This is a blog post from the old website, originally written and posted January 4, 2023. But being that I’m in a new state, meeting new people, and potentially telling them about what I do in my spare time, I feel like this should be brought back to the forefront .
These may be some of my favorite photographs that I took last year. The combination of the Los Angeles sun in August, the greenery, and Luci Lane being an amazing model to work with is what make these so great to me.
I don’t have much to say about the actual shoot that I didn’t say in the post last week with the black and white photographs of Luci. But I guest I can talk about photographing women nude. It seems to be a thing that a lot people want to know about when they find out that I photograph nude women and/or when they see how much my photographic work in pushing forward creatively and with boundaries.
Why do YOU want to shoot women nude?
Being professional is the whole thing. If you just want to do this to see some naked women, or some titties and asses, then you’re both not going to succeed or being able to capture or create anything with any heart to it. I’m a grown man in my mid 30s, I’ve seen naked women before, so this is not what I’m doing it for, and if that’s what you thinking about getting into it for, take a second to rethink it. They’re plenty of porn out there for you to watch and a bunch of women online with Onlyfans content out there; and that’s no diss to anyone with an Onlyfans account, just an example of how easy it is to see nude women if you really need to.
The “You doing stuff with them?” question comes up so much that I get upset when I get asked it now. Why do people think this is a thing? It makes things super weird when I start reaching out to people to do certain things because there are men, and probably women, picking up a camera for $500 with the intentions of trying to use it to “get some ass” and by doing so making it hard for women to be comfortable being nude in front of a man with a camera (not to be confused with a “guy with a camera”) while they’re trying to create some interesting art.
Nudity is not sexual!
Just because you see a woman nude in a photograph doesn’t mean that she wants to hear you spouting off about “how hot and sexy she looks” or that anything went on before or after the photographs were taken. Imagine you found out that your mother had some photographs of her naked taken when she was younger, or that your sister is doing so right. You’d be trying to fight everyone who commented on it in a sexual and gross manner, wouldn’t you? Just remember that everyone in these photographs is someone’s daughter, and probably someone’s sister and/or mother and deserves just as much respect as you’d want for yours.
Be respectful and professional!
I’ve heard so many stories. From people I know and people that I just see them from on the Internet. And it’s crazy! I know that some people are just numb to the way that respect works, but it’s amazing to me that people lack the ability to be professional when, most times, these shoots are a business transaction as well as artistic creations. At least be an adult during the shoot. Stories of photographers saying and even doing weird stuff in the middle of shoot make me nervous sometimes to even suggest ideas that I want to do because I fear that someone is going to think that I’m trying to take advantage of something through them (the ideas). Even the afterwards weirdo stuff is damaging. The way I seen material presented knowing that the models weren’t down with that but can’t really stop it is crazy. From simple nude photographs and erotic photographs to some pornographic videos, if you’re presenting it in a way that isn’t true or something that both you and the other party has agreed is okay is not okay.
“Valery and her Beautiful Pussy”
That is the title of a set of photographs that a photographer, that I won’t name, on a site, that I also won’t name, of a model that I had befriended online a couple years back. I mentioned the titles of some of his work to her and she informed me that she was a bit disappointed by how he was presenting the photographs of her as he made the idea seem like something completely different when approaching her to shoot. Sure, she did some leg spread poses for the photographs, but if what you presented to the world is not what you pitched initially, that’s disrespectful. And that’s just one example of some of the things that I’ve seen like that and discussed with the models.
To end my rant…
This was just a long rant on the subject because it comes up way too often. This had nothing to do with the photographs of Luci Lane, just something that I thought about while initially selecting the photographs to upload. Myself, I’m the best version of professional that I can be at all times, from all communications with models (potential and current) as well as during and after shoots. (I was going to say I try to be, but that makes it sound like I may have a hard time doing so at times, which I don’t.) Like a photographer buddy of mine said to me once about something that I mention that I want to start doing that I see him doing a lot but get nervous about bringing it up for fear of how it will come across: “Read the room.” I’ve made some real life friends from photography. People that I’ve photographed naked. We hang out after and away from shoots. We talk and text one another about real life things. We look out for one another within and outside of photograph stuffs. But not everyone is up for that. You have to know when it is okay to speak up and say something, and when you just shut up, be a creative, and go about your life after the creation.