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What’s this all about?
During lockdown, while looking for news ways to be creative once studios opened again, I came up with the idea to project shadows onto art nude models using shadow masks which I could create myself to give a broad range of designs.
After a few trial shoots, I soon got to grips with the basics and began producing images like these:
As it says on the home page, this is art nude with a difference. Both in terms of the look of the pictures with the striking shadows, but also the people being photographed are not necessarily experienced models and there’s no requirement to look any certain way to be able to take part.
The intention is to shoot as many people a I can and sell prints of the wonderful images from those shoots via this site. That means I will always be looking for people to take part and let me point a camera at them. The project is going well so far, and I’m shooting a great range of people, and hope to shoot an even more varied range as the project continues.
I’m fairly confident now with knowing what poses and patterns work, and have managed to produce some great images even if I do say so myself. I see this project running for quite a while, so if you’d like to be a part of the journey and see what art we can create, then please get in touch.
I’ve had a great response from people so far, and have a queue of quite a few people wanting to take part, and I’m still working on how to work through that queue best. I will always be looking for new faces to join in and take part, especially as that helps work around limitations in availability of people who are signed up, as and when I have time to shoot.
How much is it?
It can be free to arrange a shoot, in fact you might even make a little bit of money as all of the shoots are done on a profit share basis, meaning you will be given a share of the profits on any images of you which may sell.
After the shoot, once all images are signed off by you and uploaded to this site, they will be offered for sale. Any that sell of your images, I will pay the cost of the print to the printer, then the remainder of the money is split three ways. 1/3rd will go towards project expenses like studios, website, etc. 1/3rd will go to you, and 1/3rd will be for me. You’ll need to sign a model release to approve the sale of the images on the site.
The only thing with free shoots is that you need to wait till the random picker draws your name out of the hat. I shoot about 10 to 15 hours (or models) a month, mainly down to not wanting to spend too much on studio fees! There is the option to pay for the studio fees for the shoot yourself, which is called a Queue Jumper and costs £30 to allow you to arrange a shoot straight away, as soon as we both have availability, potentially even within a couple of days.
You can sign up for one of those here, and there will also be a link to this in your welcome sign up email.
What are the requirements for taking part?
You need to be over 18, be able to get to Newcastle to the studio, and be happy to pose nude for an hour or so.
No previous shoot or modelling experience is necessary, I’m quite used to directing models who have never shot before if you’re unfamiliar with posing, just let me know and I can talk you through it. See the testimonials page for conformation of this.
What if I want prints of the images?
You will be given a digital copy of all images of you, free of charge for taking part, at a resolution perfect for online use such as social media or a modelling portfolio. In case you do want any of the images printed you will also be given a discount code granting you 50% off any prints you order from this site, and that code will work for all products, not only images of you. It can also be shared with your friends and family if you wish.
I’m interested, do you have any more info?
A good place to start might be to read a sample of the shoot confirmation page, this has a lot more info about the shoot and how it works, you can read a sample copy here.
I’ve put a small about me page on the site, which you can find here in case you would like to know more about me and there’s also a testimonials page from previous models.
There’s also a frequently asked questions section at the side of this page, which I will be adding to as questions are asked.
If there’s anything else you need to know that I haven’t explained, please get in touch (see the last question in the FAQ for ways to contact me) and don’t worry I’ve had some bizarre questions already so whatever you’re wondering probably wont be the strangest I’ve been asked!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Primarily I am shooting these one of two places, a photo studio in Newcastle city centre and the private hire area of a friend’s 1920’s themed cabaret bar also in Newcastle city centre. I am open to potentially shooting elsewhere, if it can be made dark enough though, so if you have something in mind give me a shout and lets discuss.
No, the shoots are free for the model. After the shoot, once all images are signed off by you and uploaded to the site, they will be offered for sale. Any that sell of your images, I will pay the cost of the print to the printer, then the remainder of the money is split three ways. 1/3rd will go towards project expenses like studios, website, etc. 1/3rd will go to you, and 1/3rd will be for me. I’ll be honest, with the few sales there has been its only ever been a couple of quid for each third! Most models have chosen just to donate the couple of quid, and for those who do decide to donate it I match them and donate my share too. The charity recieving the donation is changed periodically and is listed on the page informing you of a sale.
I’ve had a few people who wanted to shoot at the same time as a friend, which is absolutely fine with me.
I will only shoot one person in a single image at a time, as having more than one person risks it look a bit more like erotica than I want for the project.
I’m more than happy for two people who are shooting to arrive together and shoot during the same session though, one at a time. I can usually either do this as an hour each, or alternate in 15 to 20 min blocks so no one is sitting around too long.
Yes, absolutely! Chaperone or friend for moral support is more than welcome, in fact it will usually make you feel more comfortable on the shoot and confidence shows, so I’m definitely happy for you to bring someone with you if you’d like. Please also be aware that the studio owner will be on site as well as myself, though he keeps out of the way while we’re shooting, just so you know what to expect people wise!
Yes, on set in the studio you’ll be nude, then we will use angles, shadows or arms and legs etc to hide bits that we don’t want in the shot. All of the finished shots will be covered up as you see with the images above and elsewhere on the site. The aim of this project is to have all shots social media friendly, or something that could hang on a wall without being graphic.
This may mean that you’re stood entirely uncovered at some points if its the shadow that’s being used for cover. At the end of the shoot you get to review all images on a tablet and reject any that you are not happy with, and similarly after editing is done you’ll get final approval on all images before they are uploaded to the site.
Having the freedom to have models pose as needed and cover with shadow allows that bit more creativity to see what shadows work and what doesn’t, but if you feel the need to have shots more implied with arms or such covering, we can make that work. I don’t ever intend to have to photoshop out thongs or whatever though, if you’re unlikely to be comfortable being totally nude on set, even if covered with arms etc, then this is not the project for you.
Many models have asked if they can bring something along like heels, or a choker, one girl wanted her cosplay sword. I’m happy for anyone to bring anything along, we wont necessarily use it in all shots but I will definitely try to include it in some.
That’s great, neither am I, so that makes two of us at least!
Seriously, everyone deserves to feel pretty, and I love helping people feel like that. I don’t care what age, size, colour, or whatever you are, come join in and get some pics that make you feel awesome about yourself. Go take a look at the testimonials and you will see, most of those people are not models prior to shooting with me either!
I already have a few teachers and a doctor signed up. The beauty of a project like this is we can easily hide your face in shadow, turned away from camera or something similar. The main focal point of the shot is the shadows and bodyscapes.
I’m confident that the shots can be made anonymous enough that you wont have to worry about being identified if that’s what you need. As mentioned elsewhere, you get final sign off on which images can be uploaded to the site. Shots on the site wont have a name attached to them, and anything posted to social media will only mention you if you have requested to be tagged (this is optional in the sign off form).
Which leads me to the next question …
Right from the very start I had some people signing up that I knew were going to need to remain anonymous because of work or whatever. This is fine in so far as the pictures, I can hide faces with shadow and make them pretty anonymous but then comes the issue of collecting together all of the photos of one person with a model name without giving away the identity of those not wanting to be named.
For consistency, I am assigning everyone a model or product name, almost like Ikea. These are just generated from a site which makes fake but real looking names. Therefore if you like the look of an image of one person and want to see other artworks including them, you can use the tags under the image to click their assigned name and see all images of them.
It wont be a strictly chronological queue as someone who signed up later might be available when I have a shoot slot, or have a look that works for a particular idea I’m planning, so don’t think you’re joining the back of the queue, there is no ‘back’ per se.
I’ve found that the best way to do it, is to use a random name picker. Whenever I have availability I mail it out to the mailing list, get people to put their name in the hat for who is available for that slot, then do a random name pick from those people, so keep an eye out for those mails.
I will work through everyone eventually I hope!
Currently it would not be a good idea for you to shoot, some of the focussing requires repeated firing of the flash in quick succession. I hope for this to change as I perfect the process, the kit, and also the darker nights coming in will help later too! Please do still register your interest
I’ve been asked a few times by models how I identify.
I’d say cisgender male. Most often this has been asked with an undertone of how safe the model will feel with a male photographer, so I’d just like to re-iterate that you’re more than welcome to bring along any chaperone you like if it helps your state of mind, everyone should feel comfortable when shooting.
As the images will be for sale on this site, you will need to sign a model release to legally allow me as the photographer to list them for sale. A copy of that release can be found here if you’d like to read it before signing up.
Sample Model Release
No worries, send me a message on Instagram, Facebook or email [email protected]
OK, I’m going to do it. How do I sign up?
If you’re interested in taking part please fill out this form to sign up to the mailing list and let me know a little bit about yourself. I just need to gather a bit of info I can use to try and best schedule in shoots, just basic stuff like when would usually be best for you to shoot, location, if you can shoot short notice (cancellations are inevitable with any project like this, having a ready list of people who can step up will help massively!). Some mails seem to be going to spam, so please try to include one social media at least otherwise I may not be able to contact you.