=PoisonedPure

I'm really bored. I mean excessively mind breakingly bored.

So to entertain myself I am going to start discussions on popular topics and my points of views on them. Hopefully it will start some discussions that will give me enough feedback and thoughts to entertain me for a while, otherwise I am probably going to destroy something.

My Personal Guidelines

In the field of photography you are always changing your mind on how you work it, and learning new terminology and ways to cover your own butt.

My major mottos and rulings:
_{They're more guidelines persay.}

Treat everyone with the dignity and respect that they deserve. That includes models with photographers and photographers with models. No respect = crap art and bad reputation.

Be prepared for the unexpected, because with the nature of humanity and sociology change will happen and being a photographer you will get caught up in it from time to time.

Don't get too pissy about Models that go wayward. More often than not a Photographer/Model breakup is akin to the likes of Relationship breakups hence things turn messy and models usually ask for photos to be taken down. You work so close with someone and you are bound to form a bond. If you really like the photos then bloody fight for them. They signed a model release. Go through the reasonings of why they want to take the photos down and if they tick the usual boxes: boyfriend, girlfriend, job...etc etc etc that's fine. If they can't give a reason then tell them to shove it. Work around it and find photos that you are both mutually agreeable to keep. Get them to SIGN that they are allowing you to keep those photos in your portfolio. It takes time but saves you losing possible years of work. If they are REALLY unhappy about your work get them to agree to write and sign a reasoning for it and TAKE THEM DOWN! It's a learning experience, and it is better to lose a few photos than being a wank and getting a reputation as such. A satisfied person will tell 5 people about their experience, a dissatisfied, 20.

Compromise Compromise Compromise. If compromisation can not be achieved after tactful and polite discussion then tell them to bugger it and get the hell over it because they were big enough and adult enough to know what the hell they were getting themselves into to start with.

Never lose your cool.

Don't get romantically involved with your models. It's a recipe for massive bloody disaster. I have always made it a huge ruling in my life to NEVER DATE SOMEONE THAT I WORK WITH! Some famous partnerships work, some don't with drastic results. If you are a Fine Art Nude photographer and a male this is especially important to remember (females too believe it or not). Unless you want bitchy models and snide remarks behind your back just don't go there. By all means if you want to quit your job or they there's then go for it like rabbits afterwards. I'm not telling you not to have fun, but I am telling you to play safe. Afterall, anyone that is in any state of nudity has a certain vulnerability and it is up to you to be responsible for that.

Don't befriend models and get involved in their personal lives. Work is work, friendship is friendship. Yes, a model can become a great friend but by all means don't work for it to happen every time that you work with someone.

Don't big-note yourself. Chances are that you will come up across someone with a damn sight more knowledge than you have experienced and they will just think you are silly and immature. That goes for attitudes as well. Leave them at the door please.

Continue learning. The day that you say that you have learned everything in photography is the day that people will stop appreciating it because it has become stale and boring. It is such a changeable profession, which is why people that love their photography are so passionate because they are usually people that have great and quick minds that thrive on challenge.

Being a Nude Photographer or a Nude Model.

As a real woman, a photographer and a model I know what it is like on all areas of perspectives. It seems to be a badge of honour so to speak in achieving a modeling portfolio to at least have attempted nude work. I don't understand this point of view particularly but I have seen it happen for years and almost every shoot that I have been involved in has had the model want to get their clothes off. If you are shooting TFCD you will indeed open yourself up to problems with this form of photographer more than any other. You are a nude photographer, and as such it is a more pointed form of artwork when life shows changes to others. I've been stalked before and had death threats due to stuff that I have posted. I've had the scary ex boyfriend that was possessive and jealous of what I created. I've had the body issue problems, the job issue problems and the breaking up with photographers/friends problems. I've had every bloody one of the examples you could think of.

Truth be told; if you want to be in this field and are not charging for your services then you have to deal with these problems arising as they are more than likely going to. Yes, there is a model release form but it that great big Court of Law it isn't really worth the paper it is written on in regards to exchange of services. I've been there. I've checked it out. It covers a lot of things, but also doesn't cover a lot of things.

Unless you want to start going onto the lines of charging for your services or only using known Artistic Nude Models that are dedicated at being involved in this line of work then I really don't see anything that can improve this situation other than getting to be a hard-arse.

To be quite frank, I've got bucketloads of photos taken with ex friends and colleagues that I have taken over the years. It pisses me off royally having all this stuff that I can do absolutely nothing with but leave in the archive. I am not a photographer to make friends with my models. I am here to make a piece of art. If you don't want to take responsibility for the art that you create with me then bloody well get out of the game and stop calling yourself a model. Remember, most artwork be it photography or other will end up on the Internet for the world to see. If you are not comfortable with that then you should have never made or done what you did to start with.

That being said, we all go through stages in our lives, make mistakes and then change our minds. Nudity and Fetish are two massive commodities to deal with for the chance of "making a mistake" in doing so. Always remember what you are getting in to, and after all it isn't that hard to be courteous to another and take down a couple of images when asked politely and given reason to.

Digital versus Film

Digital has got some pros and cons, so has film. Deal with it. Learn both and then you can be flexible and have a real state of argument as more often than not the people that sit there bitching and moaning about only liking one or the other has never spent time with a DSLR or developing their own film in a darkroom using variable film types and processing.

Technology changes, deal with that too. I don't see many photographer out there using box camera, igniters and camera screens still. Or maybe you can use light sensitive paper covered in chemicals, make yourself a carboard housing with a pinprick in it to let in the light and get an image from that. It's the same principle of photography guys, just hundreds of years backwards.

Escorts

Never had a problem. Don't know what the deal is.

I'd prefer my models to be comfortable and safe. If I have a problem with a escort then I will tell them to f*ck off as I am trying to work here.

If it is a Nude shoot or a Fetish shoot I will always have someone else there be it the MUA, Assistant or Escort of our choice. Unless the model has requested that she/he is comfortable enough to do without (in regards to Nude photography only) and I already know that they have been established in the field before so know what they are getting themselves into.

Bringing friends into shoots I do have a problem with as they usually only hand around to be photographed themselves and I do not appreciate that at all. If you want a shoot with me, let me know. But if you rock up and think that you can crash my shoot or that you are model material and what I would be looking for I will be quite harsh with you even if you are the most gorgeous human being on the planet. It's rude. I don't like it.

Fat or Skinny?

How about either, but with a personality that pops?

I am sick to death of seeing the same damn photos over and over again. Yes, my own photography of late has become mainstream because I am only just starting to gain models and it is what they expect and are comfortable with. Due to comfort levels on both parties, this is what is happening for the time being. I'm breaking free from that mold pretty damn soon though. This is not what I wanted my photos to become.

Now, size wise I don't care really. As long as the camera likes you there is no need to be perfectly shaped and a traditional form of beauty. I am petite and angular. I've photographed plus size women with gorgeous curves and body issues. I don't care.

I see beauty in so many various forms that it is silly to ask me whether or not an aesthetic issue like body form is going to be an issue.

I think that is about as many issues that I can muster out of my head.
Enjoy and discuss.

Update: Dear god tonights episode of "House" was a doozy. I've got mascara all over my face from balling at the ending. Now I feel even more shit than I was before. Bed time for me tonight methinks. Tomorrow's a new day.

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