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 coincidently 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 façade. 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!

Pascal Baetens