My boyfriend and I have been dating for over a year now, and he recently asked if I would pose naked for him. He's a keen artist and loves drawing, so I've been considering it. I really do trust him, that's not the problem. I just get quite self-conscious about my body. It's not bad by any means, but I just get a bit nervous. I'd be willing to do it, but I just need to know how to overcome my nerves and self-consciousness.

Can someone help me?

I've taken some sensual pictures of my partner and used them to make a few really awesome pieces of art. Well... I'm an absolute amateur, but I think the pieces are at least nice and so does she. She was uncertain what I wanted to do, and so I walked her through the ideas, showed her some other examples of similar work, and then she understood better. Shed always had sensual artwork of women and I knew our visions would overlap.

To add, any pics I took that were a little "over the edge" for her, like a few that had her unclothed or partly, but in positions that showed much less (wrapped around a pillow, for ex) she got a chance to see immediately... if it was too much it was either deleted or she watched me work with the pics in photoshop... for ex, one pic straight up wouldve revealed too much in her opinion, but when layered and processed, showed nothing she was unhappy with and she "approved" of the end product. I didn't get the "end product" immediately, but she saw right away what I intended to do with the piece and said OK.

Your question is about nerves... for my situation, like I said, I showed her some close examples of what I liked, and then I started doing some pieces that were not too sensual. Showed her how different colors, textures, and lighting look when manipulated diff ways.

In your case, has he done any work of you that wasn't sensual? He should. Also, you having an opinion and input about the piece can help you. Be honest with what you like about your body... we are all our worst critics... but you are a part of the process.

By telling him what you are more comfortable with than not you can find middle ground. There was one pic I really wanted to take, full nude, from the side that she just wasn't comfortable with my taking. It wasn't raunchy, but just more than shed have wanted. I KNOW the result after processing wouldve been awesome, if it did what I thought I could get it to do. I know shed even buy something like that done by someone else... but she just didn't want to do it and I respected that. This process was about connecting to each other in a really unique way... so you both need to be a part of it. Its not just about his "artistic vision".

This can be a really awesome experience if done right, which means you need to enjoy it and be comfortable. If you are just uncomfortable with being naked, find something sheer or sexy to pose in.

A woman does NOT need to be nude to be sensual. One of my most fav pieces is a small painting she brought back from spain of a woman, from behind, kneeling on a bed, while wearing what looks like a white slip. It's a great piece. So maybe start with sensual ideas that don't involve nudity, if that's what you need to do.