Sensual photos – as the name suggests – are meant to stimulate the senses of the viewer. And it might surprise you the hear that that is something that is incredibly easy to achieve. Put a (half) naked person in front of the camera and you are certain to gain a reaction. Doing it well, however, that is a very different matter.
Making a person look good, sexy even, in a way that isn’t cheap or exploitative, that requires a level of photographic skill that goes beyond the basics but that is not the hard part. You need a whole lot of empathy and sensitivity when dealing with such matters. You need to be able to establish a good level of trust between model, photographer, and viewer so everybody involved knows that they are seeing something that is true, consensual, and thrilling at the same time.
