An Opportunity for Affirmation, Exploration, Healing, and Growth
A Story of Affirmation is probably the most common request a client makes of me. The client is in a place in their life that feels really good and they want to memorialize it. Perhaps it is to be a gift to their lover. Perhaps it is a gift to themselves. Joy and happiness abound. Perhaps contentment and peace are elements in the story, too. A Story of Affirmation is told in Present Tense.
In contrast, a Story of Exploration is almost always told in Future Tense. It is a look into what could be. Is balance needed? Is there an important part of life for which neither time nor opportunity has existed? Or maybe it doesn’t seem like it’s all that important but it could be a lot of fun to try out. More often than not, such larks turn out to be much more important than originally assumed. Sometimes, good girls want to try out being bad. You would be amazed at how many times clients have asked if I had access to a stripper pole. And more than one bad girl has explored what life would be like if only it were safe enough to be good.
A Healing Story of Necessity Involves the Past and Its Results
“What went wrong? How do I feel about it? How can anyone love me after I’ve been defiled? Can anyone get past these scars, be they physical or mental? How can I be loved if I can’t even treat myself with love? What are the emotions in me that seem too horrible to express? Will you photograph me while I cry?” The artistic process creates the healing because, by definition, something beautiful always comes out in the end.
Growth Stories are always come-backers, a second bite at the apple. “Okay, I had to get that out of my system. Now I’m ready to practice what I really need.” A client too ashamed of her appearance to have sex with the lights on, came back and played Eve in the Garden. A client too abused in her marriage to be able to look straight into the camera, came back as a Dominatrix. A client who cried, cried and cried some more, came back for Part Two all smiles and dancing on her tip-toes. A client greatly frightened of being naked, came back for Part Two nude with a vengeance. Or perhaps more simply, many clients begin with the safety of the studio but ultimately hit their stride out prancing with Mother Nature at the beach or in the woods.
About The Photographer
Jim Guzel began his formal visual art training at the age of ten in Pittsburgh at the Carnegie Museum of Art.
Over the next decades, his studies meandered through the visual arts and finally came into focus when he picked up a camera in 1994, so to speak. Since that time, his portrait photography has received numerous national and international awards. He taught portrait photography at the Washington School of Photography and through his own unique series of workshops and lectures. He was also the inaugural Education Chairman of the Portrait Photographers Society of Greater Washington. His photography was published in books and national magazines back when people actually read them.
Naked or Nude - What’s the Difference?
If you Google this question,
you will find much argument amongst art historians, and other deep thinkers on the human condition. If you feel the need to do massive amounts of research, try The Nude: A Study in Ideal Form by Sir Kenneth Clark (1903-1983). His thinking is much in line with my take on the subject.
Here’s what I go with at Aphrodite Photography.
Naked is without clothes, unprotected and vulnerable, unadorned, and lacking confirmation or support. If you haven’t done this sort of thing before, this may very well be your jumping-off point. You might be feeling fear. Every artist who has pushed their own limits has felt fear. And you are about to push your limits in the art of being you. Don’t fret; it’s part of the process.
Certainly, you will become nude well before your session ends. Nude is without clothes, too. The difference is when you become the subject and co-creator of the artistic nude, your perfection arises. You feel the power of being your natural self. You become like a panther as you strut, preen, or just let the sunlight of creation warm your body. You weren’t born with clothes on and your body remembers that. Welcome home.
Naked or Nude - What’s the Difference?
If you Google this question,
you will find much argument amongst art historians, and other deep thinkers on the human condition. If you feel the need to do massive amounts of research, try The Nude: A Study in Ideal Form by Sir Kenneth Clark (1903-1983). His thinking is much in line with my take on the subject.
Here’s what I go with at Aphrodite Photography.
Naked is without clothes, unprotected and vulnerable, unadorned, and lacking confirmation or support. If you haven’t done this sort of thing before, this may very well be your jumping-off point. You might be feeling fear. Every artist who has pushed their own limits has felt fear. And you are about to push your limits in the art of being you. Don’t fret; it’s part of the process.
Certainly, you will become nude well before your session ends. Nude is without clothes, too. The difference is when you become the subject and co-creator of the artistic nude, your perfection arises. You feel the power of being your natural self. You become like a panther as you strut, preen, or just let the sunlight of creation warm your body. You weren’t born with clothes on and your body remembers that. Welcome home.
Is Being Sexy Part of It?
Here again, expert opinions run the gamut.
My experience is that some clients choose not to go there at all, some dabble and play at it a bit, and others go for all the gusto. All approaches are valid and I honor whatever my client wishes in this respect. I only ask that no matter what you choose to try out, you give it your all. If you do, I guarantee it will be more than enough.
Am I willing to photograph you while you wear clothing and adornments? Of course, I am. But they must have purpose and add to your experience, not hinder it. They may add some flavor and/or context, or give you something to play with. The same goes for on-location verses studio. You are to be the work of art and I need you most of all. Fair enough?
Is Being Sexy Part of It?
Here again, expert opinions run the gamut.
My experience is that some clients choose not to go there at all, some dabble and play at it a bit, and others go for all the gusto. All approaches are valid and I honor whatever my client wishes in this respect. I only ask that no matter what you choose to try out, you give it your all. If you do, I guarantee it will be more than enough.
Am I willing to photograph you while you wear clothing and adornments? Of course, I am. But they must have purpose and add to your experience, not hinder it. They may add some flavor and/or context, or give you something to play with. The same goes for on-location verses studio. You are to be the work of art and I need you most of all. Fair enough?
Our team of experienced professionals has years of expertise in photography, planning & consulting
Jim Guzel
Photographer/Founder
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Amy Williams
Photographer Assistant
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Peter Davis
Creative Director
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Andy Thompson
Lighting Assistant
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