Shadow Dancer wrote:
I also see lots of guitars held incorrectly and again, it's not something I focus on although I am a guitarist.

I look at the overall composition, the pose, the expression and the lighting. If those are well done then it's a good image.
We are surrounded by absurdity touted as reality constantly, mostly I just ignore it.

Agreed. I posted an image of a Model holding a Guitar many years ago, and the second comment was, "Why didn't you get a better quality Guitar for the Shoot."  I replied that it wasn't a Guitar ad that I was shooting, and he was likely the only one who noticed the maker of the Guitar.

Red Sky Photography wrote:

Agreed. I posted an image of a Model holding a Guitar many years ago, and the second comment was, "Why didn't you get a better quality Guitar for the Shoot."  I replied that it wasn't a Guitar ad that I was shooting, and he was likely the only one who noticed the maker of the Guitar.

Exactly, I now remember a shoot I did with a lovely redhead and I had a red hat and red gloves so I brought out a red guitar to go with the theme. She didn't really know how to play guitar and you can't do it well with gloves on anyway. None of that mattered to me in the slightest. We got some fun images, the end.

Rick Oldano Photography wrote:
OK, I know, this is more annoying for me, the proverbial pet peeve but, is this bugging anyone else?

I have noticed a number of photos featuring the model, frequently a woman in the nude or her lingerie, holding a weapon, usually a pistol. The worst part, in my opinion, is that she obviously has no idea on how to properly handle the weapon, i.e., dangling from her finger tips, fingers on triggers, etc.

My first thought is, she is more likely to hurt herself than anything else, not any sense of empowering her or establishing her self-confidence.

My second thought is, if you are going to introduce a weapon into the theme or concept, at least try to present come credibility with some instruction on how to handle the weapon.

Here ends the rant.  :-)

Rick

Can we please remember that our entire craft is intended to be fantasy and by the nature of the beast and an awesome Styx song... it's a Grand Illusion.

Rick Oldano Photography wrote:
Yes, we create fantasy. Yes it makes little difference how you hold that guitar. Yes, you make sure there is no live ammo on set (I'll wager Alec Baldwin wishes he had thought of that).

All that said, I did say it was a pet peeve, not an indictment. After all the stories in the news of late about mishaps with firearms, a little education could be in order. That's the point I was trying to make, and obviously not doing a good job of that.

But, it has generated a good discussion, hasn't it?  ;-)

Rick

Yes, it's very important to make sure the guitar isn't loaded. (Could I resist saying that?)

Most of the models I have photographed with musical instruments are photographed with their own instruments - as you say, it makes a difference if the model knows how to handle the instrument.

MatthewGuy wrote:
Though I think it might be an odd question in future, chatting with potential models "Hey, what do you now about using swords...?".

Good point Matthew. I wonder if they asked Helen Mirren a similar question before she was blasting away behind Ma Deuce for the movie "Red," with Bruce Willis?  ;-)

lol

Rick

Frozen Instant Imagery wrote:
Yes, it's very important to make sure the guitar isn't loaded.

That applies to the model too!

But, back to the point:
I agree that the gun-toting "bad-ass chick" thing has been done ad-nauseam, and it usually only impresses me as being boring work done by an unimaginative and juvenile photographer, in addition to the fact that it inappropriately glorifies guns.

Modelphilia wrote:

That applies to the model too!

But, back to the point:
I agree that the gun-toting "bad-ass chick" thing has been done ad-nauseam, and it usually only impresses me as being boring work done by an unimaginative and juvenile photographer, in addition to the fact that it inappropriately glorifies guns.

+

To this point I will agree that there are a lot of images of models with guns, but to be fair at this point in time just about any shot you do has probably be done 100 times over. For those that shoot just for the enjoyment of the craft we use what we can. Having collected several unique pieces over the years, yes, I do like to shoot with weapons be that guns or edged weapons. It is done for the enjoyment and I am sure that I will end up doing it again. I always am very sure that the magazine and chamber are empty and carefully supervise any weapon I use on the shoot to be sure it is safe.

Rick Oldano Photography wrote:
OK, I know, this is more annoying for me, the proverbial pet peeve but, is this bugging anyone else?

I have noticed a number of photos featuring the model, frequently a woman in the nude or her lingerie, holding a weapon, usually a pistol. The worst part, in my opinion, is that she obviously has no idea on how to properly handle the weapon, i.e., dangling from her finger tips, fingers on triggers, etc.

My first thought is, she is more likely to hurt herself than anything else, not any sense of empowering her or establishing her self-confidence.

My second thought is, if you are going to introduce a weapon into the theme or concept, at least try to present come credibility with some instruction on how to handle the weapon.

Here ends the rant.  :-)

Rick

I couldn't give two rats behinds how a model is holding a weapon - that's her business and those she's shooting with.  I don't fancy those kinds of photographs either way.  People hold instruments wrong, cameras weird, etc.. if it isn't my shoot ,  then it isn't my business unless somehow it directly/indirect affects my business.   Otherwise, a person can chamber a round and suck on the end of the muzzle for "shock affect" for all I care.. while jumping up and down on a pogo stick..

Studio NSFW wrote:
The thread is about a pet peeve.  Someone is bothered because it’s their “pet” peeve…you’re not because it’s not your pet.

I had an iguana and named it "Peeve" for obvious reasons.

Shadow Dancer wrote:
I know if I ever made an image with a firearm, I would triple check the chamber to assure that there was no ammunition whatsoever.

I've never considered proper technique as being important unless you are shooting an advertisement for a firearm company.
I also see lots of guitars held incorrectly and again, it's not something I focus on although I am a guitarist.

I look at the overall composition, the pose, the expression and the lighting. If those are well done then it's a good image.
We are surrounded by absurdity touted as reality constantly, mostly I just ignore it.

I had a policeman once hire me to take nude photos of him. For some of the photos he wanted to incorporate his gun. I asked him to remove the clip to show me it was empty. Once he did, I let him put it back in. I then asked him to show me the chamber was empty, which he did. I then asked him to point the gun away from us and fire several times to show me it was completely empty. Once I was satisfied there were no bullets and no issues, I proceeded.

JohnTozziPhotography wrote:
I had a policeman once hire me to take nude photos of him. For some of the photos he wanted to incorporate his gun. I asked him to remove the clip to show me it was empty. Once he did, I let him put it back in. I then asked him to show me the chamber was empty, which he did. I then asked him to point the gun away from us and fire several times to show me it was completely empty. Once I was satisfied there were no bullets and no issues, I proceeded.

Now Alec Baldwin wishes he had talked to you before.

SayCheeZ!  wrote:

I had an iguana and named it "Peeve" for obvious reasons.

I used to pet peeves until one day I got bitten! 

Studio NSFW wrote:
My pet peeve is how MM has a latency bug that makes double posting way too easy without the ability to remove the double posts…

If we are going to start including MM-functions among the pet peeves, this may become a very long-lasting thread!

One of my own is that when I send a new PM to someone, the software inserts an extra paragraph-break for each one, making huge gaps between paragraphs *after* it is sent. Yet it functions normally in any succeeding follow-up PMs. I've finally started inserting the breaks on the initial PMs (so that I can read them easily while I'm writing), and then go back and remove them all before sending out the initial PM.        PITA!

SayCheeZ!  wrote:

I had an iguana and named it "Peeve" for obvious reasons.

I used to have a pet pig named Bacon. 

I use to have a horse named Hobby.