How do you send a nude?

Nude photos can be really sexy to send and receive - here, we guide you through precautions, legislation and how to take sexy photos that spark the imagination

Why send nudes?

There can be many reasons for sending and receiving nudes. It can help to express love for each other, to be intimate at a distance in long-distance relationships, as an element in sexting and masturbation, or to flirt, excite and initiate sex. In addition, nude pictures can be a way of celebrating one's body through self-love and self-care - contributing to a more positive self-image.

When it comes to nudes, there can be many pitfalls. It is not unheard of for nude images to fall into the wrong hands. While both receiving and sending nude pictures can be really naughty, titillating and sexy, we've outlined pointers below that may be good to consider and help you figure out if sending and receiving nude pictures is even for you. If not, it can still be great to take nude photos of yourself - just for yourself. The most important thing is that you have fun and feel comfortable.

Control

Once a picture is sent, it's almost impossible to control who sees it. This could be because someone breaks your trust by showing or forwarding the picture - there are also examples of sharing services, emails or social media accounts being hacked and nude pictures being stolen in the process. As a starting point, you have to assume that any picture you send - nude or not - will one day be seen by someone other than you and the person you sent it to.

Recognizability

Before sending nude pictures, it may be a good idea to consider whether you want to be recognised. Some people do not find it dangerous or a problem if they are recognised in nude photos. At the same time, others feel quite the opposite. If this is the case, it's worth taking a few precautions: avoid showing your face, cover up recognisable areas of your body (such as distinctive birthmarks or tattoos) - and make sure you keep the background anonymous. If you're a bit of a photo editor, you can also make sure you remove most things after the photo has been taken.

What are you allowed to do?

If you are over 18, you can share nude photos of yourself with people who have consented to receive them. This also means that it may be illegal to send nude photos to people who do not want to receive them. Receiving unwanted nude images can be considered sexual assault and harassment. Similarly, it is illegal to share nude images of other people unless they have consented.

Before sending nude pictures

Before sending nude photos of yourself, remember to ask if the person or people you want to send the photo to want to receive it. You should do this even if the person has received nude photos from you in the past. This is necessary both in terms of consent - but also timing. It can be done casually, asking "Can I send you a nude picture now?" - but you can also spice up your nude picture with the sexy message that introduces the recipient to how horny you get at the thought of them. 

Hot nude picture suggestions

If you want to send nude pictures, we've put together some inspiration on how you can do it. However, it's important to stress that there are no rules - get creative and try it out. What makes a good nude photo is entirely up to you. 

• Shadows: If you mostly want to show off your body in a discreet way that leaves a lot to the imagination, you can take a shadow photo. This is where the outline of your body - be it your whole body, your butt, your hips, your penis or your chest can be seen - either from the side or the front. Place a lamp opposite of a good wall for a shadow image, and try different poses that highlight the part of your body you like best. 
  
• From behind: If you want to take a cute picture of your butt, you can do it from behind. That way you avoid having to twist your body too much to get it in focus. You can place your phone on a table and then go for it. You can try either standing up, sitting down on a chair, leaning over your bed or laying on the bed so you can see your butt sticking up. You can also take a photo from behind without your butt necessarily being the focus - for example, cropping the photo to highlight your waist, or maybe showing just a small part of your butt to get the imagination going. If you want to spice up a photo from behind, you can also add a butt plug - for example, this cute heart-shaped butt plug. 
  
• Lying down: taking nude photos while lying under the duvet can be the obvious choice. You can let the duvet cover parts of your body while you expose other parts. For example, try lying on your back and exposing some or all of your chest, thigh or groin. Another advantage of taking pictures lying down is that you can focus on your butt. You could lie on your stomach and lift it in the air, or place a pillow under your pelvis to make it appear even fuller and rounder. Try playing with the angles and how much or little the pillow should cover. 
  
• Sitting: besides taking pictures from behind while sitting down, you can also take pictures from the front. If you sit on the edge of your bed and either rest your legs on the ground or up in bed like a W, you can emphasise the fullness of your hips. 
  
• Touch yourself: For some it may be too much, for others not: you can try taking pictures while touching yourself. Let your hand slide lightly across your chest, down your stomach, into your mouth or touch your genitals. It's a way of taking nude photos that focuses more on an action rather than appearance. At the same time, it can also act as a very direct way of telling others how you want them to touch you.
  
• Penetration: in line with the above, you can also take pictures where you penetrate yourself. This can either be with your fingers or with a sex toy. You decide how revealing you want it to be - whether you want people to see your vulva or your ass while you're doing it, or whether you just want them to sense it and get their imaginations going. 
  
• In front of the mirror: You've probably done it before. The good old mirror selfie. It can be easier to get just the right angle in a mirror, and can also contribute to BDSM games, for example: Kneeling in front of the mirror and holding the camera high makes you look smaller and signals a submissive role - conversely, standing upright in front of the mirror and holding the camera at hip height can make you look bigger and signal a dominant role. If you want to post a picture of your butt, and have both a mirror and a table available, you can also try sitting halfway up on the table with your side to the side and twisting your body a little.
  
• In the shower: If you're lucky enough to have access to a bathtub, you can take sexy pictures while lying in it. Fill the tub with nice hot water and bubbles if you like. A picture taken in the bath indicates that you are naked, so you don't necessarily need to take explicit pictures of yourself here. A picture of your foot or knee sticking out of the tub is sure to spark the imagination of the recipient. If you have added soap, you can also play with the soap bubbles - you can tease by letting the bubbles cover parts of your body while other parts are exposed. If you don't have a bathtub, you can still take hot pictures in the bathroom. After a steamy hot bath, you can remove the mist from some areas of the mirror and leave others alone. That way, you can decide which parts of your body should be clear and which should be blurred.
  
• With partner(s): it can be really nice to take photos while having sex with someone else. It can also be quite sexy to look back at them and see how sexy your bodies are together, while reminiscing about the session. If you want to send photos that include people other than just you, make sure you also get consent to share the photos.
  
  

Alternatives to nude photos

If you don't want to take or send pictures of yourself, but still want to explore hot images, luckily there are alternatives. It could be pictures of condoms or dental dams, where you accompany the pictures with a message saying you want to try them with the person or people you're sending the pictures to. 

It can also be a picture of some sex toy where you write what you want - for example, being explicit about how you'd like to use the sex toy on them or yourself in front of them. 

It can also be more subtle, but equally teasing images: one suggestion might be that, after masturbating, you take some vaginal secretions or semen between your fingers and take a picture of the slimy substance - possibly with an accompanying description of what you were thinking about while having sex with yourself.

Also read about how to dirty talk here, or listen to our podcast about heartbreak here!