What do other people look like when they’re having sex? Ordinary people, that is.
We all know what it looks like when the screen fades to black on Hollywood actors. We have an idea of what sex looks like in porn. (Spoiler alert: it’s usually not like reality at all.)
But unless you’ve got a neighbour who takes issue with closing the blinds, most of us don’t know what ordinary people’s sex lives look like. Until now.
There are a couple in the US whose full time job is to take pictures of ordinary, everyday, non-celebrity people having sex. Constance and Eric are professional erotic photographers, and their mission statement is to “show that beauty and sexuality are self-defined and should not rely on external influences.”
On their website, the couple lament that the question of “what is sexy?” is defined in modern society by magazine, media and advertising; noting that “visual media has all but been saturated in terms of gloss, blatant, sexual imagery”.
Their work is a mixture of fine art and photography – and mostly abstract.
In an interview with Nerve magazine, Constance points put that:
The ideal beauty in the commercial world is incredibly narrow. I think it was really in response to this restricted definition of sexy that gave us the idea to start this project. We want to show that beauty and sexuality are self-defined and should not rely on external influences.
So how do they find people who are willing to be photographed – not only naked – but having sex? Actually, couples approach them, and ask to be photographed. Their subjects are also their clients.
In another interview, the couple told Huffington Post that the best thing about the job is “showing people how beautiful they are together is amazing! We are basically surrounded in this warm atmosphere of love and that’s the thing we most look forward to.”
Top Comments
I have personally photographed people making love and have found it to be an amazing experience. They and I both learnt more about ourselves and each other. They got to see them selves in a way not possable before, of course we don't look elegant all of the time and it's in the appreciating ourselves no matter how we look that we can grow. Learn more self love. I have learnt that when people are naked together the objectification also drops away. People and myself included tend to find beauty in all sizes and shapes. Clothes serve a purpose but the intentional design of clothes for fashion inherently invites us to objectify and judge people. The people who I have been around around who allow the mask to drop away and allow themselves to be seen in a safe private environment are some of the most welcoming, warm, fearless and non judgmental people I have ever met. I am very gratefull to have witnessed them and recorded it for them.
What is the point in photographing ordinary people if you are just going to make them look like they belong in a Mills and Boon novel?
And why on Earth do we need to know what other people look like having sex anyway? I sure don't.
I agree & I have one word to say: Yuck.
Then don't look. Der!