NUDITY: The Naked Truth, Part Three

(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.)

Part One of this series explained the role of portfolios and self promotion in the career of the nude model, while Part Two explained some of the possible channels available for publication of nude photographs which a model should be aware of.

No doubt now the model has made herself available for nude work, and her willingness to collaborate with photographers of her own skill level or better, and the offers have no doubt been rolling in:

Which now begs the question: should all nude work be paid work only?

Many maintain that models should be paid for getting their gear off for photography, no questions asked: but the answer really is: it is entirely up to the individual.

The ubiquitous “tfp” shoot has been rendered almost meaningless by misunderstanding and misuse of the concept by the legions of fauxpros and wannabes, and close to useless for any but the raw beginner.

However used properly in the hands of the minuscule numbers of legitimate photographers who still use it, ‘tfp’ in its original form can be a very useful learning tool for models with genuine aspirations, and productive for the photographer with a model who is intent on developing professional level skills.

Much productive and successful work has also been produced over the years on a share the eventual profits basis, and many successful partnerships between model and photographer have existed where no payment has been made.

Personally I feel that if a photographer is being paid for a job requiring a model, then the model should be rightfully compensated, and certainly publications should pay both the photographer and the model, and up until a few years ago there was no doubt about this happening, not withstanding a little argy-bargy and untimely delays.

If a photograph of a model is used commercially, that is used to represent or imply endorsement of a certain company or product, the model is foolish if she doesn't negotiate a reasonable payment for her services.

As you progress and develop your modeling career you will find that there are many exceptionally good photographers, many genuine opportunities, and well paying markets for lingerie, semi nude and nude images, and there is no reason, if you have the right attitude, and the inclination, that a portion of those images should not be of you.

But a career isn’t built on wasting time and effort with fools, time wasters, pretenders, and exploiters...in fact the opposite is true, your career will either languish or indeed go backwards...at the very least the resulting images from these time wasting sessions will possibly be detrimental to a serious career.

But worst of all for a model who is dedicated, and determined to succeed, she doesn’t need to be labeled as "that chick who’ll strip for any guy with a camera" before her career has even begun.

What if you as a model want to specialise in Glamour, Nude, or similar work.

After all it is a completely legitimate form of modelling and most of the most lucrative if done for legitimate publications with skilled and experienced photographers.

This question brings us down to the hardest truth of all.

Do you really have the aesthetically perfect, desirable, defect and blemish free body that is necessary even before the photo manipulation makes it even more-so?

Face it, because very few internet photographers, desperate for flesh in front of their lenses, will ever tell you:

Not every girl can, or should be a model.

This is one of the great and foolish myths of internet modelling, just as many 'photographers' would contribute more to the photography industry if they took up stamp collecting or train spotting instead. The ego far too often refuses to recognise the vast chasm between “living the dream” and “just dreamin'”.

But this fact is never more true than for those who envisage modelling nude.

Anything less than a superb, elegant, universally desirable, and well proportioned body which matches or exceeds those already being published, is a waste of exposures (in all senses of the word) and time.

So you think you have the body, or would at least like to find out by giving it a go anyway?

Do you have or are you able to develop the required psychological make up, the comfort in nudity, and the relaxation and trust in working with your chosen photographer?

I personally would never photograph a model nude until complete relaxation, modelling competence and mutual trust has been established, and this would certainly never be during any of the early photo sessions together.

The startled “deer in the headlights” look, or the abject fear on the face is not a good look for either model or photographer, but is oh so common.

Do you, and more importantly your family, friends and loved ones have the open mindedness, and the willingness to support you in what can be an often openly hostile conservative society?

Remember nobody can make you a star, except you, yourself, and only after a lot of hard work and much diligently accumulated knowledge.

To listen to many of the new breed of 'photographers' and 'models', you can so easily become an overnight success with little effort, but it true that in reality it takes many years of paying your dues to become that ‘overnight sensation’, not to forget of course that the majority never achieve anything, or drop out because it's all too hard.

Above all, don't allow yourself to buy into that stereotypical myth, which has long been held to ridicule as the 'ideal model', and due to the sheer numbers of fauxpros and wannabes, and the immense volume of internet misinformation seems to be threatening to become more of a reality now than ever before: “the ditz with the tits”, the submissive perfect body who does what she is told, believes what she is told, and blinded by the stars in her eyes, doesn’t think for herself...who in striving for the ‘ideal’ of a completely empty mind, shuts down her entire brain.

Maybe the first things to avoid:

- the endless round of tfp shoots which are of course “great for your folio', which are entirely inappropriate, a complete dud of a learning experience, and at best 'a bit of fun' (they always seem to be billed as a bit of fun) and at worst a dead end waste of time.

- the seemingly never ending cycle of unpaid shoots, which aim at learning the ropes for a month or two, and before you know, years have gone by and despite the heartfelt promises you have never seen a single published photograph of yourself, and never earned a penny to reward your efforts. Even an occasional twenty dollars or so, does not make you a successful or indeed a ‘professional’ model.

And what things might be useful to learn to achieve success?

Learn to recognise a good photograph, and a good photographer, and to sort the wheat from the ever increasing heaps of chaff, and work with the people who are beneficial to your modelling...those who walk the walk, and don’t just shovel the jive talk.

Learn how to avoid problems, by not working for the wrong people in the first place, but when things begin to go wrong on a shoot, or inappropriate things begin to happen, learn how to control it, stop it completely, and when to walk out and leave.

Every model will quickly establish a comfort level with individual photographers and will also sense photographers she particularly favours, and others she would not allow within shouting distance, and rightly so.

Photo shoots, especially nude shoots, are by their very nature intimate to a degree, and a model is always placing herself in a vulnerable position. But that is no excuse for attempted seduction, 'copping a feel', photography as an excuse for simply perving, or any other inappropriate behaviour from either side of the camera.

Many models who are keen to establish a career, and accomplish some good photographic work, are surprised to learn of the number of desperadoes who buy a camera simply as an excuse to interact with 'models'.

Many others have mentioned the overwhelming amount of subtle, and not so subtle, coercion and out and out bullying that they are subjected to during photo shoots. Needless to say, that many models complain of behaviour ranging from a general feeling of being made to feel uncomfortable, through excessive 'ogling', to outright sexual abuse and molestation.

I have not only had it reported to me on several occasions, but also witnessed first hand, that some “models” are regarding photo shoots as potential date finding opportunities, and more surprisingly are offering to ‘git nekid’ in order to get free portrait sessions, and a supply of free pretty pics, with no intention of ever seriously modelling.

All of this of course is totally unacceptable, but behaviour which is increasingly becoming tolerated as 'normal', and indeed actually encouraged by both photographers and some 'models', but which a wise model quickly learns to deflect, control, or to avoid by recognising the potential problems long before they occur.

However it should be noted that these kinds of problems rarely occur in the purely professional environment, but also naive to think they don't occur at all.

When they do occur in any environment though it is better to be prepared to deal with them, rather than to give in early to fear, and scaremongering, and end your career before it has begun.

Personal experience has also shown that the very people who are the most vocal about ensuring a safe environment, naming and shaming real or imagined violators, and administrators of secret facebook groups to “protect” models, are usually the same people that serious models, and professional photographers for that matter, should be most wary of.

Feedback from numbers of models over the years has reported that the most unusable and unreliable information, and the most insidious misinformation comes from these very self proclaimed 'professionals'…

If I had a dollar for every pretender who labelled themselves “professional” as some kind of touchy-feely, ego inflating weasel word justification of their quasi- ethical behaviour, I would no longer need to be scratching out a living as a photographer and writer, myself.

So what every model needs to develop: every model, not just prospective nude models...is a

• well tuned B.S. meter,
• more than an ounce of good old common sense,
• the ability to use her brain and thought processes,
• knowledge of what good photography is,
• and who the good photographers are
• where your photographs are really being used (if anywhere)…

BUT most importantly,

• the willingness and intelligence to JUST SAY NO when you will be receiving no benefit.
• And the ability to simply WALK AWAY when necessary.

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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