The Thinning of the Ranks
Gary M has been doing a most excellent job of monitoring the ongoing trend amongst photographers to take a break from nude photography. I have also been dismayed to learn of the number of nude photographers who are changing style, taking a break, quit altogether, or have simply lost their mojo. Having briefly lost my own mojo recently, I can completely relate to this, but it’s nevertheless upsetting when so many talented nude artists quit all within the space of one month.
This is not just related to the bloggie nude photographers we know and love. You only have to go to the web-models forum in the UK to learn of all the nude and glamour photographers leaving for health, or “personal” reasons. It’s like a virtual graveyard at times, compared to this time last year. There are large numbers of models complaining bitterly about not being able to get paid work any more, and the photographers’ shoot cancellation rates have gone through the roof.
Of course photographers and artists come and go all the time, but why so many now, all at once?
“Is it something in the air?” I said yesterday. "Or like Gary says - is it something in the water?"
“More like something in the wallet,” said Rich.
Indeed, the global credit crunch means that most people are increasingly hard-up financially (ourselves included). It is exceptionally difficult to find money to pay models (no matter how good they are and how much you want to shoot them) when you have no dosh left at the end of the month. This is assuming you do nude photography as a personal interest, rather than being hired by an agency of course. AFAIK, agency photographers are doing just fine. Although I've heard that fashion photography is suffering too, and Conde Nast have cut their flat rates for most fashion shooters to a paltry £350 for a finished set of fashion photographs. This deeply sucks. How the hell are photographers (and therefore by default, professional models too) supposed to put food on the table? It is very difficult to be inspired to create unique and amazing art when you’re constantly worried about monthly bills.
But it’s not just money. There’s such an air of pessimism around, that even some of the most talented artists are having problems getting their creative juices flowing. Partially it’s the weather of course – winter is approaching, our bodies are genetically designed to semi-hibernate at this time of year, and glamour/nude photography is seasonal anyway.
But there’s also the problem, in the UK at least, of an increased sense of fear and caution on the part of models. For example, and I mean this in the nicest possible way and with no disrespect at all to UK models, but most of our shoots are now chaperoned by boyfriends or other photographers (even though they know I'm going to be around). Again this is no problem in most cases, unless the chaperone interferes, which has unfortunately happened on more than one occasion this year. This leads to a certain air of tension in the shoot, and hardly helps the creative process. In addition, modelling charges have nearly doubled on average since this time last year, which in turn produces additional pressure on photographers.
All in all, it’s not a pretty picture is it? By spring either everyone will either be up financial shit-creek (pardon my lingo), or the problems will have self-corrected and photographers will be inspired to start shooting again. Or else they will decide to cut back on nude photography, and start shooting something else.
Which is exactly what Rich quietly decided to do a little while ago. Over the space of the last few months, I have watched as something in his eyes slowly died. That something was the last vestige of desire to be a professional nude photographer. He denied anything was wrong, but of course, I knew.
He finally decided to tell me last week.
We had a long, long talk over industrial amounts of (very good) coffee. He’s not quitting nude photography entirely, thank God, and he’s going to honour his modelling commitments for the rest of the year (now where have I heard that phrase before?) but after that, things will change. This is because we have changed, as people. The art must evolve along with the personal development of the artists themselves.
Rich will still continue to occasionally photograph nudes, and I will continue to steal some for the blog, but studio nudes will be a very small part of a new and different project that he has in mind for the future. To coin the (absolutely terrible) photographic phrase, “He’s taking his art to the next level.”
Of course he’ll be inflicting the results on you folks in due course, as it’s all part of the learning process. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I’ll let him tell you more about it soon. It’s his art after all.
Me? As long as I can keep waffling on about nothing-in-particular, and showing mega-groovy art piccies, I’ll be happy. After all, waffling is an art form too.
Clayre McKinnen from a few weeks ago.
This is not just related to the bloggie nude photographers we know and love. You only have to go to the web-models forum in the UK to learn of all the nude and glamour photographers leaving for health, or “personal” reasons. It’s like a virtual graveyard at times, compared to this time last year. There are large numbers of models complaining bitterly about not being able to get paid work any more, and the photographers’ shoot cancellation rates have gone through the roof.
Of course photographers and artists come and go all the time, but why so many now, all at once?
“Is it something in the air?” I said yesterday. "Or like Gary says - is it something in the water?"
“More like something in the wallet,” said Rich.
Indeed, the global credit crunch means that most people are increasingly hard-up financially (ourselves included). It is exceptionally difficult to find money to pay models (no matter how good they are and how much you want to shoot them) when you have no dosh left at the end of the month. This is assuming you do nude photography as a personal interest, rather than being hired by an agency of course. AFAIK, agency photographers are doing just fine. Although I've heard that fashion photography is suffering too, and Conde Nast have cut their flat rates for most fashion shooters to a paltry £350 for a finished set of fashion photographs. This deeply sucks. How the hell are photographers (and therefore by default, professional models too) supposed to put food on the table? It is very difficult to be inspired to create unique and amazing art when you’re constantly worried about monthly bills.
But it’s not just money. There’s such an air of pessimism around, that even some of the most talented artists are having problems getting their creative juices flowing. Partially it’s the weather of course – winter is approaching, our bodies are genetically designed to semi-hibernate at this time of year, and glamour/nude photography is seasonal anyway.
But there’s also the problem, in the UK at least, of an increased sense of fear and caution on the part of models. For example, and I mean this in the nicest possible way and with no disrespect at all to UK models, but most of our shoots are now chaperoned by boyfriends or other photographers (even though they know I'm going to be around). Again this is no problem in most cases, unless the chaperone interferes, which has unfortunately happened on more than one occasion this year. This leads to a certain air of tension in the shoot, and hardly helps the creative process. In addition, modelling charges have nearly doubled on average since this time last year, which in turn produces additional pressure on photographers.
All in all, it’s not a pretty picture is it? By spring either everyone will either be up financial shit-creek (pardon my lingo), or the problems will have self-corrected and photographers will be inspired to start shooting again. Or else they will decide to cut back on nude photography, and start shooting something else.
Which is exactly what Rich quietly decided to do a little while ago. Over the space of the last few months, I have watched as something in his eyes slowly died. That something was the last vestige of desire to be a professional nude photographer. He denied anything was wrong, but of course, I knew.
He finally decided to tell me last week.
We had a long, long talk over industrial amounts of (very good) coffee. He’s not quitting nude photography entirely, thank God, and he’s going to honour his modelling commitments for the rest of the year (now where have I heard that phrase before?) but after that, things will change. This is because we have changed, as people. The art must evolve along with the personal development of the artists themselves.
Rich will still continue to occasionally photograph nudes, and I will continue to steal some for the blog, but studio nudes will be a very small part of a new and different project that he has in mind for the future. To coin the (absolutely terrible) photographic phrase, “He’s taking his art to the next level.”
Of course he’ll be inflicting the results on you folks in due course, as it’s all part of the learning process. But I’m getting ahead of myself. I’ll let him tell you more about it soon. It’s his art after all.
Me? As long as I can keep waffling on about nothing-in-particular, and showing mega-groovy art piccies, I’ll be happy. After all, waffling is an art form too.
Clayre McKinnen from a few weeks ago.
Labels: Art, Clayre McKinnen
posted by Lin at 3:01 PM
5 Comments:
Another one bites the dust? And here I was looking forward to more of the "dodgy" stuff that was promised a while back. :) I'll look forward to the "next level" work from Richard.
I make the mistake most mornings of listening to the news on public radio here, and lately, the signs of real economic calamity are looming larger, due largely to unregulated banking and this idiotic series of "wars" that have us within pennies of $100/barrel oil, and prompting the world to dump US dollars. I will admit though, at this point, it looks like the US economy is going to be so screwn that a few hundred dollars in model fees and shoot costs won't make much difference when it's all written off, so I'm fiddling while Rome burns.
Truly Gary, I think you were the only one looking forward to the "dodgy stuff." Most folks appear to have viewed it with a kind of horrified silence :-)
Dodgy stuff just isn't Rich's "thang." A pity, because I love it. Maybe you should fly over here and shoot me instead :-)
Nope, he isn't/wasn't the only one. There were two of us.
Jeff
Gee, after a brief slump, I seem to be accelerating again! Of course, helps to be able to support my pursuits from external finances. I have this really cool idea ....
Lin, you don't aspire to write. YOU WRITE (and this is coming from a college-level teacher of writing). Love your blog style!
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