Discover why Nude Art isn't just a Painter's Delight!

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Body form is a work of art in itself. Its design is like no other creation on Earth. Fascinated by this at a young age, Commercial Photographer Sanket Sanjay Khuntale decided to capture nude body forms depicting each zodiac sign in his final year photography project 'Nudiacs'. He uses the concept of nudity that has been explored by painters and fashion designers since time immemorial, to capture it in a unique manner.

Nude doesn't have to mean Erotic

When working with nude subjects, it is very important to understand the purpose of the idea. Because the idea was to depict human nature through human body forms; the concept demanded nude body forms to be displayed elegantly rather than sexually. For those who understand fine art, they know it is primarily concerned with the aesthetic quality and creativity of the subject and where any erotic interest, although often present, is secondary in nude painting and photos.

This distinguishes pornographic photography which has a primary purpose of sexually arousing the viewer and glamour photography which focuses the subject photographed in the most attractive way. In 'Nudiacs' it was always important to bear in mind that sexuality, although very subtle, was not dominant at any point.

The biggest challenge of Nude Photography is being comfortable with it

It's tough to shed off all inhibitions, stand in front of a group of people and pose. In order to make the model comfortable with the job, the person behind the camera needs to be most comfortable. 'Nudiacs' being the first attempt at shooting nude, this clearly was a big challenge. Working up to the shoot was also challenging enough. For one day of shoot, it took up to three month to prepare, wherein Sanket pose in front of the mirror, experimenting with body forms and sketching down the shapes and contours of each zodiac sign that best represented it.

Execution breathes life into an Idea

The style of lighting and overall look of the images was important to highlight and convey the concept. Of course, the shape, contours and postures were important, but figuring out how to emphasize those features was necessary as well. Lighting the subject from behind helped in highlighting the edges, that in turn made the frame look like a low key picture. Lighting makes all the difference when it comes to creating drama and intensity in the final outcome.