Why Do Nude Photographers Get More Action?

A recent British study has found that professional creative types (whether male or female) have on average twice as many sexual partners as their non-artist peers. It’s not just down to the fact that more artists see naked women, because this evidence applies across all types of art. So why are artists, and photographers in particular, so damn sexy?

Well of course artists are perceived as being passionate and dedicated to their craft, so women naturally assume they will be the same in the sack. Artists are deemed to have complicated and deep personalities. Accountants like me are not. Plus artists are often more open about their sexuality - their mind works in different ways, and they are more psychologically open to new ideas and are trained to explore new artistic directions, in and out of bed. Simply put, they are not as conservative as your average stockbroker.

Photographers (especially those who shoot nudes) are also experienced at handling women. They study women all the time. Lots of them. Usually naked. When a woman takes off her clothes, to some extent she removes her psychological barriers. Her psyche is laid bare. She must trust the photographer implicitly, and he must not abuse that trust, either at the time of the shoot, or in their dealings afterwards. Thus, it follows that the photographer has to be a nice guy.

Not all of them are nice, of course, and I have hard of photographers abusing that level of trust pretty badly. Let’s face it – some people are creeps. But hopefully those are the exceptions to the rule. Call me naïve, but on the whole, I do believe that the majority of photographers are worthy of long term trust, and most of them are kind and insightful people who treat their subjects with the greatest respect. They don’t openly judge a woman, they don’t judge sexuality, and they are open to all types of personalities who model for them. And because they are such good people, the best photographers are universally adored by many of their models.

There is also the very important point that the more experienced photographers know how women think. They have to. People skills, and putting a woman at ease is part of their job. How else can they get the best from their subject? A photographer has to understand the basic psychology of men and women, plus he has to be able to know how to use that knowledge to enhance his art. So it is fair to say that he has to know himself pretty well too. He must be self-confident, polite, non-judgmental, humorous, and if he is slightly flirtatious whilst maintaining an air of respect and complete control, then this will dramatically improve the emotional response of his model.

So you’ll notice that I have purely coincidentally described the qualities of most women’s ideal man. Study the wish list of most women, and you’ll find that they are looking for strong, self assured, even slightly arrogant men, who can make them laugh, make them feel like the most beautiful woman in the world, make them feel unique and wonderful. No wonder many women find nude photographers irresistible. Of course it helps if he is devastatingly good looking (has anyone actually seen that photo of James Graham in his super-fashionable designer black coat and NOT gone completely weak at the knees? I rest my case.)

However good looks are not essential. In fact I think they can actually count negatively towards the photographer’s sex appeal. Guys who are not what is perceived as “traditionally handsome” will always be more interesting to me, because they are often more modest, take themselves less seriously and are bit of an enigma. Mysteries are the ultimate hook to get the chicks interested, believe me. We wanna see what makes you chaps tick.

But ultimately your physical appearance and especially your age is irrelevant to your sex appeal. It is knowing yourself and being able to say who you are that is the real turn-on. Fortunately for photographers, most “ordinary” non-creative types don’t actually know themselves. Hence when women come across a powerful man - powerful because he has self knowledge and is in touch with his emotions - they are in awe of him, and they fall for him big time.

The power of knowing yourself is the ultimate aphrodisiac. It gives you power over your models, power over women and power over your art.

More enlightened photographers make better artists. And they’re better in bed too.

(Disclaimer: The author admits to twenty years of romantic bias regarding that last point.)



And to those photographers who say, “This is twaddle! I’m not getting any action,” my reply is a) maybe you prefer quality over quantity (which is wonderful of course, but it’s your choice so stop complaining) or b) Maybe you’re just shy, and you don’t realise how sexy you are?!