Every evening after I come home from my day job, I dig into either planning the next shoot, editing the previous, calling, texting, e-mailing and/or otherwise getting in touch with folks.
At the moment I'm feverishly working to select and edit the images for my first formal submission for a possible 2011 calendar contract. I've decided I'm going to attempt three separate calendar submissions before the end of the month in addition to providing some other images I simply like in hopes they may become greeting cards or a page or two in one of this publisher's various magazines or books. One will be a series of the same model shot in different locations with a more erotic edge. Another will be selections from my many art nudes featuring different men. And the third will be -- as it's called in the industry -- "beefcake" selections, non nudes of just handsome guys showing off their physiques (not my strongest work as I tend to prefer photographing more mature guys whose images tell something about who they are -- edgier work.) But I'm told the market for guys over 40 is pretty limited though for the life of me I don't understand why since many of the best people I've ever worked with are in their 40s and, occasionally, beyond.
My dilemma is I've never shot any of my work with a thought of having it published. Usually I'm just shooting to build my portfolio and (in many cases) to help the model also build his portfolio and/or fulfill a particular fantasy. As a consequence I haven't the foggiest idea which images have commercial value. So I'm having to look through all this work with a different set of eyes.
One thing that helps a bit is tracking the comments and views on the three public sites where I post a number of images. The largest selection is at http://www.studio4496.deviantart.com/ where I've posted about 600 recent images over the past year. I joined the site in April 2008 and have generated an almost unprecedented 100,000 + page views in just over a year and literally thousands of comments. While I can't post anything erotic there, there are definitely images which are "faved" more often than not.
The site http://www.modelmayhem.com/ where I'm member 12269 provides a similar litmus test, this time among a more select audience of fellow photographers and models. One can "get away" with a little more (not much) vis a vis the erotic on MM and, not surprisingly, given the choice of two really good images, one with a full frontal and one without, the full frontal always wins hands down even if the other image is a stronger image. Now don't get me wrong, the dick shot needs to be well crafted; but -- at least at this point in the evolution of the human species -- we still seem to be obsessed by penis, willy, wanker, dick, schlong, pecker, etc. etc. And finally on http://www.modelcoast.com/ where I'm member 15859 and it is okay to show an erect penis, there's little doubt that tumescence is the crowd pleaser.
But is it art?
I think it can be. Though most folks automatically rule out frontal images (and definitely images with erections) as such. Tart, maybe, but not art. But then the interest if my mini on-line polls are an indication, and hence the money seems to be in the erotic. So the challenge at this point as I attempt to do more commercially successful work is to still create well crafted work that honors each model. AND to find a balance between the erotic and the artful. Cause, ultimately, it has to find a market.
It will be telling to me to see which, if any, of my submissions at the end of the month wind up gracing someone's closet door in 2011.
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