In general, it is highly agreed that the female form is much more beautiful to look at then the male form. The most common reasons for this include that women have curves while men are more muscular as well as the male body being perceived as more ‘functional’. Combine these reasons with the fact that throughout history, most artists have been male and you see the reason for the preference of female nude photography rather than male.

What determines a quality nude female photograph? There are three main principles.

1 – It should be an interesting photo to view

Nude photography is synonomus with “Fine Art”. The definition of fine art refers to something that is interesting to look at. For this reason, nude female photography is about presenting the image of the female form in an interesting way. In order to achieve this, most female nude photography is shot in black and white. This allows for full light, contrast, shadow and shape.

2 – It should be anonymous

Nude photography is not about the person that is in the photo. In fact, the face of the model is often not even included in the frame. Contrast this with portrait photography, where the idea is to reveal or display something about the subjects life or (more often) their personality. Nude photography is really the opposite of this, because its about the female form in general, not this person in particular. In nude photography, the person in the photo really serves only as an example of a category, with the category being womens bodies.

3 – It should be non-sexual

While the popular consensus is that any heterosexual male would love to view photos of naked women all day, nude photography is an art form. There is a difference between erotic photography and the art of nude photography. Nude photography is a way to display the female form in an interesting way while erotic photography is used to titillate or arouse the viewer. The difference may be slight, however the intent is what is important.

Given that what is non-sexual to one person might be sexual to another, it is of course impossible for a photographer to know whether their intent to produce a nude photograph rather than an erotic one will be recognized by the audience. For this reason, at least in Western countries, certain conventions (such as leaving the genital region in dark shadow) are followed to provide an indication of the intent behind the photograph.

Tobias Sterling is life long fan of photography. An established and knowledable photographer, he loves to share and contribute his articles including Photography of David Hamilton and Examples of Posing Photography Models to Clivir.com.

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