A Quick Guide to Shooting Studio Nudes
Producing studio nudes gives you a choice. Use a plain background, strip away the real world, and produce an image that depicts the human body only. Alternatively add props or build a setting to create an illusion. These tactics along with extensive make up are used to produce glamour images but can also be used to produce pictures that depict the models personality.
Against a Plain Background
Standing the model against a plain studio background forces the viewer to concentrate on the subject.
Concentrate on the lighting
Soft side lighting will accentuate shape and form. The picture on the left is lit by a studio soft box – it looks like window light. A little bit of fill in from a reflector lightened the shadows.
Harder lighting creates shadows. It creates a sense of mystery and will reveal the texture of skin. This goes against the current fashion in the glamour world to make models look like plastic imitations.
Soft fontal lighting reveals detail but reduces shadows and flattens shape and form
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Abstract Nudes in the Studio
Concentrate on parts of the body to produce abstract nudes.
To identify a person we usually look at the face so removing this from the picture often creates a more abstract image.
Adding Props
Adding random props can help you build a glamour picture that tells a story. Using props that relate to the models produce an image that conveys something of her personality.
The props can be as simple as the trainers the model arrived in, items they use in everyday life to a complete car or motorbike – if your studio is big enough. The images may still be read as glamour – it is up to the viewer to decipher whether they are genuine or not unless captions are included.
This is one of the best props suggested by a model and – yes – it is real, alive and genuinely in flight. Not a stuffed one.
Working with amateur or professional models who have an interest in producing something different may not earn you a fortune.
Almost all traditional publications will reject images that don’t depict society’s ‘standard’ version of beauty or, in their opinion, fit into the definition of ‘glamour’.
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