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Who can resist a book with a title like Naked Happy Girls? And it pretty much lived up to my expectations.

Too many photographers of nudes forget how important the facial expression can be. After awhile you get tired of seeing women with these serious "arty" expressions. You just want to enjoy the female form and get the impression that the woman being photographed delights in sharing with you. And though there are serious expressions here, Mr. Einhorn achieves his greatest effects in the relaxed attitudes and the smiles.

Though there is very little text in this well-made little volume, I also enjoyed that he gave a brief paragraph before each selection of pictures telling the model's name and a little bit about her. This increased the relaxed atmosphere of the book for me.

If there is a weakness in the book for me, it is a personal one. I am not very fond of tattoos and many of these women have very prominent and, in some cases, extensive tattooing which ruins the beauty of the form. Still, this is a small complaint and many of the subjects here--Cara, Christina, Diana, Jen, Julia, Kaiama, Tamara, Thuc (my personal favorite) and Chadia--are astoundingly beautiful; especially when they smile.

The book "Naked happy Girls" by Andrew Einhorn is printed in Germany and published by Goliath Verlag.
The size is a petite 195 x 145 x 35 mm and the book has 368 numbered pages. The quality is good and the pages are bound.

Several models (almost 40) are portrayed and all photos are monochrome. The models pose mostly nude with only a few shots veiled in clothing.
A chapter is reserved for each model, with short descriptive forewords. From the models point of view this is a sort of mini-portfolio, and I think this is a good approach.

The relaxed and mostly happy photos and models within have some similarities (apart from their natural beauty); several of the models have cats as pets, many have tattoos and some smoke.(quit; it's deadly unhealthy!)

Some of the photos show (deliberate) movement and are partially blurred. There are several serial pictures which could easily be consecutive shots from the negative.
Part of the relaxedness stems from the fact that the photo session is done in the models own surroundings, mostly the home. Some of the models photograph the (nude)photographer during the shoots but he can be seen in only a few of the pictures. The last numbered page in the book has a nude (genitals covered) photo of the photographer himself.

This is a very compact set filled a lot of photographs by Mr. Einhorn, some easily passed and some very interesting. The price marked on the book (37.95 USD - 27.90 EUR) is a good one and it seems Amazon.com offers it even for less.

My personal favourites are; "Andrea" on page 30, "April" on page 45, "Cara" on page 63, "Hil" on page 145 (left), "Julia" three pic' set from page 198 to 199, "Maya" on page 263 and 267, last but not least "Thuc" four pic' set from page 328 to 329.

Robie Kulokivi
weretco@nettilinja.fi

Having worked in bookstores for more than a dozen years, I've seen my share of nude photography books. In most, the models between the covers look sullen and bored; often the best photo is used on the cover. Though amusing to browse, few are worth buying. Einhorn's "Naked Happy Girls" (what a great title) is a rare exception. Andrew's subjects are relaxed and comfortable with their bodies and their nudity, enthusiastic to be posing. The individuality of each woman is glimpsed in their eyes, their smiles, their body language and (quite often) in their surroundings. In "Happy" one meets many wonderful women - there's Hil (the half-Chinese/half-Jewish cover girl), Gabby (an incredibly sexy Argentinian), half-Chinese/Austrian Julia with her sweet smile and my favourite, Bex: singer, comedian, actress, writer, with a beautiful smile and real woman's body. The slight embarassment apparent in her face only makes her more endearing to the viewer - what a sweetie! You are sure to discover your own favourite(s), as Einhorn's models are anything but the usual selection of anorexic white women. "Naked Happy Girls" is a durable collection that will make you smile each time you pick it up.