Read the article. Only have one word to say: SENSATIONAL!
How do they ever come up with such editorials is a wonder. Headline news: Girls expose themselves to risk for easy cash. Right. So as photographers we are not at risk from the girls in case they say something else. After all, here in SG, 95% of the time it is their word against ours. I am at risk of getting flamed here, but go ahead. I don't care.
I will not go into the argument of what is porn of nude photography here, as it will open up a whole can of worms. But rather, I think at this point, I think the question that as photogs we should be asking ourselves, what is it that we want out of shoots organised. We have been seeing arguments of composition, lighting, angles poses, but while all these are aspects that should be taken into account, to echo what DP has stated, styling is important. Not only of the model, but from the shooter as well.
One line that caught my attention in the article was "most of the photographers seemed to be taking tasteful pictures, though one of them was jostling for shots that seemed to be sexually angled". This is a sensational statement. So it means that just because the shot is perceived to be sexually angled, it goes into lewd.:dunno:
So far, the posts that have been coming up on portraits and poses, we have been seeing the same models left, right and center. Theme wise they are the same. Swimsuit, Cosplay, Clubbing, Fashion etc. At the same time, 85% of the poses look exactly the same. While nothing wrong with that, there can be some variations. As shooters, half the time, it is up to us to direct the model on how to pose if we intend to capture a certain angle or feel. So the question here is as shooters, what do we want to see out of the shoot? Of all the pictures so far I have seen on CS, the series as posted by Kongo on Lynnie was by far one of the best. It brought out in my opinion what he wanted to achieve.:thumbsup:
Model wise, with the same batch of models recycled to death in the postings, seems like I am watching Channel 5 with all the same models reruns (bait 2, but go ahead and flame me if you must). In this case, I have to give kudos to Ivan S for bringing in models of a different calibre than what we are seeing on CS.:thumbsup: To the local models, no offense. While I believe that the photographer has a part to play in the theme and direction of the shoot, the model also needs to provide the input as well, rather than stand there and pose. (bait 3, but go ahead your call)
Legally speaking, these shoots are treading on a grey area of the law. So should anyone be posting any pics of these forms, discretion is in order. PS should have a mosiac layer or function. Let us use that. As far as the pictures on your computer go, DO NOT SEND YOUR COMPUTER FOR REPAIRS. Unless you wanna be Edison Chen Singapore Style.:devil: For the shoot itself, let us make sure that the windows are blocked by curtains, or planks if it is in a hotel room. That way no one can and will say otherwise.:think: Oh yeah...one other point to note. For these shoots, seems to me that to classify as art, we cannot use mid range SLRs. We need pro equipment. So in the future, to all Canon, Nikon or whatever camera you use, make sure it is 'professional'. That is to say, for Canon: 5D or if you can get your hands on the Mark II, better still. Else use the 1DS Mark2 or 3. For Nikon users, make sure you use D3 or D700 for professionalism. Hell...to be more pro, use a Mamiya ZD or Leaf Aptus if you must, otherwise Hasselblad is in order.