Nudity

               ***WARNING:  This blog entry contains photos that are NSFW (not safe for work) that may contain nudity or sexual content.


              I'm not sure how many of you know where I stand on the controversial topic of nude artwork, or if you all know that I do shoot artistic nudes myself.  Before I continue, I will state that I am an artistic nude photographer.  All of the art work that I have done involving any nudity, is done artistically and tastefully.  That being said, I am not against photographing something that may be a bit more on the sensual side, such as boudoir, swimsuit, Suicide Girls, etc.  I am very open minded, and I will shoot whatever I am being paid for, even if it is something I wouldn't normally shoot for my own artwork.  However, for my personal art portfolio, I will only have artistic tastefully done nude photography that I have shot.

         I just wanted to take this time to state a few things that I think, and keep in mind that these are just my opinions, everyone has a right to have an opinion even if it differs from what others may think.  I'm going to talk about how nudity (in photography, other forms of art, and in general) is viewed by society, and my feelings towards it.  And I'm going to talk about and show the differences between artistic nude photography, erotic photography, porn, and less tasteful forms of nudity and modeling.  So, here we go!  :)


         This is from one of the first nude photo shoots that I have ever done.  It is also my favorite concept out of all of the conceptual pieces I have ever done.  This is an excerpt from my tumblr when I first posted this concept almost exactly one year ago:
                                                  

    'The way I view nude photography, and nudity in general, is a raw type of beauty; a sense of total freedom.  Society ruins that though.  Some people try and take that freedom and beauty away.  So that’s kind of what I was going for with this concept.  Whether she won or lost the fight in the end, is how you choose to view it.  Sometimes you have to fight for what you believe in.'

        I love the raw and natural beauty that artistic nudity shows.  So many people claim to see the beauty in all things that are natural, but they seem to forget how natural our naked bodies are.  Nudity is the epitome of natural beauty.  You can't get much more natural than naked!  I definitely see the nude body as an art form, and not just something that is designed purely for sex.  There is so much more to it than that.  Society has tainted our views on sex as well.  It is also natural.  Nudity and sex do not have to be viewed as 'bad' or 'wrong'.  They can be beautiful and natural, not always nasty and vulgar.  Which brings me to my next topic;  The differences between artistic nudes, porn, erotic photography, and other nude/next to nude photos.  Some photos are meant to be viewed as purely art, while others tend to make people think purely sexual.  These photos are much too often clumped together into one category and people throw them all to the side without giving artistic nude photography (or other forms of art) a chance.


 (Before I go on, I do want to state that I am not saying that porn is bad, or that any of these other forms of modeling, and photography is bad either.  I am just showing the differences between these things that often get clumped together all as 'gross' 'bad' and 'wrong')

*Definition of porn:  "the depiction of erotic behavior (as in pictures or writing) intended to cause sexual excitement"



So, here is an example of a completely nude photograph that is done artistically and tastefully:
                                         

And here is one that I could see being called porn, and not being looked at as art:  (Click the link below to see the picture.  I don't want to get reported.)

*Definition of porn:  'The depiction of erotic behavior (as in pictures or writing) intended to cause sexual excitement.'

                        http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Nude_sitting_woman.jpg


And here is an example of erotic nude photography:

 http://softscreams.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/EroticV1I2007.jpg
                                           

It's very easy to spot the differences, don't you think?

To sum it up, the way I see it, is that a photo becomes erotic photography when there is some sort of sexual innuendo in the photo, but it is still done in an artistic way.  And it becomes porn when it is blatantly sexual without even trying to be artistic or tasteful.

      Even some pictures of girls in clothing can look a lot more sexual than some artistic nude/erotic photography does.  For example:
                           

http://dynastyseries.com/wp-content/2011/07/raven-MRFSTOP-2-525x787.jpg

              Most pictures like these are geared toward men, to make men think sexual things about the girl in the photo, or about the outfit she is wearing and how he may want his girlfriend or wife or lover to wear something similar the next time they have sex.  Again, I am not saying that there is anything wrong with this type of photography or modeling.  If you want to do it, then you should do it, and not let anyone else hold you back!  But I do want to shed some light on the differences, and hopefully some of you who are against artistic nudity may be able to see the art in them now.  If not, that's okay!  I just wanted to share some of my views on the topic.  :)

               Artistic nude art is my favorite form of art.  I love how having no clothes can completely change the look, style, and feel of a photograph and/or painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.  It allows a lot of freedom as an artist to create a concept, and to show a lot of emotion with body language and not only facial expressions.  It shows freedom and vulnerability.  It allows people to see and notice so much more, and not just look at the brand of clothing, or jewelry the model may be wearing.  (I do love a lot of other types of photography and art as well, as you all know, so don't think I am against clothing or fashion, because I love it too haha!)


I'll end this blog with a few of my favorite artistic nudes, and if you'd like to see more, please feel free to visit my tumblr!  :)

 http://creartsyphotography.tumblr.com/