*Live Nude Girls*

A question I am often asked is what it is like to photograph nude women.  People want to know about the awkwardness or if there is some sort of sexual tension.  Is there leering?  Is there touching?  Do I ever get 'aroused' during a shoot?  Has anything embarrassing ever happened?  Is it weird doing a nude photo shoot with people that I know?  Has an orgy ever spontaneously erupted?  I can understand the interest and curiosity.  We all want to know what goes on "behind the scenes."  So I thought I would take a moment and talk about my experiences.  But a word of warning.  Don't bust out the Vaseline and tissues just yet, because it's not what you may think.

Photo shoots, whether clothed or nude, contain many variables.  There's lighting and light modifiers, camera equipment, props, wardrobe, make-up, hair, the location and the models themselves are all part of what makes up a shoot.  Some are more complicated than others.  For instance, if you are shooting in a public place, you would have to be aware of what is going on around you, cars, other pedestrians etc.  If it is a nude shoot in a public place, you have to be on the look out for the police!  Things like the weather can change constantly and may effect how your shoot goes.  If you are shooting on a sunny day but there are a few clouds, the moments where the sun is blocked by the clouds will give you a completely different look.  Things like hair and wardrobe need to be constantly assessed.  Does the model have a tag sticking out of her underwear?  Did the wind just mess up the models hair and now she has a 'fly-away' that is stuck to her cheek?  And light.  Light is one of the single biggest aspects of what makes or breaks a shoot, and good photographers are constantly assessing it.  Some of these things are easier and more controllable in a studio environment or on a closed set somewhere, but the attention to detail should not be overlooked.

At this point you are probably saying.. "I thought this was an article about photographing nude people?"  My reason for explaining all of that is to try and illustrate the number of variables that photographers often face during the coarse of a shoot.  And that barely scratched the surface.  The reality is, there are too many other things going on during a professional photo shoot to stop and leer at the nude models.  My goal is to produce the best possible photos that I can and in order to do that, I need to give my full attention to all aspects of the shoot itself.  Having said that, it also means that during the coarse of a shoot, I am more likely to be thinking about light and shadows than I am to be thinking about the models tits and ass, which also means the chances for me to become aroused or create any sexual tension is slim to none.

The rapport I develope with the models is also a huge factor in the 'mood' that exists during a shoot.  Models are people, and like everyone else, they have their own individual personalities that will dictate how you interact with them.  Let me just say that again.  MODELS ARE PEOPLE!  The photographer is usually the one that sets the tone for the shoot and if you maintain a comfortable and professional environment then the experience should be an enjoyable one for both the photographer and the model, which ultimately should produce a better end result.  Many of the models I have worked with and photographed nude are people I have known prior to photographing them and I can't honestly say that it has ever been an awkward experience.  I make a conscious effort to try and create an environment that doesn't make it awkward for people.  I'm not going to give a tutorial on what you should or shouldn't say or how to behave during a shoot, but for me, maintaining a comfortable and safe environment is important to not only create good photographs, but to uphold my reputation.  So things like touching a model are rare and only happen if it is mutually agreed upon.

As for spontaneous orgies... well I can't honestly say that has happened to me.  I'm sure if you're Nigel Barker, you've probably had a few models throw themselves at you.  The photo shoots I have been involved in are comfortable, fun, and sometimes sexy, but not often sexual.  If you want to gawk at some live nude girls and maybe feel a little 'randy', you might as well just go to the strippers.  Nude photo shoots are hard work and take a lot of concentration.  Don't get me wrong, I consider myself lucky to be able to do what I do.  But it's not the sexually charged, boner filled, drool-fest that some people imagine it to be.  Which is probably just as well because I don't think my camera is waterproof and I don't like wearing steel underwear.               

We should be ashamed... and we are.

I recently heard a rebroadcast of an episode of "Definitely Not the Opera"on CBC radio were the general discussion was on what happens in society when we make the "private" public.  The last part of this segment was one I found particularly interesting where they discussed and interviewed a former teacher from Austin Texas who lost her job after it was made known to the school administration that she had posed nude for an art photographer.  I would encourage anyone to listen to this segment of the broadcast via the link I have posted or simply type her name, Tamara Hoover, into Google or Wikipedia and read about her unfortunate case.

This incident only servers to reinforce the negative and shameful way in which we view our own bodies in North American society.  These attitudes and misconceptions about nudity and sexuality belong in the past with the burning of witches or the belief that the earth is flat.  In a world where we can build the Hadron Particle Collider and recreate the big bang to view how our universe may have once began, it is astounding and baffling that with this incredible intellect, we cannot wrap our heads around the fact that nudity and sexuality are not the same thing.  Yet they are continually treated as such.  You need only look at ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian cultures to see that this was not always the case.  As a species, we where once able to look upon ourselves and appreciate the beauty and magnificence of our own bodies.  We once were able to take that appreciation for our own magnificence and express it in art and sculpture, and then display these incredible works in public places without causing riots, mass orgies, or damaging the public psyche.      

In the case of Tamara Hoover, I fail to understand how her posing for a photographer was somehow going to damage her students either mentally or emotionally or was in any way a reflection of her abilities as a teacher.  It was in fact the students that rallied behind her in support and in an attempt to reverse the school board decision to terminate her contract.  So what is the message that is being taught to the students in this case?  Be ashamed of your body and of your humanity?  That nudity in any form is intrinsically wrong and that it will insight sexual deviance?  Don't ever express yourself creatively or be comfortable in your own skin, because one day you might loose your job over it?  That's a hell of a lesson to teach the entire student body in one shot.