Editor's note: the following is a tongue-in-cheek, oftenirreverent, question and answer column published in the ASMP News solelyfor the entertainment of our readers. It does not necessarily reflect theviews of ASMP, the local chapter or other ASMP members. All opinions andanswers are solely those of the author, and he is welcome to them.
Readers' questions about any aspect of photography, or life ingeneral, are welcome and Dr. Photography will answer them in future columns,if he happens to feel like it. Send mail to:Dear Dr. Photography,
I'm a student planning a career as a fashionphotographer. I read a recent interview with a top modeling agency director,who said "Every model in her career finds a perfect photographer...who gets her to make love to the camera." I've heard this phrase countlesstimes before. What's the point?
Learning in San Francisco
DP: The world of fashion is verystrange, indeed -- but no more so than say, the entertainment industry.What you are dealing with are a tremendous number of people with huge egos,all of whom feel that they possess a chosen "vision." Each ofthem, of course, have their own theory about how to make clothing and thepeople who wear it come alive for the camera.
As a photographer, the idea of getting models to "make love to thecamera" is simply to get them to interact emotionally so that the viewersof the final ad image see a personal connection with the subject, hopefullyenticing them to buy. Please don't be foolish and take the phrase "makinglove to the camera" literally.
The one time Dr. Photography actually saw a model do this was not a particularlypleasant experience. A three-ton bull elephant seal took exception to awildlife photographer's presence on his turf and charged. The photographertook off in the opposite direction, abandoning his Nikon and 600mm lenson a tripod. What the elephant seal did to the equipment was not what anysane person would call a "loving" act, although by literal definition,could be so deemed. Neither the images on film nor the resulting conditionof the camera were exactly pretty pictures.
With that in mind, if you're still planning your career path, considerthat life might be simpler if you just shot weddings.