Photographing Nude: A First Time Experience

Any photographer who has ever captured portraits has had the curiosity of exploring the boudoir or nude concept. The discovery and exploration of the human anatomy is something normal for any human being, and it is—in my opinion—a way to get to know ourselves.

However, in Cuba, the subject was taboo until recently, criticized by many false purists who point their finger at photographer and model, while secretly enjoying the art that gets created. I found it interesting that while paintings of nude were available even in high school books, the notion of a photograph of a nude person was frowned upon.

Although little by little there has been more acceptance, mainly over the last five years, I still felt uncomfortable about it. As a result, it never occurred to me to approach anyone with the idea of doing a fine art—another way to refer to this type of photography—session.

The tricky part of it (at least in Cuba) is that you only need someone to envy you or hate your work to get reported to the police for “producing pornography”, and you will go through the bad time of having them temporarily or permanently confiscate your equipment and your hard drives. Add to that the public humiliation.

But the free world is a whole different story. After living in the United States for over four years, I understood that I had had a once in a lifetime opportunity when I first did that type of shoot.

WARNING/DISCLAIMER: If you are younger than 21 and/or someone who gets uncomfortable seeing naked/nude people, you should STOP HERE and find something else to read or look at on this website (the owner of this website shall NOT BE LIABLE of you decide to scroll down and get offended by either the words or the pictures Date: Feb 4, 2026). Due to legal reasons, this post will NOT be edited beyond its publication, so forgive grammar mistakes that will be corrected by the author in the comments if there are any. Bear in mind: the author keeps logs of edits on his account, and for his own protection, he will leave any mistakes alive and correct them in the comments once the post becomes public (screenshots have been taken). This is a LEGAL DISCLAIMER. YOU are responsible for what you see from now on.

How it all started

It was during my second trip to Canada in 2019 that Malcolm Lobban, a friend who had been a client of mine in Cuba, offered me to attend a workshop in his studio. I had visited it before a few months earlier, and knew it was an amazing set for models. I also knew that he is a very well-known fine art photographer. His work both in Color and in black and white is amazing, and he manages to capture the essence of the models in a very unique way, while playing with lights and shadows, shapes and colors, in a brilliant manner.

We agreed to meet at a place called Café Balzac, located in Toronto’s Distillery District, one of the most captivating areas of the city. I arrived about 15 minutes before the time we had agreed upon, aiming to get a coffee before the workshop. In my mind, I was going to be receiving some type of lecture about photography, so apart from my camera (which I never leave behind) I also carried a pen and notebook.

Unfortunately, or so I thought, he texted me to let me know he was running late.

Meeting Larissa

A couple of minutes later, I was already sitting and sipping on my coffee when Malcolm texted me again, asking me to find Larissa, who was exactly at the same location. He described a beautiful redhead, and I looked around, only to discover her sitting next to me.

After the introductions, we spoke a little bit, because apart from Malcolm we had another common friend, Kate Snig, another model I had met in Cuba through him. Larissa was nice and friendly, and I figured she was a fellow photographer because she was carrying a big bag. It was December, so we were both wearing winter clothes.

It was time to go to the studio, and we headed there. I got to the door alone, as she needed to make a quick stop, and found Malcolm along with other photographers.

We walked in, removed our shoes and my friend started testing the lights and the pocket wizard, while telling us to set up the cameras for 1/125 seconds, f/8 or f/9, and 160 ISO.

Then, Larissa entered the studio and began to undress. That was the moment where it hit me: I was going to have my first nude session and I wasn’t even aware of it until then.

Malcolm explained the ground rules: only the photographer with the pocket wizard was allowed to photograph in each session, every photographer was going to have four five-minute sessions with different props, the photographer who was shooting had to stop when the alarm went off.

I am not going to lie. I felt nervous and intimidated. I had never done this before, so I was going to be very observant of what others did, and see what she was doing when they pressed the shutter. It was obvious that I was not going to accept being the first shooting, so I settled for second to last (there was one guy who said he always liked to shoot last).

The sessions

Fortunately, and this made things slightly easier for me, Larissa was going to wear a transparent nightgown for the first shoot. I took my stool and looked at the model, while paying close attention to what she was doing every time the lights flashed.

However, I still didn’t know how I was going to approach the shoot. I was the only one in the room who had never done it before, but except for Malcolm, I was the only one who had had a meaningful conversation with her before. They all asked her to try different poses, or to repeat a pose she had just made.

When my turn came, the only thing I managed to say to her was: “Why don’t you just have fun?” And she did. During that first five-minute session, and for the remaining three (completely nude, with a kimono, and with a shawl on a couch), all she did was have fun and try poses as I shot. 

I started feeling more confident after the first session, and for the rest of the workshop, I too got to have fun. Larissa was incredible, and even got more patient with me after finding out (before the last session) that it was my first time doing that.

The end

By the end, she got dressed and handed us each a signed Model Release, allowing to use her photos on social media or to sell prints. I had a weird request from her, which was to take a portrait of her once she had gotten dressed and ready to go. She was surprised, but went along with it.

After that, I parted ways with everybody and left the studio. I have made only three Instagram posts of her pictures, and one of them is only that portrait I snapped once it was all over. Every time I am going to publish, I let her know, including writing this article.

Final Thoughts

The experience was incredible, but I also learned the importance of knowing a little bit about your subject before you photograph. Even though we only spoke briefly before the workshop, we did get to know a little about each other, and I think that’s what gave me some more confidence while shooting her and having model-photographer interaction.

Looking back, I was extremely lucky that I had gotten to the Distillery District way before Malcolm, as it gave me the opportunity to meet Larissa before the shoot. Talking to her a little bit, even if I was still unaware of the fact that I was going to photograph her, helped me break the ice and gain some confidence I would have probably lacked otherwise. This shoot taught me that I can engage one-on-one with any model in any situation, and broadened my scope for portrait photography.

It is important to note that I am no longer in Cuba. There is freedom of expression, speech and creativity in the United States. While I will refrain from posting any of these images on my social media (due to my role as a high school teacher), and I had to delete the most revealing Instagram post I made, I know I can shoot these images and there will be no backlash on this website.

Will I do this again? The answer is YES. Nevertheless, it will be following my golden rule of thumb: make a contract, make sure another person is present, and involve the model in all aspects of the creative process (including when and where I will post the pictures and begging them not to add me as a collaborator for their social media posts but tag me as the author instead).

If you want to see more about Larissa’s modeling work, you should follow her Instagram page.