How is a Utah photographer claiming new portraits are nudes when his subjects are fully clothed?

PROVO, Utah --  Freelance photographer Trevor Christensen has been dabbling in nudes.

But the people in his photographs are completely clothed.

So how can he possibly consider his work nude photography?

It’s because he himself is nude as he snaps the pictures.



Christensen explained on his own website why he does it.

“The photographer/subject paradigm is one of inequality,” he wrote.  “Nude Portraits is about leveling the playing field in an unorthodox way. Instead of focusing on bringing the subject to a place of ease, where I am, this project brings me to a place of vulnerability.”



Christensen writes that previously he tried to calm the subjects of his photographs, but often that wasn’t fully possible.

“Despite my best efforts, subjects often feel a sense of vulnerability during the process,” he wrote.  “No matter the scenario, this power imbalance seems like an almost inescapable part of the experience.”

That is why he decided to turn the idea of a nude photo shoot on its head.

“This vulnerability is achieved by making portraits without clothing,” wrote Christensen. “These are nude portraits in the sense that I, the photographer, am nude, while the subject is not.”