JANUARY 2, 2011 !
Sexy pictures as wedding gifts
BENNY Liew, a professional photographer in when I’m 40,” she added.
Kota Kinabalu, has been taking nude por- The result of the shoot also gave her quite a
traits of some brides-to-be as a gift to their boost in confidence. “I didn’t think I could
soon-to-be husbands for some time now. look this good — like a real lingerie model.”
“They want the gift to be more personal But to some, age is no factor as photog-
and, at the same time, to preserve their looks rapher Lam Wai Cheong discovered when he
on film while they can. got a request from a 50-year-old English-
“It seems to be a growing trend but I don’t woman to shoot her in the nude recently.
expect it to be a massive one due to our The client had done nude portraits when
culture and that people are generally more she was younger and wanted an updated
reserved. It may also not be easy to find a version as a birthday gift for her husband, he
photographer who you can trust, is com- said.
fortable with and can take the best pic- “Shooting nude is often a very personal and
tures of you naked,” said Liew. meaningful decision. We always ask what the
Anna Rina, a freelance photographer shots are for and how much the client wants
based in Kuala Lumpur, has also been to expose. The concept, whether artistic, sen-
getting requests from clients for such sual, fun, sexy or racy, should be translated
nude shots. into the shots.” Benny Liew says a confidential agreement
One of her clients, financial consultant Vee, a wedding photographer from Petal- or exclusive rights contract is the best way
Selina Tee, 27, definitely thought they ing Jaya, said photographing nude subjects to ensure one’s pictures will not be abused
would make a nice wedding gift for her had its own set of challenges.
then fiancé last August. “The hard part is not knowing what to
So she booked Anna for a two-hour expect until your client takes it all off. Bra
boudoir shoot, clad only in sexy lin- lines, skin creases and wrinkles are common
gerie. imperfections we have to deal with.”
“I guess I have a decent figure but Sometimes, clients would request shots
there are areas that I need to work on. that weren’t the most flattering, and it would
But I didn’t let those become an issue take some skill and tact to get them to try
when sharing my body with my other angles, said Vee.
beloved.” “People come in different shapes and
Tee, who had been following the forms — shots that look good in the mag-
blogs of various wedding photogra- azines or on the Internet might not suit your
phers in the United States, was in- body type.”
trigued with sexy photography, Besides finding the best angles, some pho-
which was quite common there. tographers rely on lighting or even editing
“It’s a good idea even as a gift to software to make their clients look good on
yourself. Why not preserve your film.
beauty when you can? I don’t think I Lam, also from Petaling Jaya, said touching
Eileen
ding picture of would look this good up was done only to an acceptable extent and Anna Rina says more single women now
Nude pre-wed r husband’s back. — with the clients’ permission. want to have their nude portraits taken
he
Lui straddling of Yeh Poh Chung “I don’t turn my client into a model —
sy
Picture courte Some only the skin tones and lines are evened
shedd married cou out, the fat is still visible. The size, the
in
inhibit g their clo ples are also dimension and the frame are still there. I
Pictur ions p thes a take centimetres off the waist, not inch-
e cour ost-weddin nd es.”
tesy o g
f Anna . — There are many factors clients should
Rina
consider when engaging in such photog-
raphy, such as privacy and acceptance by
family members, and if the pictures were for
public viewing, Lam said.
Tee did not sign any contract to ensure her
photographs would not be distributed to oth-
ers.
“I trust the photographer because we are
friends. She destroyed her copies and my CD
is the only copy that is left. But I would advise
others to sign a contract.”
What if she gets estranged from her hus- Lam Wai Cheong says touching up on nude
band? “I would just take back the CD.” photos is not meant to make a model out
Single women wanting to have nude por- of a client
traits taken are also a growing trend.
In the past year alone, Anna has taken on
four assignments from single women.
“I think there has always been interest
among single women for such photos but
most don’t talk about it. It’s amazing the
number of women who do this. I think it’s
great that so many are confident about their
bodies,” she said.
All her nude jobs were done based on trust
so far.
“Somehow, they never requested a con-
tract. But my advice is, find someone who is
legitimate and meet up with them before
deciding.”
Liew, who prepares agreements or exclu-
sive rights contracts for his clients when un-
dertaking such assignments, thinks it is al-
ways a good idea to be protected. Vee says bra lines, skin creases and
wrinkles are common ‘imperfections’ that
n SEE ALSO PAGE 14 photographers have to deal with