(Nudity
in this blog refers to all degrees of partial and full nudity,
including Lingerie and other sheer or see through apparel, topless,
full nudity; whether nipples and genitals are shown or not, and that
genre, beloved universally and made ludicrously meaningless by
amateurs: the genre rejoicing under the misnomer "Implied"
nudity.)
The
point of this blog has always been to expose, and to indeed ridicule
the misinformation, weasel words, half truths, misunderstandings,
debate, rumours, seduction and beguiling sweet-talk, nonsense and
downright evil manipulations which models are exposed to in the
present state of the photographic/modelling industry in a tongue in
cheek and hopefully humorous way.
And
at times provocative as well, as the one thing which seems to be
lacking amongst models when bedazzled by the prospect of being made a
star, by an outstandingly average snap-shooter, is thought. When
hurriedly scanning the ridiculous and delusional snake oil of the tfp
adverts, the BS detector apparently never kicks in.
Model
Portfolios and Nudity:
And
nowhere is this seduction of the aspiring and rather naive model more
insidious than in the apparent "necessity" of posing nude.
Most
aspiring models, never seem to get through even their first shoot
without being told (never asked): “Just open your blouse for this
shot, it 'll make it really great, and it will be great for your
folio”...or “wow what this scene really needs is a nude girl,
stretched across this rock. How about it? Give it a go?”
Next,
nearly
every
model is told, that they will never get anywhere without posing nude,
and many are threatened with the “fact” that they will never work
with any other photographer if “you don't take your clothes off for
my shoot'.
(This
is usually uttered by the advocates of: “I am a professional, but
every one else is just a dirty old man”)
Photographer's
blacklists, facebook secret hate groups, and the fabled industry
'grapevines', seemingly
exist
solely to defame and vilify models and photographers who don't toe
the imaginary line of the 'men of influence'.
However
far from being the necessity it is touted by many photographers to
be, any
form or degree of nudity is always the model's choice.
Also
rather than being "great for your folio" as so many insist,
it
is actually detrimental to the folios of aspiring models wanting to
enter the legitimate or mainstream world of modelling.
It
may indeed be "great for the folio" of male "photographers"
of a certain age, replete with beer gut, greying ponytail, and a
healthy dose of mid life crisis, but nudity should
NEVER appear in any form in the folio of a beginner, or even
experienced mainstream model,
with only one exception, to
be mentioned later.
One
complaint voiced loudly and often on model website forums, emails to
potential models and even made in comments on their profiles, is that
models state that they do topless and nude work, and yet they have no
example shots included in their folios.
Well
these rather ignorant photographers should be made aware that the
models are presenting their information and folios correctly in the
sense that folios should never
include nudity or partial nudity.
if a model states that she is open to nude work, she can always
supply examples to any legitimate
enquiry
from a photographer, although on these types of sites legitimate
enquiries, and indeed legitimate photographers are few and far
between, and all models should be aware of this.
To
be fair legitimate and reliable models are also fairly scarce on
these sites as well. And if a model is willing to do nude work, and
has not yet done any, she should consider carefully whether unknown
entities from these sites are the best choice to start.
Experienced
nude models often have a separate
folio of their nude work to show serious enquirers,
only to be presented after normal folio has been shown, and more has
been asked for...if not asked don't volunteer.
But
then again experienced nude models know the photographers worth
working with, and are not often tempted to work with unknown amateurs
and fauxpros, or even to list themselves on such sites which are
basically for amateurs, wannabes, and neverwillbes, from both sides
of the camera.
A
portfolio containing endless and usually poorly executed pictures of
sugar skull make-up, zombies in front of graffiti covered walls, and
fantasy warrior queens in amongst potted plastic plants instantly
brand you as an amateur playing at being a model, but
a folio containing nudity shows any wannabe model as a naive time
waster, who knows nothing of the industry she wishes to be part of,
or of how to present and market herself to industry professionals,
without insulting their intelligence and professionalism. In other
words: a would be high flyer who hasn't bothered to learn the
standards and protocols or required behaviour.
The
one exception as
promised a few paragraphs back< is
if a tear
sheet from
a photo session which
has been paid for and appearing subsequently in a respected and
reputable publication
is included in the folio. Of course there are "horses for
courses": a spread published in Playboy magazine is much more
valuable in a folio than a gritty pic entered in a girl next door
competition in an under the counter lad's mag: just as a page from a
Victoria Secret catalogue holds more value than being featured in the
set of girly pics handed around at stag nights by the GWC (guy with a
camera) from down the road.
Don't
get me wrong: there is absolutely nothing wrong with photography of
the nude: and nothing untoward, naughty, dirty, cheap or tarty about
posing nude.
In
the right circumstances.
But
every model who contemplates nude modelling should be aware of the
different standards of respectability and acceptance by the
photography viewing public, and the various publications which serve
them.
So
you have been asked, enticed, seduced, or bullied to pose nude:
before
you accept it is time to think!
I
realise that the very photographers we are talking about here are
usually the same ones who prefer models to NOT think, but to stand
there and look good and nothing else: to "collaborate" as
long as that means keeping your mouth shut, do as you are told, and
keep your opinions and your "creativity" to yourself.
Part
two of this article will cover what a model needs to know about the
publications and markets for nude photography
Stephen
Bennett is available for Guest Speaking, Seminars, and Workshops in a
group or on
a one
to one basis for:
Models
and aspiring models on all things Modelling, including Successful
Portfolios and Building a Modelling Career … please
visit my
website to contact me
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Stephen Bennett, MMXVI
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