You’ve found a fantastic match on a dating site. You hit it off in the DMs right away. You’re connecting, exchanging flirty texts, and having a grand old time – it’s the perfect opportunity to send a sensual nude to spark your match’s imagination and take things to a new level. The only problem is that you can’t take a good nude to save your life.
The angle’s off, the lighting isn’t flattering in the least, and the dust specs on your mirror make you look like an utter slob. Taking a good nude is more complicated than it first appears.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you should give up on the idea altogether. It only means that you should spend some time mastering your skills and learning how to take good nudes – not because your match on a dating site wants you to, but because you want to.
Take a look at some tips that will help you take the best nude you’ve ever seen and explore some of the top poses for nudes that will help you highlight precisely the parts you want to show off.
Only Send Nudes When You’re Feeling Up to It
First things first – you should never send nudes solely because your match is pressuring you into doing it. That’s how you get overwhelmed with feelings of guilt and shame. Unless you’re 100% on board with the idea, send a cute selfie instead if you’re feeling up to it.
If you’re on board and want to send nudes, know why you’re doing it. Perhaps you want to tease your new match on a dating site, make your partner’s day by reminding them of what’s waiting for them at home, or simply because you want to celebrate your own body. Knowing your reasons will help you feel more comfortable with the whole idea and prevent you from feeling embarrassed after the fact.
As a side note – you’ll want to check with your partner before sending them your nudes. While few people will complain about receiving them, your naked pictures could cause problems. No one wants to receive them during an important business meeting or while they’re having dinner with their parents.
Check with your partner first with a quirky message like “I have some great lingerie on, want to see?”, then send your nudes when they express their desire to receive them.
Consider Your Privacy
Though no one wants to think about it, it’s always possible for your nudes to get leaked – it’s not something that happens solely to celebrities. Maybe your partner leaks them on purpose after a breakup, or maybe a random hacker decides to target your phone specifically. Whatever the case is, you need to consider your privacy and security when taking nude selfies.
As a general rule of thumb, if you cringe at the thought of some people in your life seeing your nudes, perhaps you shouldn’t take them.
Alternatively, you might want to be more careful about taking them, ensuring that nothing in the photo could be used to identify you. No face in the photo, no unique birthmarks, jewelry, or tattoos. You can always use makeup or clothes to hide any features that would reveal your identity should your photos leak.
Give Yourself A Little Pep Talk
Nothing could damage your self-confidence quite like a bad nude. It happens. With poor lighting, bad angles, and no photoshop experts who could fix any “flaw” or blemish, it’s possible for your nudes to turn out poorly – and that’s okay! Just take another picture. Don’t let an unflattering nude diminish your confidence.
To give your self-esteem a little boost, have a little pep talk before you start posing. Remember everything you love about your body and remind yourself of how great you look. When you’re feeling excited about your nudes, they’ll turn out much better, and your confidence will shine through in the photos themselves.
Get Some Equipment
You don’t need any kind of fancy equipment for nudes like you would for professional boudoir photography. Your phone camera could be more than enough. However, if you want to take your pictures to a whole new level, you might need some assistance.
Ring lights with customizable settings could help ensure that your lighting is absolutely perfect – with no unflattering shadows that could make you look too fat, too skinny, too muscly, or too flabby.
Another thing you will need is a stand or a tripod for your phone. You can’t always get a good angle and highlight specific body parts when you have to hold your own camera. Get an adjustable stand, set a timer on your camera, and enjoy the great results you’ll get.
Keep Your Surroundings Clean
You could look absolutely perfect in your nude photos, with curves in all the right places and poses that immediately take your partner’s breath away. However, regardless of your appearance, your nudes will leave much to be desired if you take photos in messy surroundings.
Nothing could ruin your photos as easily as a dirty clothes pile by your feet, an overflowing trash can in the corner, and a messy bathroom sink.
If you want your photos to look flawless, you’ll need to keep your surroundings clean.
Get Some Clothes
Nude photos aren’t necessarily naked pictures of yourself (though they can be). They’re simply revealing photos, and you can decide how much you want to reveal.
If you want your photos to look more classy, or if you want to cover some perceived flaws, you might want to get some sexy clothes to pose in.
Keep in mind, however, that sexy clothes aren’t just lingerie. An oversized, off-the-shoulder hoodie that barely covers your buttcheeks could be much more sensual than a pair of lacy underwear. A blanket that covers just the “most important” parts of your body but leaves your cleavage, belly, and legs exposed could work better for exciting your partner than full frontal nudity.
Play around with some clothes and see what works best for you and your partner.
Find Your Angles
As mentioned earlier, poor angles could completely ruin your nudes, making you look weird and even disfigured. Before sending your nudes, play around with your camera to find your angles.
As a general rule of thumb, the best angles for nude photography depend on what part of your body you want to highlight.
If you want to show off your cleavage, keep your camera at a higher angle, bring your shoulders back, and snap a photo. If you want to highlight your butt, you’ll want to keep the camera at a lower angle – not a great option for selfies, but perfect for booty shots.
How to Pose for Nudes?
Now that you’re aware of some of the most critical elements that will impact the quality of your photos, it’s time to get to the specific poses.
The best poses for nudes will, of course, depend on your personal preferences. But here are some ideas that will help guide you in the right direction.
1. Hit the bathtub
A bathtub nude is a classic – and for a good reason. It’s easy to take, you can quickly reveal or conceal specific body parts with strategic bubble placement, and the water on your skin will make it look like you’re glowing.
Start your bubble bath, get in, and start snapping photos. Keep things playful by only taking pictures of your legs while keeping your breasts and genitals covered with bubbles, or take a cute selfie that exposes just enough of your cleavage to keep things PG while giving your partner a small taste of what they might expect to see.
2. Highlight your chest
With your camera set at a high angle on the tripod, kneel beneath it, bring your shoulders back, and take a few shots. Look off to the side to make your photos a bit more mysterious, or glance directly into the camera for a more sensual image.
This pose will help you highlight your chest and keep the viewer wondering what else you’re hiding.
If you’re feeling a bit shy, put on some lingerie that gives you a fuller cleavage, or cover your breasts lightly with a blanket while keeping your shoulders exposed.
3. Lay on your stomach
With your camera to the side, lay on your stomach, put your head on your hands, and lift your legs. If you want to highlight your booty, set a pillow under your hips and keep your back straight.
This pose is perfect for those new to nudes who don’t want to expose too much. If you get the right angle, you can catch the sideboob without exposing your nipples and show off your booty without it seeming too exposed.
Besides, if you’re feeling bloated or simply insecure about your belly, this shot will help you perfectly conceal it.
4. Stretch
Most commonly, people tend to flex and keep their bodies tight while taking nude photos – but that doesn’t always come out well. It’s obvious that you’re trying to make your photo more flattering and that your entire body is rigid.
If you want a more natural nude that highlights your curves and gives you a flat tummy, just stretch. Bonus points if you bring both arms up and stay on your toes.
You can try this pose even while lying down. Lay on your back, bend one knee, and bring your arms over your head. Put one hand over your belly button to accentuate your waist and strategically cover your private areas with a blanket.
5. Put the mirror to work
Virtually everyone thinks of mirror selfies when they think of nudes. It’s easier to take a full-body picture in a mirror than to set the phone on a stand and rush to pose and find your angle. However, nude mirror selfies aren’t all that great. If you don’t know what you’re doing, they look more like before-and-after photos in a gym rather than sensual naked photos.
Instead of just posing in front of the mirror, set your mirror to the side. Pose beside it and turn it so that your reflection is seen in the camera. It’s a simple way to add more dimension to your photos, and it’s double the fun for the recipient of your nudes.
6. Cross your legs and show off your booty
If you want to highlight your booty, all you have to do is turn your back to the camera. Find a surface you can lean on, turn your back to the camera, and lean slightly on your arms while keeping them wide apart. Cross your legs to give yourself a nice hourglass shape and give your booty a bit more dimension.
This pose works wonders when you’re wearing high heels and some sexy lingerie.
It’s also a perfect pose when you want a full-body photo that hides your face and any features that someone could use to identify you.
7. Give Boomerang a try
Finally, your nudes don’t have to be just pictures. Nor do you have to film an entire video to pique your partner’s interest. Instead, give Instagram’s Boomerang a try. It will take a burst of photos that loop around, keeping everything moving and giving plenty of entertainment to your viewer.
Just remember not to move around too much, or else your Boomerang won’t do your body justice. A slight movement of your shoulders that conceals and reveals your chest, for instance, could be a fun way of sharing your nudes.
Final Thoughts
Sending excellent nudes will take a bit of trial and error. You’ll need to learn which angles work best for you, how different lighting affects your body, and how different poses show off specific parts. The key is playing around, having fun, and learning not to be overly critical of yourself.
Go ahead, have some fun, and start taking nudes like a pro.