Feminists, Photoshop & Twitter

I'm not an angry or argumentative person. Truth be told I generally try and avoid conflict wherever possible. I'm far too laid back to start picking fights. That said, I ended up in the middle of one last night on Twitter!

It all started from one single tweet I made in order to spark some debate. Recently I've noticed a difference in the way a lot of men and women edit their images. Female photographers seem to use a lot more photoshop textures on their images when compared to their male counterparts. I figure we all have the same eyes, so why should a woman's approach to editing be any different... hence why I pointed out my observation on twitter and asked for peoples opinions.


Well what followed from one individual (a female art nude photographer who only shoots on film) was shocking to me! I was called sexist, ugly and that my comments were degrading to women! This then resulted in an argument rather than healthy debate, despite my best efforts! This individual seemed to think that I was saying women can't take a good photo and rely on photoshop to make a good image, when in actual fact I was comparing the different editing styles and the way that women often create more 'arty' images than men. At no point did I say I think one is better than the other, or that either sex had more photographic skill. It was purely a style based observation! Another comment that she made was that it was sexist to compare men and women... Well surely to deny that there are differences between us is to deny our individuality, and if we're all the same, think the same, make the same images, what's the point in trying to be creative? 


What I found really interesting was the effect this had on some of my other twitter followers...


I'm always very careful of what I say online. Much like in life, I try and avoid getting into heated arguments as I don't think they can do much for anyone's reputation. That said, I found that a lot of people were re-tweeting my comments and agreeing with me. I was getting direct messages and replies from people I had previously not heard from in support. I also gained about 15-20 new followers during the few hours that this went on. Now I wouldn't recommend being argumentative as a good way to improve your social networking following, but with billions of people interacting across the internet every second, there are bound to be conflicts at some point. The key is how you handle them.


So what have I learned from this little online fracas? Well for one, if you want a peaceful life... keep quiet! More importantly I've found that sometimes it's good to defend your point of view, and not to stand for personal attacks from people on the other side of the world who have never met you and don't know the first thing about you!

Chaperones

chaperone   /ʃ'æpəroʊn/;   chaperon

verb: accompany

A chaperone is someone who accompanies another person somewhere in order to make sure that they do not come to any harm.

I feel I need to get something off my chest.... I hate chaperones! That feels better already, although I suppose I should clarify it a little more...


My reason for hating chaperones is simple... In order for me to do my job properly, I need whoever it is I'm shooting to trust me. They're putting their image in my hands. I need them to understand that I want them to look just as good, if not better than they want to! My problem with someone bringing a chaperone is that it instantly says "I don't trust you". I have a big problem with that!


I'm a professional. My reputation is extremely important to me, and I wouldn't ever want to put it in jeopardy. Maybe it's just the word I object to as I have no problem with if a model wants to bring a friend to watch, or doesn't drive and is getting a lift from someone. I was recently on a magazine shoot where someone brought a chaperone... There were 8 people there excluding the models, and it was for a national publication... hardly a need to bring someone "in order to make sure that they do not come to any harm".


A professional model (if he/she is serious about it) needs to be attending castings and go-sees regularly. If they need someone to hold their hand at every step of the way, then perhaps it might be the wrong industry for them, as most agents/designers/publications will be of the same opinion as me.


Now I'm not saying models shouldn't take precautions... especially when starting out. There are some dodgy people out there, but Google is your friend! Most photographers these days have a profile on at least one of the networking sites. Have a look at their references...

Jay is a fantastic photographer. Vey talented and a lovely, fun person. He's very welcoming and makes you feel extremely comfortable!

Had a fab shoot with Jay this week! A very relaxed shoot in which I got some of the best pictures in my portfolio :)

Had an awesome shoot with jay yesterday, it was seriously one of the most productive, relaxed and fun shoots i've ever been on, i loved that we worked so hard and did so much, but the time flew and i could've kept shooting all evening! Jay is highly professional, creative and talented. Hope to work with jay again and again...  He is awesome!

You may have gathered that I've had a recent experience with a chaperone. Well yes and no... Most of the time I find that it's the female models that have chaperones, and nine times out of ten, it's their boyfriend. This can lead to yet more problems surrounding trust because it can often be that he doesn't like her modelling or doesn't trust her or the photographer. The last thing I need on a shoot is for a domestic to break out in my studio for some random reason. I recently blogged about a shoot where the model wanted to bring a chaperone. The chaperone was her boyfriend and was also giving her a lift because she didn't drive. Now as much as I dislike chaperones, I don't let them get in the way of my work, however, as I mentioned in the blog, the model cancelled a week before the shoot because they had broken up. Initially the model then asked if I could go and collect her. I found that odd having insisted on having a chaperone a week earlier, but she cancelled the next day due to crying too much! Nice and professional I thought!


Anyway, I've had my rant. Normal service will resume shortly. In the meantime I'd be interested to know your take on chaperones. Do you agree with them? Have you had any good/bad experiences with them? Leave a comment and let me know!


Please note: This blog is referring to photoshoots involving adults aged 18+. I rarely shoot children and when I do, there is usually a parent/guardian present.