A local photo studio - a husband and wife team named Don and Leann - is having a special that arrived from Groupon this morning in my mail box. You know I had to go check out their website for "Midnight Magic Studio," which seems to only shoot boudoir photography.
I have had a conversation with a Christian photog friend here in Eastern Tennessee about the morality of boudoir photography, which, as you can tell from Midnight Magic's accompanying photo above, is dressing up all sexy and putting about a ton of mousse in your hair and slathering on the war paint. It is akin to those "glamor shots" that used to be in malls, only presuambly these images would be what one would call "NSFW" or at least something you wouldn't share with your co-workers . . . oh, ehell, yeah, you know they do.
Is it immoral to pose for such a shot? Is it immoral for someone to take such a shot? I note that on Don and Leann's website, they say this: Honestly, it is a fine line to walk to have beautiful tasteful and elegant portraits and to cross a line. We will never cross the line. I take that to mean they will only let you go so far before they say, "Okay, we are doing porn, now," and stop.
I have to admit, as a woman, I would not feel comfortable about a husband and wife team doing this. Sure, they say if you just feel comfortabe with Leann, Don won't be there . . . but he would still have access to the images.
I thinkthe outcome may be more comical than prurient. According to the deal, "During hour-long private shoots in the West Knoxville studio, subjects clad themselves in up to three outfits, choosing everything from lacy lingerie to armor-plated tank suits." That last wording brings up an image of a deep sea diver - however, having seen and known people in the BDSM lifetsyle, I think I know where they are going with that and making it "fun" may wind up being pretty damn funny.
I have thought about shooting what I would term "fetish photography." Let's say you enjoy your leather . . . or you are a plushie . . . or you are an adult baby . . . or being bound by mummy wrap is your thing - while this may be the fodder for CSI episodes, I think I could look beyond the shocking and see that (a) for people with such fetishes, it is very important, if not vital to them, and (b) their dignity as a human being is not lessened by what may be their "thing." This does not mean that I would photograph sex acts or anything porn related, such as using dildoes as props- I would not - but I would be willing to step into their mind as to how they see themselves and see if I could capture that tastefully and discreetly in my photography. No, I'm not a voyeur - I am a photographer who happens to love all of God's creation. Or, as the noted Jesuit, Gerard Manley Hopkins put it:
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;
And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.
All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise him.
The Groupon offer does have this: Once pinup pals have transformed back into their alter egos, each attendee will receive a 5"x7" print from their shoot autographed by pinup legend Betty Boop.
Uh-uh. The only Betty that was a true titillating "pinup legend" in my opinion was the late, great Betty Page.
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