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Modelling ARTICLES

Decent Exposure

29th August 2008

By MELANY KARRMICHAEL

Long before programs like Photo Shop were invented, naughty pictures that had to meet the prim and proper censorship laws were given the old-fashioned air-brush treatment. Anyone over 30 will remember the strange fuzzy patches blending out anything we weren't supposed to see, i.e. all the interesting bits. My brother and his friends would always turn the magazine this way and that, hoping to miraculously catch a glimpse of something and, even though they knew it was impossible, it didn't stop them trying.

Air-brushing was also used occasionally to protect the dignity of celebrities - how things have changed! A well-known example of this was some rather unfortunate photos taken of Princess Diana during a visit to the theatre. She was wearing a low-cut evening gown showing a lot of bare bosom and a mischievous shadow created the illusion that a nipple was exposed. Picture editors were faced with a serious dilemma, but the results were predictable.

Certain politicians are also famous for getting their people to air-brush former supporters from photographs. This is quite a handy trick, but obviously not everyone has access to this type of technology. I once joined an Internet Dating site and horror of horrors, was sent a photo by a prospective date where he was posing arm in arm with his ex. Well, I assume she was his ex as he had simply scratched a cross through her with a ballpoint pen! Creepy or what?

In the past, some photographers would try to avoid all the hassle of air-brushing altogether by arming their models with beach balls or the tiniest wisps of silk. Making sure that no wayward pubic hairs were showing, they would also get the models to cross their legs demurely or position their hips so that only skin was visible. Shooting male models was even more tricky though, as any kind of air-brushing over their private parts could make them look like eunuchs. And let's face it, a eunuch is anything but sexy!

All the ducking and diving with the censors changed abruptly about 30 years ago when Playboy decided to test the waters and show just a hint of the forbidden. Other magazines waited to see if outraged spinsters would start a riot or randy men would revert to their Viking roots and start raping and pillaging, but nothing happened. It's hard to imagine now that such a fuss was ever made over a bit of nipple here and a flash of pubic hair there.

Decent exposure is something beautiful and should not be hidden away like a dirty secret. Gone are the days when we had to rummage through our dad's closet to find his stash of girlie magazines or playing cards with naked ladies. Thanks to relaxed censorship laws and erotic websites, we can now see naked people everywhere!