You have the talent, you have the skill, you have the desire. You are ready to begin shooting nudes, but don’t know where to start. Here are ten examples of where not to start.

1. The triple first. First time model, first time photographer, first time together. Sure, it could work; but the triple first is a recipe for disaster: you’ve never photographed a nude, she’s never posed nude, and you’ve never met each other. Instead, consider doing a non-nude shoot with your model, or finding a model with nude experience.
2. Relying on words to recruit models. Pictures speak volumes, and when it comes to nude photography, the imagination runs wild (sometimes too wild) with words alone. Don’t frighten your potential models away, let your photos show how tasteful and artistic your ideas are.
3. Trying to sell yourself. Recruit, interview and hire the model. Don’t act like you’re trying to sell her on your ideas. In other words, don’t try to convince – people are naturally resistant to a sales job. Explain your ideas, and let her decide if she’s interested
4. Being too explicit
5. Being unprofessional. You’re not looking for a date or a friend. It’s OK to keep it light.
6. Acting too interested. I’ve never seen a photographer who exhibited too little enthusiasm, but too much intensity can be a major turn off (and a creep out).
7. Loosing focus. No, I’m not talking about beams of light. I mean you have to develop and define your subject and style before you’ll be taken seriously. It’s OK to experiment, but don’t throw everything into your portfolio.
8. Being indiscriminate. Don’t throw every image in your portfolio. Don’t ask every woman in the room to model for you. If people think you have low standards or are desperate, they won’t be able to get away from you fast enough
9. Skipping basics. You have to be a photographer before you can be a nude photographer.
10. Treating nude photography as if it were portrait photography. If you don’t learn how to light and pose the nude, your work will lack punch.

Just be yourself, and hang in there. Avoid the pitfalls listed above and the many more that exist. If you keep trying, you and your models will soon be well on your way to producing the spectacular nude photographs you know you’re capable of.