artistic nude photoshoot as a way to accepting, honoring and celebrating your body
Artistic nude photoshoot in nature for a beautiful goddess Grace.
Why do a nude photoshoot?
What is your relationship with your body? Do you cherish it, do you love it, are you proud of it, are you thankful for it, or do you hate it? As women we are too often critical of ourselves, trying to fit a certain standard of beauty or what we once looked like, and forget to thank our bodies for being here for us and housing our souls.
A great way to celebrate your body is to do an artistic nude photoshoot. My nude photoshoots are mostly done in nature - there is something so liberating about being in your birthday suit in the wild - and my photoshoots are different from boudoir photoshoots.
Boudoir photoshoots are usually done indoors, at home or in a studio, the person usually wears lingerie and the purpose of photos is often to seduce or to show a sexy side of oneself. With my nude photoshoots the attention is not outward to be a certain way but it is more inward, on being at peace with your body, as if dissolving in the nature around you, being the way you are, the way you were created, powerful, beautiful, divine.
Grace and I met when creating a video for a local ecstatic dance facilitator. I got fascinated with the way Grace moves, with her hands and her tattoos, and most importantly, by how comfortable she was in her body. Later, when my creative urge said I must do an artistic nude photoshoot, I immediately reached out to Grace and she said yes!
Grace’s Nude Photoshoot
I told her we would meet in a John Prince Park in Lake Worth that was somewhere in between her and my homes. When I got to the park, dark clouds started gathering around, but I didn’t pay them much attention. It was almost our meeting time and I had to send Grace the pin with the exact location where we would be photographing. The park turned out to be one huge open space with lots of people who were walking, jogging, and playing soccer despite the impending rain. How are we supposed to do a nude photoshoot where there is literally NOWHERE to hide?
I drove in a circle and then spotted a small lake, on the other side from where all the action was happening. I parked and ran over there to see if there was enough privacy to get naked there. Jackpot! It was a perfect little oasis away from everyone and I immediately sent my location to Grace. I wonder if I projected the image of a confident photographer who knows all the perfect places for a photoshoot? ;)
Grace got undressed and we started photographing at the edge of the pond next to the trees.
I wanted to give her time to get used to
1). being nude
2). being nude out in the open
3). being nude out in the open in front of a camera.
That’s a lot to process all at once, but after a few breaths, Grace started connecting to the nature around her and showed zero discomfort!
After a few more minutes she grabbed a bottle of water, poured it over her hair and head, and sighed out “Ahhh… this is better.” I knew she was now fully herself in front of me with nothing to hide.
She lay on the ground, of course. Grounding into the energy of the Earth - this is a very important part of a Goddess Photoshoot that I try to include as often as possible. (Watch this video to learn more about the techniques I use in divine feminine photography and why they work.)
The beautiful goddess in front of me danced at the edge of the water, while I clicked away the shutter to capture her gorgeous curves and energy. I especially loved the tattoo on her left arm - she said it was a portrait of HER created by an artist. Soo beautiful and powerful!
Afterwards we moved to the other side of the pond. There were water lilies there and a regal fluffy cypress tree. I asked her to get into the water, so she could be in the center of the stage Mama Nature prepared for her. We played there and she roared, of course, and I love the photos we created in this series.
I asked her to pick up one of the fallen orange leaves. She picked it up, and held in her hands, the crescent leaf spotted with droplets of water. I guess it started drizzling by now, but we were having so much fun, we hardly noticed! She placed the crescent moon leaf on her third eye, and I am absolutely obsessed with the images we created here!
The next thing I got inspired by was the cypress tree behind her. I love the soft, almost fur-like, branches, and I invited her to wrap herself in it, as it was a blanket. These are the photos we created:
These photos are considered implied nude - a type of photography where it is obvious that the person is nude, but you cannot really see the strategic places. It is a great place to start for those who want to admire and honor their body with a nude photoshoot, but the idea of being totally nude is a bit scary.
Some time after these photos we created, I played with them (aka re-edited them) and made the greens pink instead. I LOVE how they turned out so I am sharing one of the images here:
There was a storm coming near. Big heavy clouds covered the sky and looked like they were about to burst with torrents of water. These are the final images from Grace’s photoshoot. I love the simple blue background of these portraits.
As soon as we said good-bye and got in the cars, the sky erupted. It poured so hard, and I felt so complete and so fulfilled. What an honor to witness this goddess as she honors her body and documents her journey of self-love and living in this body.
To connect with Grace, follow her on Instagram.
To learn more about different techniques I use during a Goddess Photoshoot, take a look at this video:
What is Goddess Photoshoot and why women crave it?
other stories on the blog:
artistic nude photography
"In this country people equate nudity with sexuality",
said Adam, one of the volunteers for my most recent art project. Adam is a member of a Florida Young Naturists group, a community of nudists 18 - 35 years of age. The nearest to Boca Raton nude beach is in Aventura, just north of Miami, in Haulover Beach, where the sand is white and ...
"In this country people equate nudity with sexuality",
said Adam, one of the volunteers for my most recent art project. Adam is a member of a Florida Young Naturists group, a community of nudists 18 - 35 years of age. The nearest to Boca Raton nude beach is in Aventura, just north of Miami, in Haulover Beach, where the sand is white and the atmosphere is serene, according to my model. I take my chances and photograph Adam on the public beach in Boca at 6 am in the morning, before the world awakens and anyone can get offended by a nude man ashore. We start working and I lose track of time, of course. The sun is barely above the horizon, Adam is sitting on the wet sand facing the water, small waves washing over his legs from time to time. An early riser and exerciser, a woman in her 60s, walks by (I was so immersed in work that I did not notice her and did not give Adam heads up to cover himself up) and says grumpily, "this is not a nude beach, we have children here!"
"There is nobody here, ma'am", I reply, "it is not even 7 o'clock in the morning." She walks on, continuing to curse and mumble something under her breath. To be honest, she looked more upset and angry with me, than with the actual nude man, most of whose buttocks were now buried in the wet sand any way. It makes me think of this quote:
Doing nude photoshoots is what I set my artistic vision at from the beginning of 2016. My goal is to have an art exhibit of nude photography by the end of the year (or January of 2017, at the very latest - so please hold me accountable!) and so far I have photographed a beautiful spiritual singer, a courageous 19-year old who followed her love to California, a youthful life coach, a super tall tech guy, and young and open to experimentation Adam, whom you met. I'm currently looking for more volunteers to participate in this project as I'm really planning to plunge into work between September 20 and November 1. You see, my mom is coming to visit and will help me with my seventeen-months old daughter and the beginning of November is when I am going to give birth to my second daughter...
For those CURIOUS about the project, but APPREHENSIVE about being recognized or compromised for appearing nude, there are many ways to DISGUISE someone's face (with hair, mask, fabric, leaves, etc.), or have the model twisted into a shape (or simply posed away from the camera) where the face will remain invisible. In addition to that the final photo can be composed in such a way that it leaves the face completely out of it. But it will, most likely, be a very liberating and unforgettable experience, so if you are curious, but hesitant, I invite you to discuss it :)
My reasons for doing this art project are multiple:
· to appreciate and admire human form as it is (I intend to use very little post-production editing to retouch the skin or alter the shape of the body);
· to become more accepting of my own body - to love it for its functionality and for the mere but grand task of housing my soul, as opposed to despising it for some perceived imperfections as compared to some beauty ideals that have been instilled in my mind since early age;
· to provide a liberating experience for other people (women, especially) and show them how beautiful they are. Being able to participate in a project like this takes guts. Even if in the final images the person's face is disguised in some way, such as covered by hair or a mask, or cropped out completely, it takes a lot of courage to strip away your clothes and appear just as you are, one-on-one with the camera - vulnerable and raw. I like what Padma Lakshmi, and Indian-born American author and model, said on this subject:
And the rawness and discomfort of the experience and overcoming that feeling is what makes it so liberating and rewarding in the end;
· to grow as an artist. To accentuate the form and shape of the human body I will need to experiment with various lighting techniques. Also, posing a nude model is not the same as posing someone who is wearing clothes. Overall, photographing nudes is a whole different world which will bring me more experience and improve my skill;
· to show the diversity of human form, how we are all the same, but at the same time oh so different;
· to push outside of my comfort zone, to help others push outside of theirs;
· to help people become more accepting of their bodies and not be afraid of nudity. Another one of our contemporaries, Emily Browning, an Australian actress, said:
When staring with this project, I did some research and came across some wonderful artists whose work truly inspires me. Here is the list of photographers and digital artists I have encountered so far, and if you know any other artists who specialize in or have a passion for nude photo art, I would love to get acquainted with their work, so please share their names with me.
Andreas Bitesnich - an Austrian photographer and musician; specializes in nude and portrait photography, whose work has been published in a gazillion publications: http://www.bitesnich.com/portfolio/nudes
Jade Beall - an American photographer and author who lives in Arizona; specializes in truthful images of women, inspiring women to love and accept their bodies as they are, promoting self-love through un-retouched photographs: http://www.jadebeall.com
Thomas Holm - a Danish photographer who shoots artful nudes:
http://www.commandoart.com
Model Society - a creative online community of photographers, models, and artists, commited to celebrating the beauty and art of human form:
http://modelsociety.com
Take a look at their beautiful free digital magazines (also available for purchase in print form): http://modelsocietymagazine.com
Steve Richard - a Canadian fine art photographer who spends most of his time shooting dance, bodies in motion and teaching the art of light, language and line: http://www.steverichard.com
Daria Endresen - a Norwegian photographer and digital artist who creates surreal dream scapes laden with pain and mystery: http://dariaendresen.com/gallery/digital
Thank you for taking the time to read about my latest art experiment and we shall be in touch soon. In the meantime, love and admire your physical bodies and let me know if you would like to have them photographed. Nude, of course, because as Nick Offerman said, "the ultimate disguise is nothing. Nudity."
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