Photography
THE ART AND THE CRAFT
LONDON, NEW YORK, MUNICH, MELBOURNE, DELHI
Project Editor Nicky Munro Editor Diana Vowles Designer Sarah-Anne Arnold Senior Editor Simon Tuite Senior Art Editor Susan St, Louis
Managing Editor Stephanie Farrow Managing Art Editor Lee Griffiths
Production Editor Clare McLean Production Controller Tony Phipps
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Rrst American Edition, 2007
Published in the United States by DK Publishing, 375 Hudson Street New York, New York 10014
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TD338-10/07
Copyright © 2007 Dorling Kindersley Limited All rights reserved
Text copyright © 2007 Pascal Baetens except Chapter 5 © Dorling Kindersley Limited
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book
Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
ISBN 978-0-7566-3176-5
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8 Introduction the history of nude photography
12 Nudity with a message
12 Erotic nudes
14 The scientific nude
15 Photography meets art
17 Photography finds its direction
20 Nudes & classicism
21 The documentary style
23 Fashion photography
24 The male nude
25 Feminist nudes
25 Rediscovering eroticism
27 The commercial nude
29 Beyond nudity
2 defining styles & approaches
32 Introduction
34 Opportunities & choices
36 Different themes
38 Pursuing a concept
40 Working in black & white
42 Working in color
44 Exploiting opportunities
46 Overcoming limitations
48 Choosing & using a setting
50 Using props
52 Working with models
54 Choosing a model
56 Directing your model
58 Conveying a mood
exploring techniques
62 Introductior
64 Lighting
66 Daylight indoors
68 Creativity with indoor light
70 Studio lighting
72 Artificial lighting effects
74 Lighting outdoors
76 Sculpting with light & shadow
77 Dressing with shadows
78 Playing with shadows 80 Lighting gallery
84 Poses
86 From head to toes
88 Adjusting the pose
90 Lighting the pose
92 Poses gallery
96 Sharpness & blur
postproduction
98 Focus & depth of field
100 Capturing movement blur
101 Freezing movement
102 Moving the camera 104 Sharpness & blur gallery 106 Composition & perspective 108 Basic rules of composition 110 Positioning the model
112 Exploring perspective
114 Abstract close-ups
116 The effects of distortion
118 Composition & perspective gallery
120 Locations
122 Making the most of a locatior 124 Stairs & doorways 126 Connecting with a location 128 Nudes & nature 130 Locations gallery
134 Introduction
136 Cropping & reframinc
137 Adjusting tone
138 Converting to black & white
139 Color adjustments
140 Adding backgrounds 142 Creative retouching
144 Applying filters
145 Conserving your images photographers' gallery
148 Introduction
150 Lyn Balzer & Tony Perkins
160 Andreas Bitesnich
170 Sylvie Blum
180 Almond Chu
190 Giorgio Gruizza
200 Allan Jenkins
210 Ocean Morisset
220 Gavin O'Neill
230 Gabriele Rigon
240 Ragne Sigmonc
250 Frequently asked questions 252 Index
256 Acknowledgements r %
For me, a successful image is one that has an immediate impact on the viewer, that grabs their attention, and makes them dream, smile, think, or simply enjoy it. I tend to think that technique, though important, plays a more humble role: it is the servant of the image.
Photographic technique is like a language. The more refined your language, the more subtly you can express yourself, but if you have no story to tell, no feeling to get across, your words will remain hollow. So my focus in this book is to make you aware of the artistic implications of your technical choices, rather than to discuss the photographic technicalities as such. There are plenty of tips to improve your pictures, but it's mainly a guide for training your eyes to look at nudes with a photographic understanding. Positioning your model with side light to sculpt his or her body with light and shadows, for example, has nothing to do with your equipment, but everything to do with understanding the possibilities and uses of light; where you place your model in the frame reflects your understanding of composition; guiding your model into expressing the atmosphere you want to create is all about your vision and communication skills; and so on. And you can work on all these elements with even the most basic of cameras.
Once you've read about the history of nude photography, the many ways you can sharpen your vision, and how to bring a particular look and feel to your image, and when you've considered the postproduction techniques you might to choose to apply and looked at the gallery of how other photographers have approached this branch of photography, there is a final chapter yet to be written—by you. I can only offer you a book full of photographic ingredients, and tips to help you discover more. Learn to choose them carefully, and to find the perfect mix for your images. Enjoy!
introduction
Pascal Baetens
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