In the last couple of months, there’s been several things about my hobby that have tweaked my nerves one way or another. First, there was the shoot in May where I walked away with all of 11 pictures – and most of those were set-up test shots – because once the models arrived, I was uncomfortable with the amount of playing to the “male gaze” going on.
June was better – everyone seemed to have fun, and the models, although dressed to appeal, weren’t groping and hanging off of each other like they were auditioning for “Girls Gone Wild”.
Somewhere in between, it started to dawn on me what was making me uncomfortable and the reasons behind it.
See, out of the usual groups of photographers, I’m often the only woman, and almost always the only feminist – and the only one educated in this area of media theory.
Take this image, for example. (click on it to access larger view). As a photographer, I looked at it and offered the feedback that the image, the pose, the choice of background…. suggest strong, independent, uncaring what the viewer thinks. And yet, that obvious nipple detracts from it *as an image*. Plus, it’s something that most women might find embarrassing. It would be very easy in post-processing to photoshop it out or minimize, and I really think it would make a stronger picture.
The response from Bob, the photographer, addressed the second half of that concern – the model saw the picture before it was published and was ok with it. And since he’s the photographer and presumably knows what his intention with the picture was, he has no obligation to respond to me on the first point.
What got me was the next commenter, HUBCAM, who said
“I think we’re all the better for it.”
What an ignorant and privileged thing to say! It sounds to me as though he is saying that what he wants, appreciates, and enjoys is more important than what the person in the image is comfortable with and even more important than the image being a stronger image with a consistent “story”.
I’m rather glad I don’t know who this person is, because I’d be twice as offended if we’d met. Shame on you HUBCAM, for putting your puriescent preferences ahead of art and human dignity.
tigtog said:
You’re exactly right about how the prominent nipple detracts from the full impact of the image. I bet if it was an extraneous shadow cast by just about anything *but* a nipple the photographer would be all too happy to PS it out. But FSM forbid that anything stop the guys getting their gaze on!
Gretmar said:
I really appreciated this blog and in fact wish it had been longer. The comment in reply to yours makes me wonder, of those praising this photo (and any photo of a woman), how many offer praise to the model for her beauty and skill in posing, and how many praise the photographer for finding the right light and whatnot? I don’t know much about photography and I certainly don’t want to minimize the ability of any photographer, but it is interesting to me that a large sector of the photography industry is inhabited by men taking pictures of women. It just seems a little too easy to dress a woman up all sexy-like and then photograph it. How do you negotiate what seem to me to be obviously sexist practices? Specifically, what kind of relationships do you form with your models and how do you present them in you photos? If you generally shoot models, that is.
Poppy said:
Hi Gretmar, and thanks for visiting.
It’s a difficult line to walk. I do generally shoot models. I make a conscious attempt to treat them as individual people first and foremost – I try to suss out what they’re hoping for, how they like to be presented, and generally show some interest in them as individuals. I try very hard when showing models all sexy-like to show them as agents rather than objects – I’m more likely to shoot women either in poses they have selected or by asking them to take a pose which suggests to the viewer that the model herself is responsible for her own sexuality and choices. I have a lot of leeway in what I do as I work almost entirely with amateur or new models on a unpaid basis. Is it perfect? No, of course not. I’ve been in some uncomfortable situations, models unintentionally displaying more than they were comfortable with, and have always tried to do everything I can for the comfort and security of the model instead of taking advantage of the situation.