In The Buff: Would you ever pose nude?
Has it ever crossed your mind to capture your naked body in a photograph? Perhaps an artist friend has been begging you to be her subject, or you’ve always wanted to do something daring. Take your cue from women who shed their apprehensions (along with their clothes), and find out why and how they came to the decision to be photographed in the nude.
“You have to absolutely trust the person who asked to photograph you,” says 32-year-old Coni Tejada, who was asked by Cosmopolitan Philippines to pose naked back in 2009. Her close friend and then art director of the magazine asked her to do it. She knew that the treatment of the shoot would be tasteful, and that it would help other women see their bodies in a more positive light. “If taking my clothes off was going to make other plump women feel good about themselves, then by all means, let’s carry on,” recalls the writer and stylist.
Mela De Luna, freelance fashion stylist and journalist agrees. Three years ago she agreed to pose nude for a photo exhibit. Although covered in body paint, she would have had to bare her breasts for the camera. “The producers, stylist, hair/makeup team and photographer were people I was familiar with and had worked with before,” she says and this made the process more comfortable.
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You’ll learn to like yourself more. When we look at ourselves in the mirror, it’s so easy to spot our least favorite body parts; we’re overly critical that way. But when an objective person sees us, he or she points out our good points. “The ladies of Cosmo were very supportive and complimentary on set. They were all praises. One of them said how makinis and flawless I was all over, and I found that rather comforting,” says Tejada.
“Before I was photographed for a black and white nude exhibit, I thought my thighs were too big and my breasts too small. Then when I saw the photos of myself hanging in my friend’s gallery, I almost didn’t recognize myself. My body looked beautiful,” says Andrea Hermann, a costume designer. “Seeing myself as an outsider transformed my outlook of myself,” says the 38-year-old.
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You’ll stop time. “I almost didn’t show up for the shoot, but my husband (of all people!) reminded me that being photographed nude was something I kept talking about,” says 43-year-old Katrin Abraham. “Perhaps he didn’t’ want me to miss this opportunity—or maybe he was sick of me always talking about wanting to do it. Whatever the reason, I’m glad I did it. That was more than 15 years ago. Because I had so much fun, I vowed to have myself photographed nude every five years,” says the housewife.
You’ll reap rewards. Some women who have posed nude left the studio feeling a sense of accomplishment. Others rekindled their self-confidence. Still others have felt empowered knowing that they delivered an important message. “I wanted also to show that to be photographed nude does not mean that you have to be in a sexy pose. You can be nude to simply express a concept. This experience taught me that there are certain risks that you should take in your life and they can pay off, because our group was voted favorite portrait by all the visitors of the exhibit,” recalls De Luna.
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Having pointed out all the lessons you could learn from this wardrobe-shedding experience, it’s also important to know that you don’t have to do it if you’re not 100% convinced about it. Give it a lot of thought, talk to other people about it, and listen to your gut. There are plenty of other things to include in your bucket list.
