A Photographer’s Psychological Perspective on Photographing Nudes

Many years ago when I was approached for the first time about photographing a nude I wasn’t quite sure what to think. I was flattered of course and I’d always possessed a high appreciation for fine art nudes whether it be a painting, a photograph, an abstract or whatever the case. Art was and is chief among my many passions. But to photograph a nude was new territory at the time.

I wasn’t intimidated for a second. I was more interested in whether or not I had come to a point of self discipline to take it serious. I thought I would treat it like any other photo assignment; focus on the work and the artistry and not on the subject. But it was so much more than that. It was and is so much more intimate and requires such a high degree of trust and sharing. 

Unlike other photography where you can psychological remove yourself from your subject and believe that it’s just a block of wood as much as it is a man or woman, nude photography is delicate, private and passionate all the same. It requires an appreciation and respect for the trust you have engendered. I received a deep sense of satisfaction from the fact that someone is willing to reveal themselves to me on such a deep and personal level.

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There is nothing to hide behind; no makeup or prop. It’s purity at it highest height and I was immediately captivated by the sacredness of the moment - not for the brashness or daring of it and certainly not for money or vanity, but for its love and sincerity. It is true and promising with such magnificence that artists of all sorts have come to be enchanted by the human body over the ages. Capturing the nude is a precious and delicate moment to be cherished and revered, not to be paraded or lusted over.

From that moment forward I was intoxicated by its purity and its majesty. How wonderful a form with such a splendid joining of fleshly waves and channels; both fragile in form but carved in strength, with a conviction and a surety that she feels safe, that she feels beautiful and she chooses to reveal herself to me only for the sake of sharing such a pure gift - the gift of herself unmasked. 

Now, many years later every shutter transition is still like the first one. The purity is still there. The trust and splendid-ness of sharing still reigns amid a sea of powerful peaks and soft flesh. There is  still beauty that I behold in the revelation and a truth in trust. You see it was more than being about being nude however splendid, but also about her belief in my character as a person. But it was not the person she saw as a budding artist, but more so the person she trusted to capture with light and shadow the vessel that harnesses her truest self.

More recently, I was told by a close friend and art nude subject that I love more than sunshine, “that a body is just a body.” That it is just a vessel to hold the real person. True, I believe it is that but also so much more. As a photographer, I see it as a testament to friendship, love and trust surrounded by a breathtaking and infinitely fleshly beauty. I cherish it, love it and respect all that it is and will become. Should a day come when I am honored to behold it once more, I shall revere and respect it even more as a covenant to the honor she has bestowed upon me.