In several different threads on modeling messageboards, photographers have raised the question: “how come there aren’t any models who pose just for the love of art?”

Apparently, nude models should be more willing to pose for free just for the sake of creating art. If you pose for monetary compensation, then you’re not a real art model- you don’t have a true love of art.

I thought I’d post my response. For those not in the know, TFP/CD stands for “time for prints/cd,” and means that a model gets paid not in money, but with content for her portfolio.

A good art model deserves to be paid.

One who’s passionate about the photographer’s project and puts her(or his) all into it and helps creates stunning results and is easy to work with deserves to be paid.

If a model will work without monetary compensation, great. I still do a good deal of TFP/CD. My rates are negotiable because I like working with new people and don’t want anyone to have to break the bank. Whether or not I count as a good art model is completely subjective- you’ll have to ask people I’ve worked with.

No one’s forcing anyone here to pay a model. But to imply or state directly that if your main goal for modeling is monetary, you’re not a good model, or doing it for the right reasons, or whatever, is missing the point-

Regardless of their motivations, a good art model is a good art model, and they deserve to be paid.

So, in conclusion: give me money.

Kidding.

Photography by toan thai photography, taken in November, 2006.

I talked to a photographer recently, and he was interested in shooting and submitting some images of me to the sites Femjoy and Met-Art.

I had been to one of them briefly before, and as we were talking, visited them again. My first objection was this: they won’t accept images of me because I don’t fit their look.

He insisted that I did- but I don’t. I have a full bush that I don’t trim, tattoos, a dark complextion, and short hair. If you go to those sites, very few if any of the girls there have those characteristics. I’m not what they’re looking for.

But even if I was- they more I looked at Met-Art and Femjoy, the more I realized that, more importantly, I don’t want to be on these sites.

It’s not the content itself that I have a problem with. Yes, it’s tastefully done. But it didn’t sit right with me.

I don’t want to be portrayed as younger than I actually am. And those websites, even all dressed up, have “barely legal” splashed all over them.

I don’t have a problem with anyone who finds that appealing, or models that pose for them, or whatever- but I don’t think that it’s something I want to do.

This photographer almost refused to believe that I’d turn down money. It would be tastefully done, after all. What was the problem?

Being tied up and photographed? Sounds like fun to me.

Youthful, when it comes to modeling and me, I have a problem with.

Photography by Vincent Smith, taken in October, 2006.

A while back I received the following email:

Came across your blog via Sanders McNews’ picture.

Thought I would let you know that I do _not_ appreciate some of the choices you make, but I _do_ appreciate that you think about them both before and after. In the long run, that really is far more important than the choices themselves or others opinion of them.

I think you are off to a good start. Happy trails.

I was puzzled- what choices were he talking about? It couldn’t be the nude modeling in and of itself- Sanders McNew’s work is portraiture, but it’s also nude- I can’t imagine anyone looking at his work in depth while disapproving of it.

Maybe he was talking about the fetish work I’m doing? Still, a long shot, considering this was someone who was looking at nude photos to begin with.

Besides the decision to become a nude model, what choices have I made that I truly discuss in this blog? Could he be talking about my opinions, and what I choose to believe?

Whatever he was talking about, I feel it’s irrelevant.

My choices aren’t his to appreciate- or not appreciate.

Photograph by Sanders McNew. November 2006.

I’m fond of this photograph- there aren’t really any of me that are so simple and straightforward as this one is. I think it’s a side of me that’s rarely seen in photos taken of me.

Candy Poses: coming soon to a studio near you!

Well, maybe. I’ve decided that the best course of action this winter would be to do some traveling. I want to get naked all across America.

My current travel plans are as follows:

12/3-12/8 Seattle (booked)
12/15-12/18 NYC
12/20-1/10 Washington DC Metro Area
1/11-1/15 Boston
1/19-1/25 LA
February- DC, Detroit, NYC

So, photographers- if you’d like to collaborate and are in or near these cities, drop me a line at my “work” email, [email protected]. Be forewarned that the vast majority of what I’m going to shoot will be paid work, but my rates are both reasonable and negotiable.

Also, fans and photographers alike- I’ve upgraded my online portfolio- to see my latest photos and old classics, simply go to my One Model Place page. I’ll be updating it on a regular basis, and have a good deal of spots left for photos- I won’t have to take any old ones down for quite some time.

Photograph by Martini. October 2006.

P.S. My business cards arrived in the mail today. I’m now officially a businesswoman.

P.S.S. It has been drawn to my attention that the website One Model Place disabled travel notifications for photographers- meaning that, when I listed my travel schedule on that website, no photographers in those areas received it, even the ones who requested such notifications. As a result…I don’t know what as a result. All I know is that this is an unanticipated pain in the ass.

P.S.S.S. All of a sudden, half my hits are coming from people doing web searches for “Britney Spears Vagina.” Seriously, people, get a life.

P.S.S.S.S. I recently added a “Greatest Hits” section to the sidebar. New readers, the answer to your questions are probably in one of those entries. Read ‘em, then ask.

This entry was a long time coming.

Being a feminist, for me, means acknowledging that there are differences between men and women, and that there are inequalities.

It means not accepting the inequalities.

It means being aware of the fact that what much of what I take for granted has been given to me by my feminist foremothers(and forefathers, for that matter).

It means realizing that other feminists- many other feminists- do not agree with some of my viewpoints.

It means respecting those opposing viewpoints.

It means freedom. Freedom from a society that tells us what is and isn’t beautiful by using a definition that makes all of us feel ugly and not good enough. It means the freedom to make our own choices, from being a housekeeper to a carpenter to a nude model. It means freedom to decide what happens to our own bodies regarding sex, from abortions to condoms to abstinence.

It means not giving up when we hear about rape, and female genital mutilation, and forced prostitution. It means not listening to those who tell us that feminism is obsolete when those things still exist.

And that’s my feminism.

Photography by Vincent Smith, taken in October, 2006.

Using an image taken by this particular photographer is very fitting for this entry. An excerpt from his ModelMayhem page:

Everywhere I look, I see the same female form on the cover of magazines and in ads: bony, mostly white, 19yr old, surgically altered, air brushed, photoshopped celebrities, singers, actors, models or other seemingly rich people. Whose idea of the ideal woman is this?

I see beautiful women all around me - of all ages, shapes and shades of color. They have freckles, wrinkles and A cups; six packs, big butts, and dark skin. Women with legs for days, bucket seat hips, Bambi brown eyes, and Bollywood hair; noses Maria Callas would envy, a Susan Taylor gap, or lips like Lauryn Hill;redheads, brunettes, albinos; afros and bald heads; short women, tall women, big women, disabled women and natural women - not caring to wax and shave themselves into oblivion. Women with dangerous curves and beautiful minds.

All of these women are ideal. I wish to collaborate with these women, creating images using their ideas and mine, taking them from the comforts of the studio, outside into urban spaces and into the available light.

It’s much easier to read the blog of a girl who feels empowered by nude modeling than that of a girl seeking to explore the possible conflicts between being a nude model and being a feminist.

I don’t feel empowered by nude modeling. I enjoy it, but I don’t find it empowering.

When I voted in this past election, and saw the democrats take back congress- I felt empowered.

When I think about all the shit that past feminists went through to allow me to have the rights that I take for granted today, I feel empowered.

When I participate in volunteer work- I feel empowered because I’m making a difference in the lives of other people.

But when I take my clothes off for money? I don’t feel empowered. I often have a whole lot of fun, and make a couple(or more) bucks- but empowered I am not.

Photography by Gary, taken in August, 2006.

What does it mean to support sex workers’ rights?

According to wikipedia, “most scholars define ’sex workers’ to include individuals who perform sexual or sexually oriented activities in the sex industry, such as strippers, erotic massage therapists, pornography actors and actresses, and telephone sex workers.”

I don’t consider myself to be a sex worker (although some would argue that I am, in fact, doing pornography- but that’s not how I feel), but I do run a similar risk that many do- nude and internet modeling is more dangerous than, for example, working at 7-11 or Starbucks.

A lot of feminists seem to have adopted the philosophy, “support the worker, not the work.” This seems to imply that all sex work is horrible and no one would willingly do it- those women need our help!

And, yes, there is a lot of truth to that. A lot of women(and men) are in the sex industry because they have no choice, or feel they have no choice- I won’t even go into the horrors of prostitution in third world countries, etc.

But what about the people who are sex workers by choice, not out of necessity or desperation? Is it even possible to support their rights without supporting their work? What if you feel that sex work is immoral or damaging- wouldn’t supporting them support sex work itself?

I don’t think sex work, in and of itself, is immoral or damaging. But what about the feminists(and my impression is that they make up the vast majority) who do?

I’ve just touched upon the tip of the iceberg of this subject- it’s certainly an interesting one to explore.

Photography by toan thai photography, taken in November, 2006.

I proudly identify as a sex-positive feminist- but why? I agree with a lot of what sex-positive feminism seems to be, but why do I feel the need to stress sex as it relates to feminism when there are many other areas of my life that feminism also applies to?

Anyone who really reads this blog knows that it isn’t about sex. The only way in which it resembles a sex blog is by the nude photos on it, some of which are sexual in nature. I am not a sex blogger; I’m a feminist blogger and a photo blogger.

Maybe it stems from feeling that in any other feminist group, I’d be an outcast- someone who’s chosen to exploit her body. Every once in a while at a shoot I expect Gloria Steinem to jump out and yell “TRAITOR” while pointing at me.

Photography by Tom, taken in August, 2006.

P.S. I’m going to NYC for the weekend- I’ll be back on Tuesday with another post!

I’m a 21 year old woman.

Recently, several people have asked if I’d like some coffee…or maybe hot chocolate.

Hot chocolate? What am I, ten? Does no one think I’m a full-grown adult who’s fully capable of enjoying a cup o’joe?

Now, here’s the thing:

I hate coffee. When I did get coffee, it was a Starbucks vanilla latte. Today, if I stop to get something warm to drink, it’s usually hot chocolate. Maybe chai.

Photograph by Martini. October 2006.

A photo from NYC about a month or so ago. The shoot was completely spur of the moment, and we had to make do with what I brought directly from another shoot- some makeup and the clothes on my back. It’s the photographer’s shirt, but the jeans and jacket are what I was wearing that day. Kudos to Martini for managing to make my faded jeans from high school look glamorous.

Joined: Nov 09, 2005

I created my modeling profile on the site Model Mayhem approximately one year ago. I started out with self portraits and photos taken of me by my ex, quickly followed by pictures taken of me by Gary.

Modeling has taken me to Raleigh, Richmond, Baltimore, Bellingham, and New York City, as well as all over the Washington, DC metro area.

I’ve modeled for free, and made over 400 dollars in a day.

I’ve had a boyfriend dislike what I was doing, and another encourage it.

I’ve started a blog about modeling that receives, as of now, an average of 600 hits or so a day.

I’d like to say thanks to all of the wonderful photographers that I’ve worked with, and to the people in my life who have been supportive of what I’m doing.

Thank you.

From my first shoot.
Photograph by Gary. November 2005.

Photography by Jim Duvall. October, 2006.