Erotic Nude Photography Books

Far too often erotic photographers rely on the beauty of their models to carry images that are uninspired at best. London-based artist Alva Bernadine (who was named UK Erotic Photographer of the Year) offers a completely refreshing and totally entrancing alternative to the same naked bodies in the same poses. His style borders on surreal and his photos are sexy, fun, carnival-like hallucinations (minus the scary clowns). Edition Stemmle, 144 pages.

Rankin is a well-known fashion and portrait photographer who has turned his attention to the lack of male nudes, drawing subjects from an anonymous ad for models placed in the classifieds column of London's Time Out magazine. Rankin’s photos are eye candy to be sure, beautiful to look at and perfectly constructed (as are many of the men featured naked in its pages) but there’s much more to these photos that just naked men, making this a book you come back to again and again. Universe Publishing, 112 pages.

No collection of erotic photography would be complete without Richard Kern. Kern’s photographs manage to be gritty and pretty all at once. His style blends punk rock, s/m, and vague alternative fetish scenes, and his models exude an alienated confidence that alternates between confrontational and seductively passive. Taschen Books, 64 pages.

This title isn’t actually nude photography, but it’s such a treat that I had to include it in this list. Timothy Archibald became interested in the underground world of amateur inventors who made “sex machines” complicated machinery used to simulate sex. What he found, and what he brings us is a fascinating group of “ordinary” people who have found a peculiar passion for sex machines. The images are funny, voyeuristic, and deeply anthropological. $25

In this beautiful, poetic collection of extremely explicit black and white photographs, David Steinberg gathers fine art photography that defines the many facets of contemporary sexuality into one amazing book. This is the type of sex people are really having, as opposed to porn's typical pastiche -- couples and trios of all orientations are shown in their most ecstatic moments. $35