Photo of ghostly nude woman in a deserted house

Photographing Nudes on Location – Deserted Buildings

How to Photograph Nudes

Location Nudes – Deserted Buildings

The walls seem to hold echoes of the past. It is easy to visualise the ghosts of previous occupants wandering through their empty rooms. Maybe it takes a creative leap to see them as attractive naked women but when photographing location nudes you can capture whatever you want. This is about interpreting an idea to create an interesting image

The Location

Black and white photograph of a voyeuristic figure reflected in a mirror watching a nude woman bending over a bath

Unfortunately health and safety rules in the UK (having said that – be sensible and do not put yourself or your model at risk by entering an unsafe building) so many prime locations are inaccessible and, fearing legal claims, owners are reluctant to allow access.

Good locations are hard to find there is a ruined church near me that that has featured on Purpleport so many times you may find a queue of photographers outside it. I was fortunate that a friend leant me an empty house that was due for demolition for these shoots.

Ideas in practice

Photography is about lighting and composition. We master the technical intricacies to enable us to capture ever changing lighting, movement and complex subjects. We practice and learn to look to improve our composition. When you finally arrive at an exciting location with an attractive model it is all too easy to become overwhelmed.

Photographing location nudes – In the woods

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Ghostly Nudes – The Technical Stuff

Ghostly nude woman in deserted house

The camera was mounted on a tripod and an images made of the empty room. I used bracketed exposures so that I had control over the dynamic range between the bright window and shadowy interiors. The nudes where then taken using a low shutter speed to introduce a little movement blur and without moving the camera. The ghost images were easy to create using Photoshop layers and adjusting the opacity.



Creative Nude Photography shows you how to go beyond the norms of conventional glamour. The book contains sections on the concept, but is it art plus practical advice on finding models and camera techniques. The final section shows examples of creative nude projects

Want a hard copy to read? Printed edition available here


Ghostly nude
A ghostly nude figure glimpsed through an old fashioned wooden window. This image is a photomontage.

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