Women by Women

Another thought that has been rolling around in my head was brought to the surface again today by a YouTube video that I found on The Sartorialist. The video is Bruce Weber for YSL. I was particularly interested in Bunny Yeager : "the world's prettiest photographer and supermodel of the 1950's and 1960's." Her work discussed in the video was a series of nude portraits of friends and neighborhood women. One of the lines in the film speaking of her photos states "if you're lucky (she) brings you into her world of letting go." I think that letting go is probably what makes people nervous about nudity (or photography in general), because they are no longer in control. When you decide to take off your clothes (or sit in front of a camera) you are no longer in control of who looks at you, and how they choose to look.

 

(Photo: Annie Leibovitz,  from the March 2006 issue of Vanity Fair)

It is always interesting to see sensual photos of women, by women, because sometimes amazing things happen. When the male gaze is not present, and the model opens up and feels completely comfortable we are able to see moments that are usually kept private. Right away I think of photographers like Annie Lebovitz and Ellen Von Unwerth.  In my opinion private moments are what people are drawn to and most like to see. Great photographers are able to create a comfortable space for their models, where they feel free enough to be themselves (their private selves) and photographers are then able to capture those moments.

 (Photo: Ellen von Unwerth, From Revenge, 2002.)

For me, I look for those moments and hope to learn how to capture them every time. The modeling classes that I teach are my practice time. The other day I had a girl in my class that was obviously very nervous from the second that she walked into my fashion class. I could see it written all over her face. I talked with the class about learning to work with the photographer, and trusting that I would help guide them in looking their best. The next class was photo tech (her first shoot day), and she showed up, again, looking very nervous (and actually just hung out in the corner of the room by herself very quietly for a while). 

However, when I got her on set we worked through it. I gave her a little pep talk, and helped her with her movements, complimented her when she did well, and coaxed it out of her. To my surprise, she blew me away. She ended up being full of life, very entertaining, and great on set. I felt like it was a job well done. 

For me, trust is probably the most necessary aspect of a photoshoot. Firstly, the photographer must trust that the model will come through (being on time and being present in the moment and full of life). Secondly, if the model does not trust his\her photographer the photos will never make it past just okay. This is why it seems like, in photography, you have to learn to be an amazing people person -because everyone needs to trust you for a shoot to work.