Posts Tagged ‘real’

In another time, another place…

 

I dug up some old black and white images I shot, when shooting under my old business name: Silken Images.  These were taken when I was living in San Francisco, CA a few years ago with my dad’s old Konica film camera.  Btw, the second image is of Arielle Lee before she got into modeling, when she was sweet and innocent… a few years later, she went over to the wild side.

My favorite image is this one:

Lindsay: Sepia Tone

Some others …

Arielle Lee: Black & White

Alania: Black and White

Linda: Black and White

 
 

“…but I am not pretty”

 

Similar to most artists, my body of work is contained and presented in my portfolio – in this case on my main studio website.  I had a photography professor at the university I attended, Loyola University of Chicago, always remind me, “Your portfolio should always say more than your physical words.”  So, naturally I try to present my very best images and not take a shotgun affect by dumping everything on the website.

However, one of the side affects of showing my best work is that sometimes prospective clients can feel intimidated by the beauty of the women on the site.  They want to work with me, but they think, “this looks like fun, but I am not pretty, they only shoot good looking people.”  Sometimes I wish I could post the person’s “before” image prior to working with me to show that they came through my studio doors looking just as ordinary as the next person.  Helping to build confidence is part of what I do as I am shooting a person, but sometimes I have to do this even before they become the client!

When I am confronted with a person who is not feeling “pretty” enough, I try to explain to them that I put to use my skills in creating the most flattering, creative  and glamorous images possible – which is exactly why I am being hired.  Most people are not “A-model” material, but my job is to get their images to reflect this as much as possible.   I always use a makeup artist, pose subjects in the most flattering way and afterwards use Photoshop to “nip and tuck” some of the “challenging” areas. :-)

C’mon ladies! Like my “about” page says – I am happy to shoot anyone and everyone – no matter what they look like.  I truly believe I can find at least one unique and alluring feature in every client I shoot; I have not failed yet.

 
 

Real or Fakes?

 

In my line of work I have seen probably thousands of naked breasts over the past 15 years – big, small, medium, perky, saggy, disproportional, real and fake.  I have been asked by my clients numerous times whether I think they should get breast implants.  My answer is the same every time: “if you are considering getting breast implants, you should do it because YOU want them and NOT because you’re being pressured into it by someone.”  I have found that roughly 75% of the reasons given for wanting implants is related to a husband, boyfriend, girlfriend(s), talent agent etc. putting pressure on them.  The remainder are doing it because they are very insecure about their chest and its affects on how they interact socially and personally.  Myself, I always gravitate towards natural breasts on a woman, regardless of size or shape, and can’t see myself ever changing my opinion.

What makes me sad is a lot of times, the woman asking me whether she should go under the knife, actually has beautiful and shapely breasts [not flat or saggy by any definition]!  In that situation I will add, ” you have breasts people are PAYING for when they go to get implants.”  You should see their reaction, usually one of enlightenment, because nobody had ever offered this observation to them.  Of course, not everyone takes my advice, but I would like to think I was responsible for keeping a few from parting with their money for the procedure.

For the ones that still plan on going to get the work done, my only input to them would be to make sure you ask around and get many references from other women that have taken the same path.  Granted, most women are not going to be models or ever pose nude, but still you don’t want to be on the wrong end of the knife.  I have seen some amazing breast jobs and some major train wrecks.

The really good ones are the results of a surgeon who can make those fakes sit on your body in a way that they look almost natural.  Even the perkiest natural breasts droop slightly on the chest and good results can mimic this look.  Surgeons that approach their work almost as artists can even hide the scar tissue in a way so that it is completely invisible, unless you know where to look.

Unfortunately, I have seen some real train wrecks and the women who are pretty much scarred for life.  I have seen lop-sided breasts, asymmetrical nipples, hard breasts, breasts spread too wide, scars that would put a war veteran to shame.  Even with clothes on, a bad job can still be detected – for example sometimes breasts look like a shelf sitting on the chest.

Fake breasts can look ridiculous on a woman, when they are not proportional to her body shape and size.  I blame the surgeon again for not dissuading a patient from getting breasts that are way too big for her.  For example, one of the criteria that defines a great breast job is the size of the breast / cup as they relate to the size and height of the woman.   In my opinion, a petite woman (say 5,0″) will almost NEVER look good with fake breasts that are 38DD, for example.  However, if she opted for breasts that match her frame, say for example going from 32A to 34C they can look amazing and very natural.

I know some reading this will say this is all subjective, and I agree, but I am just saying there is a point where the breasts look stupidly freakish.