Draw The Line - How Far Is Too Far In Photos
Here's my minor dilema.
I like taking pictures of people; old, young, big, little, pregnant, etc. Saturday I took some nude maternity pics. There were clothed poses too; the coolest pic of the group was the nekid one.
Here's where the dilema comes into play. She has a friend that would like me to take partial-nude (her term, not mine) photos of her. But I don't want to unless she's way pregnant so I don't look like I'm producing porn or Playboy-style pics. I'm guessing she's not pregnant at all and just wants sexy pics; probably for her husband. If I've taken pics of her friend completely nekid, how can I explain that I don't do non-maternity nudity? If I say yes to her then I'd have to say yes to the girl that wants some for her boyfriend. Where do I draw the line between doing what the customer wants (I am providing a service, they provide the material) and my morals. I have my own ideas of how I can handle the situation, but mine are sometimes (I say that loosely) rough and I want some feedback from blogland.
Plus, if it gets around that I'm taking nekid pics of women... see where I'm going?
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5 comments:
Just say what you said., "Thanks for your appreciation of may work, but I only do nude photos of pregnant women in their last month/tirmester. It's an artistic thing. Look me up when you're farther along!"
I like what Cabesh said.
Not that I'm principally opposed to nudes, but I am opposed to soft core. You're the one that decides which is which.
Here you go--tell her that, since you do not have your own darkroom, you would feel uncomroftable--as you are sure that she would--sending shots of her exposed to strangers to be developed. Explain that the pregnancy ones showed no "intimate" areas, so you didn't feel uncomfortable having those developed, but since she is not pregnant, they would be too explicit for you to feel comfortable showing to Jimmy Christiansen at the Costco film lab.
OK, good advice peeps. I've realized that I don't want to be the official Utah Playboy Photographer so I'll avoid nips altogether (even maternity) just to be on the safe side. Even though the maternity nude I did rocks ;o) Thanks for your comments, friends!
"No shoes, no shirt, no service."
There's no need for bashfulness or apology when it comes to drawing a line for yourself. Yeah, some might raise their eyebrows at you and have something to say about your choice, but really, who cares? That's easy to say, but a little harder to actually let go of, I know, but it does get easier with practice. My hub and I are letterpress printers, and have several times over the years had to turn down jobs and creative projects that were objectionable to us. The hardest ones were when authors of note (and notoreity) were the would-be printeds, and we wouldn't cross the line for them. Those things fade away over time, and we're not out of business yet.
Sorry, that was sort of seerious answer, and a late one too. Your post just got me thinking.
I totally relate to how you feel about your photography. I took several creative photog classses in college, and some of what was shown in class really should never have been shot!
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