The Overused Metaphor
June 15th, 2007,I frequently use sexual metaphors to describe the photographer/model relationship. This skeeves out some people, and makes others assume I’m hitting on them. Neither is the case, it’s just that art-making is a passionate thing for me. I once read an Einstein quote that said, “An intellectual is someone who has found something more interesting than sex.”
So here’s the metaphor. I’m out on the town and I see somebody that just makes me want to whip out my camera and shoot her (or him, but lately it’s usually been women - and that’s a topic for a different entry) right on the street. I walk over and chat her up, try to give her my number. I’m not going to offer to pay, because I assume she isn’t a pro, but I’m trying to be, so I need the practice. There’s another topic for a different day, about how everybody wants to step straight into the major league without learning the skills first, but that’s for another time.
She (hopefully) calls me back, says she thinks I’m hot stuff (photographically) and she wants to do it with me. That’s flattering, and I certainly find her body desirable for my intended purposes but…
I suppose there are guys out there that can invite a complete stranger over, whip out their lens, and just shoot until they’re satisfied. There are probably photographers out there who spend a lot of time wooing women into their studios, hinting at superior and dazzling capabilities, only to disappoint once the actual act has begun. There are photographers out there who can perform really well in such circumstances, and while I have my opinions about my own ability to perform under such circumstances, it’s not really what I’m looking for.
I can’t be like that. I’m too old, too jaded for casual photography. Sure, sometimes I pay for it, and part of my cynicism comes from the fact that I do it for money, but for exactly those reasons, I try to keep the magic alive when I’m doing it just for fun. I don’t just want the click of the shutter and a few well-timed exposures.
Art-making, like love-making, is best when it is intimate, open, and everyone involved is working towards the pleasure of everyone else involved, confidant that their own needs will be met. But in order for that process to work, those needs have to be talked about. Have you posed before? Have you wanted to? Why? What appeals to you about being photographed? Why do I keep seeking models in this way, rather than turning to professional models? Going into a shoot, what are both of our needs?
A lover will never know where to caress you if you do not guide his hand, and the same is true of a photographer and his lens. When there’s no deadline, no client, shoots don’t have to be about the end product, they can be about the time spent together.
I’m thinking about this because I still need to write up the Model’s FAQ for my site, and it’s hard to write a general statement about how to approach this. Everything I write ends up sounding like a personals ad, and I guess this is why. I suppose I would get better mileage out of such efforts if I wrote in a calm, detached manner, if I avoided the metaphor altogether. I want the passion to come across, though, and it’s hard not to talk about one kind of passion without referencing the one most familiar to others, particularly when I don’t know who, precisely, I’m writing for.
I suppose you can see why this gets me in trouble.