To begin with, a brief overview of our blog series:
Today we invite you to a little photographic history lesson, because aesthetic nudes have been a tradition in photography since the beginning. Although we photographers also have to enviously admit that even before photography was invented, depictions of naked bodies existed for thousands of years. We have now hooked you on the subject of nude photography and its development? Then just keep reading this post.
The very old school
Let's start by warming up, a few years before photography was invented. In ancient Egypt, naked people were not uncommon in wall paintings and next to hydroglyphs, so they were captured as part of a story for eternity. These could be everyday situations, but also erotic poses. For example, a wall painting has survived that probably shows a naked dancer and interpreted as a nude. The most well-known representations of the human body, interpreted sexually, come from high-culture India and are known to almost everyone as the Kama Sutra.
Studies of the naked human body can also be found in the long history of ancient Greece, and all Greek statues alone are the precursors of today's nudes. Classic models and ideals of beauty were depicted here, but mythological images were also not uncommon. Adonis is a very nice example here. If you had to think directly of the world-famous David, you are correct, but this was made in the 16th century (between 1501 and 1504 to be precise) by Michelangelo in Florence, Italy.
The first nudes
The French probably photographed the first nudes in 1853 Eugene Durieu, who was not a professional photographer, but a full-time administrative lawyer. Also Bruno Braquehais was a pioneer in nude photography. From 1852 to 1874 he ran a photo studio in Paris, mainly producing artistic nudes, but also portraits.
Thus, nude photography continued to develop in the 1870s and was increasingly made as a "stimulus factor" for men and sold for a lot of money. At this time the models were not completely naked, but still partially covered with a cloth or some kind of fabric, since mere nudity was taboo. The model's gaze was also played with. By the definition of the time, if she looked straight into the camera, she was OK with viewing her almost bare body, which made the gentlemen "tingle" more and put more money in the photographer's pocket. There were big differences here. Some of the photographers viewed nude photography as art and staged the beauty of erotic photography with finesse. Other photographers worked anonymously for brothels to create a kind of "offer overview".
Another big leap came in the 1920s. A new sense of the body was celebrated here, naturism (naturism) emerged and dealing with nude photos became more socially acceptable. The roaring twenties were filled with high spirits, alcohol and liberality on stage and in front of the cameras.
The world-renowned photographer made a major contribution to modern nude photography Helmut Newton. From the 1970s, he was one of the most sought-after and most expensive photographers in the fields of nude, fashion, portrait and advertising photography. World-famous and priceless are many of his pictures of young models and women in magazines, magazines and his illustrated book "SUMO", which broke world records.
The little big difference
After all the information, now a small digression on the distinction between nude photography and pornography.
In our photo studios, we only offer nude photography of the two mentioned above, as the focus here is on artistic representation, which requires a great deal of sensitivity and experience. With nudes we can work artistically and constantly challenge ourselves anew when setting the light. We photograph sophisticated and aesthetic pictures, like with completely naked skin, wonderfully natural bodies, forms and also put your body in the right light erotically. As is usual in pornography, we deliberately refrain from illuminating the intimate area.
Pornography does not correspond to our sense of aesthetics because this type of photography is too personal for us. The artistic claim is in the background and the sexual excitement in the foreground. These types of photos are usually very provocative and leave no room for the imagination to unfold and this is not our style, so we do not offer this type of photography in any of our photo studios.
Have you become a little curious and would like to buy some yourself? Nudes have from you? That's wonderful! We would be happy to advise you by phone, email or in person in one of our studios.
The next blog post is about Part 2: lingerie photography or rather nude
