Techniques on how to master the art of nude bodyscape photography

It's no secret that the human body is a thing of beauty. But what about when you zoom in and focus on one small part of the body? That's where bodyscape nude photography comes in. In this type of photography, the aim is to capture the beauty of the human form by photographing small details like the curve of a spine or the way light dances on skin.

 If you're thinking about trying your hand at bodyscape nude photography, this guide is for you. We'll cover everything from finding the right model to choosing the best camera settings. By the time you're finished reading, you'll be ready to start shooting some breathtaking bodyscapes of your own. And if you want to learn more, we have the top online bodyscape photography courses for you, where you can see in detail and in practice how to shoot bodyscape with a female’s body and a male’s body.

 Choosing a Model

One of the most important aspects of bodyscape nude photography is finding a model who is comfortable being naked. Remember, you'll be focusing in on small details of their body, so it's crucial that they feel comfortable with you and with being exposed. Ideally, you should find a model who has some experience posing nude; that way, they'll know how to position their body in a way that looks natural and flattering.

Of course, it's not always possible to find an experienced nude model—so don't worry if you can't. Just be sure to take the time to build trust with your model and make them feel comfortable before starting to shoot. Spend some time chatting with them, get them laughing, and let them know that there's no pressure to do anything they're not comfortable with.

Keep in mind that for bodyscape photography you don’t need a fit model. Any body type would work as long as the model is comfortable getting naked in front of you. The nature and landscape is wild and crazy, so the more texture and imperfections on the body, the more natural the final image will look.  

Picking the Right Camera Settings

Once you've found your perfect model, it's time to start thinking about camera settings. Because bodyscapes often involve shooting close-up details of skin or other textured surfaces, it's important to use a high resolution setting on your camera so that everything will look sharp and clear in your final images. You'll also want to experiment with different aperture settings to find the one that gives you the right amount of blurriness around your subject—too much blur can make an image look amateurish, but too little can make it look mundane. Your camera really doesn’t matter, but the best lens choice is a Macro 105mm lens. I usually shoot in higher aperture between f8 to f11, and that’s where I get the best result.

Lighting for Bodyscape nude photography

Lighting is another important consideration in bodyscape photography. Our landscape has only one source of light and that is the sun. So when working with bodyscape images, we use only one source of light. That doesn’t mean that you can’t use more or use a bouncer to fill in the shadows. I like to use the 4pm-7pm lighting with the shadows facing the camera. That way I can achieve high contrast images with lots of shadows, and also capture beautiful semi-silhouette images. Best lighting scenario for bodyscaape photography is top lighting or back lighting in a controlled lighting environment using a dark color background. I use Reflex by StellaPro and they have given me the best results.

Framing Your Shots

Once you've got your lighting sorted out, it's time to start framing your shots. When shooting bodyscapes, less is almost always more—so instead of trying to fit your whole subject into the frame, focus in on one small detail that caught your eye. It could be something as simple as a stretch of smooth skin or the way light hits a curve on their body; whatever it is, make sure it fills up most of the frame. What’s important for framing is to make sure your frame doesn’t reveal body parts that will make the image obvious to the viewers. You don’t want the viewer to feel he/she is looking at a body because that will make your photograph look like fine art nude rather than bodyscape. The viewer should think and guess and go through a thought process when looking at your bodyscape image. Also, make sure your framing is three dimensional with a foreground, midground, background, lots of layers, texture, high grounds, and low grounds. Don’t just photography a flat surface of the body unless you have that vision.

Posing for Bodyscape

There is no real posing for bodyscape photography, but there are techniques to highlight the best feature of the body that resembles landscape. Exaggeration of the bones, inhaling, exhaling, tensing the muscles, and crunching are some techniques to push those bones and muscles out.

Editing Your Images

Last but not least, don't forget about post-processing! A little bit of editing can go a long way in taking your images from good to great. Although you don’t need much editing to do, you still want to adjust your exposure to get a perfect final image. I personally love turning all my images to black and white with minimum editing.   

Conclusion

We hope this guide has inspired you to try shooting some bodyscapes of your own! Remember: when it comes to this type of photography, less is almost always more—so focus in on small details and let them fill up most of the frame. With patience and practice, you'll be taking jaw-dropping shots in no time, and again click here to learn bodyscape in-practice with a real demo shoot with a male model and a female model.

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Photographer: Yuliya Panchenko at Believe in Boudoir

Nude Model: Keith Manecke