The Art Of Glamour And Nude Photography

Creating nude portraits has long been an element of art - instead of capturing these portraits with the brush on canvas; today they are captured with the pixel.

Since the invention of photography the naked human body has been a natural subject for photographers and there has always been a large audience there for it.

What is glamour photography? Glamour photography covers a wide range - from the partial nude body, which you may see an a billboard advertising ladies underwear to the erotic images or the full nude body you may see on Page 3 of some papers or adult magazines.

There are no special elements to photographing glamour; all the standard photography techniques remain the same. Care should be taken when photographing models, nude or partially nude because some may find a sexual element attached to it.

Finding a market: Glamour photography remains one of the most lucrative areas of freelance photography. For a student trying to break into the glamour photography market, he would be well advised to use a film camera over digital. Film will give you warmer skin tones and give you a greater chance of being published.

When trying to find suitable markets for your glamour photography, the same principles apply as in any other photography field. You must study Glamour Photography Publications to find out what sort of material they use.

Where to shoot: If you dont have your own studio, dont worry. Most of the great glamour images are shot on location. Shooting in the natural environment will be rewarding - use the early morning light to give extra warmth to the skin. Try different places - your neighbours hay barn can make an effective setting for a glamour image or if you have an attractive garden - perfect.

Choosing a model: One of the basic elements of glamour photography is a willing model. If you are having trouble finding one try your local art classes. People with an ambition to be a model may let you do test work. But if you are serious about being a glamour photographer you should work with a professional model.

Glamour images dont always need to be sharp. Many of the great glamour photographers defuse their image with a filter to add mood to their nude portraits. The best way to get good is plenty of practise and sharpen your eye by looking at glamour publications.

There should be greater emphasis on controlling light contrast to ensure that the human body isnt lost in heavy shadows or bright highlights. Controlling exposure is very important to get the perfect body tones.

While many may find this type of photography offensive, the glamour photographer is an artist and should be respected as one. Its not for me to comment on whether the use of glamour material is good or bad, but to explain the art of this competitive and lucrative market.

TJ Tierney is an award winning Irish Landscape photographer and a freelance writer. He frequently writes for the Art site Goldprints.com and the Gift ideas site shop-4us.com

To view or buy some of his images visit his on-line gallery of - Pictures of Ireland and flower pictures

Photography Business Marketing
Marketing in any business is tough, and when it comes to a photography business it can also be tough. This is sometimes because of the non-commercial interest that comes in to picture when we talk of photographs adorning walls. However, despair not. ...

Photography In The Raw
Enticing title, huh? No, we wont be discussing nude photography, at least not today. Rather, this article will, hopefully, shed some light on the tremendous image quality advances of todays digital cameras.Imagine taking a developed 4x6 snapshot of y...

Child Photography
Child photography can bring us back to a warm feeling nothing else can. Children are the "flowers" in the vast "forest of adults." They bring the freshness that gives life joy and purpose. When we hold the new baby that is only hours old we are mo...

Portrait Photography: Tips and Methods
Portrait is defined as, A likeness of a person, especially one showing the face, that is created by a painter or photographer, for example. In the area of portrait photography there are some guidelines that you should consider when you go to take ph...

How To Take Perfect People Pictures In Digital Photography
One of the things people ask me most about digital photography is how to take perfect people pictures. Digital photography is great for people because you can simply delete the ones you dont like, and show them, on the spot, what the digital photo lo...

What to Look for in a Photography School
Unlike some school programs that are offered in all state universities and colleges, photography, as a full-pledged course, is not as common. In fact, only a handful of art schools have such a comprehensive program.This can be both an advantage and a...

Digital Stock Photography
The term digital photographs means photographs that can be viewed on a computer screen, mobile phones and Palmtops. Digital photographs have changed the way stock photographs are sold and distributed. Digital photographs are captured using a digital ...

Black and White Photography
With todays digital technology, transforming colour images into black and white photographic prints is pretty straightforward but dont throw away your rolls of black and white film.Black and white photography is still regarded as a favourite with man...

Macro Photography
Exploring the world of miniature objects with a macro lens is a special and exciting area of photography, and once you start, you will quickly become addicted. The world of macro photography holds many delights and is an area that cannot be appreciat...

How to Start a Fine Art Photography Business
The definition of fine art, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is art concerned primarily with the creation of beautiful objects. With such a wide definition of beautiful objects, the beauty is in the eyes of the photographer. Virtually an...

This entry was posted on Monday, June 9th, 2008 at 10:02 am and is filed under Popular Photography . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.