Speaking of pornography...

[Xithras]

Well, not porn exactly, more like "tasteful nudes".

About eight years ago my wife (back before she was the mother of three) and I did a series of nude photo shoots in the Sierras and Nevada desert...no hardcore, no full frontals, no "pink", no toys, just eight rolls of mostly B&W art shots that were intended to contrast the beauty of the human form against the beauty of natures form.

Three hours after taking my film to my regular developer, I received a phone call from them asking me to return. I was confronted by the store owner and a police officer, who then accused me of giving them porn without their consent. I was thrown off their property, had my negatives returned without any prints, and was threatened with arrest if I ever did it again (I honestly didn't realize that some people get so offended by non-pornographic nudes). I ended up having to call six different processors before finding one willing to develop nudes, and even he was only willing to do it after hours when his other staff had gone home, and for a substantial extra charge.

Have any of you experienced anything similar after shooting nudes? I have friends who've shot hardcore sex with throwaways and had them developed at one hour labs without the slightest raised eyebrow, and others who have been lambasted for trying to develop things as innocent as a bare baby bottom. I haven't shot any nudes since that experience (why bother when developing them is such a pain in the a**), and I was wondering what the general consensus and experience is here with this sort of thing? Are they always a pain to develop? Do you always let them know beforehand that there are nudes on the roll?

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

1. Yes

I believe these problems with photo labs can be easily solved a) if you have your model sign a release form and YOU both are over 18 (duh) and b) you make it clear that there are artistic nudes on your roll of film! Many times people just dump these kind of pictures on the lab techs without any warning. These may not phase a normal photographer, but do phase people who are just pressing a few buttons on machines to have your film developed!

If they are still uncomfortable with this after talking to them, consider finding a camera store with a lab, they usually specialize in developing fine art photography instead of just the regular snapshots that drugstore photo labs do.

Another route to take is to invest in a film scanner and photo printer. Just have negatives developed (i think you can do that at most labs by asking) and make prints yourself. Obviously this is expensive, but I think it gives a lot more freedom for the photographer to make their own editing/colour decisions.

[Florida_Geek]

2. lol reminds me of my funny experience at a One Hour photo

place. This would be in the 80s when one hour machines were very new. I took photos in one of Tampa's most well known nude bars. I was at a mall and dropped the roll off to be processed. At this mall store, they and placed the end of the one hour processor so as the pictures came out of the machine, they came down the end side of the machine to be stacked and that process was placed so that people standing outside the shop could watch the prints come out of the machine.

Well I came back about the time I thought my prints would be done and I was watching the man running the controls and monitoring the pictures. I saw him look at a couple pictures, then he got up and moved to the end of the machine and unrolled a cloth sheet that covered up the finished pictures from viewing. Somehow I just knew thoses were mine and they were :evilgrin:

[NashVegas]

3. One More Reason Why the Digital Market Is Exploding

No need to deal with developers' curious looks.

[Samurai_Writer]

4. I could never use anything but digital

I'm an erotic model (no porn, just tasteful semi-nudes and nudes). My digital camera is great for a couple of reasons -- no cost (most of the photos go on my website, others get printed and autographed), no film-developer guy to worry about, and I can literally shoot 150 photos or more in an hour, and not even fill one memory card.

Peace,
Bella

[WoodrowFan]

5. in college

in my fraternity we were looking at Playboys and talking about the centerfolsd. My 2 buddies stripped to their underwear and posed "Centerfold" like with their favorites held in front of them. Just clowning around. I took some pics, then forgot and left the film at home. My straight-laced folks found the film and took it to the grocery store to develop. They did get the photos back, and they were NOT happy!!

LOL.

[GOPFighter]

6. There's another risk with having nudes developed by others

I've heard of cases where lab technicians have made their own copies of nude pictures and shown, or given, them to friends and acquaintances. Could be very embarrassing!