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Hi all
Two queries here.
I have an idea for a series of photos that would include a nude female and, separately, male. Problem is I know my wife would find it strange me photographing a nude woman (but she's isn't willing to be photographed herself).
So those of you who are a) married; and b) do nude photography, how do you get your spouse to understand that you are taking photos of the opposite sex purely for artistic reasons?
Secondly, is there anyone in the Brighton/Sussex area who knows of a reasonably priced agency? I can't really afford 40 for two hours (which I think is the going rate) so I was wondering if someone has a private contact.
Any help would be gratefully appreciated.
Come to that - here's a third query. Looking at photos and paintings of nudes with our spouse we are comfortable with the subject and meaning, yet why is it so difficult for the spouse to understand why we have a similar idea for our photographs and want to pursue it?
Ashley
it seems to me maybe your first question has less to do with photography and more to do with trust. i have a young model i want to photograph (not nude) understanding there could be potential issues with my wife, the models parents, etc- i have an open set and would not do the shoot if my wife was not here (my studio is in my home)
if you have a historical interest in nude photography then the wife already knows that you approach it from an artistic angle. if she doesn't see it that way then you've got your work cut out for you. you might do a mock shoot (non nude) and get her opinion of the artistic value of the series and explain why they need to be nudes. if your reasons are just, she will probably go along with it.
fortunate that my wife would let me take nudes of anyone because of our trust of each other.
Hi Ashley -
I'm not married, but just a couple of things to mention....
There are agencies of photographers on the web that you can register with, which models look at and ring you. Loads of models want to do portfolio shoots for their own gain and will often do it for free if they like your style and you work out a deal (maybe you do some prints for free if you really are inexperienced).
The other thing is - 40 sounds really cheap for 2 hours of modelling - especially if they're coming to you. They will request travelling fee often too.
I found this website - I haven't had any dealings with it, but I found it when I was considering some nude photography once. The girls put whether they are available for amateur photographers....
Click here Anybody who knows whether this is a good site - please do jump in and say - but it's a starting point for you.
Paul
If it is from an artistic point of view then wouldn't a male nude do the job, i'm sure your wife would be happier, why does it always need to be a female nude, it's all to do with lighting a body isn't it? i'm not into nudes of any sort so what would i know! just a thought.
Fair enough Terry - but photography is all about inspiration and acting on it - if the female body inspires a person more than the male then so be it.
Thanks for the comments so far. Answered in some sort of order as follows:
It's not so much trust, she would just think it's strange as to why I would want to photograph a nude female (which is also the main reason for my third query).
Thanks, Paul, I'll have a good look at the site you mention. I don't have a professional set up in any sense of the word I just use an Fuji Finepix S5000 and any available light at the moment so I don't think I could offer "portfolio" shots.
Tepot, as part of the title for the series uses a woman's name and is a reference to a historical event it would be hard not to use a female as well as a male model.
Ashley
regardless, good luck with the series. sometimes you just have to do what the artist in you is asking for and take the heat for it later. i have not, however, been a situation where the heat comes from the wife. in that case, i personally just wouldn't do it if it were that much of a problem, or pass the idea off to someone else and ask for creative credits. your partner is more important than 15 minutes of fame. just my opinion.
I am very fortunate. My new partner has absolutely no problem with my taking nudes. I think that the main reason is that she knows that I shoot a heck of a lot of other subjects, that I have a consuming interest in photography of all types, and that I don't use a camera just to get some girl's clothes off.
How different things were when I was married. I took a fully clothed portrait of my (then) eighteen year old daughter. I like it very much, and I have it framed in my living room. My wife would not have it on show, as it was "disgustingly pornographic!" The reason? - No girl should have that look on her face around her father!
I wish I hadn't got my stuff all packed in readiness for my move, or I would scan it, & post it here for you all to judge.
Why is it extremely hard to convince friends and relatives that what you are doing/want to do is purely for artistic purposes? Certainly for the series (as mentioned above) my wife - even if she was willing to pose - wouldn't be right for the shot, it needs to be a black female.
Svengali, I wonder how you ex-wife would have felt about the painter Lucien Freud and the fact that all his daughters posed nude for him at one time or another and some were quite provocative poses at that!
Ashley
A breakthrough!
My wife and I had a long discussion at the weekend about taking photos of other females nude and she said to me that while she trusted me it was what I was "thinking" while the model was nude or topless.
I explained to her that a) I can separate nudity from sex; and b) I've got so much to think about with regard lighting, camera settings, pose, etc., that I won't have time to think of anything else.
She seemed happy with this but there was still some hesitation. I said to her she could be there while I took the photos but she replied that she wasn't really interested in photography (which I already knew) and would get bored quickly.
Ashley
Darn - too late to edit my message.
So it seems to me if others have had the same problem I have had with regard their spouse not wanting them to take topless, nude or even fully clothed photos of other people then sit down with them and talk it through. You may find that what they believe is different to what you thought they believed.
For me it wasn't that my wife didn't trust me she was just worried what I would be "thinking" about the woman who was posing topless or nude. She thought I would be fantasising about them. As I said to her the only fantasising I would be doing is getting a great shot that would get me more than 12 clicks on epz.
Ashley
As a red blooded hetrosexual male, I don't see how it is possible to have a pretty/beutifull woman in front of you, topless or naked and not fancy her or imagine things we can't discuss here, I would, and I don't count myself as sex mad.
I was once asked to photograph a chap's wife topless as she was , well, well endowed, I spoke to my wife about it and she was uncomfortable about the idea, nothing more(we were newly wed at the time), I discussed it no further and turned the chap down. She would probably just call me a pervert (jokingly) now and say no more, so I guess she had an insecurity issue when newly wed, now she nows I am with her for the long run, she wouldn't be bothered. It still doesn't change the fact I would be attracted to a beutifull topless/nude woman, I am human and week.
Stephen
It does seem to me though that depending on what the situation is at the time then seeing a woman topless or nude is far from a sexual experience.
I guess you find your wife really sexy and you are turned on by her. But, what about when she's ill and you are trying to help her - you don't mean to tell me that while she is nude but being violently sick in the loo, you're thinking "Phooaaww"?
When a woman is topless or nude in front of me and I'm photographing her, I don't think sexually about her. If that's the case you're not going to take very good photos because your mind is elsewhere rather than on the subject at hand, which is taking excellent photos.
I recently spent an hour with a female taking several photos of her and had so much to worry about with regards to the shot that if I had have looked at her "sexually" (although she was fully clothed) I think my brain would have exploded!
At the end of the day you do need to be able to "detach" yourself from the situation. Think of doctors, nurses, gynacologists (spelling?) etc.? How would you feel if you thought that your wife's doctor had sexual thoughts about your wife (and even taking into consideration her doctor is probably female)?
Ashley
Ashley, I don't take nude photo's of anyone, not even the wife in private, can't help but find a naked woman appealing and wouldn't want to spoil the moment with a camera in the way, just being honest and to the point, I can honestly say I am glad that some people can take good nude and glamour shots though!!
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