Thursday, September 13, 2007

Country Glamour





For me, taking photos of extremely beautiful women is a balancing act between trying to make a stunning image and at the same time avoiding making the image overly sexualized or even crass. Magazines with scantily clad women plastered on the covers are hard not to notice but their prime audience is men, that is not what I am after. While obviously both genders can, and do, enjoy images of all tastes I am after the subtle attraction of understated beauty rather than in your face sexuality.

Anytime I shoot a girl with clothes that reveal more of the body than you normally see (outside of a beach of course) that balancing act becomes a little more difficult. You'll notice that we avoid the poses that emphasize the chest or the backside in favor of the simple elegant poses that display more of a soft femininity rather than exaggerated sexuality.

Take a magazine like FHM which is geared towards men and compare it to a magazine like W which is mainly geared towards women. They both showcase beautiful women but the approach is as different as night and day. Rather than objectify women with sexuality I attempt to celebrate beauty. The latter style seems to require a lot more style and creativity and is tremendously more difficult to achieve, it is a goal I strive for and I hope that my attempts are recognized by the people that view my photographs.