Within the world of nude photography, there is a battle between photographers who prefer to shoot their models in highly “posed” ways and those who like more candid shots. Let’s take a look at this topic in more detail.
Was the nude photograph above “posed”? To at least some extent, yes. However, I think it succeeds in coming off as a fairly natural, candid, and spontaneous shot. And to most people, those are very favorable traits for a picture to have.
However, photography is a deceptive medium. While I certainly agree that the natural look of this shot is appealing, it’s impossible for a viewer to know whether this shot was taken in a legitimately spontaneous manner or if the model simply possesses the talent to portray “naturalness” at a high level.
Ultimately, I think these two questions need to be asked: 1) Does it matter if it was posed? And 2) Is the appeal of the photo diminished if it was, indeed, posed. In my opinion, the answer to these questions are “no.” I believe it’s a very appealing shot on many levels (whether it was or was not posed).
In my work, I’ve found that I’m most likely to capture images such as this one during the “in-between” times that inevitably occur during shoots. For example, it may happen while I’m making a lighting adjustment and the model uses the short break to simply fall into the most comfortable and natural position possible.
“Natural-looking” pictures like this one (whether or not they are in some way “posed”) can be created in a number of ways. However, there’s one thing that pictures of this type typically have in common: They’re usually quite charming and quite appealing to viewers.
