“Nakedness is a strong form of expression”
Nowadays, there is an overabundance of pictures of women which are very often sexualized. It was always hard for me to identify myself with these pictures. That is why I want to give a representation of the female body and what it means to me.
A strong form of expression
Nakedness is a very strong form of expression, an authentic one. Photographing a naked person is a way of showing and understanding who him/her as he/she really is. I wanted to show a kind of liberty, the liberty of being naked, of loving ourselves as we are. Far from Photoshop's biddings or all those fictitious and unrealistic bodies.
Providing liberty
My projects about nudity build themselves around and with the model. I do everything that is possible to provide him/her with the liberty they need to be themselves. Manon Sabatier went along with me since the very beginning of the project and it is very reassuring that she is able to trust me.
Involving the other
Portrait photography is teamwork, as it always involves another human being. I enjoy thinking about the project on my own, but in the end I need people who are involved in the creational process. Also, I fully trust the people assisting me, like Clémence Lavigne. She is my friend, knows the mood board and the kind of lights I fancy. Having her as my assistant allows me to focus on the shooting and my interaction with the models.
Creating a strong picture
I am first and foremost lured by a face or a way to move. For this project, I essentially called on people I knew and who believed in the project as much as I did. I enjoy when people feel free and do not feel the need of feeling attractive and seductive, in order to create a strong picture.. Frei von dem Bedürfnis attraktiv oder verführerisch wirken zu müssen.
Building on light
I start building my pictures on the light that is available and the studio allows me to come off the ordinary. The unusual reflecting surface was my starting point and the blue series came after. The latter was just supposed to be a test, but I eventually decided to go on and Clémence Lavigne helped me build the lights. But as soon the model comes into play, technique becomes secondary. I then go along with the process and see what my subject wants to give me from her/him.
What’s next?
This project is one of the most intimate I've been able to produce. I am interested in creating a series of photos that are responding to one another, so I’d like to continue this series with more mirrors, the same people I've been working with, but also with new people.
Caroline Sénécal was born in 1994 in the Normandy. She lives and works in Paris
“In the nude, space and time completely belong to myself”
What fascinates me about the nude, is that the body can indirectly show emotion. What I feel, what I want to express, my body communicates. As a medium, the body’s language is softer than that of the face. It can spread out, reach more space and trigger pensiveness in people.
The power of the self-portrait
My work consists of self-portraits only. This is the reason why I prefer to work alone. All the equipment I need is my camera, my phone and a good connection between both. In our daily lives, a lot of time is spent to communicate with others. That’s why I feel it is very necessary to set aside some time for your own self. Taking a self-portrait is a way for me to communicate with myself. Some people might think that I’m lonely, but I think that there’s enjoyment to be found in this very loneliness. In the process of taking a self-portrait, my heart eventually calms down and I become more focused.
A release for the brain
When I concentrate on my body, I naturally throw off some restraints. Restraints not only refer to superfluous clothes, but elements of the mind: Symbols of trivial things and disorderly thoughts I have in my life. One could say that through nude photography, space and time completely belong to myself. What I want to narrate finds its purest expression, so it is really a release for the brain.
My work as a motivation for my future self
The story I wish to convey to my audience is that I create small worlds which are calm but not flat. I want to show a woman who is soft and delicate on the outside, but strong on the inside. In fact, the elements I show in my photography are part of what I expect to see in my own self. Sometimes I am very restless, surrounded by my own insecurity – a slave to my emotions. That’s why I wish for some of the feelings and looks I create for my viewers to become part of my future self.
Varying approaches
My creative process is not always the same. Sometimes I create a basic picture in my mind. Then, I like to draw a few simple lines on a blank sheet of paper. When I see those lines, I leave it to my brain to make something of them. Be it a theme that evolves, or the props and gestures through which it will be expressed. Other times, I simply write down what I'm feeling, and I set it up as a topic. Next, I think about how I'm going to express it. And then there’s those times, when everything is very casual and I simply want to use a certain prop.
Reaching for perfection
I am a perfectionist. I am critical of people and of things I care about, but I am even more critical of my work. If a finger is not tilted at the right angle, I have to reshoot until I am fully satisfied. So it doesn’t matter whether it is the idea, shooting or post-processing – I will try a variety of experiments before making the final choice and eventually create a piece.
„Not every single body is beautiful”
The shown series „smilefomedaddy“ is a project that I have been creating in the last decade in cooperation with my muse and friend Patrycja. Over the course of years, we transform from princesses into queens of life, conscious of our power and boundaries. This is a story about coming out of our shells, discovering our femininity and maturing along the way.
We are all the same
I am intrigued by the overall meaning of nudity and sensation it gives to me. A nude body is for me something honest and vulnerable representing a person with no additional layers. I come from a catholic country (Poland) and was always trying to fight my inherited prudishness, in the end, we are all the same.
Home of spirit and mind
I am not trying to prove that every single body is beautiful as I would rather think about it as a home to our spirit and mind, something that provides us our functioning and possibility to connect with others through our senses. Recently I also started to photograph myself and then I turned into different archetypes representing myself.
Vor Kurzem habe ich auch angefangen mich selbst zu fotografieren und durchlaufe dabei verschiedene Archetypen meiner selbst.
An inspiring feeling of familiarity
I am a very open person and give my subjects freedom, never push anything and create an atmosphere that they can feel comfortable with me. But I must say that usually, in most cases when it comes to personal projects, I shoot people that I somehow know – I choose my subjects because I am inspired by them, it must be some feeling of familiarity between us to show what I am inspired by.
Projects with ups and downs
I have a couple of projects that I am working on simultaneously, one about my romantic relationship which is very dynamic, and I want to somehow show it honestly with our ups and downs. Another one is with my daughter who’s turning 18 this year. Being a photographer and a mother, I have an extraordinary opportunity to portray the moment of turning her from a girl into a woman.
"For me, each image only exists in a coherent whole"
I am generous with pictures; I always work in series. For me, each image only exists in a coherent whole, with a form of narration (fictional or real).
What storytelling is about
My photography style is patience, listening and a lot of kindness. I always meet my models before the shootings, I like to create a bond with each one of them and learn more about them to better orient my glance.
I often tell the story of the models I photograph, at least what they chose to tell me and what I perceive from them. I always try to be as close to reality as possible and to highlight their singularity.
Nude photography as a body portrait
For me authentic personalities are important. The physique itself doesn't really count. I find beauty, inspiration, and a desire to photograph mainly in people I have a good feeling with. I prefer to highlight beautiful souls and touching personalities.
I see nude photography as a body portrait. It's a search for identity through posture, expressions and particularities of each model. But mainly I want to highlight the beauty of all bodies.
Equipment is a tool to achieve a result
The equipment I use is only a tool to achieve a result, it is not central. Because I want to be mobile, I need it to be space-saving and to adapt to all circumstances and lighting situations. There is nothing worse than being blocked in your creativity because of a problem with your equipment.
More diversity
My future pictures will be slightly more dressed because I also really like lingerie. And even more inclusive and diverse in the bodies.
Maud Levavasseur was born in Paris in 1994, where she still works and lives.
“I am as nude as the subjects”
For me, creating pictures (not just taking them aufnehmen) is a magic process of dissecting what I want to see most and then sharing that with others. All my images reflect what I am truly captivated by personally, so in a way it is a study of who I am. In my photos I am as nude as the subjects. I leave the rest to the beholder.
Wrinkles, birthmarks and scars
I am fascinated by the human body in its purest form and, as far as I can tell, there isn’t one beauty standard that I follow. The nude provides infinite intriguing shapes and expressive forms like muscles, wrinkles, veins, bones, birthmarks, stretches and scars. These are the main elements guiding my vision.
Depth, closeness and intimacy
I mostly work with a fixed 50 mm lens to achieve a certain level of depth, closeness and intimacy. But: Equipment comes second. Vision and passion are what a photographer needs most.
Getting into the flow
I rarely have a complete idea of what I am going to create during a shoot. The process mainly depends on how the model and I get into the flow and how we succeed at employing available or artificial light and other elements, like water. Series evolve at a later stage in post-processing, after I have given myself time to build some distance and have a fresh look at similarities or contrasts between the images I have created.
A book filled with dreamy images
In June 2020, I released my first photo book (H)OMBRES. Der Titel ist ein Zusammenspiel zwischen dem spanischen Wort „Hombres“ (Männer) und dem französischen Wort „Ombres“ (Schatten). Ich habe dieses Hardcover-Buch, das verträumte Bilder von Körpern, die in üppigen Farben ertrinken, mit rohen Nahaufnahmen (insgesamt mehr als 50 Fotos) zusammen mit dem britischen Designer Jake Noakes erstellt. (H) OMBRES enthält auch ein Essay der amerikanischen Fotografin Connie Imboden. The book was published with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Luxembourg.
“Nude photography is timeless”
Photography gives me a space to play, a space to imagine the kind of life I want – for myself and for my community. It gives me an opportunity to see the beauty in my life. My work aims to celebrate trans existence and to study identity as a space in constant flux. A big part of what I do is also about humanizing an identity that has been historically marginalized. I love exploring how femininity and masculinity can co-exist in all our bodies outside of the gender binary.
My skills, my confidence, my voice
When I was first starting out, I was shooting a lot of nude photography. I love the timeless element to it. I took pictures of myself, but also of complete strangers. My skills, my confidence and my voice as a photographer have developed. I approach the whole process a lot more thoughtfully now.
Time is key
I never want to impose my gaze on anyone, so most of the nude work I do nowadays is self-portraiture, or images of my best friend Lucky who I have been photographing for ten years. I think the only answer to trust and intimacy is time. Taking the time to truly know someone, know how they see themselves and how they want to be seen is a key element of my work.
Intimacy and vulnerability
I prefer to work alone with the camera, because it allows for the space needed to create a sense of intimacy and vulnerability. This sense arises when there is an emotional connection between the photographer and the person posing. When I am not photographing my loved ones, I largely photograph people in my immediate community, such as my fellow trans people. It is not just about looking at each other, but rather about witnessing what happens when we see each other.
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Laurence Philomène
Lives and works in Montréal, Canada.
“I just press the camera shutter”
I bring my camera with me almost every day. I take photos any time. Usually I like to take more when I hang out with my friends.
Technical stuff is not my style
Sometimes I shoot strangers, I need to talk with them and make friends with them first. I seldomly shoot professional models. Technical equipment is not important for me. I am an idiot regarding technical equipment, I just press the camera shutter. I am too lazy to learn too much technical stuff, it’s not my style.
Fascinated by daily life
I am not only taking nude pictures, but I think nudity is the same as any activity in usual life, it’s same as sleeping, shopping, eating, etc. Because I am fascinated by anything in my daily life, I am also fascinated by pictures of nudes.
Lin Zhipeng
Born 1979 in Guangdong, China
Lives and works in Beijing.
„My models are my friends“
Captured raw elegance
I typically begin a photo project with a location that inspires me, and then choose my subject based on physical features, such as skin tone and body type, that I think will best serve the vision I have in my mind.
The human body fascinates me, and in particular the female form... there’s a raw elegance to the shapes and curves that’s undeniable. I think the classical painters captured this so well, and I hope to portray that rawness in my photographs.
Beauty at second sight
I’m interested in exploring femininity, and in capturing the journey toward self-discovery and self-acceptance. If you look at the photographs in the series, my subjects are usually presented in meditative, peaceful, or inward states.
I am attracted to people that have a subtle, unconventional beauty – a discoverable beauty. It’s the kind of beauty that you might not notice immediately or might forget quickly if you were to see the person only once, but which seems to evolve or increase over time with more exposure to the person and greater attention to their physical details.
A profound approach
A lot of these photographs are about expressing the relationships that my subjects have with themselves in isolated moments and using the natural world to enhance their connectedness.
I’m genuinely interested in knowing my models as friends. I like to talk with them about their passions and dreams, family lives, their values, and their philosophies about life.
Photojournalism giving people a voice
I’d like to take a more objective perspective with my next project, and to aim for realism. I want to shift into photo journalism, and hope to devote my art toward societal issues – to help more marginalized voices be heard.
Leafy Yeh
Born 1993 in Canton, China
Based in Los Angeles
“Fascinated by the shared vulnerability”
It’s all about trust
What fascinates me most about taking pictures of nudes is the shared vulnerability. That’s why I mostly work with models who trust in me.
Intimacy and fun
In order to get to a stage of shared vulnerability, I need to create intimacy between me and my models. I like diversity and thus working with all types of bodies and gender identities is crucial.
I prefer to work alone, so the model and I can develop an intimate relationship based on mutual respect. Another important part to creating my pictures is just having fun!
A transcendent experience
Creating a picture usually starts with an experiment: I try to manufacture a transcendent experience that is built upon a feeling of confinement and meditation. I make use of composition, colour, physical positioning and the tactile quality of the materials. Then I objectify the body so it appears confusing or broken. This image is ultimately transformed into a symbol that is part of its own visual language. A series of pictures evolve naturally out of this process.
Specific aesthetics
Equipment plays a major role in my work, as they all serve to create my specific aesthetics. Lighting, camera and even the printing are carefully selected to match my vision. Projects to come will be built on the same aesthetic visible in my past work.
Joanne Leah
Born 1978 in Landstuhl, Germany
Lives and works in New York City.
“I am not interested in telling stories”
Photography and mixed emotions
I do nude photography because of the body language, the honesty, the vulnerability and the power. Telling specific stories with my photography is not something I am interested in, rather creating images that conjure up a mix of feelings. It should be something more ambiguous than a story.
Dancers and their athletic bodies
Visually, my work currently portrays mostly athletic bodies. That is mainly because of my environment, as I am a professional dancer myself. Although I am interested in broadening the body types and will do so in the near future. Most of the models seen in my work are people I know, but of course it’s always important to be respectful and delicate when dealing with nudity. I think it’s about the energy that you create during the shoot and be very clear in what your intentions for the images are.
Open-minded and creative
Usually I do a lot of location scouting before I create an image, I have a clear idea of what I’d like to try, but we also play around in the moment. Most of the time models also propose a lot of ideas. Creating a dialogue with the models in general is very important to me. The people I enjoy working most with are creative and open-minded.
Cameras are like brushes
For my photography, the right kind of technical equipment is crucial . Choosing what camera to use for the image has a very big impact on the final result. Cameras are like brushes, and I like painting with different types of them.
Merging two mediums
Depending on the project I like working in teams or on my own. For my next project I’m working together with a painter, I think it’s very exciting to explore the possibilities to merge the two mediums.
Jim de Block
Born 1985 in Antwerp, Belgium
Living in Göteborg, Sweden