Models: Meat or Muse?
“When are you going to finish those damn photographs?” I said to my dear photographer this morning. “What is it they say on MM? I need fresh meat for the blog!”
He looked at me sternly. “Models are not meat. They are subjects.”
“Subjects?” I said, bristling.”Hang on a minute. I was kidding, you know. A model isn’t just a subject. Nor is she meat. She makes the art too!”
Him: “Models aren’t the creators of the art. The really good ones can make your life as a photographer much easier, but ultimately you have to tell them what to do, in order to create the image you have in your head.”
Hmm.
I ruminated on this, and ruminated a bit more, debated about whether or not to tell him where to stick his photography, and then decided to put it “on blog” instead.
Despite my poor attempts at humour, I find the idea of models being referred to as meat (or indeed just subjects), as rather offensive.
I firmly believe that a model contributes more to the shoot than just being a pretty slab of flesh. Sure, some models are easier to work with than others. Some models only ever aspire to be just pretty girls prancing around. A lot depends on the personalities of both photographer and model, their attitudes, their expectations, their mutual chemistry. Motivation is critical. Working with a girl who is only “in it for the money” must be a fairly dispiriting experience. I can’t imagine how hard it must be trying to create art with a disinterested model.
Likewise, it’s a very unpleasant experience shooting with a photographer who clearly just views the model as a sex object or slab of meat, who doesn’t communicate properly with her, who is uninterested in her as a person but only sees her as a real-life Barbie doll to pose as he wants. How can this possibly create art? You’d be better off investing in a life-doll, at least then you’d get a malleable tool that bends entirely to your will.
But this is not how good models work. They are human beings, with brains and personalities as well as boobs. They bring so much more to a shoot than just the flesh. And the more they work with the artist, the better it gets.
If you work with the same photographer enough, you instinctively know which way to move, which are his favourite poses, you even get to know what he wants from a pose before he asks for it. You develop a kind of synergy with the photographer, where the ideas flow back and forth between you. Where the model works with a trusted photographer enough, a relationship develops. Friendship, an intellectual connection, often more. Each knows the other, the way their mind works, what the photographer wants from an image, and how to turn this idea into better art.
An experienced model knows a photographer’s lighting styles, she will know which way to pose to get the looks he wants. She even knows what he is thinking before he does. She can picture the image he is seeking in her imagination. If she thinks that his artistic idea isn’t going to work, then she will say so, suggest something new, suggest ways to improve the idea. They work together almost as one creature. It’s an artistic, erotic connection, almost spiritual in nature. Both artists are creating something higher than themselves, more than either could produce individually.
I’ve seen this happen many times. Combine one exceptional model with a talented photographer, introduce friendship, season lightly with a bit of chemistry, stir up, and leave to rise for a bit. What do you get? Better art certainly. A kick-ass image which is the result of two minds working together. Could the photographer get this shot with any model? No. It’s wasn’t entirely his idea. It is a combination of talents, of each person’s art.
This is not meat. This is a muse.
Or am I just kidding myself that I contribute to the art?
Is it all him, or is it me as well?
Or am I just meat?
“We will no longer hang women up like pieces of meat"-a comment by Larry Flynt, after posting the infamous “meat-grinder shot” on the cover of Hustler magazine in 1978. Although intended as self-parody (Flynt had just become a born-again Christian), such irony was clearly beyond the general public, and it provided great ammo for the anti-porn movement.
Not the best grinder shot I’ve ever seen, but this was certainly the first.
He looked at me sternly. “Models are not meat. They are subjects.”
“Subjects?” I said, bristling.”Hang on a minute. I was kidding, you know. A model isn’t just a subject. Nor is she meat. She makes the art too!”
Him: “Models aren’t the creators of the art. The really good ones can make your life as a photographer much easier, but ultimately you have to tell them what to do, in order to create the image you have in your head.”
Hmm.
I ruminated on this, and ruminated a bit more, debated about whether or not to tell him where to stick his photography, and then decided to put it “on blog” instead.
Despite my poor attempts at humour, I find the idea of models being referred to as meat (or indeed just subjects), as rather offensive.
I firmly believe that a model contributes more to the shoot than just being a pretty slab of flesh. Sure, some models are easier to work with than others. Some models only ever aspire to be just pretty girls prancing around. A lot depends on the personalities of both photographer and model, their attitudes, their expectations, their mutual chemistry. Motivation is critical. Working with a girl who is only “in it for the money” must be a fairly dispiriting experience. I can’t imagine how hard it must be trying to create art with a disinterested model.
Likewise, it’s a very unpleasant experience shooting with a photographer who clearly just views the model as a sex object or slab of meat, who doesn’t communicate properly with her, who is uninterested in her as a person but only sees her as a real-life Barbie doll to pose as he wants. How can this possibly create art? You’d be better off investing in a life-doll, at least then you’d get a malleable tool that bends entirely to your will.
But this is not how good models work. They are human beings, with brains and personalities as well as boobs. They bring so much more to a shoot than just the flesh. And the more they work with the artist, the better it gets.
If you work with the same photographer enough, you instinctively know which way to move, which are his favourite poses, you even get to know what he wants from a pose before he asks for it. You develop a kind of synergy with the photographer, where the ideas flow back and forth between you. Where the model works with a trusted photographer enough, a relationship develops. Friendship, an intellectual connection, often more. Each knows the other, the way their mind works, what the photographer wants from an image, and how to turn this idea into better art.
An experienced model knows a photographer’s lighting styles, she will know which way to pose to get the looks he wants. She even knows what he is thinking before he does. She can picture the image he is seeking in her imagination. If she thinks that his artistic idea isn’t going to work, then she will say so, suggest something new, suggest ways to improve the idea. They work together almost as one creature. It’s an artistic, erotic connection, almost spiritual in nature. Both artists are creating something higher than themselves, more than either could produce individually.
I’ve seen this happen many times. Combine one exceptional model with a talented photographer, introduce friendship, season lightly with a bit of chemistry, stir up, and leave to rise for a bit. What do you get? Better art certainly. A kick-ass image which is the result of two minds working together. Could the photographer get this shot with any model? No. It’s wasn’t entirely his idea. It is a combination of talents, of each person’s art.
This is not meat. This is a muse.
Or am I just kidding myself that I contribute to the art?
Is it all him, or is it me as well?
Or am I just meat?
“We will no longer hang women up like pieces of meat"-a comment by Larry Flynt, after posting the infamous “meat-grinder shot” on the cover of Hustler magazine in 1978. Although intended as self-parody (Flynt had just become a born-again Christian), such irony was clearly beyond the general public, and it provided great ammo for the anti-porn movement.
Not the best grinder shot I’ve ever seen, but this was certainly the first.
posted by Lin at 3:09 PM
3 Comments:
Great post. I consider my models to be co-creators of the photos we do together. I'm serious about that to the extent that I share copyright with my models. I've often said that the models do all the hard work while I just take photos of them while they do it. It certainly makes a great difference when working with a talented model who "gets" what I'm trying to do.
That said, it's also true that the models in my photos are, for the most part, interchangable. I just need a reasonably attractive nude female body to put at a particular position in the composition. I generally have an idea of where I want the body and what sort of pose I want it to be in. But a good model will bring her own ideas about the setting and the pose and enhance whatever I had in mind.
It also matters a great deal to me that the models I work with be people who I enjoy being around. It is much more pleasant working with a friend than with someone who is just there for a job.
But no matter what, I couldn't do my work without the help of some very wonderful, beautiful women.
Lin and Dave. I agree wholeheartedly!
I know that I prefer to work with people I am close with, have solid chemistry with, and I know that the images will be better because of it. My shoots are true collaborations. I never just stand there and be a "puppet". I'm an active part of the process - coming up with ideas/props/suggestions. I have yet to meet a photographer who doesn't want to work with me like this. Two people can do more than just one.
Ahh..there it is...the Hustler cover photo that I drew inspiration from for a photo I created early last year for the Colin Duerr film "Dirty Detroit".
I agree models are the most important part of our photos...but I almost prefer to call them actress's as they act out the idea that I create (or collaborative idea from the "Model"). The "models" I work with understand and accept my often bizarre and/or absurd photographic vision..so they in fact are willing to act out the part..more so than just sitting there waiting to reflect light back through my lens. Their involvement is always dynamic in my photographs...and never passive. I also use mannequins when I see the fit. But I still insist that MY photographs are about ME and NOT the models, but that does not diminish the models absolute importance in each photograph.
bt
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