Thanks Ashlee.
I think your original comments were fair. I do think that shooting nudes raises the bar. I also shoot landscapes. Nobody every questions my motives for shooting landscapes. But when shooting nudes, I think there is frequently the questioning of motives. Am I just a "guy with a camera" who is just looking for an excuse to have a woman disrobe for me? So I think there is an added burden to be sure that the nudity actually has a purpose beyond what shooting the model clothed would have. And that can be difficult because so many viewers first have to get beyond the nudity for nudity's sake themselves.
I also think that successful photos are not just a photo of a beautiful object. There are plenty of snapshots of beautiful objects. A successful photo has to rise above the snapshot level. Some of that comes down to technical aspects of photography. But a successful portrait cannot just be a pretty rendition of the subject. It needs to communicate something more about the subject. A successful landscape with a nude needs to communicate something more than just a pretty object in a pretty scene.
I think that is where you are at too. Rising above the titillation factor and actually creating something meaningful.
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