“Money Shots!” Shooting nudes and keeping cool with Michael Charles

With his new book “Money Shots: The Insider’s Guide to the Worlds of Nude & Erotic Photography,” Michael Charles hopes to make photography in general seem more accessible while stressing that developing the right attitude is key in shooting nude women.

“Some women are comfortable being sexy right out of the gate, sexy and naked in person,” Charles says. “And they can be a dream to work with. But it’s a skill to bring that look or emotion out with your camera, so that it translates to a webpage or a magazine.”

Charles’ ebook is partly a bare bones tutorial on the craft of photography. He covers lighting, aperture, lenses, and the expense of equipment. And while that information is helpful to any beginning or intermediate photographer, Charles spends the rest of the book discussing the mood of the shoot, what to do about boyfriends, dating models, and knowing when to stop.

One thing Charles does not cover is fluid spatter. That is because “Money Shots!” only deals with nude women and therefore there are no “money shots” in the porn sense.

Read my interview with Charles below:

Michael Charles is a photographer who lives and works in Los Angeles. For a dozen years he has paid the mortgage by photographing women for select gentlemen’s magazines and adult websites. Now, despite a very competitive market in a scramble for dwindling jobs, he has written a very informative—and, in my opinion—excellent book about the tools, tactics, and temperament required to be a successful nudie photographer.

Gram Ponante : “Money Shots! The Insider’s Guide to the World of Nude and Erotic Photography” is a pretty ambitious title, and I wonder how you became aware you were living the dream.

Michael Charles: I got my training as a fashion photographer in Los Angeles. In addition to studying the craft, I learned how to handle the business side of things as well as how to deal with models, art directors, how to use more advanced lighting setups, etc.

Gram: But fashion photography implies the presence of clothing while your book title suggests the absence of it.

Charles: Right. I soon realized that what I had liked all along about fashion photography were the beautiful models and the craft of photography itself (not the “fashion” part). Another realization I had at about the same time was that I didn’t really have the type of personality that enjoyed presiding over the sometimes dozens of people that make up a serious fashion shoot.

Gram: You liked the one-on-one better?

Charles: Yes. Nude photography took the variable of “fashion” almost entirely out of the picture and it allowed me to do my work on the smaller scale that I prefer (the great majority of my shoots consist of just me and the model).

Gram: Now, I’m a pretty lousy photographer …

Charles: That’s true.

Gram: And yet even I realize there’s a kind of power thrust on someone with a big camera. One thing I found especially useful in your book was your description of how to keep the proceedings professional and comfortable.

Charles: Yes. While there’s a lot of improvising to be done on a shoot, the structure of not only knowing what you want and having everything set up to get your shots makes everything go so much easier. I’ve never had a shoot where a personality conflict prevented me from getting the shots I needed, and I think that’s partially due to handling the paperwork the right way, having a place for her to change, etc.

Gram: And you also talk about how to handle boyfriends.

Charles: They’re a special part of the equation.

Gram: While working with the naked requires a special skill, you spend a lot of time on basic photography techniques for the new, DIY photographer. You detail the process of approaching women, and you don’t shy away from addressing the inevitable sexual scenarios that arise between model and photographer.

Charles: You have to keep in mind that, first and foremost, both she and you think of this as a fun job, and that the photographer is never entitled to date the model, but that sometimes that very thing happens. It’s an easy, intimate relationship that develops during a shoot.

Gram: In “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” Ford Prefect defines flying as throwing yourself to the ground but missing.

Charles: There is definitely a Zen aspect to the relationship and expectations about how things will turn out!

Gram: I’m curious about why you would write such a comprehensive book and talk about how “do-able” your job is. Will you anger the Brotherhood of Erotic Photographers? Don’t you worry about competition?

Charles: There really is a lot of work that can be generated if you’re professional. I’ve even included a list of contacts at various publishers who gave me their permission. I don’t know this Brotherhood of Erotic Photographers of which you speak.

Gram: Finally, in line with the temperament required to pull off this job, can you address any misconceptions you perceive about the photographer of nude models?

Charles: I’ve had success doing this kind of work without necessarily having the type of personality that one might think would be required for such a job. In other words, I don’t have the brash, aggressive personality that might come to one’s mind when first conjuring up the image of an “erotic photographer”.

In addition, I’ve found from photography that an overwhelmingly large percentage of people are actually quite cool, interesting, and relatively pleasant to spend some time with. There aren’t many activities that so perfectly blend creativity, money, and beautiful girls. To me, that’s always been an extremely strong trio.