Oh glamour…..

A lot of photographers probably experience this, so maybe it’s time to write a blog post about it.
Actually this blogpost was triggered by a question on my blog :

Hey Frank I love your photography and I’m a true admirer of your work so Frank here is the 1, 000, 000 dollar question. The type of photography you do involves some type of nude or imply photography I also know your wife works with you but to those that don’t get to work with the other half doing this type of shoot… how do you deal with this subject matter with your other half ? As you get to do a test shoot and trying a new model for upcoming events or just to try a new lighting …I’m just wondering how you would go about it ? This is a subject I talk with other photographers but I would like to get your input on this one. 🙂

Now let me put it very simply, and I hope I don’t upset people with my answer, especially not the person asking this question, because I really mean this is in the most positive way, as soon as you think about glamour or implied nudity as something “weird” or “wrong” DON’T shoot it. Now this sounds a bit harsh so let me explain.

Parties and friends
Most photographers (especially the hobby ones) will recognize this scene.
Q : “what do you do as a hobby?”
A : “photography”
Q : “what do you shoot?”
A : “models”
Now often there is a huge smile and an expression that says “Oh lala you lucky ……”
I don’t say it’s always that way but let’s say in 50% of the cases there is a reaction of this kind.

The fun/weird part is that in 90% of the cases the photographer often only shoots fashion or portraits, but I guess somehow in peoples mind photographers that shoot models only shoot “different material”….. So to overcome this problem I will always immediately answer fashion photography and portraits. When booking a hotel as location (or any other location for that part) I will use the same “technique” and immediately say “it’s for a fashion shoot”.

Now in my case this is actually in 99% of the cases the 100% truth, in my work I shoot 99% fashion and maybe 1% glamour, although glamour is a very very flexible topic of course, some people will label half of my work as glamour, and some will not even label my glamour work as glamour but as fashion, it’s a very flexible concept.

If it’s wrong it’s wrong
Ok that sounds weird, so let me explain.
As soon as someone has the feeling that shooting glamour/nudes/implied is wrong they are in my opinion doing something wrong, or they are simply put not “yet” ready for it. When we do a glamour session it’s 100% the same as a fashion shoot, maybe there is a bit more heat in the studio from the central heating to keep the model warm, but it’s the same music, the same team and the same way we approach the model. In my opinion and “mindset” there is absolutely no difference between fashion and glamour as far as the mood for the shoot is. The same goes for most of our models we use for glamour, they are not feeling different when posing for glamour then they are for fashion, as soon as they are I will find another model because in my opinion the model is not “yet” ready for it, there should be absolutely no “barriers”, as soon as a model doesn’t feel at ease for me that’s the moment to switch the shoot back to fashion or book another model, sometimes a model will be a bit “upset” but just gently explain to her/him that expression is everything in a shoot and if she/he doesn’t feel 100% at ease it will show in the images. In some cases the same model will come back in a few months and blow me away with a 100% different attitude and expression, and sometimes they will tell me that I’m indeed right and they would rather do fashion.

I have to add that if it’s a paying customer that PAYS me to do a boudoir or glamour shoot I will shoot what they want, but I will also try to steer them towards something they do feel comfortable with, often it’s one-two steps back from what they actually want to shoot. In the end however the client is king, but I will not deliver images that I’m not 100% satisfied with.

In our studio we are very aware of our models well being, we are always aware (or try to be) of the feelings of our models and we try to make sure they are 100% at ease in our studio. However sometimes things go differently so I don’t say that there are no “wrong” photographers in the world, I’m the ambassador for the Dutch site www.fotoshootklachten.nl this site is founded a few years ago for all people working in my line of business to report “wrong” working situations, and you really don’t want to see what we sometimes see. The reason for the organization is very simple, if a model get’s harassed on a “wrong” set there is often a HUGE barrier to take the step to the police, also because for the police it’s very difficult to approach the case for the simple reason that they often don’t know about the ways a shoot work and what’s the normal working relations, in other words very often a model will hear “well you went there out of free will, didn’t you” which in most cases is enough to let the model go in lockdown and just leave the matter for what it is. So there is without any doubt a group of people who do shoot with the wrong reasons but I strongly believe (and for us this goes without any doubt) that there is no difference between shooting glamour and fashion, it’s all about the image and the mood you want to set. Now in my case I’m more leaning towards the extreme fashion side of things (the extreme stylings, makeup etc.) but sometimes it’s just better or more fitting to shoot with less or no clothings to get a certain mood or feel in a shoot.

Conclusion
As most of you will know Annewiek (my wife) is on most sets when we shoot so she will witness the shoot, in all the time we are doing this she actually never said after or during the shoot that she was not comfortable or experienced a different mood from the fashion shoots, in my opinion this is indeed the way it should be. If you’re not (like me) shooting with your wife/partner on set, just bring her/him with you and let her/him experience the shoot, I think that will solve all doubts there were (if there were any). On the other hand….. as soon as you are in doubt you do see glamour as something that is “not done”/”on the edge”/”wrong” etc. and in that case…. maybe you are not ready for it and I think you should not do it.

Photography is a profession and I strongly believe that there should be a professional mood during a shoot and it doesn’t matter if it’s glamour or fashion.
Hope this helps.