Photographers say that nude photography is one of the most intimate and difficult. Is it true?

This week, we had the opportunity to interview professional photographer Radoslaw Pujan and find out what he thinks about nude photography, how it works, what is important, what is charming.

Radoslaw was born in Poland. He studied IT and started taking pictures in his free time. This was his beginning with photography. Now Radoslaw is working in Brussels, traveling to Poland or France to produce his images, which were awarded at the Hasselblad Masters in 2014.

If you want to get some tips from pro photographers, read on!

How did you get into photography and in particular nude photography?

That has been a long process. First I was interested in filmmaking, however, after that, I smoothly moved to photography as I found still frames a bit more interesting, as these leave imagination open while watching the photograph. And nude photography.

I think I have this easiness while talking to women, and there is nothing more beautiful to express than female body. Each one is a piece of art. And my role is to immortalize that beauty.

Mostly you are working with people, what is the secret behind getting a good expression or pose from them?

I like to play my little games. To get expression I am looking for I start discussing, sometimes going to more difficult subjects. Or I just tell something surprising. Sometimes one sentence can bring so many emotions visible on the face.

However first thing what I do is posing the model. Then whole background and composition and light is important. I work with medium cameras with waist level finder - that helps me to see balance in composition much easier than through the prism.

What is most challenging in your work?

To try to create a new photograph. Completely fresh idea. Something I haven’t seen before. I try to be creative to not copy existing pictures I have already seen. And that is not easy as we are flooded by images nowadays. Then I create my little stories in such a way that I hope it will keep the attention of the viewer for longer periods of time.

Could you describe a typical shoot?

First I discuss with the model/models. Then I go to the place where I will shoot. I take few photos with my mobile phone.

Back home, watching those photos and thinking about possible places (light and contrasts are playing main role here) and then create stories. On the end I think about stylization, jewelry, clothes, hairstyle, makeup and specific poses I may create there.

Radoslaw works mainly with medium format (Hasselblad, Pentax 67, Rolleiflex 66), sporadically with large format (Graflex 4×5, Mentor 5×7), and recently with 35mm (Leica).

Could you give a few tips how to get a good image?

Keep it simple. Remove all unnecessary elements from the scene. Keep only things that can give a context to the whole story. Look at contrasts (in black and white photography) as those make balance of the scene. Keep color palette small (2, 3 colors that fit together).

What could you advice for the beginners who want to start a nude photography?

Watch master photographers (not the internet flooded with poor photographs). Try different angles, perspectives. And most important thing - tell model what to do, keep her attention, try different poses. They expect that. If you do not know what to say. Prepare yourself before. Look at her/his photos and imagine what would you like to accomplish.

Follow Radoslaw’s work on his website, Flickr and Instagram.