10 Things You Can Learn From Terry Richardson About How to Take a Sexy Photograph

Image via Complex Original

If someone is camera shy, try pairing them with a friend or simply getting anyone else in the frame. Less posing and more fun keeps the energy high, making people feel more comfortable being themselves. 

Richardson makes the sexiness of his subjects super apparent because he's not afraid to put them in scenarios that underscore their beauty in unexpected ways.

Try glasses, blow-up toys, or food, like ice cream. By not going overboard with extra items or crazy backdrops and colored lights, you can limit the shot to only the purest, hottest moment.

Besides just shooting white walls and provocative models, Richardson looks for new kinds of sexy, especially ones that no one would expect. He plays with the comic and carnivalesque rather than shoving the same, calculated looks and poses in our faces. While some of his shots may not seem spectacular at first, you'll find yourself thinking, "Why didn't I think of that first?"

One way to do this is, as mentioned previously, create a fun environment and let people interact. Making the photograph appear like a scene from an unattainable fantasy isn't necessarily the move. When people are being candid, they can making looking good a totally effortless task.

Richardson doesn't rely on Photoshop and its healing brush, and he doesn't use extensive light setups to intensify or mask parts of his subjects, either. Instead, he brings out the life in his subjects by using a simple flash extender. It helps to illuminate the model(s) and prevents wasting light on parts of the scene that we typically don't care much about.

Richardson talks about the aesthetic he's going for with the "snapshot" technique; he insists on keeping a "human" quality throughout one's work by being spontaneous and making it up as you go along. It keeps the energy going, making things look refreshing and natural. As Terry says, it makes "people respond [and] want to be a part."

White walls are a feature of Terry's "snapshot" technique, and those who mistake it for being basic don't see how he uses the plainness to his advantage. What's more boring than a white wall? Almost nothing, and that's partly the point. Essentially, a white wall can become the canvas on which you (the photographer) and your model create something new without restraints. Of course, it takes practice and being able to make your subject feel comfortable enough to liven up the shot.

Richardson relies more on the expressiveness of his models and their best features than how he can relax them to the point of refinement or normality. The result for him is sexy every time.

One key characteristic about Richardson's photography is his attitude and determination to do as he pleases. His subjects usually absorb his carefree attitude along the way.