Shooting nudes was a happy accident. During my first semester as a teacher, I had a student who was a former nude model. She no longer posed, and wanted to move behind the camera. She asked if I would be willing to help her outside of class; she would provide the nude models, and I would provide gear, lights, tutoring, etc. At that time I had never shot a nude, and had only photographed a few people. You can probably imagine my response when presented with the opportunity of one beautiful woman volunteering to recruit other women to be photographed nude. The results of that response should be obvious to anyone reading this. My former-student-turned-collaborator knew her way around the nude modeling world quite well. Soon she was arranging photo shoots, where she and I would take turns photographing the models.
My goal is to capture the image in camera, to capture the look I’m after the moment the shutter clicks. For many of my images, there are only subtle differences between the initial photo and the final image. I want the magic to happen in front of my camera, not inside Photoshop. That isn’t saying I don’t do any post-production, rather I try to keep the edits as minimal and subtle as possible, where a casual observer might not even notice a difference between the before and after. I’ve never really believed in absolutes in photography. That includes the school of thought that believes nudes are best in black and white. Most digital images start out in color (especially when shooting in RAW); some images work better in black and white, some in color. I like having the flexibility to make a decision and to go with what I think works best for each image.
This approach of making decisions for each image doesn’t only apply to B&W vs color. This is actually how I approach my images in general. I don’t have a standard setup for shooting. For each shot, I make adjustments to the camera and lighting, which makes for some long, slow photo sessions. This goes beyond shooting or color decisions. I edit each image individually, no standard presets or edits. Of course, I have a basic style and look that I’m going for, but two images, shot one after the other, may look very different from each other when finally completed.
I have always had a love for the outdoors, long before I picked up a camera. I have spent many hours hiking and exploring. I still do. There is a calming feeling that comes over me when I find an isolated, visually interesting spot. Finding a new place, some obscure, out of the way spot that has a beauty all its own. That doesn’t always mean a beautiful landscape; an old, abandoned, crumbling building can be just as beautiful, in its own way. After taking up outdoor nudes, that exploring has taken on an additional level of enjoyment. Now I not only see the interesting place, but think about how a nude model would look in the scene. After many thousands and thousands of hours exploring (sometimes with friends, sometimes by myself), each time I find something new, I can hardly wait to go out and shoot nude photographs in a new or different spot.
I never had a well-defined plan for my photography. I do it because it’s fun, and I enjoy that my friends and family like my photos. (There are exceptions, of course…aren’t there in every family?) I’m not following a road map, no stated goal, no predefined route. I read, I experiment, and most importantly, I have fun. My mechanism for progress is curiosity and discovery. I, like many amateur photographers, suffer from “gear lust”, and each time I get something new, it motivates me to go out and try new things, to read up and to experiment. Reading and experimenting sometimes lead me to my next “thing”, or series of next “things”. I never know what the next “next” will be, and I have no plan for where the road should go. I don’t know what will happen with my photography, but I know that as long as I keep finding new things that keep me interested, I won’t put down the camera.