Family Nudes by Ralf Mohr

I like the idea of this collection very much–photographs of families who are comfortable enough with themselves and each other to be nude. For many viewing these pictures, there would be an apprehension that the models would be sexualized in some way but Mohr has avoided this, to his credit. Instead, there is something about the openness you have to have to be photographed like this that is very relaxing. There seems to be a complete lack of guile in these pictures.

I am curious about his choice to stick to pair groupings in most of his photographs–mother/child or father/child–rather than entire family groups. Perhaps this helps keep attention more focused on the models and their relationship rather than diluting it among more people; however, I would have been interested to see some of the larger dynamics.

As for the photos themselves, they are varied and often stunningly beautiful. Mohr works with normal people but achieves wonderful results, all the more so because his models look human, perhaps. The fact that the coloring of his photos is never natural does get a bit old after extended viewing and the switch between various coloring styles occasionally strikes as a bit odd but, for the most part, this is a small complaint. Mohr has done something wonderful here.