Respect your co-workers!

It should be obvious by now that I have great respect and admiration for the models I collaborate with during shoots. Too many people treat them like meat that they can just abuse for a couple hours, and that really pisses me off. Everyone has different comfort levels that need to be respected. Failing to understand those levels or even worse purposefully pushing past the limits is reprehensible. The ability to understand limits and stay within them is what makes us humans. Violating those comfort levels makes us no better than monkeys.

That rant over, I find it creatively inspiring to have limits to work within. I used to work with about 100 artists. Some of them would bitch and complain because they didn't have what was necessary to be creative. Some of them however could take whatever you gave them and make magic happen. True creativity requires limits to make you work around perceived obstacles. Total freedom in my opinion leads to paralysis whereas limits make you inspired.

The image today is from a shoot I did with a girl named Lola. You'd think by looking at it she had no limits but she did. You just don't walk up to someone, jack their elbows, tie their breasts and throw clamps on their nipples. You discuss a list of options and make it very clear where the lines are. And you respect those lines! Just because you see a picture of someone like that doesn't mean they'll do anything and it doesn't mean that they'll do it with you. Comfort is often something that's earned. Holding up money and expecting nipple clamps and breast bondage in return is easy. Establishing a rapport through conversation and honest exchange of ideas however is inspiring. I'll take inspiring any day.

The short version is that the work I do comes out well because I work with talented and motivated people. We communicate well and we respect each other as creative professionals. Because of that mutual respect the material comes out well. People work better for you when they can get along with you. They get along with you when you treat them with respect.

Orgasm Hell with Lola courtesy of Ted Michaels. Enjoy!