A Vietnamese couple have raised eyebrows since photos of them posing nude in Da Lat, the capital of the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, were shared online last weekend, as many believe the photo shoot is a disgrace to the famed tourist city.

Eleven photos capturing the young man and woman without clothes, apparently shot in Tuyen Lam Lake, one of Da Lat’s must-visit attractions, were posted on a Facebook page on Sunday, sparking mixed reactions from Internet users.

The couple are seen walking in the woods or posing on board a boat on the lake, surrounded by a misty atmosphere, in the photos, winning praise from some Facebook users for being “artistic” or “beautifully shot.”

Supporters said the ideas and concepts for the photo album were well planned and executed, adding that posing nude should no longer be considered a taboo in modern society.

“The public should not be too strict about nude photography as long as it complies with the law,” one commented.

However, other Facebook users criticized that the photos are “a shame to such a beautiful city as Da Lat.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, the identity of the couple remained unknown, according to the Lam Dong culture department.

As the logo of a studio in Hanoi is used as the watermark in the photos, the culture department has tried to contact it but received no response as yet.

From an insider’s perspective, a photographer in Da Lat said that the nude photo shoot was neither an uncivil nor illegal act.

“The couple took the photos in the forest, not on a street [with people around], so what they did did not affect anyone,” he said.

Echoing this view, photography artist Ly Hoang Long, chairman of the Arts Council under the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists, said the nude shots do not deserve so much criticism from the public.

“Had the artistic ideas of the photos been better expressed, the photographer would not have received so many negative comments,” he said.

“In artistic creation, it is normal to fail to express ideas sometimes and the artists have to accept unwanted public opinion.”

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