Portrait SIG Members’ Introduction to Nude Photography

In January some members of the Portrait SIG had an introduction to Nude Photography.

Steph, a Scottish Model, visited us for an all-day shoot, staged at my house and nearby.  In the morning, we used the time to get to know the model with a portrait photoshoot out on location.  In the afternoon, in a first for the group, she posed nude.  Six of us (David Watkins, Franco, Gladys, Lucy, Steve and Wendy) worked with Steph in the morning and five (David Watkins, Franco, Jeff, Lucy and Steve) in the afternoon.

Morning Shoot – Out on Location

In the morning, before the nude photoshoot, we spent the time getting to know the model.  We assembled at 9.30am on a chilly morning and headed off, on foot, towards the village church, using an old shed as a background en route.  Then we walked back to my house and worked by the front porch and then on under a large tree using props such as a picnic hamper and a guitar.  In the bright sunshine it seemed almost summery!  Steph didn’t seem to feel the cold, with her bare midriff and no coat, but she is Scottish!  We moved inside for a short while and used my makeshift studio.

Although she has had a reasonable amount of experience, this was Steph’s first group shoot and later she commented in her social media that it had been a bit daunting in the morning with several cameras shooting at the same time! She handled it well.  Normally we regulate these sessions a bit more but, on this occasion, I took a hands-off approach, and let everyone self-regulate, which worked reasonably well.

Afternoon Shoot – Indoor Nude

After the morning session, a quick break for a snack lunch, and a slight change of personnel, we started the afternoon session.  For the nude shoot we worked strictly one2one with Steph, two 15 minutes sessions each.  For three of the five participating it was their first time working with a nude model.  Knowing this, I prepared some etiquette notes for working with a nude model and circulated them a week or so before the shoot.

Fortunately, Steph is very body confident, very relaxed and easy going.  Once she undressed, apart from props and drapes etc, she remained naked for the whole three hours, walking around, chatting and reviewing images on the camera screen, as if fully clothed!  I believe this led to a very relaxed atmosphere for the understandably apprehensive newbies.  Steph was also happy for those not shooting to watch, so that, especially the newbies could learn and understand what was going on – many models prefer more privacy – not Steph!  Also, the clothed shoot in the morning meant that the participants had met and got to know her then.

I hope you enjoy a few of the images we created.  I organised the event and took very few photos of Steph that day but I had worked with her separately one2one and include a couple created earlier, as they say on Blue Peter!

Feedback from the Model

Steph reported back that she had thoroughly enjoyed the day and was grateful for the images we sent her and for the whole experience.

I have received feedback from those attending that they enjoyed the experience and would like to do something similar again. Here are some of their comments:

Feedback from the Photographers

Franco writes:

“I enjoyed both the morning and the afternoon sessions of the photo shoot with Steph, but the nude session in the afternoon was definitely the most challenging experience.

It was my first session with a nude model, and although Alan had provided us with useful guidelines, I was quite apprehensive at the beginning.  Fortunately, Steph had a very cooperative and relaxed attitude, so I gradually became more confident.  Before the shoot, I had looked in my photobooks for nude poses that I wished to reproduce, and I copied some pictures on my phone.  This made it much easier to explain to Steph what I wanted to achieve, and she did a great job in following these suggestions.

Franco’s Conclusion:

In the end, I was very happy with the images I got, even if with hindsight I realised that I could have done better in some respects.  Steph was a very easy person to work with, and this helped a lot in making the session enjoyable.  I am also grateful to all members of our group for the advice I got during the shoot, and it was great to learn by looking at what more experienced friends were doing.”

Lucy writes:

I was quite apprehensive about doing a nude shoot.  However, really wanted to experience all aspects of portrait photography and so thought this was an opportune experience to have.  Initially my thoughts were quite protective over the model and, what surprise me, were quite motherly instincts towards her before I even met Steph.

The day was set up really nicely. We had the morning with her and we got time to get to know each other.  Therefore, the afternoon, which was the nude shoot, was 100% more comfortable as we weren’t strangers.  Steph was so relaxed, and comfortable in the environment and what we were asking her to do.  It really made the whole experience very easy.  Seeing that she was totally fine, really brought my anxiety down and allowed me to think less about protecting her and more critically on getting really nice shots of her.

Lucy’s Conclusion:

I definitely could’ve come more prepared to the shoot with perhaps some example images or poses.  I will know this for next time.  However, I’m pretty happy with my shots and very grateful for my fellow photographers in both pushing me, and providing feedback and helping me get the best shots.  I also really enjoyed assisting the other photographers with their shots as well.  All in all, a really great afternoon with Steph.

Would you like to Join the Portrait Special Interest Group?

Everyone in the Club is welcome to join our Group. Just contact me if you’d like to join and be added to our email distribution list.

Alan Edwards