jsmangis Loc: Peoria, IL

I actually like both of those images. Those types of images are favorites of mine, and I have an extensive collection of them in both digital and film formats. Keep up the good work.

Los-Angeles-Shooter Loc: Los Angeles

Not so 'small.' Spanking images are one of the leading search terms. It's massively appealing, according to actual statistics.

Todd G

The hands are backwards.

foathog Loc: Greensboro, NC

they definitely denote violence of a sort. I'd say they are on the porn side.

JohnFrim Loc: Somewhere in the Great White North.

Well, I know I am "the self-admitted prude" addressed by the OP in the opening salvo, so I will finally weigh in (not as much access to my computer since I am recovering from knee replacement surgery a few days ago).

I think ppage nailed it with the definition of vulgar. I agree that the photos are "lacking sophistication or good taste; unrefined" in reference to expectations of a forum dedicated to improving photographic skills and technique rather than simply the posting of nudity or even what some would call porn.

The first image did not become art simply by making it grainy; it became ugly. The second is just frivolity and has little purpose as a photograph to be posted on a site where you would probably be looking for critique. (Let me digress: great lighting, good focus, excellent exposure, nice skin tones that contrast sharply with the bright colours of Spidy; but not quite adhering to the rule of thirds, and not good use of leading lines.)

We can all take technically bad photos, and occasionally we will see photos in other sections where someone clearly needs to learn about shutter speed or DOF to improve the outcome. But this particular section is devoted to nude/budoir...etc, so I expect to see attempts at such photography as the main objective. We see many examples of fine work, and we see many folks presenting images with the purpose of getting critique of how to improve their efforts. Suggestions range from cropping, to lighting, to DOF, to point of focus, to hand/body placement, to shooting angle, etc.

Taking just my last "suggestion", the first two images -- and many of those that I have opined to be trash on this site -- would be vastly improved by rotating the camera 180 degrees on the tripod before clicking the shutter.

As a final comment (opinion) on the content of this section, the title includes "NSFW, Discussions and Pictures". I receive -- with pleasure, I might add -- many jokes, images, videos, etc that fall within the NSFW category. I am surprised to some extent that we have not seen that sort of material in this section; most posted images seem to be original work. I for one hope it stays that way.

Rich2236 Loc: E. Hampstead, New Hampshire

There are people who still have puritan values. That said, I would tell them, don't look. As the sign on the nude bar front door says, " If female nudity offends you, please do not enter." I find nothing vulgar in these images at all. Would you call a head shot vulgar? It is part of the body. Would you call a head and or bust shot vulgar? So why would you call the vaginal area vulgar? Oh, maybe people say it is vulgar because it is where the body eliminates waste products. Or those areas connote sexual thoughts.

Personally, like I said earlier, I do not find ANY part of the human body offensive or vulgar. At one point in my life, I worked as a creative director for an S/M and B/D magazine publisher. I designed 10, 64 page magazines a month, and every one sold out. I do not now, nor have I ever participated in that kind of sex, (in other words, I am not into either,) but there is quite a segment of society that does. I just enjoy the naked female body in all its shape and form.

I hope L. A. Shooter, that you keep shooting and posting, and disregard the comments of said "prudes."
Rich...

joehel2 Loc: Cherry Hill, NJ

I wouldn’t call it vulgar. Someone commented “a vagina is not artistic”, I agree, to me a closeup vagina is more clinical anatomy than beauty. I love posed full frontal but not in your face closeup.

BboH Loc: s of 2/21, Ellicott City, MD

I see these shots (the original 2) as a look at a particular part of the body, and that's it. To my eye, whether male or female, I don't see shots of genitalia particularly appealing.

foathog Loc: Greensboro, NC

foathog Loc: Greensboro, NC

I'm NO prude. I didn't condemn it, I simply questioned if it was something meant for this category. Otherwise, bring on the intercourse and sex toys. LOL

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

These are all nice photos and I enjoy seeing them, but personally, I think the head shot with the somewhat coy smile is the sexiest, most suggestive of all these offerings.

Bunko.T Loc: Western Australia.

And along with breasts, are what sends men crazy.
Funny how we never see penis's in nude photography. All for men & by men, but no men???
Come on girls, how about some equality??

Toby

From my perspective your posts here and in previous posts are using these crotch shots to get attention that you otherwise could not get because of the artistic quality of these is either poor or non-existent. These appear to be just shots that someone got using a snapshot camera and an exabitionalist. I have no objections to such photos but I would like to see them with a bit of creativity and art in both the setup and the posing. But that's just my opinion. Maybe my comments will solicit others to chime in and help you modify your approach if requested. GoodLuck

JohnFrim Loc: Somewhere in the Great White North.

I’m with you. We are indeed fortunate to have a few “photographers” show us beautiful women, partialy or totally naked, in interesting settings and poses, in what are admirable images worthy of being presented. Lately we have been inundated with unremarkable shots of naked women — or parts of women — in positions or circumstances that do not flatter the model, nor do they demonstrate the skills of the shooter. Indeed, shooting some of the photos with an expensive camera vs an Instamatic or Polaroid would not improve the result. (In contrast we see old images being scanned and photoshopped with regrets that we didn’t have better quality modern equipment back at time of shooting.)

Rewording your sentiment, it takes more than a camera and a naked model to create a worthy (nude) photograph.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I'm with Kmgw9v on this thread.
--Bob