“I don’t look anything like the girls on your website.”

This is about the most common thing I would hear when I would speak to a new client.

“Well, let me let you in on a little secret. The girls on my website don’t look anything like the girls on my website either.”

This may or may not be entirely truthful but it puts people at ease.

Everyone has heard of Photoshop and everyone wants it to varying degrees so I let them know we apply it liberally when required. However I will use every part of my skill set to avoid it. If I get it right in camera with good lighting and positioning we can minimise the need or eliminate it entirely… Yes, I am that good.

Naked Strangers And What Actually Happens On A Photoshoot

I have no idea what this person looks like over the phone. I have no idea how comfortable or relaxed they will be during the shoot. I have no idea if the outfits they bring will be flattering to their figure. I have discovered that confidence is far more important than any other part of the skill set and gives you a massive head start. I have to be confident. More importantly, my client has to feel confident.

These days, most of my clients have heard of me through a friend or seen my work so they are confident in my abilities and it’s only themselves they are worried about but it still pays dividends to let them know they aren’t alone. I photograph every shape and size and nothing is going to be weird or gross or whatever they are hung up on.

So we discuss everything over the phone and set out a rough idea of how the shoot will get. We set expectations for quality, cost and other incidentals. Most people at this point want to, but don’t think they will be taking their clothes off due to nerves but we find out if it’s on the cards or not. It’s usually 50/50 and it all comes down to the individual. Most of my clients are either simply excited or ready to fill the porcelain throne with bricks. Very rarely do I get people who are blase.

They come into the entry of my studio, it’s also my office admin space as well as a viewing gallery so there is a couch, a TV, some desks and computers. Nothing elaborate. Nothing fancy. A small makeup area and a studio in the back that is fully blocked out to natural light. Nothing overly fancy or elaborate. The studio just looks like a clean artist’s workshop. I get a lot of comments like:

“It doesn’t look like some seedy dungeon!” or “It just feels like home.”

This vibe is definitely on purpose. I have worked in more intimidating spaces and it puts people on guard. A lot of my clients are NOT from the kink world. They simply want to pretend for a few hours and have something special to look back on or give the photos to their partner. If the place looks too luxurious then people don’t relax. If the space is too niche with a heavy kink/fetish dungeon vibe it gives people the wrong idea of what goes on behind the curtain. So I have worked hard to establish a safe space where adults play dress-ups rather than an over the top fancy glamour studio or porn production venue.

For the most part, the shoot goes simply.

I very rarely get people who don’t understand the boundary that is the camera. My subjects are sexy for the camera. Not for me. The only time people sexualise what I do is at parties with drunk men slurring

“Do you get to see titties?”

I will always do a warm up set with some simple portrait work and learn my subjects face and body lines. I will figure out what positions will and won’t work here as you don’t want to be working this out with lingerie or nude work. My subject will also learn how I work. No, they are not expected to model for me. Yes, it’s quite easy for the most part. The only difficult thing is holding some of the poses as they can feel very un-natural.

I don’t focus on expressions and specifics. My approach is to cover a lot of ground. Get a lot of variety and let random chance factor in. People don’t usually like the photographs/expressions I like so I find it’s best to get through the work rather than focus in on one particular thing. Besides, if you say to someone their expression – smile/pout/bedroom eyes isn’t working they will become very self-conscious of it. At that point I might as well put the camera in the bin.

If a session is going swimmingly and I can tell my subject is feeling confident it I use 5 simple words.

“How brave are you feeling?”

If someone isn’t feeling comfortable it’s sooo much easier to affirm that they are at their limit here and no one feels uncomfortable at all… Usually… like 99% of the time they are feeling the best they have ever felt about themselves and off come the clothes.

A Quick Side Anecdote

There was a period of about 3 months where I was shooting art/erotic nudes exclusively. Sometimes up to 8 sessions a day. I noticed as I was burning out that people were responding differently and seeming very deflated. After some introspection I realised I was too detached.

I was not being friendly at all. I was reacting to this person taking their clothes off like a bitter ex-lover filled with vitriol and resentment. I had to make a real effort to not treat it like mopping vomit off the floor and get back to enjoying the process.

The best way to handle the situation is to act like an asexual pixie. Be really excited about everything but sexualise nothing. This will temper people and make sure things never become inappropriate. It’s hard to hit on the professional BDSM, fetish and kink photographer when he is a naive puppy and it’s hard for the naive puppy to offend anyone. It also solidifies the notion that they are being sexy for the camera, not for me. The demeanour has been effective for all clients, from stay at home mums to escorts and exotic dancers.

I have seen it all these days. I have had clients who have had full body lifts after massive weight loss and are completely covered in scars, amputees, people in their 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and even 80’s. I have shot multiple women who have had full double mastectomies, people who have every inch of their body tattooed/pierced, I even had one lady who had a severe physical disability that caused her bone structure and muscles to never properly develop. She was wheelchair bound and I had to literally lift her from the chair and move her into the poses.

There are definitely times where I know I could do better with a second go but I have a 99% success rate with everyone leaving feeling amazing. They might only have 1 or 2 photo’s they love or they might have 50. There are times where you do get it wrong but usually another session a few weeks later fixes that right up.

It doesn’t matter what you’re shooting. I could have a client who is timid to the point of only perhaps showing an inch of cleavage, someone who wants to just do very dark, moody art nudes right up to people who bring their own BDSM kits, doms, submissives, lovers and all sorts. It’s usually very much the same process. We talk, we meet and we shoot. I talk about my puppy mostly during sessions at the moment. Sometimes she is with me at the studio and people want to play with her more than they want to do the photo shoot!

The One Thing That Never Changes

People are impossible to read up front. At the start, everyone is roughly the same. Their mask is on and their guard it up. Give me 30 minutes and a camera and they relax and open up entirely. I am always surprised and usually wrong about who will want what.

The single mum of 3 in her 40’s with one small bag will want to be tied up or do very sexualised erotic art nudes for her dating profile but she won’t mention that to me in the consultation phone call… The stripper with full body tattoos, she will just want some headshots for her personal training business… The guy in his 50’s with terrible hair and teeth? He is adamant the photos are for his partner I will never meet and she wants him to look like a sexy Twilight inspired vampire… The 20 year old uni who is wearing a trench coat and a beanie and looks like she hasn’t slept for a week. After hair and makeup she looks like a BDSM goddess who only brought nipple clamps and a riding crop as her “outfit.”… And the quiet ones? Well you know what they say about the quiet ones.

I have been asked a lot of times if I date clients. Those drunk dudes at parties might not put that quite too politely. A lot of people expect that I live fast and loose. They expect that I lead a very sexually adventurous, party lifestyle due to the nature of my work but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

I have dated a client exactly once many years ago when I was still working freelance in other studios. She pursued me aggressively after the session and with the studio owner’s knowledge and permission we started dating. Early in the relationship her life situation changed and so she moved to a different state to be with her family.

It has been a hard no ever since and it’s never even been something I would consider. Quite a few of them have become good friends, joining my Dungeons and Dragons group, gaming online or playing board games together regularly.

Author: Jason is a consultant from Oh Zone Adult Lifestyle Centres

JJ Maher has been a professional photographer since 2008 covering all facets from shiny glamour to wedding photographs. As he progressed in his career he began to specialize in portraits of people with particular interest in adult erotica and those living outside of the norm in society. His magnificent portfolio speaks for itself and we welcome his insight and stories of his shoots, how he meets his subjects and the interesting tales he has to tell. Oh, and he is also right into music ! www.jjmaher.com.au/

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