PHOTOS THAT INSPIRE PHOTO WORKSHOP

Chapter 10. Skin

The art world has long celebrated the human body in countless paintings and sculpture, and creating a great nude study poses a challenge to most artists. It's important for a photographer to develop a style and the technical expertise to portray an artistic nude successfully. A number of variables should be considered, such as posing, camera angle, lighting, and composition. In a studio setting, a simple backdrop paper works well, while outdoor backgrounds should complement the subject without distracting from it. Shooting an image of a person that reveals the body takes much planning and practice to arrive at the artistic statement you want to make. Successful nudes and semi-nudes are often a blend of the aesthetic and sensuous. Some are rendered as bold, blatant statements, leaving little to the imagination, while others are more sophisticated and subtle. In this section of the book, we will focus on the latter.

One aspect of photographing people successfully is the ability to think visually, to recognize photographic possibilities in any given situation. Sometimes this means being aware of design elements like colors, shapes and lines, and utilizing them with your choice of camera angle, point of view, or composition. Ask yourself whether a scene you want to shoot needs explanation, or stands on its own. Learning to assess a situation visually enables you to get more aesthetically pleasing images, and can help you develop your own personal photographic style. ...