Infinitely Interesting

Art nude can be much maligned, even misunderstood outside artistic circles.

“It's just an excuse to photograph naked women, isn't it?” is a question I've heard too many times in my photographic career. Clearly, in a cynical world, older (mainly) male photographers taking pictures of younger (mainly) women the optics can look off, or dubious. And that's not to say some photographers have less than idealistic motives for pursuing the art with naked models.

However, there are some of us, and yes, I very much include myself in this, that enjoy and embrace the challenges to both this subject and the surrounding misconceptions.

The first challenge is creating an environment in which a model who is vulnerable by being naked feels empowered to be herself and comfortable in the space that you're working in. Our family motto is don't be a dick, and that helps massively, along with providing space both physical and figurative to allow the model to be assured she's in respectful company and a safe working space. Because, we are, after all, working when shooting.

Secondly, using models who are experienced in this field is critical, in my view, to getting images like I'm sharing today. Anyone can model, and indeed there is a considerable variety of those peddling their services as a model in the UK. But, good art nude models, adept at the nuances, posing and positioning required to elevate a nude study to a fine art level, are much rarer.

And the last challenge, which sits firmly in my court, is the technical challenge of staging and lighting. Low-key usually works well for me and often a single, large diffused light source with the model lit by the spill of this light source helps to create interesting light play across the body. That's not to say it's the only way to light a nude. Indeed, there are a plethora of methods and lighting set-ups we can call on as photographers for this genre of images.

These images taken with the art nude expert Val (models as Infinity Model) reflect some of that philosophy. The predominant large diffused Octa soft box produces the key light in this simple light set up. The rest is down to Val, her repertoire of poses and my ability to compose and shoot when I feel the image is right.

The remainder of this study of the human form (19 other images) is available to Archive Room members and there is a 7-day free trial available for you to sample this and my other content, without obligation.