AB: Sensuality is a distinct aim in your work. What makes a nude photograph sensual?
Probably intention on my part, and on the part of the mode. The word "model" is a funny word, because it suggests a certain type of individual in the culture; and I still work in the tradition of photographers who subjects similarly to how a painter go goes about it, sticking with an individual over a number of years, or over the course of numerous works.
AB: You work primarily with women, but would you ever work with male models?
I've worked with a range of male subjects. I've also photographed a number of young and older men in Editorials for publications such as The New York Times Magazine. And I spent 3 years photographing a male to female transgender subject, which was an ideal project that consolidated some of my enduring creative concerns: androgyny, gender, the mutability of the body.
AB: How much direction do you give your models? I know you have written on the comfort resting primarily on the subject, rather than the photographer.
I direct when it feels appropriate, to coax more emotional or gestural expression from a subject. Oftentimes a subject will ask for direction, because a deep trust has been established . Then there is "directing" as a credible working procedure when it comes to constructing certain kinds of pictures that comprise a narrative.
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