One of the challenges for myself as a photographer and a male is to get more confidence with working in situations that can be "dangerous" in career and personal perception. I set myself a goal to move past one of these points by doing a nude shoot. The issues around this should be obvious. If done wrong, it can be disastrous professionally and personally. There are always men around that want to photograph beautiful woman in the buff and some can be very unethical. I must admit that I was shit scared of doing this shoot. It took me 8 months of doubting myself, fearing other people's comments and gossip plus generally trying to find the courage to move past the barrier in my head. Luckily I have a network of friends and a very supportive partner who trusts and believes in me and when I finally ask Erin to do a shoot it was some of the most fun I have had in ages.
A few tips for people that want to move into this area of photography from my limited experience.
We started simple.
A more dynamic look with single light source.
Playing with shallow focus to imply Erin's body.
The idea of playing with light and form unrestricted was exhilarating.
We tried many ideas out over 4 hours.
We finished with something softer.