The Art of Nude Photography

One of the benefits of having a second-story studio and a wall full of windows is that on those sunny days we can pull back the heavy drapes and let the natural light come pouring in. Izzie couldn’t help but to take off her top and bask in the warming rays. For those of you who know Izzie, this is a special treat as this is the very first time she has posed topless for any photographer. We welcome Izzie to the studio over and over again. She is a delight to photograph and I am finding that it only gets better and better the more we collaborate.

One of the benefits of having a second-story studio and a wall full of windows is that on those sunny days we can pull back the heavy drapes and let the natural light come pouring in. Izzie couldn’t help but to take off her top and bask in the warming rays. For those of you who know Izzie, this is a special treat as this is the very first time she has posed topless for any photographer. We welcome Izzie to the studio over and over again. She is a delight to photograph and I am finding that it only gets better and better the more we collaborate.

This shoot began by photographing Juliet in a fun and simple setting. She boasts of being an excellent bartender, as she has had loads of experience on both sides, serving and being served. I thought it appropriate to bring this theme out on her return to the studio. It had been about a year since we had last seen Juliet and so we spent the day creating all sorts of fun and sexy ideas back at a familiar creative space, Milo Arts.

This shoot began by photographing Juliet in a fun and simple setting. She boasts of being an excellent bartender, as she has had loads of experience on both sides, serving and being served. I thought it appropriate to bring this theme out on her return to the studio. It had been about a year since we had last seen Juliet and so we spent the day creating all sorts of fun and sexy ideas back at a familiar creative space, Milo Arts.

Juliet returns to Metier Studios after a long hiatus. A true Muse, Juliet has inspired artists, musicians, engineers, and many others across the spectrum of talent. She brings a level of confidence and stunning sexuality that the studio doesn’t see everyday. In the upcoming weeks, the new creations with Juliet will be revealed. Several new films and approximately 8 new sets of galleries featuring Juliet are brewing. For those of you who recognize locations, you will see that we spent the day at Milo Arts, and in fact, in the same studio where it all began. So much of my early inspiration and drive came from my days living and working as an artist in Milo Arts. It has been years since I maintained a studio there but I still go back, lease space for a day, and at times, get invited to share studio space with friends and acquaintances living there. This film profiles the experience of the photographer, showing you what it is like to work with a beautiful model like Juliet. We were listening to Marley and Tom Waits through most of this and so of course, sound has to be cut out and replaced. I want to thank my friends Athletes In Paris for the use of several of their tracks. Heartbeat (Francophilippe Little Bit Daft Punk Edit) is featured in this film, setting the tone and the pace for Juliet. Enjoy.

Juliet returns to Metier Studios after a long hiatus. A true Muse, Juliet has inspired artists, musicians, engineers, and many others across the spectrum of talent. She brings a level of confidence and stunning sexuality that the studio doesn’t see everyday. In the upcoming weeks, the new creations with Juliet will be revealed. Several new films and approximately 8 new sets of galleries featuring Juliet are brewing. For those of you who recognize locations, you will see that we spent the day at Milo Arts, and in fact, in the same studio where it all began. So much of my early inspiration and drive came from my days living and working as an artist in Milo Arts. It has been years since I maintained a studio there but I still go back, lease space for a day, and at times, get invited to share studio space with friends and acquaintances living there. This film profiles the experience of the photographer, showing you what it is like to work with a beautiful model like Juliet. We were listening to Marley and Tom Waits through most of this and so of course, sound has to be cut out and replaced. I want to thank my friends Athletes In Paris for the use of several of their tracks. Heartbeat (Francophilippe Little Bit Daft Punk Edit) is featured in this film, setting the tone and the pace for Juliet. Enjoy.

I have been wanting to photograph Trishi for quite awhile. She has been photographed by many of the other prominent photographers and colleagues of mine, and I have always loved the power she possesses in her images. I have often heard Trishi described as a stoic and it is apparent to me that she is definitely an old soul. She is quiet, a listener, not quick to speak, but not exactly shy either. She had never met me before I contacted her about setting up a shoot and it just so happened that I had two different painters wanting to work with me at the time and do original works of art on the female body. I thought, what better project to bring Trishi is on than that of human canvas, with her perfect skin and very modelesque attributes. She has those lovely long lines, sharp shoulders and defined collar bones, and the fair complexion that is perfect for the level of contrast we all desired. Trishi was a bit skeptical at first. She had never been painted before and was worried that painted bodies done via airbrush can be somewhat commercial or cartoonish looking. Regardless of her concerns, she was an incredibly good sport being that this first creation took over 2 hours to complete. Trishi was very patient, while Grace, a brilliant illustrator, worked out her vision of “what if the skin were transparent and this is what I might imagine it would all look like underneath.” Obviously, not seeking to incorporate any specific accuracy with regard to human anatomy. Where would be the imagination in that? I am very pleased with this entire project, separated into two sets of images, with this first being that of the application process and the exhibition series coming soon. My thanks to Trishi and Grace, as this was truly a collaborative effort.

I have been wanting to photograph Trishi for quite awhile. She has been photographed by many of the other prominent photographers and colleagues of mine, and I have always loved the power she possesses in her images. I have often heard Trishi described as a stoic and it is apparent to me that she is definitely an old soul. She is quiet, a listener, not quick to speak, but not exactly shy either. She had never met me before I contacted her about setting up a shoot and it just so happened that I had two different painters wanting to work with me at the time and do original works of art on the female body. I thought, what better project to bring Trishi is on than that of human canvas, with her perfect skin and very modelesque attributes. She has those lovely long lines, sharp shoulders and defined collar bones, and the fair complexion that is perfect for the level of contrast we all desired. Trishi was a bit skeptical at first. She had never been painted before and was worried that painted bodies done via airbrush can be somewhat commercial or cartoonish looking. Regardless of her concerns, she was an incredibly good sport being that this first creation took over 2 hours to complete. Trishi was very patient, while Grace, a brilliant illustrator, worked out her vision of “what if the skin were transparent and this is what I might imagine it would all look like underneath.” Obviously, not seeking to incorporate any specific accuracy with regard to human anatomy. Where would be the imagination in that? I am very pleased with this entire project, separated into two sets of images, with this first being that of the application process and the exhibition series coming soon. My thanks to Trishi and Grace, as this was truly a collaborative effort.

Some will argue that my work is derivative. Perhaps I am the first to thrust the claim upon myself. Being that I am publishing online 100% of the artistic nudes I create, it makes sense that I would not particularly stand behind every image and every concept I have created. Concepts don’t always work out and sometimes a new idea looks a lot like something the other artists who inspire us have already created. Derivative art is inevitable when someone is familiar with your teacher or the others stemming from the same school of thought. Saying this though gives me renewed motivation everyday to maintain the creation, the subject, and the talent I possess and use that to make a visual statement that is entirely my own. This, however, is a very difficult thing to do. Met Art, Femjoy, Hegre Art… you have possibly heard of all of these mega websites geared solely toward erotic art and the “worship” of beautiful women. I support that, though, my style will likely never be as erotic as many images found among them. My work has frequently been compared to these big three. I am not for certain which has been around the longest, possibly Hegre, maybe Met Art, or perhaps they all derived their essence from the lesser known Didier Carré, whose work is almost entirely in black and white. I’ll have to try to figure this out someday. My direct influence has been Petter Hegre, of Hegre Art. It wasn’t just all about being a member on his website and looking at his work… It was that I really enjoyed the way in which he portrayed the beauty of his model in a way that was believable, that was honest, something which he coined as “the new nude” in opposition to the airbrushed Playboy girls, in opposition even to his style of today. Years ago, you could find a blemish on a model, not every image was so pristinely photoshopped such that every bump is gone. And yet, maybe I am exaggerating just a bit, but the refinement of Hegre’s work today actually draws away from the artistic element that attracted me so much in the past. He almost never leaves something to the imagination anymore. The recent flow of models all seem to be rather high-up in the europorn world and bare everything for the photographer. I experienced this first-hand as I attended Petter Hegre’s workshop in Spain last April. Please don’t misunderstand, I learned so much at this workshop that my work has and will forever be changed and influenced by Petter’s marvelous tutelage. He is a master of light, uses state-of-the-art equipment, has the audacious personality to manage the incredible circumstances in the world of erotic art, and has proved his penchant for being a savvy business tycoon within an art form that is not known for making wealthy men. The workshop lasted less than a week and was hosted in Hegre’s $7M studio/home complex, with the studio being entirely underground and about 8 blocks away from a marvelous Mediterranean beach on the coast of Spain known for it’s nude-friendly atmosphere. We also spent time shooting in a nearby retro-decor hotel. The models were Russian, Czech, and Ukrainian. Language was a barrier, as none of the models were fluent in English, which was not one of my expectations. I actually quite enjoyed trying to flirt mildly without words. But when it came down to the shoots, it was; pick an article of clothing, pick a piece of furniture, and go… The model begins to pose and you begin to photograph. There really wasn’t any time for theme or artistry to take place during the shooting sessions themselves. It was mostly about the mechanical aesthetics. I should mention here though that Petter was very adamant about approaching the topic of the Muse and how very important it is to be inspired by the Muse who becomes the subject of your art. This I could not agree with more. I will comment additionally and at length regarding the workshop in future commentaries. For now, please enjoy, Workshop.

Some will argue that my work is derivative. Perhaps I am the first to thrust the claim upon myself. Being that I am publishing online 100% of the artistic nudes I create, it makes sense that I would not particularly stand behind every image and every concept I have created. Concepts don’t always work out and sometimes a new idea looks a lot like something the other artists who inspire us have already created. Derivative art is inevitable when someone is familiar with your teacher or the others stemming from the same school of thought. Saying this though gives me renewed motivation everyday to maintain the creation, the subject, and the talent I possess and use that to make a visual statement that is entirely my own. This, however, is a very difficult thing to do. Met Art, Femjoy, Hegre Art… you have possibly heard of all of these mega websites geared solely toward erotic art and the “worship” of beautiful women. I support that, though, my style will likely never be as erotic as many images found among them. My work has frequently been compared to these big three. I am not for certain which has been around the longest, possibly Hegre, maybe Met Art, or perhaps they all derived their essence from the lesser known Didier Carré, whose work is almost entirely in black and white. I’ll have to try to figure this out someday. My direct influence has been Petter Hegre, of Hegre Art. It wasn’t just all about being a member on his website and looking at his work… It was that I really enjoyed the way in which he portrayed the beauty of his model in a way that was believable, that was honest, something which he coined as “the new nude” in opposition to the airbrushed Playboy girls, in opposition even to his style of today. Years ago, you could find a blemish on a model, not every image was so pristinely photoshopped such that every bump is gone. And yet, maybe I am exaggerating just a bit, but the refinement of Hegre’s work today actually draws away from the artistic element that attracted me so much in the past. He almost never leaves something to the imagination anymore. The recent flow of models all seem to be rather high-up in the europorn world and bare everything for the photographer. I experienced this first-hand as I attended Petter Hegre’s workshop in Spain last April. Please don’t misunderstand, I learned so much at this workshop that my work has and will forever be changed and influenced by Petter’s marvelous tutelage. He is a master of light, uses state-of-the-art equipment, has the audacious personality to manage the incredible circumstances in the world of erotic art, and has proved his penchant for being a savvy business tycoon within an art form that is not known for making wealthy men. The workshop lasted less than a week and was hosted in Hegre’s $7M studio/home complex, with the studio being entirely underground and about 8 blocks away from a marvelous Mediterranean beach on the coast of Spain known for it’s nude-friendly atmosphere. We also spent time shooting in a nearby retro-decor hotel. The models were Russian, Czech, and Ukrainian. Language was a barrier, as none of the models were fluent in English, which was not one of my expectations. I actually quite enjoyed trying to flirt mildly without words. But when it came down to the shoots, it was; pick an article of clothing, pick a piece of furniture, and go… The model begins to pose and you begin to photograph. There really wasn’t any time for theme or artistry to take place during the shooting sessions themselves. It was mostly about the mechanical aesthetics. I should mention here though that Petter was very adamant about approaching the topic of the Muse and how very important it is to be inspired by the Muse who becomes the subject of your art. This I could not agree with more. I will comment additionally and at length regarding the workshop in future commentaries. For now, please enjoy, Workshop.

The eventuality for my progression as an artist and to gain experience and confidence photographing beautiful nude females was to ultimately hire a professional model. In the world of nude and erotic photography, models do not (only) look like what you see on the fashion runways. Yet, I herald this truth to be a glorious benefit to the genre of photography I have chosen. I love tall women, short women, petite women, curves, and straight lines. It pleases me that in the modeling world that surrounds nude photography, you can hire a model of any proportion. There is not the limitation from the “industry” that will only select super tall and super thin models. I am not opposed at all to working with tall and thin, yet, if it weren’t for the openness in this genre, I would have never been privileged to work with Lucy Dominga. Lucy Dominga is under 5 feet tall and she is extremely petite, yet, she is also one of the most beautiful women in the world. She has the most amazing smile, the biggest eyes, and expresses incredible joy and happiness at all times. Well, at least during our sessions. She may be petite but she also has curves and a fantastic physique. I was very fortunate that Lucy was my first hire. I have worked with many “professional” models since Lucy and let me tell you, most of them are very difficult to work with. This first experience with Lucy taught me a lot about the verbal communication between model and photographer during a shoot. Clear lines of communication, clear contracts, a constant dialogue about concept and pose, although, not forgetting to limit the actual talking when the rhythm of a shoot or sequence starts to take hold. Everything with Lucy went off without a hitch. I had some creative ideas brewing for our first shoot and she was keen to do her best to make them happen. Chin-ups started off the day. I placed this chin-up apparatus in the studio and began to ask Lucy to do poses and exercises that I likely couldn’t do myself. I had her hanging upside-down, holding her head above the bar for seconds at a time, even one arm and one leg over the bar and the rest of her body in suspension. In many ways, she performed, and her performance was more than I could have anticipated. Performance modeling, while a big part of what photographers look for when they are seeking to create their unique concepts and visions, doesn’t seem to fit with my goals. Mostly because so many of the professional models I have worked with do not perform, at least not in away that reveals something true about themselves, not like Lucy. Nothing is new when they re-use the same expressions regardless of pose, concept, mood, or theme. At times, you can get this to change by suggesting a keyword to the model or presenting the idea of incorporating a real past emotion in order to evoke a certain response, and yet, most of the time, the suggestion fades and the emotion subsides, and the performance relapses back to what already exists in so many other photographs. It gets boring for me and my response has been to hire non-models, to hire women who perhaps have modeled but not full-time and are not engrained with lots and lots of bad habits. More often than not, I will develop a fast friendship first and based on the success of that, decide if a photoshoot with her might reveal something real, something intimate, and usually it does. I am proud to promote and exhibit Lucy Dominga here and throughout this body of work.

The eventuality for my progression as an artist and to gain experience and confidence photographing beautiful nude females was to ultimately hire a professional model. In the world of nude and erotic photography, models do not (only) look like what you see on the fashion runways. Yet, I herald this truth to be a glorious benefit to the genre of photography I have chosen. I love tall women, short women, petite women, curves, and straight lines. It pleases me that in the modeling world that surrounds nude photography, you can hire a model of any proportion. There is not the limitation from the “industry” that will only select super tall and super thin models. I am not opposed at all to working with tall and thin, yet, if it weren’t for the openness in this genre, I would have never been privileged to work with Lucy Dominga. Lucy Dominga is under 5 feet tall and she is extremely petite, yet, she is also one of the most beautiful women in the world. She has the most amazing smile, the biggest eyes, and expresses incredible joy and happiness at all times. Well, at least during our sessions. She may be petite but she also has curves and a fantastic physique. I was very fortunate that Lucy was my first hire. I have worked with many “professional” models since Lucy and let me tell you, most of them are very difficult to work with. This first experience with Lucy taught me a lot about the verbal communication between model and photographer during a shoot. Clear lines of communication, clear contracts, a constant dialogue about concept and pose, although, not forgetting to limit the actual talking when the rhythm of a shoot or sequence starts to take hold. Everything with Lucy went off without a hitch. I had some creative ideas brewing for our first shoot and she was keen to do her best to make them happen. Chin-ups started off the day. I placed this chin-up apparatus in the studio and began to ask Lucy to do poses and exercises that I likely couldn’t do myself. I had her hanging upside-down, holding her head above the bar for seconds at a time, even one arm and one leg over the bar and the rest of her body in suspension. In many ways, she performed, and her performance was more than I could have anticipated. Performance modeling, while a big part of what photographers look for when they are seeking to create their unique concepts and visions, doesn’t seem to fit with my goals. Mostly because so many of the professional models I have worked with do not perform, at least not in away that reveals something true about themselves, not like Lucy. Nothing is new when they re-use the same expressions regardless of pose, concept, mood, or theme. At times, you can get this to change by suggesting a keyword to the model or presenting the idea of incorporating a real past emotion in order to evoke a certain response, and yet, most of the time, the suggestion fades and the emotion subsides, and the performance relapses back to what already exists in so many other photographs. It gets boring for me and my response has been to hire non-models, to hire women who perhaps have modeled but not full-time and are not engrained with lots and lots of bad habits. More often than not, I will develop a fast friendship first and based on the success of that, decide if a photoshoot with her might reveal something real, something intimate, and usually it does. I am proud to promote and exhibit Lucy Dominga here and throughout this body of work.

With Nathalia, our first trip out had a unique balance. It was my second shoot incorporating nudity and I believe that it was also her second shoot modeling nude. We drove more than an hour away to Mohican State Park and the surrounding countryside. We came prepared with accessories and lots of ideas but the day got off to a rocky start. Perched atop a scenic overlook called Mt. Geez, this placed proved to be a little too family friendly on a Saturday afternoon. The wind picked up about the time we arrived, clouds set in, even a small measure of rain fell. We spent half the time running back to the car either for warmth or to avoid Nathalia being caught nude in this excessively conservative part of the Midwest. There were a few close calls, such that at one point, Nathalia noticed the patriarch of a over-sized SUV pulling out the cell phone and that was our cue to get the hell out of there. It turned out to be much to our benefit. We spent some time driving around, giving the weather a chance to make a change, and eventually, we found a convenient parking area at the edge of the forest. The sun was out, it was warm, and we made our way deep into the woods, far from the inconvenience of spectators. Here is when the kismet between model and photographer really began to take off. To date, this is where some of my best wilderness nudes were created, combining the beautiful and sensual Nathalia with the crunchy dry leaves of Autumn, fallen logs, skinny trees, rock shelves and ledges… you can almost smell the campfire and s’mores in the distance.

With Nathalia, our first trip out had a unique balance. It was my second shoot incorporating nudity and I believe that it was also her second shoot modeling nude. We drove more than an hour away to Mohican State Park and the surrounding countryside. We came prepared with accessories and lots of ideas but the day got off to a rocky start. Perched atop a scenic overlook called Mt. Geez, this placed proved to be a little too family friendly on a Saturday afternoon. The wind picked up about the time we arrived, clouds set in, even a small measure of rain fell. We spent half the time running back to the car either for warmth or to avoid Nathalia being caught nude in this excessively conservative part of the Midwest. There were a few close calls, such that at one point, Nathalia noticed the patriarch of a over-sized SUV pulling out the cell phone and that was our cue to get the hell out of there. It turned out to be much to our benefit. We spent some time driving around, giving the weather a chance to make a change, and eventually, we found a convenient parking area at the edge of the forest. The sun was out, it was warm, and we made our way deep into the woods, far from the inconvenience of spectators. Here is when the kismet between model and photographer really began to take off. To date, this is where some of my best wilderness nudes were created, combining the beautiful and sensual Nathalia with the crunchy dry leaves of Autumn, fallen logs, skinny trees, rock shelves and ledges… you can almost smell the campfire and s’mores in the distance.