The question of publishing a nude image of the self made me reflect on what I am asking many of my clients to do when I’m publishing their images on this platform. It would be a double standard, I thought if I couldn’t do the same and at the same time there is a certain sense of separateness one feels towards an image like this, it is an image and no longer “you”, it’s a body, it could be any body and its just one moment.
After working with women for so long I think I’m reasonably desensitized to nudity or the body in many respects but at the same time I think I have a heightened understanding of what exposing the body means to many normal women as well, in terms of how we curate how we are seen by others.
From this shoot there were generally many more provocative images than the one I chose in the end and the selection process surprised me.
The final image below was an accident, it was taken after we stopped shooting and I was dancing and jumping around jokingly. I decided on using this image as apposed to the more provocative ones I shot because I think that the expression of joy, movement and freedom, which are expressed in this image, are powerful statements about accepting and understanding our sensuality, the beauty in freedom and confidence as apposed to a contrived notion of it.
I shot this image using two very old movie lights which live in our studio. I covered myself in oil and donned thigh-highs for the shoot. There is still a stain on our grey studio wall which we can’t seem to get off….
