A Pocketful of Nudes

FEP Photo book of the year 2010
1ste prize, category “nude photography”

“Pascal Baetens’ photography of nudes is critically lauded. Famous for seeking out the woman on the street rather than the super-styled and highly paid supermodel, Belgian Baetens photographs beautiful women in everyday settings. Using industrial environments and natural settings as backdrops, the natural curves of the women’s bodies are superbly contrasted, revealing beauty in the superb colour and black and white images. 
This new book in the Pocketful series features more than 200 beautiful photographs from one of the world’s most inspired artistic photographers.”

A Pocketful of Nudes

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A Pocketful of Nudes

A tribute to my models

This book contains photographs of 100 young women. Some photos were shot following commercial assignments or during workshops, but most of the sessions were just for fun. In many cases, I had met the girls coincidentally somewhere, and somehow, they inspired me. A number of the girls had no prior experience with modelling or photography. Models posing naked are usually more at ease without a third party present, allowing the trust that exists between the model and the photographer to develop as the session unfolds. In most of the sessions for this book, there were no make-up artists or stylists, no heavy or complex equipment; just my model, my camera and me, in an authentic setting. And no Photoshop retouching of the photographs afterwards. My invitation to the models was to express their emotions of that moment, rather than showing a beautiful but hollow facade. Some felt happy and sexy, others shy or melancholic, a few even sad or depressed. And they showed it! They each lived a day with the camera, which captured the natural flow of events as they transpired, rather than producing preconceived ideas and stylised poses. Thus the dirty feet, as the soil of an abandoned monastery is seldom clean, and the messy hair, as you don’t control it constantly when you are playing and running around.

I hope you enjoy discovering the images as much as I enjoyed making them. And to all the girls: a big thank you for allowing me to share our moments with the world!

“Dit boek in de handige Australische Pocketful reeks is gewijd aan de naaktfotografie van de Belg Pascal Baetens. Hij woont en werkt in een groot gebouw in het Leuvense dat ooit bij een psychiatrische kliniek hoorde en hij maakt voor zijn foto’s gebruik van het intimistische karakter van de vele kleine ruimten en de verrassende extra’s zoals een grote kapel. Veel van de foto’s in zijn nieuwe boek zijn daar genomen. Het boek is opgebouwd rond honderd – veelal niet – professionele – modellen waar hij de jongste jaren mee samenwerkte.” (Snoecks 2010)

    • Published by Images Publishing, Mulgrave, Australia, 2008

    • Introduction by Pascal Baetens

    • ISBN 978 186470 271 2

    • 16 x 15 cm,  256 p. casebound with jacket

    • More than 200 black & white and colour images