Simplicity is Key to Great Nude Photography

To be successful in nude fine arts photography, one has to be careful with the composition and any props used to frame the shots. The reason we call it “nude photography” is because the nude model is the key aspect of your photo. Hence simplicity keeps the subject is the main circle of attention of the viewer.

There are numerous aspects of fine arts nude photography, ranging from body & form photography that highlights the shapes, to portraying subtle moods and emotions. I personally prefer to keep the composition very simple and often not try too hard to manipulate lighting either.

I have seen some photographers go to great length to perfect some imaginary lights and shades but in my mind, anything that you do to enhance the composition outside the nude model is redundant in fine arts nude photography.

My tips for fine arts nude photography success

I spent lot of time articulating the project & the expected outcome for my model. I have the habit of writing down the key aspects of the compositions and what I would like the viewer to go through as they see the images.

My next big time consumer is building the relation with my model so I can get all the first hand experience to decide how my model would fit into the project. I look for similarities or differences in personalities between my sitter and the model in the would-be frame to coach my model further.

Once I am convinced that my model gets the essence of the project, we do 6 – 10 hours of trial shots. This has 2 big advantages. One, it helps me as the photographer to understand how well my model is fitting into the shoes of my main cast. And secondly to give both of us the time to adjust to our working styles.

I am often surprised on the number of times I ended up changing my project story line because I felt that my model could do something totally different much better, leading me to do start completely new projects! It is essential that as a photographer one finds the unique areas of strength in the model rather than to fit the personality into your project forcibly.

The last point that brings me a lot of success is the choice of color or monochrome. This is a conscious decision that the photographer has to make & I almost always lean towards Black & White when it comes to fine arts nude photography. If the urge to do in color is too much, I would usually go for mild muted colors rather than strong colors.

The choice of colors definitely depends on the projects & for commercial fine arts nude projects, the default choice is color! However, the thing to note is that color also adds complexity. So one has to pay even more attention to the composition & framing the shot so as to keep it simple & meaningful.

My personal preference, and something that has worked out very well for me in professional fine art nude photography projects is to keep things very simple. I look for minimalism throughout my composition, choice of color, makeup & the final presentation.

My personal style is rather bold, where the model occupies over 60%-70% of the frame and almost has to hold the entire composition by herself. I go with minimal to no props, only deciding to include one if the model feels that it would accentuate her emotion or personality.

For more examples of fine arts nude photography projects or additional insights into my personal experiences, here are some more articles.