"Naked models wearing clothes..."

Since it's so damn cold out, I figured I'd post a few shots of models actually wearing clothes. Granted, not a LOT of clothes in most cases, but something. From top to bottom, we have Jackie lounging, Kristina in fun fur, Foxy Tigress, Karla Fire, Redemption in vintage, Mandy beaming, AngelD mobster-style, and the charming Mara.

Funny thing is, all these shoots were either partially or primarily nude shoots. But oddly enough, models like to model clothing from time to time, too. Some just for a change of pace, others are primarily fashion/glamour models who are open to doing nude work as well. I've had a model tell me she wanted some shots she could send her mother, and others ask for shots that are "MySpace safe" more and more frequently.

I've seen models work to move away from nudes -- I recently lost two OMP showcases because the model (whose portfolio they appeared upon) removed them. She explained to me: "those timeless & awesome images are death for getting work out here - it's a bummer...economica over erotica." And the images were far from erotic or explicit. The part that puzzles me a bit is that she still has SOME nude images on her portfolio, but they're more glamour nude than art nude, so that must make them OK. I know a model or two who actively quash the nudes in their past, even to the point of claiming they've not done them and being insulted if you ask them about it. I guess it's still a stigma with some agencies and clients, even though Kate Moss, arguably the most famous fashion model in the world, frequently appears topless and nude. Oh well, not everyone can be Kate Moss. Or wants to be.

It works the other way, too. A model will start with a firm "no nudity, no implied, no sheer" stance seeking only mainstream fashion or glamour work, but eventually moves away from that. They might post a covered topless shot on their portfolio, and start getting offers to do more covered work, then they try something sheer, and those offers start coming in, then the right photographer will ask them to do covered art nudes, and so on... Some draw the line, others blur it, some cross it and find an entire new market for their modeling services doing nude figure work. On OMP for instance, these models might have nude images in their porfolio and discuss doing nude work in their text, but will NOT have any of the "nude" checkboxes marked so they will not show up in a search for "nude models," which can be a pretty smart policy. If you find them via their work, they'll consider nudity for the right project, but if you're just searching for nude models, maybe someone else is better for that job.

Then there are the models who start out doing art nude work and prefer it, some to the point of even shunning doing fashion or glamour work. I've worked with a fair number of them, and it's always very refreshing to find someone who greets the shoot as an opportunity to participate in making something beautiful without the nagging feeling that they'd rather be doing something else. As previously addressed, some photographers will only work with this kind of model, and while I prefer it for nude work, I'm not quite ready to rule anybody out, within reason.

By the way, the title of this post refers to the time I was yelled at by the building manager of my studio for having "naked models wearing clothes" outside the confines of my studio space. I knew what he meant, but it's always struck me as a funny way to put it...