# Nicolo- Nude Portraits (NSFW)



## DanOstergren (May 4, 2015)

I know I've shared a lot of portraits of this guy, but it's because I've done a lot of shoots with him and he 's very willing to be my muse. This was a shoot done at his request though. A couple of the shots are a bit NSFW (but not tasteless), so view at your own discretion.

Captured in natural light (window). 

EOS 5D MKI
85mm @f/2.8
1/320th sec
ISO 400

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2.
http://orig02.deviantart.net/d929/f/2015/124/6/6/_mg_3844_by_danostergren-d8s7jjl.jpg

3.
http://orig07.deviantart.net/4c2d/f/2015/124/9/c/_mg_3789censored_by_danostergren-d8s7jkx.jpg


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## BrickHouse (May 5, 2015)

Great work. The lighting is superb. So excited about the photographer you've become over the last couple years of watching you on this forum.


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## DanOstergren (May 5, 2015)

BrickHouse said:


> Great work. The lighting is superb. So excited about the photographer you've become over the last couple years of watching you on this forum.


Aaaaw, thank you!


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## gsgary (May 6, 2015)

I like the lighting but the pose is very camp


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## crimbfighter (May 6, 2015)

1: I wish I looked like that in the buff..
2: Great shots! You're lighting is always so well captured.


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## mattpayne11 (May 6, 2015)

Great lighting, nice work. I really liked the second one, the pose, the light, good stuff!


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## LilyBee (May 6, 2015)

Very nice lighting indeed


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## FITBMX (May 6, 2015)

The poses are great, and the lighting is incredible! I can't hardly believe it is just from a window!!!


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## bribrius (May 6, 2015)

thanks for the warning. Same with the last one you gave. Appreciated really. I generally have no interest in looking at nude men. I am sure your shots are great though. Now, if you have any women portraits that could be up for consideration


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## DanOstergren (May 6, 2015)

gsgary said:


> I like the lighting but the pose is very camp


You say "camp" like it's a bad thing, but I love camp, so thank you.  


crimbfighter said:


> 1: I wish I looked like that in the buff..
> 2: Great shots! You're lighting is always so well captured.


Me too!!!  Thank you.


mattpayne11 said:


> Great lighting, nice work. I really liked the second one, the pose, the light, good stuff!


Thank you.


LilyBee said:


> Very nice lighting indeed


Thank you.


FITBMX said:


> The poses are great, and the lighting is incredible! I can't hardly believe it is just from a window!!!


A good tall window is one of my favorite light sources. Really anybody could use a window to create some amazing portraits.


bribrius said:


> thanks for the warning. Same with the last one you gave. Appreciated really. I generally have no interest in looking at nude men. I am sure your shots are great though. Now, if you have any women portraits that could be up for consideration


I'm glad I could give you fair warning. And sorry, but no i don't have any nude women to show you instead.


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## annamaria (May 6, 2015)

Very nice portrait, I like your work [emoji3]


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## FITBMX (May 6, 2015)

bribrius said:


> thanks for the warning. Same with the last one you gave. Appreciated really. I generally have no interest in looking at nude men. I am sure your shots are great though. Now, if you have any women portraits that could be up for consideration



Get your mind out of the gutter, and look at his work for what it is. Very tasteful, perfectly executed art!!!


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## bribrius (May 6, 2015)

FITBMX said:


> bribrius said:
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> > thanks for the warning. Same with the last one you gave. Appreciated really. I generally have no interest in looking at nude men. I am sure your shots are great though. Now, if you have any women portraits that could be up for consideration
> ...


I am too biased. I find the graceful curves and lines of women more appealing to inspect for technical errors.


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## DanOstergren (May 6, 2015)

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bribrius said:


> FITBMX said:
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Perhaps these will suit your tastes better. 

Jenalu by DanOstergren on DeviantArt
Jenalu by DanOstergren on DeviantArt
http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/092/3/9/jessica_by_danostergren-d7crtlx.jpg


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## bribrius (May 6, 2015)

DanOstergren said:


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yes, they do. . you see, while you prefer men, i prefer women. while i attempt to consider beauty from a objective viewpoint and critique objectively. I just cant see a man the same as a woman.  Chances are, since you are gay and i am straight. If we went together to a art museum that had sculptures you might be more inclined to view the male sculpture first while i view the female one. sometimes you just cant totally get past natural  instinct no matter how objective you try to be..


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## FITBMX (May 6, 2015)

DanOstergren said:


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Those are lovely photos, thanks for posting them!


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## DanOstergren (May 7, 2015)

bribrius said:


> DanOstergren said:
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I honestly don't think it's about instinct, I think it has to do with individual traits. I can view the female form and revel in it's beauty and grace; femininity in itself is actually something I embrace as one of my greatest strengths and I believe it's incredibly beautiful. I appreciate the masculine form as well; the only difference is that yes, because of my sexual orientation I appreciate it in an erotic way as well, although when I photograph men I strive to do so in a very tasteful way (probably because I find the more graceful and tasteful aspects of a man more sexually appealing than something that is blatantly erotic).

I think the fact that viewing the male form makes you uncomfortable is perfectly understandable and an individual trait (nor do I believe it's any reason to speculate someone's sexuality over that trait).


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## bribrius (May 7, 2015)

DanOstergren said:


> bribrius said:
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could be. Well, you know like military basic. All use men took showers together. Same with they gym locker room. We didn't look at each other though lol.  I have shot plenty of nudes of women, they come somewhat easily as far as what i can see to be appealing. i wouldn't begin to guess how to shoot a nude of a male. I think i would take much more work on my part. Probably be uncomfortable at first.  If it was a paid gig i think i could make myself do it with "uneasiness".  Who knows though, maybe you get used to it. i sure wouldn't volunteer LOL.  Thankfully for me, the vast majority of fine art nudes are of women. So i have plenty of work to look at. Seems i am much more interested/comfortable/fascinated with female sexuality and femininity. Like looking at flower. I don't view the male form to that extent.


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## terri (May 7, 2015)

_gsgary said: ↑
I like the lighting but the pose is very camp_

_DanOstergren said:
You say "camp" like it's a bad thing, but I love camp, so thank you_

   I was thinking the exact same thing!  

These are terrific - lighting, posing, all of it.   He is a gorgeous model and you show him off wonderfully.   Your sessions must feel very rewarding to you.


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## rexbobcat (May 7, 2015)

I think the female form is much more aesthetically appealing in an artistic sense. The features are generally much softer, and their proportions make it so that their silhouette is naturally much more artistically interesting and pleasing to look at in an un-erotic way. It's much easier to focus on the female form, because there is more form to focus on.

Not to mention that the female form better embodies the characteristics of the Fibonacci spiral.





As someone here previously stated a while back, the male form is more utilitarian. I think that is why it is more often depicted in some sort of action rather than on the merits of its own form. I also think this is why it's much more difficult to photograph the male form without eroticizing it.

Just Google "artistic female nude" and then "artistic male nude" and look at the difference in how they are photographed. The female nudes are more often focused on the artistic qualities of how the light plays on the human form. Many of the male nudes are overtly sexualized, some to the point of being pornographic, or they focus on the physicality of the person. The focus isn't necessarily on the light and how it falls on the body, but rather it's on the body itself and the light is the method to help distinguish the features.

Granted, these are just observations. Not all male and female nudes are shown the ways I described, but there are trends that appear through each portrayal.

Basically, the way I see it, the female body is more abstract/geometric, while the male body is more concrete/anatomical.

Both are beautiful, but in different ways that require two unique perspectives to be able to appreciate.


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## DanOstergren (May 8, 2015)

terri said:


> _gsgary said: ↑
> I like the lighting but the pose is very camp_
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> _DanOstergren said:
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Lol, right? 

Thank you!


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## bribrius (May 9, 2015)

rexbobcat said:


> I think the female form is much more aesthetically appealing in an artistic sense. The features are generally much softer, and their proportions make it so that their silhouette is naturally much more artistically interesting and pleasing to look at in an un-erotic way. It's much easier to focus on the female form, because there is more form to focus on.
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> Not to mention that the female form better embodies the characteristics of the Fibonacci spiral.
> View attachment 100584
> ...


over my head, but i am sure it applies to me and us as photographers in general we just don't think about it. I liked his shot of the goth girl a while back. Still have that in my mind and pretty content with it. I felt that was a nice shot.


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## kdthomas (May 9, 2015)

Dan ... Like your work ... Good stuff ... Did you put anything on his skin to get that glow or is it just like that?


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## AlanKlein (May 9, 2015)

Nice shot Dan.  A couple of points, picky perhaps.  The tiny portion of his right ear lobe distracts as does the unusual catch light in his left eye.  His right arm looks unusual because of the way it hangs there.


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## DanOstergren (May 9, 2015)

kdthomas said:


> Dan ... Like your work ... Good stuff ... Did you put anything on his skin to get that glow or is it just like that?


Thanks!
I didn't put anything on his skin. Are you talking about the color of his skin? I did use a selective color adjustment layer to tweak the overall colors just a bit to give the color shots a more cinematic look.


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