A little essay / rant I've started posting on my online portfolios, after getting tired of being told by photographers why I shouldn't be doing Suicide Girls sets ...
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It has come to my attention, since I started posting on my ports that my usual precondition for TF work is that I get a Suicide Girls set out of it, that a fair few photographers seem to hold a low opinion of that site. In fact, most of those I have mentioned it to since I started submitting there have been quite disdainful, telling me I would get better quality images if I just did normal TF work to their standards.
While there is an argument there - a photographer working to their own standards rather than the fairly rigid models imposed by Suicide Girls certainly has more creative scope - it fundamentally misses the point from the model's view, and indeed the very appeal of Suicide Girls. When starting out as a model, which I have done twice (twelve years ago as a male model, then three years ago when I relaunched my career post-transition), being asked to do TF work with strong photographers was incredibly validating and morale-building. However, it only takes a few such shoots before a model has a hard drive bursting at the seams with interesting, well-edited shots - far more than she can use for a basic portfolio (the only sort worth getting until she is established or lucky enough to be commanding a regular stream of paid work) - and she may well also find that the more interesting and artistic the shots, the less useful they actually are in her port, insofar as her portfolio is also her modelling "CV". TF shots (especially highly edited ones) very often showcase the virtuosity of the photographer, but leave the model rather overshadowed. Indeed, when building ports, I have found that my most "artistic" shots generate little reaction, while raw and untouched work - including wholly unedited catwalk shots and Suicide Girls shots - have instantly garnered positive feedback and interest.
Herein lies one of the main virtues of Suicide Girls: its rigorous and challenging standards (large shoots, unedited, location shooting preferred, nudity essential) are in fact a great way for the model to prove her own capability and show what she has to offer in and of herself, without the "props" of extensive editing and studio facilities. Each SG shoot is a performance in its own right, giving her chance to work on her technique, her confidence, her poses, and indeed her imagination, as she strives to think what new concepts she can bring, and how she can extend those concepts over a full set. The sense of achievement after such a shoot, and of progress, is far more than one would get after the generally more comfortable experience of a regular shoot, particularly if aware that the photographer will be "ironing out" any flaws they perceive.
This is not to disparage TF work - it is of course invaluable for starting models, it can offer the chance to work with particular photographers whose work one may be a fan of (assuming the trade suits them as well), and it may occasionally lead to publication - but its has its limitations, and Suicide Girls work offers a meaningful way to get some value out of it later in one's modelling career, when portfolio-building is less of a priority. It also offers the benefits and support of a wide community of models and photographers, and exposure for both. Modelling in the internet age is often a lonely pursuit, so being able to share one's work in a friendly and constructive environment (as I have always found Suicide Girls to be) is a lot more uplifting than just putting an album of pretty pictures on a standard hosting site and hoping forlornly for comments ...
Sorry for the rant, but for anyone still confused or offended at my shooting preconditions, I trust that explains it a bit. xxx