Why I Shoot Fine Art Nude Photography: A Woman’s Perspective (NSFW)
by 500px Photographer Lauren Naylor
In this article, fine art nude photographer Lauren Naylor shares a woman’s perspective on nude photography, and the sometimes blurry line between ‘fine art’ and ‘softcore porn.’
When you think about nude photography, you might be a little wary on the subject — maybe you’re picturing some amateur photographer promising artistic integrity with less-than-refined ideas floating around in their head. At least that was my opinion on most contemporary nude photographers when I first started doing photography, nearly 9 years ago, with a narrow mind and an old 35mm camera.
I would have never thought back then, shooting double exposures of clouds and street signs, that I would be shooting nude photos of women, and definitely not of myself, in the present day. I had admired the work of Helmut Newton and Edward Weston (and still do!), but thought those good old days of ‘nude vs. naked’ were long gone and all that was left were hidden motives.
After learning the photography basics and becoming bored of the double exposures, I slowly started trying on fine art portraiture and grew to fall deeply in love with it.
My portraits took on many styles in the early years, as all developing photographers come to terms with that difficult question, “What the hell do I want to shoot and how do I create a body of work that is my own?”
It wasn’t until a few years ago that I started to feel like I had found my niche in photography, and a personal style began to develop. That sigh of relief had finally hit me: I was working towards something I truly loved and believed in.
It was simple: portraiture stripped of culture, civilization, or association. All that’s left is human emotion. And most of the time clothing distracts from that concept and all the feelings that go along with it. Nude photography and self-portraiture began to take on a life in my work.
“I would have never thought back then, shooting double exposures of clouds and street signs, that I would be shooting nude photos of women, and definitely not of myself.”
When a photographer shoots their subjects in the nude without a sexual motivation (whether underlying or not), one has to wonder what IS the meaning behind it?
The reason for me goes back to the general concept behind my work: Pure emotion.
This article originally appeared on the 500px blog.
If you liked this article, please click that clap button. This will help share it with more people so they can enjoy it too!
