has fascinated people since the dawn of times. So many artists through the ages have enchanted us with their works, including Michelangelo with his Sistine Chapel, or the statue of Venus, all showing how perfect the human body is.

At its core, nude photography is simply taking pictures of a nude person, be it a male or a woman. Most of the times the naked person is a woman. While at times the photos focus on the human sexuality, it is far from being pornography. If done correctly, it is actually an art form which involves scientific precision.

Rather than being explicit and sexy, it evokes emotions and feelings, it is abstract and symbolic. And it definitely is not easy. If you think that it's all about taking a few pictures of a naked person, you're dead wrong and you're heading to a failure from the start.

When you talk about nude picture taking you are usually referring to either half or full body nakedness. If you are thinking of giving nude photography a go, here are some tips to get you started in the right direction. Note though that this art form is quite a tough niche in itself with lots of competition, so you really need to get an edge over the others to succeed.

The Art of Taking Aesthetically Pleasing Nude Photos

Nude photography is one of the areas of photography that most artists embrace at one point or another. It has that appeal that not many can resist. Nudes have appeared since early on in all types of artistry: from paintings to statues all the way to photography, black & white, and now full color.

When people hear about 'nude photography', they immediately thing of nasty, ugly things such as pornography and the sorts, and many times with good reason. Sadly pornography has tainted everything and while in the early years painting or sculpting a nude was an art form, now it's considered tacky and distorted sexy. Yet, nude photos can be taken in a very pleasant, artistic and tasteful way without touching on the dark side. The secret is to remove the sex from it. When the naked model is trying to be sexy, the photo automatically becomes cheap and dirty.

If a person is trying to be sexy while fully clothed, it works ok, as already proven by advertising. However trying to look sexy while naked, it automatically sends the viewers a very precise message, whereby everything else is forgotten but the 'sex'. But how to accomplish that which is apparently so difficult to achieve?

One way is to have the model look away from the camera. Have her gaze far away, as if thinking of something past, or recollecting a personal memory. This shows that the model has a soul, has feelings and is not simply a sex toy. The main ideas is for the model to express an emotion other than sexy for the viewers. Have her look dreamy or lost in thoughts, tranced, far away.

If you frame the picture without her face showing, the nude photograph will be an abstract rather than a person without clothes. Alternatively she can turn her head so that her face is not visible.

Lighting is another important part of taking out the sex from a nude photo. If you've noticed in porn movies and pictures, there is always a strong and bright background lighting. Having too much light has nothing to do with artistry, with conveying a true atmosphere. This is why you need plenty of shadows, which means that the model should have light pointed to her side or behind her. This creates a sense of mystical that leaves lots to the imagination and the mind.

By only having proper lighting and the model not look directly at the camera you will achieve the perfect artistic look that will not bring the mind automatically to pornography, but rather to a beautiful piece of photography.

Make The Nude Your Own

As the director of a nude themed art event, I have seen over the years, hundreds of submissions of nudes. I find artworks consistently fall into common categories. While each of these categories has a distinct place in the history of the nude, at the same time, their commonality of these nude themes can detract from establishing an artist's uniqueness.

The following is a list of common nude themes seen repeatedly in art portrayals of the nude human form. After considering each of these themes, also consider how you might create nude art "outside the box" to highlight your own unique art through the beauty of the nude.

1. Nude and Mythology. Nudes of antiquity dating back to the time of ancient Greece and Rome have portrayed the nude with mythological gods, goddesses and legends. Particularly common themes include nudes of Prometheus, nymphs and fawns, Venus, etc. Similar to the worship of mythological figures and their perfection, this format allows the nude to be worshipped in its perfection as well. Also included in this genre include angelic nudes. Mythological portrayals of nude figures with beautiful wings seem to be a natural inspiration for many artists.

2. Adam and Eve Nudes. Eve with the snake; Eve with an apple; Adam with an apple, Eve and Adam in the Garden; all of these themes are ubiquitous with numerous submissions annually portraying the nude, or nakedness, in relationship to the Original Sin. Being unique within this theme is a particular challenge for an artist.

3. Classic Posing Nudes. We have all seen these classic forms of a nude figure reclining on a chaise or sitting in a fixed posture. In these nudes, the primary focus is on the pose itself and how it accentuates the features of the nude human form. Less focus is placed on the model themselves and more on the actual positioning of the body.

4. Nude Contrasts. Whether it is guns, leather, machines or chains, contrasting the soft, beautiful nude form with hard, rough images is a natural focus of many nude artists. By contrasting the two together, the nude is elevated in its natural elements of shape, beauty and perfection. This method is commonly used by artists to deconstruct their perception of the perfect nude ideal.

5. Nude and Nature. A female nude along the soft dunes of a sandy beach; a male nude juxtaposed in a setting of brush and craggy trees; exposed human forms sprawled along jagged rocks; to an extent this is also a contrast of images, but also a theme that accentuates the natural state of the nude body. Nature and the nude share a "nakedness" and a beauty of creation that has made this theme universally common.

6. The Nude Sketch. Simple and often two dimensional, the nude sketch is a basic, beautiful portrayal of the nude. In addition, the nude sketch is timeless and routinely appeals to many. When you are at friends homes, you may actually notice how common the nude sketch is as well as its popularity. These are consistently easy pieces of art to sell when priced correctly.

7. Black and White Nude Photography. Black and white nude photography is also a popular choice among art viewers and often has a great chance of being sold. Black and white photography in particular is flattering to the human nude form and can be manipulated to hide flaws and present the nude in the best light. Proper lighting is critical when dealing with black and white photography, and settings can be used to emphasize exotic or other features an artist wants to portray. As digital photography continues to advance, these themes of the nude will undoubtedly remain common.

8. Nude Portraits. Finally, everyone is accustomed to seeing a nude portrait displayed. In its own right, these portraits can either portray a specific individual, or painted or sculpted anonymously allowing the viewer to envision themselves in the portrait. This concept of anonymity can pertain to other nude themes as well.

As an artist, the human body offers a beautiful subject to express your artistic talents as well as your inner emotions, thoughts and perceptions of the world. The nude has represented this for artists since the beginning of time. But in choosing how you want to portray the nude, consider breaking new ground outside the common themes that are repeatedly seen at events, art shows and galleries.