📸 Skai Chan Photography

How to Avoid Sexual Temptation During a Sensual Photoshoot

My area of portrait photography involves a huge variety of genres, including art, boudoir and glamour. At times, the female models would be revealing quite a big amount of skin. Sometimes, especially for implied nude photography, the models would even be fully naked in front of me.

I've been asked by many friends and clients about how is it possible that I'm able to resist the sexual temptation of naked girls, especially without a third person's presence. I'm glad that most of the people who have approached me to photograph them have seen my work and words that they understand my devotion to photography - I'm not looking for any sexual fun.

I also do filtering of people via the initial conversation to reduce the chance of having to deal with weird people face-to-face. I've rejected weird requests, such as people who want me to do sexy photoshoots for their wives with physical guidance and also another wife who hinted to me about "joining in the fun" for their intimate couple photoshoot. I may have lost businesses but I at least managed to steer myself out of high possible troubles.

Eventually, having a hot naked girl alone in an enclosed and private room/studio is indeed a strong sexual temptation and it's a great challenge to avoid sexual temptation.

There are, however, ways to avoid or prevent temptation.

Have a proper discussion/ planning Discussion is very important when it comes to doing any photoshoot. Set the boundary right so that both the photographer and model would have a clear picture of what will be going on before, during and after the photoshoot. When things are being discussed clearly, it would reduce the chance of anyone having weird sexual expectations.

For example, I've expressed my goal of doing photoshoots on various pages on my website, which is mainly to produce good artwork; hence, female models who have approached me are pretty clear about what they are going to get. Let's say I happen to work with any female model who's always looking out for a special kind of fun, she wouldn't even attempt to try to tempt me during the photoshoot, thus further reducing the chance of having anything happening.
Reject weird clients Throughout my photography journey, there are weird requests for portrait photography services every now and then, to the point that I no longer have the time to list the new ones down. Although I really love to take up every photoshoot opportunity for the love of photography, some clients are undoubtedly looking for more than just photography services. For example, there are couples who are looking for the excitement and fun of having a third person, especially a photographer, join in the private "fun". If you're a photographer who prefers to stay clear of such temptation, skip such clients.
Get an assistant involved With a third person around, it's less likely anything would happen during the photoshoot. Of course, there won't be a such luxury of having an assistant around for small-scale photoshoots, unless the client has a high budget. As a male photographer who does sensual photoshoots with the ladies often, I would enlist the help of mainly female assistants, which greatly increase the difficulty of getting one.

However, having a third person around may make it awkward for the model, especially if she isn't a professional model.
Respect your partner I haven't done any survey but I'm very sure that most people don't wish their partner to "play around". If you're a photographer and you have a girlfriend/ wife, you probably don't want to disappoint them. I won't say it's going to be easy for every man but if he truly loves his partner, he would think of her at all times.
Do a proper photography/ studio set-up Most of the art photoshoots are done indoors since Singapore isn't as open as other western countries where the models can do it on the street. Whether it's a studio photoshoot or other on-location indoor photoshoots, such as a hotel or the client's house, doing a proper set-up is exhausting enough to drain off the photographer's energy.

For example, I take around two hours to set up my home studio by shifting furniture, cleaning up and setting up the backdrop and my strobes (lighting). A huge amount of time is spent removing creases on the backdrop. For on-location photoshoot at either a hotel or client's place, I would need to travel with the heavy and bulky equipment. Then, I have to set up the lighting.

Before the start of the shoots, I would be quite tired already. The remaining energy would be well spent doing the actual photoshoot. To add on, most of the time, I would have sweated so much that my clothes would stink and I feel so embarrassed to even go near anyone.
Focus on the photography I'm sure most people would be very focused on certain things that they enjoy. The power of being focused can be very astonishing.

For me, photography is my passion and thus I would focus on creating good artwork. During the photoshoot, I would be busy with the composition, the setting of my camera, the setting of my strobes, the camera focal point, the small strands of the model's hair, the outfit... etc. Basically, there are ways too many details to work on in order to get the best result possible.
Refrain from adjusting the model's poses physically Adjusting models physically is a very sensitive issue. It makes correcting postures much easier and faster as compared to verbal instructions; but at the same time, ill-minded "photographers" may use it as an excuse to caress models. Having any form of body contact can either turn the model or the photographer on or perhaps, turn both on.

Most of the time, I'd rather give up the pose if the model can't get it because I don't want my mind to stray off.
Look away when the model is changing clothes or making any adjustment Sometimes, the model may be changing outfits right in front of the photographer because either it's time-consuming to go to the changing room or/and she trusts the photographer totally; besides, the photographer would have gotten to see "everything" during the photoshoot anyway. Since changing outfits may take a bit more time and taking off clothes is very suggestive, it's good for the photographer to look away to avoid having wild imagination; it's a form of showing respect to the model as well.

Often, the model has to do a quick adjustment to her body, hands or outfit and it may reveal her private parts. While it's professional for an experienced professional photographer to not make a big scene out of it in order to not create awkwardness, it's still good that the photographer can keep his eyeballs away from the private parts if he's not someone who can control his mind well.
Keep your reputation in mind It takes years of effort to build up a photographer's good reputation. There's this saying "you don't shit at where you eat". If you already have a good reputation, why do you want to risk destroying it?

I've heard of some popular photographers who are very touchy, and yet, they're still doing "very well", at least having a good reputation.
Pick up yoga, qi gong or any martial art Most of these practices are known to train minds to stay focused and not be easily distracted. Long-term training would definitely help most people.

In particular, qi gong helps to create balance, so that people with high sex drive would be able to reduce their urges.

You may be interested in:
- The no-touch posing approaching for portraits
- Implied nude photographer in Singapore
- Experience of photoshooting with nude models
- Survey - questionnaires for nude models
- Boudoir photography tips and tricks
- Navigating the challenges of art/ boudoir/ nude Photographers