An Introduction to Artistic Nude Photography

Tim Hammond, 2012

Introduction
It has been my experience that many photographers discourage the entry of new photographers into the craft in
general, but that discouragement is far more drastic in the genre of fine art nudes. ar too fre!uently, an
aspiring fine art photographer will encounter the attitude of "#ou$ll ne%er be as experienced as me, so you might
as well gi%e up now& or "'mateurs (a.).a., beginners* should ne%er shoot nudes.& In addition, I$%e encountered
many photographers who are interested in artistic nude photography, but ha%e absolutely no idea where to start.
This wor)shop is intended help o%ercome those things by pro%iding essential information to get you started and
a basic foundation from which you can de%elop your own approach to the genre.
+n the other hand, this is far from a comprehensi%e course, and if you choose to seriously pursue artistic nude
photography there are many things you,ll need to learn that we won$t e%en touch on here. 't most, this it will get
you through your first few of sessions shooting a model and point out some things you might want to start
thin)ing about.
It,s also important to recogni-e that there are many paths to any destination. I$ll pro%ide specific notes on the
approach that has brought me some success, but you will de%elop your own style and preferences, and for the
most part I,%e tried to guide rather than direct your %enture. The information presented is based on my
experience, my approach, and my opinions, but it,s certainly not intended to be ta)en as the only way to go.
Reality check - what's your motivation?
.efore you /ump into the genre of artistic nude photography it$s worth gi%ing some consideration to what your
moti%ation is for doing so. I don,t intend to /udge your moti%ation. There,s not a "right& answer to the !uestion,
and there$s often not a single answer, but if your primary answer is on the list below then it,s %ery li)ely that
you,re headed down a path that will lead to frustration and disappointment.
a* Naked chicks/dudes 0 ob%iously no one shoots nude art if they don$t appreciate the beauty, sensuality,
and allure of nude humans, but if your primary moti%ation for shooting is that it$s a way to get to see
people na)ed, you can sa%e yourself a whole lot of money, frustration, and embarrassment by selling
your camera and heading to the local strip club.
b* Money 0 H'H1 That,s a 2++3 one1 4eriously, fine art nude photography is not a moneyma)ing
enterprise for the %ast ma/ority of artists. 4ure, there are a few who ma)e a li%ing at it. They,re art5
mar)eting geniuses who li%e in a carefully chosen location and ha%e spent 60 years de%eloping a
patronage of collectors and relationships with gallery owners. 7aybe you,ll get there some day too, but
if ma)ing money is your primary moti%ation for beginning artistic nude photography, don,t !uit your day
/ob.
c* ame 0 3on,t count on it. or e%ery fine art photographer whose name you,%e heard, there are at least
a thousand un)nown artists plugging away for nothing more than a lo%e of the art. 8%ery artist hopes to
become )nown and respected for their wor), and you may %ery well get there some day, but if that,s your
primary moti%ation, the odds are against you.
d* It looks easy 0 3on,t fool yourself. 'mateurish nude snapshots are easy. 'rtistic nudes are one of the
most difficult, challenging sub/ects a photographer can tac)le. If you aren,t up to the challenge of a
steep learning cur%e, a lot of unflattering criticism and re/ections, and the need to be brutally honest with
yourself on a regular basis, then you,re not li)ely to find much satisfaction as a fine art nude
photographer.
A note on terminology
I,ll point out up front is that I use "artistic nude photography& or "art nude photography,& and "fine art nude
photography& interchangeably. I do belie%e they can be distinguished from one another, but I )now %ery few
photographers who don,t wor) on both sides of the line, and most would disagree on exactly where that line is. If
you want to debate the fine philosophical points o%er a beer some time I$d be happy to, but I don$t thin) it would
be a producti%e use of time in this wor)shop.
!emonstration "hoot
Oh, I could never do that! I wouldn't know what to do! How do you act around a nude person? What if I offend
the model? What if I make a mistake and set the liht up wron or have to re!shoot somethin? "ren't you
worried that the model will et impatient with you?#
+ne of the most fre!uent reasons (excuses* I$%e heard for why people don$t explore art nude photography is
that, while they lo%e the resulting images, they simply can$t imagine the process of creating them, and especially
not with themsel%es as the director. I thin) the best way to address that is /ust to obser%e an experienced
photographer wor)ing, so I$m going to spend a few minutes to set up and shoot three different shots to let you
watch the process.
9ay particular attention to the communication between the model and me. This is not staged or rehearsed. I
ha%e as)ed the model to gi%e particular responses to some common situations so you can see how both she
and I handle them. Howe%er she has no idea what shots I$m going after, and I ha%e no idea at what point in the
process she will gi%e those particular responses.
'lso, I will try to %ocali-e and explain more of my thought process while I$m wor)ing than I normally do since I
thin) it will help if you understand where I$m heading as I wor).