Black and white fine art nude photography.

Stretched out and taut, a nude figure lies across the center of this black and white fine art nude photography. Her body is tensed, her legs rotated inward and her toes are pointed. Her back is arched, with her shoulders pressed into the ground and her rib cage angled upward. Chest raised, her rib cage and collar bones are pronounced. Arms close to her sides, her palms press down. Her neck is long and her head is turned to her left. Below her head, her light hair is twisted and fanned out. While her body is tense, her face appears fully relaxed. She closes her eyes and turns her head to receive the sun’s rays on her cheek.

Crisp shadows under her cheek and sides tell of a sun high above in a cloudless Southern sky. Her even features retain their allure despite the harsh, midday light.

Her body serves as a compositional element against the perspective lines of the blocks. Her pose cannot be categorized as purely aesthetic. Her pose is undeniably sensual: the arch of her back and uplifted chest are deliberate appeals to our awareness.

Displayed in black and white, the power of this image lies in its contrasting textures and interesting composition of forms. The figure lies across two flat, square, paving stones laid on top of a rough, pebbly ground. The repeating shape of the square creates two lines, moving from the bottom of the image to the top. The woman’s body bisects the clean line of the squares, forming an angled cross. The curves and contours of her shape contrast strikingly with the straight lines and right angles of the rows of squares. Palm leaves peek into the corner of the image. They anchor the image in reality so that it does not become a nude in front of an abstract composition.

A smaller shadow area, on the left edge, opposite the palm leaves, hints at additional vegetation. The objects in this scene are mid-toned or lighter, punctuated only by her dark hair and shadow. The pebbles, her skin, pavers, and foliage form an expanse of grays that invite visual exploration. In this way, the compositional emphasis is on textures rather than forms and lines.

This black and white fine art nude photography was inspired in part by the images taken by the influential American photographer Edward Weston of his model, muse, and lover Charis Wilson. He depicted her nude body rolling down sand dunes in some of his most famous figurative photographs. For this image, Aaron Knight has similarly photographed his subject interacting sensually with her environment and the texture of the ground beneath her.

“Sun Blocks” was awarded an honorable mention by the Lucie Foundation’s International Photography Awards.

Black and white fine art nude photography for comparison.

Compare the lower-contrast image above with a more stark classic black and white nude.