How I get nude models to pose | CommandoArt.com | Thomas Holm

How I get nude models to pose

I'm frequently asked by fellow photographers how I get hold of all the beautiful women who pose in the nude for me for my pictures. The thing is it's not very hard when you consider all the implications for the model:

Why would a woman want to take her clothes off and pose in the nude (a range of reasons that can apply):

Exhibitionism, the desire to create beautiful images, the desire to be in a beautiful image, self assurance, desire to be praised, the desire to look good (try and consider why women wear high heels - hint, it's not because they are comfortable to walk in) and to a degree, desire to make money. There can be other reasons but these are the main ones I think

What can prevent a woman to pose in the nude (minuses):

fear that the photographer is a perv, afraid she will not be beautiful on pictures, lack of self esteem (I'm not beautiful enough), insecurity, shyness, afraid she will be considered to be easy/a slut, afraid the pictures will be misused (which is especially bad if the pictures does not make her look awesome).

Some women will never pose nude and that's the end of it. But many of the ones who are interested for the above reasons basically need to have their insecurities eliminated, and must be able to completely trust the photographer. So my job when persuading the models is to make sure they can trust what I say, and trust that I will make them appear beautiful in images, and won't abuse the trust they place in me by placing all their vulnerabilities in my hands so to speak. 

So how exactly do I do that? It's both very hard and very easy:
The hard part is being a really good photographer so you are able to portray models beautifully and with good taste, and make them look beautiful. This is a tradecraft that takes skill but if you do it consistently and without fail new potential models can see you have the skills and you NEVER make a models look bad. And here is an important lesson, if a picture you have made is not awesome, never publish it!
The easy part is simply being very communicative on what exactly it is you want to do in the pictures you take. Never try to sneak anything under the radar and accept a No. Also be at your best behavior both when making arrangements and when shooting and afterwards. Is short be a gentleman in every way possible. And, importantly, make sure your models have fun and make a nude shot a great experience for the model.

Do that and you will find that the models will start to contact you themselves. And really there is no better ego boost for a man that have a beautiful model ask if you would like to photograph her in the buff.


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