Nudes. Photographing Nudes by Charles F. Hamilton.

Prentice-Hall, 1980.  First edition, 1st printing. Hardcover, fine with very good dust jacket that has minor signs of use.  Chapters: A Brief History, Lighting, Techniques, Visual Elements, and Structural Applications.  184 pages with thorough treatment of the subject with detailed index. Numerous illustrations, mostly of women, by various photographers including Charles F. Hamilton, William Suttle, Samuel J. Gentile, Deborah Stanton, Barbara Vance-Halla, Debra P. Romanchak, Craig Morey, Al Waldhuber, Marta Gray, Lou Hendrix, et al.  At the time of publication, the author, Charles F. Hamilton, was Director of the Photography/Multi-Media Department at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Summary:

Published in 1980 by Prentice-Hall, Photographing Nudes by Charles F. Hamilton is a technical and aesthetic manual that focuses on the art of black-and-white glamour and nude photography. It is designed to guide photographers through the transition from basic portraiture to the more complex demands of capturing the human form.

Core Focus & Content

The book is structured as a "how-to" guide that balances the mechanical aspects of photography with the artistic nuances of the genre.

• History of the Form: Hamilton provides a brief overview of the tradition of the nude in art, grounding the photographic practice in a broader historical context.

• Technical Instruction: A significant portion of the book is dedicated to the "craft" of the darkroom era, including:

  • Lighting: In-depth coverage of studio lighting, natural light, and the use of shadows to define musculature and form.

  • Camera Technique: Advice on lens selection, depth of field, and framing specifically for the female form.

  • Processing: Information on shooting and processing techniques to achieve specific tonal ranges.

• Structural Elements: The text analyzes the visual components of a successful image, such as line, texture, and composition, teaching the reader how to "see" the body as an abstract landscape.

Artistic Style

While many books of this era leaned into high-fantasy or soft-focus "pictorialism" (like those of David Hamilton, no relation), Charles F. Hamilton’s work is noted for its clarity and glamour-style approach. The photographs are primarily high-contrast black-and-white plates that emphasize the interplay of light and skin texture.

Legacy

The book is often cited by collectors of 1980s photographic literature as a quintessential example of the "Prentice-Hall Art Series." It remains a useful reference for those interested in analog darkroom techniques and the formalist approach to nude photography that preceded the digital age.

Charles F. Hamilton (1927–2001) was an American fine-art photographer, commercial illustrator, author, and educator whose work celebrated the serene coastal scenery, historic architecture, and human form. Based in Massachusetts, Hamilton trained in commercial design and photography before establishing a dual practice in fine-art printmaking and technical authorship, frequently contributing photo essays to regional publications and cultural heritage projects. Working predominantly with medium and large-format view cameras, he brought a precise, contemplative approach to exposure, studio lighting, and composition, capturing the subtle tonal nuances of salt marshes and historic timber-frame structures across Cape Cod, as well as authoring the widely distributed instructional monograph Photographing Nudes (1980, Prentice-Hall), which explored light, form, and aesthetic technique in figurative art. A dedicated teacher who instructed photography workshops across New England, Hamilton produced several self-published portfolios that emphasized darkroom craft and archival silver-gelatin printing processes. His quiet, atmospheric images remain held in regional historical societies, private collections, and gallery archives, serving as a classic document of mid-to-late 20th-century New England regionalist and figurative photography.