As a follow-up to my article on how to approach people to get them to model in the nude for you, here's a little article about what's going on *during* a nude shoot, at least when I am the photographer.

Someone commented on this photo

That the atmosphere during my shoots must be very relaxed and comfortable, in order to achieve such a natural expression.

I can only confirm that statement.
One of the most important things to bear in mind when working with people (in any kind of situation) is to make them feel comfortable, safe and relaxed.

In the case of this model, she approached my via a modelling site. I had put up an ad where I looked for models for my Jeans/Nude series. She told me that she never had done a nude shoot before but she liked my images and wanted to try it. So we exchanged several emails and I suggested to book a hotel room where the shoot was to take place. She lives in a city, about an hour by train from where I live, so I picked her up at the train station and we used public transport to get to the hotel. We chatted about this and that and so we got to know each other a little bit on the short ride.

I think, if you are a nude photographer, the most important thing you have to do is talk with the person who is gonna take off their clothes in a couple of minutes. You have to establish some sort of casual relationship before the actual shoot. Of course, this means that you, the photographer, need to be comfortable around people in the first place. You have to be outgoing, friendly, gentleman-like, attentive and perceptive. Releasing a shutter on a camera is easy. Establishing human contact and making THAT *click* in a short period of time, THAT's the big achievement.

So we arrived at the hotel, checked in an joked casually about what the receptionist might think if we already left again a couple of hours later.
This demonstrates another important point, you have to be humorous and be able to make the other person laugh. Laughing releases tension and makes the model forget that she actually should be nervous, because for the first time she is going to undress in front of a complete stranger.

We arrived in our room, the model scattered the contents of her bag (several pairs of jeans, lingerie, shoes, etc.) and we discussed what and in which order we were to shoot.

It was a VERY small hotel room, with barely enough room to stand beside the bed, so I excused myself discreetly to the bathroom and let her have the larger space to undress and get ready. You, the photographer have to be discreet. Whenever possible, please do extend the courtesy to the model NOT to be in the same room while she is undressing or changing her clothes.
This might sound ridiculous, because 30 seconds later, you are going to see her completely naked anyway, but it's another BIG psycholgical factor to make it a point to behave like a gentleman. It just shows the model that you still respect her privacy and are there to work, not to peek stolen glances.

So, while shooting, I usually never keep my mouth shut. When I fiddle with the camera, I say aloud what I'm doing. When I give directions, I speak softly, when I change settings, I make a relaxing joke ... all these things are not rehearsed or artificial or anything, they come naturally to me. I think, besides having "the eye", a photographer also needs to have "the mouth"... i.e. the talent to be able to be charming, funny, appreciative and sociable at the same time. I just feel that the end results are so much better.

The greatest compliment I can get from a model after a shoot beside "the pictures are great" is "I felt really comfortable and after a while completely forgot that I was naked".

I think, all nude photographers should make it their goal that all their models are able to say that after a shoot.