I just updated Lensflower.com with a new post: Muscles & Glitter. My friend Chrystalene started hitting the gym this year and part of her program asks that participants take Before and After pictures, preferably by a professional photographer, in order, I suspect, to encourage participants to take it more seriously.
There’s a lot of social pressure for women to stay weak, myths about bulking up and being less feminine, as if having strong muscles cancels out beauty, rather than enhances it. She and I are more modern and believe, quite strongly, that type of thinking is rubbish. So, rather than take the usual sort of fitness photos, where the focus of the portraits are hard, oiled muscles, back-lit and knife edged, she wanted something fiercer, more feminine. Nevermind smiling, sweaty looking jogging shots or virtue signalling like mad with work-out clothes (yet without a hair out of place), it was going to be full of glitter and pizzazz.
So here she is, glamourous and gorgeous, flexing her muscles for feminism.
And, as most of the time lately when I take a picture, I’m pleased with the result. I haven’t been creating much lately, so it’s reassuring when I like what I do.
Also, this shoot may have produced my new favourite review, “It’s a rare photographer who will get half naked just to make you feel comfortable being half naked.”