I have been meaning to speak on this for a while now but something always came up to get me sidetracked. Well a post on a friend's Facebook page compelled me enough to finally put in my own two cents about the subject. Mainly because I too get criticism from conseravative folks about some of the things that I shoot.
Even on this website, you can see that I will delve into a racy concept or two here or there. I am no stranger to controversy. And if I'm going to be totally transparent, it can get even more risque than what you have seen. But it's all relative to me. Mainly because I don't look at it in that judgmental way at all. I am a photographer who enjoys his craft so I look at it as art.
I am of the simple mindset that our bodies truly are temples. In these days where fitness is so popular (not to mention a multi-billion dollar business), it's becoming more evident. People spend countless hours fine-tuning their temples to get them in peak condition. They work tirelessly to get them sculpted into chiseled specimens that would make the ancient Grecian statues jealous. Having done all that, why wouldn't you want to show it off? I say time and time again, if I was built like a premier athlete, you'd have to pay me to keep my shirt on.
Self secure people are proud of their bodies. They are proud of how they look either due to hard work or blessed genetics. Or sometimes even both. So there is absolutely nothing wrong with having it memorialized in photos. It's just another form of artistic expression. When it's done tastefully, there is nothing wrong with that all.
Which brings me to my next point...the key thing is that it is done with class. There is a fine line. Some people shoot porn and call it art. I suppose one could argue that that is another form of art too. I wouldn't. It's porn. Nothing classy about that all. I go out of my way to make sure I always maintain integrity when shooting my 'racy' shoots so there is no gray area where one couldn't make that distinction. Personally, I think I do a pretty good job of maintaining that if I must say so myself.
I will always have those pearl-clutching folks that say some of my shots are too revealing. Some of them may even end up being family members. I'm fine with that. I may not have the physique of a Marvel superhero, but I am secure enough with my work to know when something I created is a work of art.