Jim Erwin

I'm interested in photography as art. Art is all about risk!

I’m not just some Model Mayhem photographer who is playing swimsuit photographer, Playboy photographer, or making my own porn to show off to my friends. I put a lot of time and effort into what I do, and a lot of expense. I have no problem confessing that some of those hobbyist guys on MM have better technical skills than I do, but I spend more time studying art than reading camera magazines. Bottom line - I try to make cool images. That’s more than just talk, because my work occasionally hangs in real galleries. I've been juried-in to shows curated by SF MOMA. Anyway - I take all of this a bit more seriously than most of the MM guys.

I've converted part of my apartment into a photo studio. I like to shoot here, but I'm also interested in finding locations that create an interesting contrast with the subject.

"The key point is not the technique of how the image was made, but the idea and the vision. If you have the vision it can be rendered in numerous ways; the choices you make become your personal style. All the image-enhancing tools become irrelevant if the idea and vision are not true and engaging." -- Melvin Sokolsky.


*****Models Who'd Like to be Paid for Working with Me*****
I expect models to be creative, energetic, and fearless! It's all about pushing limits in one way or another, and challenging ourselves to go someplace we never planned!

I only shoot when I can obtain a full release* from a model. My work hangs, and sometimes the framed versions sell. If you don't want to sign a release, then we can't work together. Sorry. This is non-negotiable. I own the photos and can do whatever I want with them, and I'm not obligated to ask you anything or tell you anything. I like giving models really nice prints of our work together - that's fun for me, but I'm not obligated to do anything for you after you're paid.

Escorts/body guards don't bother me at all. Bring your MMA fighter boyfriend. I'll supply the beverages. If he doesn't mind holding a reflector, even better. If he starts telling me what I can and can’t shoot, or gets in my way and stays in my way, I won't hesitate to tell you both to leave. 


*****Creative Style*****
I like models who want to do something besides be photographed wearing a bikini in a serene pool with a fountain ejaculating in the background. Everyone loves a pretty girl in a bathing suit, but it’s pretty hard to find something new or interesting to say in that territory. 

If I hire you, it's to help me express a creative vision. I will always treat you with respect, and I expect to be treated the same way. You're welcome to ask me any questions you want about why I'm putting things together the way I'm doing it. I'm also open to your ideas. Collaboration rocks.

I like European-style fashion photography. That stuff freely mix nudity, sexuality, and fashion. In magazines like Purple Fashion (Paris), the women in the jewelry ads frequently wear little to nothing but the jewelry. If the clothes and jewelry are supposed to be sexy, it makes sense to shoot pics that get the audience turned on. It kinda sucks that US audiences are so prudish about this stuff.

I also like taking sarcastic pictures that ridicule of all of that glam/fashion/sexuality stuff. Let’s mix in some nightmarish surrealism with all of that beautiful glam photography! An objectified sexual nude suddenly becomes a real person, a real naked woman, if I put bugs (dead ones, but real bugs) on the parts of her body people sexualize - yes down there. Let’s mix in some 60s psychedelic exploitation and grindhouse movie imagery with all of that high end glam stuff. A pretty girl in a bikini is much more interesting if she's holding chainsaw or a machete. They said it best in an episode of AbFab:

Saffron: It's disgusting! That is so degrading to women!
Patsy: What do you mean? She's got the whip!


*****I’m Not Your Playtoy*****
One other thing -- you know how some models put a big note on their profile that they're not here because they are looking for dates/sex ... that also applies to photographers. Although I may be photographing you in your underwear or less, I'm still a human being. When I spill beer on myself, it's because I'm a slob. It's not a cue for you to pull off my clothes and have your way with me. If I eat cake and it doesn't all make it into my mouth, that's not an open invitation for you to pin me to the ground and slurp frosting off of my face. Please remember that there's much more to me than just handfuls and handfuls and handfuls of succulent, yielding flesh. I have feelings. You need to see me as more than just an object for feeding your insatiable desires.


***** Extra Notes*****
Note: I wish I did not have to say the following stuff or spell it out in detail, but a couple of models have asked for this information.


Several models have e-mailed me and asked what “full model release” means. It means that we have a clear business arrangement. You pose, you get paid, you sign off, we’re done. I’m paying you a flat fee for your time in front of my camera. I own the pictures and can do whatever the heck I want with them, whenever the heck I want to, and I am not required to consult you about anything I do with the pictures. End of story.


I've been asked a couple of times about "splitting profits" with the model. This whole concept is a crack up! Profits on art? Are you kidding me? That’s hilarious! There are no profits to split with you honey! If you really want to split, you can pose for free and pay some of my costs! Allow me to provide you with some details of the expenses involved in my process:

For a large format print (using an approx size of 25" x 40" as an example), professional museum-quality contemporary framing costs me in the neighborhood of $350 - $400. Now, let’s add $75ish for the cost of the high-end color C-print (having a Photoshop pic printed as a genuine, continuous tone, color photo). We should also add my costs for paper and ink at home doing test prints on my high end printer, gas & mileage, and oh yeah - paying you the model to pose. I'm now looking at well over $500 - $600 in costs for a single print. A gallery typically takes a commission of 50% or more. That means, just to break even, the price of the finished piece has to be over $1000. Guess what? Art collectors don’t pay over a $1000 for prints by emerging artists. I have to price my work for under $1000, which means I lose money, not make money. And … amongst those costs, paying me for my time and effort was never factored into the equation. Split that!


When I'm an established artist with pics hanging in MOMA and MOCA, my work will sell for more, but for right now … I lose money on my art. That’s why I have a real job, to pay rent, pay bills, subsidize my art, and pay you to pose.