Shedding Some Light on ‘Erotic’ Photography

What constitutes ‘erotic photography’ – or, indeed, sets erotic imagery apart from the pornographic – is largely a matter of individual taste.

The dictionary does a poor job of defining ‘erotic’ as a concept, and for good reason, considering that the notion is one widely varied in interpretation. The vague explication of “relating to or tending to arouse sexual desire” gives us a starting point, but ultimately lends itself to include everything from lipstick shades to knife-sharpening techniques and from movie-screen pirate winks to documentaries about goat breeding.

So in the interest of clarity, let’s try to narrow the field a bit, shall we?

Eroticism, to me, must evoke a sense of intimacy. In imagery, eroticism is suggestive rather than overt; it is sensually tantalizing; it hints rather than hammers. An image that is erotic says Oh, so you like what you see, do you? and invites the viewer in to discover more. Erotic photography, then, is specifically a photographic image that carries those qualities.

Does a photograph have to contain nudity to be erotic? Does it have to depict a sexual act? Must it be explicit?

My answers to these questions would be “no,” “No,” and “NO,” but others are likely to have different opinions. 🙂

Much like the question of What is sexy?, the question of What is erotic? can be answered (or argued) in myriad ways. The photos below (all linked to their contributors and used with permission) are a few examples of photographs – all by members of the sex blogging community – that I have found erotic in recent months.