Exotic Sensual Photography

Exotic sensual photography differs from ordinary sensual female body photography somewhat in the models that it uses. Ordinary sensual female body photography – the kind that you might find in the pages of popular men’s magazines – typically uses female models who are conventionally beautiful (or at least pretty), and who have a fairly ‘ordinary’ look.

Exotic sensual photography, by contrast, ‘focuses’ (no pun intended!) on models with a more unusual or distinctive look. Classic examples would be models with significant tattoos, unusual hair and/or make-up, piercings, or an eye-catching outfit. This type of photography is commonly found in what might be called ‘alternative culture’ magazines, such as those that focus (for example) on heavy metal music, tattooing, or sci-fi.

The object of exotic sensual photography is in part to shock, or at least to show something that challenges conventional norms (this is the ‘exotic’ part of the equation). The other object (this is the ‘sensual’ part) is to titillate the viewer. In other words, the object is to make the viewer feel a combination of repulsion and attraction in more or less equal parts at the same time! For this reason it’s a really interesting area of photography for artistic photographers.

If you’d like to get involved in exotic sensual photography, far and away the most important thing to carry with you is a great imagination. You need to be able to see what is attractive in things that aren’t conventionally considered attractive, such as heavy piercings or make-up that makes the model look like an alien, and this something that can’t really be taught. For this reason, photographers who do this kind of photography are often already members of the sub-cultures that they photograph (metal music, trance music, tattooing, etc.). If you aren’t a member of one of these sub-cultures, you will need to make a close study of them and of their exotic sensual photography so that you can begin to understand it.

In terms of technique, exotic sensual photography is all about balancing its two elements: the exotic and the sensual. You’ll need to use poses and lighting that are perhaps a little more overt than in other types of sensual photography. Don’t be afraid to instruct your models to go for a sexy or seductive look, and don’t be afraid to show their bodies as graphically as you are able to for the publication you are shooting for. In other words, allow the exotic side of the photos (the costumes, make-up, piercings etc.) to balance the sensual side of the photos in a way that you would normally do with techniques such as soft focus, high-contrast lighting, and poses in more typical sensual photography.