Which do you prefer… Naked or nude? I started shooting nudes way back in the day when I was 18 years old. UGH! Actually shot my first nudes at 17, but I don’t think those counted cuz the model was only topless. I started looking at photos of naked grrls at a very young age. Was fascinated by the female body and loved to see it naked whenever possible. ;-) I got serious about shooting nudes after seeing Irving Penn’s work. I loved the shapes & lines. I loved how simple and beautiful they were. So classic.
In the beginning I kept it simple. Black&White, body only and focused on shapes. I think it was because I was shy and didn’t know what to ask for. I was also trying to be like Penn and I knew I would never get close. I look back at those images and smile. They still hold up, they still work and they’re very good. Shooting these nudes helped give me a lot of confidence and also helped me grow as a photographer.
I started shooting a lot more when I moved to Los Angeles. I met more models who would shoot nudes. I got very serious and shot as often as I could. These were good times because I was learning all the time. I was trying everything and everything was new. I was pushing myself to be better, to get better and would not settle for anything less than great… but then again that is how I have always worked to this day.
Nude photography has come along way since then. Now days there’s a million photographers shooting a million naked grrls. If its not ModelMayhem.com or Instagram or Twitter, its something. There are so many naked grrls out there its crazy! I’m not even including porn. That’s a whole other blog post!!!
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