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I thought about doing this blog for a while and I never did it, but @yannaly's last blog finally made me write.

I started taking my clothes off for photographers on my first year of my photography major, for some friends. Then everybody started to ask if I could pose for them and I was always ok with that. I'm not a professional model, I don't want to be, but I like to shoot - especially without clothes, I don't like myself in photos with clothes LOL.

Because of that, I was asked to model for some more photographers, some really nice and some really unprofessional ones, and I will talk about that in this blog.

As someone who is in the photography industry for almost five years and working as a photographer's assistant for two, I think I can talk about this and I don't think I'm wrong with what I'm about to say (but I'm open to your ideas, and I hope you do the same with mine).

When you work as a photographer's assistant, you are subject to all risks:

- if something goes wrong, it's your fault;

- if the photographer is nervous, he can be an asshole with you and you need to be quiet and wait for the client to go out so you can talk to them; normally this helps, especially if you have a good relationship with him/her - which I normally do: many of my bosses (I'm freelancer, so I work with many different photographers) are my friends;

- as a female photographer's assistant, you can hear some shit - on my first year, I heard from a photographer that "a female assistant is something from hell"; once I was working with kids and one dad told the photographer that he could help, since "there's only girls helping him"; they think we are weak. The last thing I heard was another assistant (a boy) asking me how something works, I helped him and he told me "I asked if you could go in this shoot with us, but [the photographer] said that for this job, a guy would be better, since we're going to carry many things" - so I told him to tell to [the photographer] to ask for the help of other male photographer's assistent for the things that one couldn't do (and go fuck himself, but only on my mind);

- we know the time to start, we never know at what time we are going home;

- if someone looks at you, head to toes with that wtf-face, you still need to smile and go get him/her their water.

Anyway... this job can be a pain in the ass, I already cried on the bathroom... but I learned a lot. When I started my photography major, I didn't know what to do, how to do and the college helped me with this, but working I learned 80% of what I know.

You learn how to treat the client, the model, the makeup artist, the art director, everybody.

And there's only one way you can do this: with politeness. You need to be polite, you don't have to judge, you need to say "ok" and try it his way, even if you know that his way won't work, you need to explain and show to him/her why that way won't work, you need to be patient.

Working with so many photographers, I saw many things: the client says it's URGENT, you put his thing on the top of your list, send him an email with the shoot so he can "approve" and two days later he answers. You send the test photo so he can approve the angle and he/she argue about the light. Etc, etc, etc..

This is stressful, but you need to talk, you need to explain, you need to be patient. Otherwise, you will lose the client, he will talk badly about you and you will lose more clients - then you won't work... so you won't have money - you won't pay your bills, your rent, you can't change your camera, can't buy a new lens, can't go to that trip. Yeah, you need to suck up your ego and be polite.

And I'm saying all this not for only one kind of photography, I already worked with fashion photography - with a whole team -, with publicity photography - with lots of money involved -, with ecommerce - with a client that is not paying you enough, but want to treat you as if -, oh, man... with so many things! But it is always the same: patience, being professional, talking, explaining, treating as normally as you're not being treated.

So... whats is different with nude photography?

Nothing.

As a photographer's assistant, and a photographer's aspirant, I know their side. But as a model, I know our side. So let me explain this other side:

Nudity is still a taboo. Not everyone accepts that, and even if accepted, not everyone understands. The guy can love to look a naked lady, but he will say "I would never date her, because she's a slut". People will think they own us, they think they can tell us how we should be - cut your hair; let your hair grow; shave; do not shave; put some makeup; take off your makeup; too much tattoos; not enough tattoos... argh.

So... yeah, being nude in front of a camera is hard. Being naked, in pictures, to so many people looking at us, so fragile, so exposed... is hard. Being naked all over the internet is hard.

Many of the girls contact someone to shoot them, they usually don't even meet the photographer before the shooting day, so it's even harder to be naked in front of this stranger.

So... why should you be less patient, polite, why wouldn't you talk with this girl, explain, teach... BE PROFESSIONAL.

I already had so many problems with photographers, guys complaining about girls only shooting with female photographers, while they lied to the model (myself included), treating potential models really bad, calling them names, and even saying "I would love to fuck you" just because he thinks that he can... ¯\_("/)_/¯

I received messages of "photographers" saying "you should pose for me" without even a hello (and when I told him he should introduce himself, at least, he called me a bitch and said I'm nobody to tell him what he should or shouldn't do) ¯\_("/)_/¯

A man saying that "girls shouldn't work with female photographers, because girls will always look to other girls with envy"... ¯\_("/)_/¯

Photographers blocking the model because he thinks that his work is, I don't know why, more important than the girl's work.

In my first year of photography classes, my teacher showed us a picture and said "this is a 50/50 work, this photo would not exist without my work, but also would not exist without the model".

I KNOW: the photographer shoots, he made the selection, then he edits the photo, he photoshops, oh... so much time, so much effort, it's a hard work. I know.

On the other hand, she has the body, the mind, she's there, for the haters, for the pain because someone thinks that he can say whatever he wants to. It's her body, she will be the one judged.

When a photographer post a naked lady on his instagram, people will say "nice job", when a model post her naked photo on her instagram, people will say "you're a whore" ¯\_("/)_/¯

Again, I'm NOT saying that the photographer only gets the good, easy part... no. It is not that. But I think the work needs to be with the model. You need to talk to her, ask her what she wants, make her feel comfortable. When you're done, show it to her, ask which picture she loves, which one she hates - this is easy when you're being paid, but this is needed when it's a mutual job "for free", too. Why not? Why should you be better than her just because you're doing this for free? She's doing this for free as well.

So, for the girls, for the many girls here who are exposed to those things: don't let anybody treat you like shit. Not even if it is the best photographer. Not even if you need those photos. Be polite and if they don't, put them on their places. Don't be afraid, don't put yourself down. You deserve a good work, a nice treatment.

If he/she sends you the pictures and you do not like them, talk to them. If you do not like one or two, do the same. Really, this needs to be done.

And be aware that there's many assholes out there, so take care, don't do anything that you don't want to. If you're uncomfortable, talk to the photographer, talk always, explain your situation and if they don't understand it or if he/she treats you badly because of that, take your stuff and go home.

Giant blog, but I needed to do that.

Love.