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True Confessions of Nude Photography: A step-by-step guide to recruiting beautiful models, lighting, photographing nudes, post-processing images, and maybe even getting paid to do it.
 
 
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True Confessions of Nude Photography: A step-by-step guide to recruiting beautiful models, lighting, photographing nudes, post-processing images, and maybe even getting paid to do it. [Paperback]

A. K. Nicholas (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

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Book Description

April 6, 2010
Learn to photograph beautiful nude female models by reading this book.

It's a step-by-step guide to recruiting beautiful models, lighting, photographing nudes, post-processing images, and maybe even getting paid to do it. 

Prior experience with nude models is not required to benefit from this how-to guide. This guide can be enjoyed by anyone, but is written for two main audiences: the accomplished photographer wanting insight from a peer, and the serious amateur wanting a guided introduction to the field. 

The female body has been an inspiration for artists since before the invention of photography. Naturally, nudes were one of the first subjects of photography as well. Although the guide covers the basics of nude photography, it is assumed that you have a digital camera that is more advanced than a point-and-shoot and that you already understand the basics of operating your camera. This book deals with female models. You won't find male models or advice on photographing non-models in this book.

Finding Models. Nude photography entails more than just photographic technique, there is a huge interpersonal element; much more so than in any other kind of people photography. The guide addresses everything from finding models, to working with them long term. Most guides on photographic technique assume you've already found a willing model. This one assumes that you're having trouble - or at least having trouble finding a model that you feel takes your work to the next level. It contains techniques for finding and recruiting models.


Techniques. A range of processes are explained step-by-step. You'll find more than just a selection of photos and a dissection of each; you'll see full lighting diagrams as well as frank discussions of techniques and pitfalls in the days and weeks leading up to making a nude image. From finding your first nude model to selling your first nude photo, the guide presents complete, concise instruction on lighting, posing, and-post processing with Photoshop.

Includes 120+ pages, 170 nude poses, and 10 detailed lighting diagrams. Text is 25,000+ words.

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Customers buy this book with Posing Techniques for Photographing Model Portfolios $22.86

True Confessions of Nude Photography: A step-by-step guide to recruiting beautiful models, lighting, photographing nudes, post-processing images, and maybe even getting paid to do it. + Posing Techniques for Photographing Model Portfolios
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Editorial Reviews

From the Author

I hope this book is unlike any other you'll read. It's not about mainstream techniques or expensive equipment. It's not written by a world renown photographer. It's written by an unconventional photographer who wants to help you advance your nude photography. It contains everything I wished I knew ten years ago. 


--From the author

From the Back Cover

Learn and Master the Techniques of Nude Photography
Spark Your Creativity with 100 Inspiring Poses
Composition and Visual Pathway
Control Light to Scupt the Figure
Recruit and Interact with Models
Market Your Work 

The human body has been an inspiration for artists since before the invention of photography. Naturally, nudes were one of the first subjects of photography as well. 

This illustrated how-to guide can be enjoyed by anyone, but is written for two main audiences: the accomplished photographer who wants insight from a peer into the genre of nude photography, and the serious amateur who wants a guided introduction to the field.

The processes are arranged step-by-step. You'll find more than just a selection of photos and a dissection of each; you'll see full lighting diagrams as well as a frank discussion of the techniques and pitfalls in the days and weeks leading up to making a nude image. From finding your first nude model to selling your first nude photo, the guide will take you through lighting, posing, and-post processing with Photoshop. 

You'll learn from the author's twenty years of experience photographing hundreds of nude models.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 126 pages
  • Publisher: CreateSpace (April 6, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1452808686
  • ISBN-13: 978-1452808680
  • Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.7 x 0.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #319,387 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A. K. Nicholas is an American photographer who has spent over twenty years recruiting and working with beautiful models. He comes from a family of artists and has traveled to more than three dozen countries in South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Orient, and India. His first figure shoot occurred as an art student, and quite unexpectedly. After asking a classmate if he could photograph her, she entered the studio and fully disrobed, assuming that is what he had intended.

Nicholas had his first commercial gallery showing at the age of nineteen. Since then, thousands of his photographs have been sold through art exhibits, been licensed through stock photography agencies, appeared books, articles, advertisements, and other publications. Nicholas began teaching advanced photographic techniques while still in college, filling in for several weeks during a professor's absence. After his education, he continued to teach photography both in public institutions and privately. He does not currently offer any regular instruction or workshops and instead concentrates on shooting. Nicholas has written books and articles, including how-to's for nude photography and pictorial books that explore and celebrate beauty.

In his writings he draws upon an art degree, a Master's in business, and experiences as both a professional photographer and a freelance artist. You'll learn from his twenty years of successes (and even some mistakes) with hundreds of nude models.

 

Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
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4 star:
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3 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Cutting-edge, comprehensive, and, yes, smoking-hot models!, July 6, 2010
By 
This review is from: True Confessions of Nude Photography: A step-by-step guide to recruiting beautiful models, lighting, photographing nudes, post-processing images, and maybe even getting paid to do it. (Paperback)
As a seasoned travel photographer, my genre is quite the antithesis of this one: I shoot primarily outdoors rather than in-studio, I rely solely on natural lighting, I profoundly prefer candid shots over posed, and next to never do I digitally manipulate my images.

The upside to constantly traveling across the world is I know probably better than anyone which cities and countries are home to the most lovely ladies (Tokyo tops the list). I have always envied photogs who work in the comfortable confines of a studio, interact with a bevy of beautiful women and certainly get paid far better for their work than I. Why, then, shouldn't I give it a try?

But before actually delving into nude photography, I first have been flipping through numerous volumes of photo technique guides to see if it is indeed a genre I could easily convert to (i.e. teaching an old dog new tricks), but thus far I have been put off by what I have seen: guides that are either excruciatingly technical or out-dated to the point of uselessness.

And then comes along True Confessions, a brand-spanking-new book that blessedly incorporates pretty much every up-to-date aspect of the nude photography profession into a refreshingly fun instructional manual for amateurs and pros alike.

With over 20 years nude photography experience ("hundreds" of naked girls, by his last count, lucky devil) combined with proper schooling, I can't think of a better teacher than A.K. Nicholas. But even more important than his own experience and credentials is Nicholas' talent as an author for being able to convey a highly-technical skill such as studio photography into easy-to-follow text and diagrams that will immediately put the reader at ease. "You'll learn from my successes AND from my mistakes," writes Nicholas. As a photographer who is entirely self-taught and has limited technical background, I appreciated this most about True Confessions.

At a 120+ pages, True Confessions is comprehensive. 20 of those pages are dedicated to the most challenging aspect of the job: recruiting and shooting models. Our Savior Nicholas plots it all out for us in hip lingo akin to the rules of dating ("I never call after a third `no'"; "concentrate on booking a specific day, not a specific model"). He then moves on to studio etiquette, such as how (not) to physically handle a model's fun-parts, tips to make a new nude feel relaxed, and chatting a model up. "My goal is to make images, not to make friends," states Nicholas. Elliot DiMauro from `Just Shoot Me' would be so disappointed.

A sheer quarter of the book is on the art of lighting. Due to my personal jones for natural light, I was admittedly was initially loath to read this chapter. But Nicholas' cool reasoning ("the key to background light is not a lot of light, but a lot of lightS") complimented by helpful illustrated diagrams, example images and informational text - and even a token few pages on outdoor lighting - those 30 pages were, well, illuminating.

Arguable the most useful section of this book is on posing and composition. Nicholas dips into the "pin-up versus art" debate and critiques the mythical "Golden Mean" method, encouraging us to "depart from the formulaic," though ultimately the author suggests a combination of classic and experimental composition to create new poses. The chapter closes (read: rewards us) with a whopping 100 (!) different sample poses ranging from traditional to avant-garde that are sure to give Playboy a run for its money.

Post-processing is covered in-depth (he suggests "a day of post-processing for every hour of shooting"), including instructional screen-captures of the most up-to-date computer software tips. Advice on shooting for microstock and making/selling 3D reference photos follows. A helpful glossary and sample model release forms close out the appendix.

While the author gets quite specific about lighting, he avoids suggesting specific lenses or gear, which may frustrate newbie photogs who prefer to have their hands held on such matters. And with the exception of the un-credited oriental beauty on page 60, I would have liked to see more exotic models (Latina, Asian, African American, Indian) instead of a purely-Anglo cast, as ethnic skin tones photograph far differently. However, Nicholas can consider such suggestions for a "True Confessions Part 2: International Nudes."

###

Tom Carter is the author of CHINA: Portrait of a People
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A well executed user's guide for the initiate..., July 14, 2010
This review is from: True Confessions of Nude Photography: A step-by-step guide to recruiting beautiful models, lighting, photographing nudes, post-processing images, and maybe even getting paid to do it. (Paperback)
OK, so - I get this book review request, and think to myself... "Wolfy, how good is your life? Pretty good right about now!" So, with Martini in hand, and laptop on my - well, lap, I delved into this publication with joyous abandon. The subtitle says "A step-by-step guide to recruiting beautiful models, lighting, photographing nudes, post-processing images, and maybe even getting paid to do it."

Being a bit of a photo buff, I was (ahem) very interested in the actual content. And, true to its subtitle, this step-by-step guide indeed brings the reader through the ABC's and XYZ's of nude photography. I always wondered how an amature or beginner photographer would convince beautiful women to disrobe in front of a camera, and the author does a great job explaining how we went about it. His friendly, conversational style of writing is immediately engaging as he describes, from a professional's point of view, how to find and hire models.

He then covers the technical and aesthetic aspects of lighting, equipment, shooting styles, and post processing - a fancy term for spicing up your images on your computer. The guide is very thorough, with many illustrations and example poses that are tasteful, which brings me to an important point: What this guide isn't, is an exploitation of women. The author's positive and professional attitude is effectively conveyed throughout the guide.

Technically, the guide is well organized with an opening table of contents, four appendices, a sample model release, glossary of terms, and an index. A definite *must* for any photographer.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An authoritative guide to nude photography, April 25, 2010
By 
G. Nicola (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: True Confessions of Nude Photography: A step-by-step guide to recruiting beautiful models, lighting, photographing nudes, post-processing images, and maybe even getting paid to do it. (Paperback)
For anyone interested in learning nude photography, this book reveals how the process works from start to finish. I'm glad the book begins with finding models, and doesn't end with the end of the shooting. This is more than just a posing guide or a lighting guide - it integrates the author's methods and techniques for working with models, the studio, shooting, digital processing, and marketing. I especially learned from the section on making first time models comfortable. Probably the most enjoyable thing is that none of the book is wasted with the usual regurgitated basic photo technique.
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