Art or Porn? Check Out 3 Photographers Who Also Did Erotic Shoots

Since the outburst of all the scandals against Terry Richardson, the renowned photographer who worked closely with various Condé Nast’s magazines, many have questioned the morality of nude and erotic photography in today’s media. Are those pictures pure art or grandstanding? But the underlying question is truly what happens behind the scenes especially with sexual harassment stories coming to surface.

Let me introduce 3 controversial photographers who also took sexual suggestive photography, but maybe surprisingly, their works might change your perspective of this radical art.

KISHIN SHINOYAMA

The legendary Japanese photographer started to shoot nudes in the 60s. His sensual images of naked women caused a social outcry in those conservative times. However, according to Shinoyama, “The human body’s charm is revealed as soon as it is unclothed. This is what interests me,” he says.

“Everyone has a story: his or her own life. I capture the power, the Eros, and the character of the body. I photograph the interesting and the unusual. Then I amplify it, shrink it, and express what I want to reveal.”

Twin 6 © KISHIN SHINOYAMA

Maori 2 © KISHIN SHINOYAMA

NUDE © KISHIN SHINOYAMA

Death Valley1969 © KISHIN SHINOYAMA

PRUE STENT

This Australian female photographer has a playful and pristine way to interpret woman’s body. In most of her works, she uses lots of pink to represent femininity. Combining the natural elements and cheerful colors, her works reveal a sense of surrealism and feminism. These always leave a visual impact on viewers.

“In a lot of my work you will notice that the face of the model is absent or obscured by veils or masks of one sort of another. This symbolises our cultures focus on the female body rather then individuality. The viewer is then left to decode what the work says about the power of feminine sensuality.”

Collection Two/ Image Source: http://www.pruestent.com/untitled-gallery

JUERGEN TELLER

Born in Germany but currently based in London, Juergen Teller is regarded as one of the most influential fashion photographers at the moment. Besides shooting mainstream pictures for fashion magazines, you can also find a lot of seductive, titillating works in his collection, most of which result from collaborations with celebrities. When talking about his non-commercially-driven projects, he said:

“I am very pleased to say today that I am a fashion photographer who does other things,”

“They’re just in my head, I need to do them for me. But it’s insane that people say I don’t like fashion just because my pictures look a bit different.”

Teller is never afraid of producing provocative and sexually suggestive shoots, and with the vintage-looking color and over-exposed technique, his works perfectly strike the balance between aesthetic erotica and commercialism.