Last month I was asked to write the introduction to a one off magazine on the celebration of Fine Art Nude and Glamour photography.

The great British poet and painter William Blake said “Art can never exist without naked beauty displayed”.  But since the birth of photography a hundred and sixty years ago the nude has been the subject of intense examination, controversy, speculation and discussion.

Countless scholars and reviewers have attempted to provide definitive answers to the challenges of showcasing the nude as an art form.

Is the nude to be annotated ‘artistic’ as in classical painting and sculptures? Or, as has frequently been the case historically, dismissed as covert erotica?

This publication is a celebration of the nude and the skills and artistic abilities of all the photographers who have generously contributed their work.

I have had the great fortune and privilege to work as a professional photographer for over 40 years  - and the one constant that runs through my work is a deep passion for the art and craft of photography, combined with an overarching desire to celebrate the beauty and power of the human form.

The nude is a difficult photographic discipline to master. There is nothing to work with other than nakedness itself; the human body, stripped of all outer coverings and devoid of any decoration.

The great challenge is to present that figure, (assuming you wish to stay this side of what is generally considered pornography) in as tasteful and acceptable manner as possible –whilst always being true to yourself as the author.

However, whatever the ultimate intentions of the photographer, he or she cannot predict the visual and mental response of the viewer.

Every observer will experience a very different and completely subjective reaction to a nude image.

Artistic representation of the nude is a celebration of the human form – whether it is a Brandt or a Penn, a Newton or a Blum.

Such outstanding imagery always elicits a reaction in the viewer – and that surely is the mission of photography. It must strive consistently to stimulate the viewers’ visual awareness and trigger reaction.

The use of surrounding environment also adds to the impression of the final image.

A nude placed within the landscape can be seen as a celebration of nature, but that same nude placed within an industrial or urban setting can tell a completely different visual story. And by simply adding some clothes or latex the whole image then takes on an edgier and much more erotic feel.

Model direction is a key element too. The photographer must employ all his or her skills to create evocative imagery that has an in-built and quite deliberate erotic tension – but without the incumbent challenge of allowing the work to hover over the abyss of explicit pornography.

This collection covers glamour, artistic, fetish and erotic imagery and each photograph is an outstanding example of the author’s art.

Ultimately, however it is you, the viewer who will finally determine in which category the work truly belongs.

Trevor Yerbury