Professionalism, other Redundancies, and the New Meaning of Life…

We are told by those who study such things, that the meanings of words, and interpretations of concepts drift and change over time, and our language becomes richer for it.

The realm of photography is no exception becoming richer as it evolves and adapts.

Calm down dirty old men! According to the New world order this IS NOT a photograph containing Implied Nudity! Why?

• The model was in fact fully clothed
• It is not a full figure nude picture digitally manipulated to eliminate the clothing, or even to create and enhance the girl’s  “naughty bits” by retouching.

Remember for example when that otherwise indefinable term coined and used almost exclusively by the amateur fraternity  “implied nudity” meant an ambiguously clever camera technique where a photograph of a fully and discretely clothed woman left the viewer wondering wether she was nude or not?

( Camera technique? Wow..ya can do that in the camera? Lot easier after in Photoshop!)

Now though, as I was emphatically told recently by a “widely respected professional” – well he did have a small but efficiently tamed gang of facebook likers to back him up – that he worked to the “accurate and only definition” (?) that implied nude means full figure nudity achieved by removing nipple covers and  g string from a model by digital retouching…

It seems therefore that the model does not need to be payed at the nude rate, because she is not nude in the original photo…just g string and falsies (???)

Woops forgot: Pay a model !!! Who is stupid enough to pay a model??? tfp rules right!

Well obviously “accurate definition” wins out over subtlety and art every time in the vast, murky depths that is creative internet photography!

…

But there are three words used on a daily basis which have drifted in meaning so far from their original concept to warrant a review of the “accurate” (?) dictionary definition

NB: If the New World Meaning of Life has not reached your particular neck of the woods, it soon will…it is certainly firmly established in my region.

and more importantly New Meaning of Life definitions do not in any way apply to legitimate, or real world photography.

Definition:

Professionalism:- this is the divine right of those with a modicum of ability, a lack of talent, a tenuous control of their gang of disciples, but a thorough mastery of schoolboy bullying techniques to denigrate, discredit and vilify anyone outside of his immediate gang, who disagrees with his beliefs, or threatens in even the smallest way  to expose the fraudulence of his self proclaimed importance , or the pathetic and derivative quality of his “work”

Those with “opinions”( see below) are the obvious natural targets of the “professional”

Definition:

Opinion:- A belief or knowledge of traditional techniques, concepts, ideas and ideals, well proven theories; real knowledge especially when gained from  long experience, education, and the ability and willingness to advance learning and skills through reading and research ( as opposed to knowledge gleaned from your mates, and  religious worship of “internet experts” on forums and YouTube.); reliance on actual proven facts and the immutable science of light and photography

Definition:

Hater:- anyone who adheres to, holds, believes in or makes the mistake of publically expressing opinion (see above)

anyone who has deliberately opened a camera instruction manual, and …god forbid!…gone to the extreme of actually reading a photography book, irredeemably brands you as a latent hater.

 

Additional Notes:

Legitimate or “real world” Photography: a phenomenon which it seems is merely an out-dated figment of the imagination and, if it ever really existed, is an historical insignificance when compared with “where true art and creativity is really happening” Nevertheless it’s influence was long ago and long forgotten, having occurred in the real “old days”, of …well…wow…five years or more ago.

Professionalism: has absolutely nothing to do with earning a living from your creativity ,or that “dirty” word used by those who have sold out;  money. True professionals not only exude a fuzzy good guy feeling about their “ethical treatment of others and their approach to life in general”, but also far too much “artistic integrity” to have ever earned a cent, or the likelihood of ever doing so: that would not only sully their ”work” drastically reducing their  natural to bully, intimidate, exploit and be fully exploited by their “collaborators”

 

©Copyright: Stephen Bennett, MMXV
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Interesting Links:
My Photography Webpage
Facebook page for Professional Photographers and Models
The Definite Article Photography and Video on Facebook
My Pond 5 Page
The Definite Article at Publicise Me

Rights of Various Participants in a Photo-shoot...

Part One: The Model´s Rights

Traditionally a photo-shoot involves two people: the model and the photographer.


 Other people are sometimes involved to complete various work necessary to making the shoot a success, the tendency being the more commercial the shoot, the more people involved.


Therefore what rights do these various people on a photo-shoot have, both during the actual shoot, and in the results of that particular shoot.

Also as many models, actors and photographers, makeup artists and really just about anyone, are often keen to get involved in many different roles within their industry, and therefore learn by actually doing, I offer the following summary of their ¨rights¨:

 

The Model/Actor

The model only has one right available to him/her to exercise; the right to the use of their ¨likeness¨.
They give the photographer permission to use their likeness for any lawful purpose, by merely standing in front of the camera, and allowing photographs to be taken, or by applying/attending to a photo call.

If it is a commercial shoot, or it is envisaged that the resulting pictures may be used for commercial purposes in the future, the model is asked to formalise this permission by signing a written ¨model release¨.

Shoots are often explained to a model verbally prior to a shoot, or at an audition, or in written form in a casting call. These conditions should be understood completely, considered carefully , and the requirements followed. Always ask if anything is in doubt or has not been explained adequately to your satisfaction.

Some shoot conditions often require nudity: and the model should always retain the right to the degree of nudity she is willing to allow.

It is always a good idea to state somewhere in writing, what you are prepared to do, and I (and most other professional photographers) have a question in my model information form which asks if a model is prepared to pose in swimwear, lingerie, topless or nude,
When these questions are asked, make sure that you answer definitely with ¨yes¨ or ¨no¨: if you wish to consider based on your future interaction with the photographer, state clearly that you will decide later, and make certain that you ask to amend the form at a later date.

If later, or  during a shoot a photographer tries to ¨convince¨ a model to go past what she has stated is her limit, he is actually violating your right to your likeness.

If however you take part in a shoot which has stipulated beforehand that a degree of nudity is required, you have no right to decline when it is asked for.

Technically also, and this applies to most professional photographers, and most shoots, models do not have  the right to review, or veto the use of any of the shots taken during the shoot.
Most photographers will allow or license a selection of the shots to the model for use in his/her portfolio, and for self promotion, although technically this is not required.
If the photographer is shooting for a specific client, that client may not allow the model any photographs at all.

Disturbingly to both professional photographers and models two trends have emerged recently:

• Photographers, mainly amateurs, but also those who should know better, have been offering, or promising ¨rights¨ to models that they are not in a position to offer, and that models are not entitled to. This is almost always under the guise of ¨considering the model´s welfare¨, but in reality is confusing to new models, as they go on to demand these ¨rights¨ when dealing with professionals, and as a result are quickly shown the door.

• Some models have landed themselves in very expensive trouble by selling prints of themselves which are copyright to others, or leasing their photographs to magazines, and thus breaching the copyright (and damaging the potential income, livelihood, and reputation) of the photographer who generally owns the copyright to all the photos taken during a shoot...one well known stable of magazines actually encourages this practice thus adding confusion to what is a clear cut case of copyright ownership.

Models do not own any copyright in photographs they appear in: and although there has been a great deal of waffle (especially on internet forums) about joint copyright, a professional photographer would rarely if ever consider such a logistical nightmare.

©Copyright: Stephen Bennett, MMXIV

Remember, that all photographs accompanying this blog are Copyright (All Rights Reserved) and may not be used for any purpose whatsoever without written permission from the photographer.


Interesting Links:
My Photography Webpage
Facebook page for Professional Photographers and Models
The Definite Article Photography and Video on Facebook
My Pond 5 Page
The Definite Article at Publicise Me

Welcome

This blog, when viewed in conjunction with www.thedefinitearticle.smugmug.com is meant to be nothing more than the sometimes inspiring, oft times knowledgeable and at all times provocative, frustrating and annoying ramblings from the confused, biggotted and awe-inspiring mind of a working photographer of almost forty years experiience, as he goes about the daily existence of keeping ever aging life and soul together with a camera in hand.

Written basically to entertain myself by causing argument and hopefully friction amongst the current crop of artisans, artists, vagabonds and miscreants who ply or aspire to, the trade of picture taking, I hope also that someone, somewhere, be they carrier of Hasselblad or mobile phone camera, will maybe find their own small pearl in the tons of excrement.