Michael Creagh, Professional Fashion Photographer for 16 years in New York City.
Yes, but it’s different than the average person thinks. Photographers are just human beings and we are a diverse bunch from different countries, genders, cultures, ages, years in the business and sexual persuasions…. we all think differently. But many photographers grow used to seeing sexy people undressed, so are standards for arousal meet different requirements.
I also want to note: I know many of these questions on Quora have an extra cultural component where some people from certain countries have a hard time understanding Western European culture’s ability to separate sex and nudity. Just because a woman is not wearing much clothing does not mean she wants to have sex or that it is okay to try to initiate sex.
In my experience, photoshoots can be fun (they can also be hard work). You meet new people and have nice conversations. Often the people are super beautiful and very sexy. But I have photographed over a thousand people in their underwear or less!! Michael Creagh (@michaelcreagh) • Instagram photos and videos — Seeing a beautiful young woman in her underwear or nude is very normal to me, and I generally get ZERO sexual arousal. None at all, no fooling. I enjoy the experience, and it is kind of cool to see a sexy person you don’t know naked. Sometimes I feel a personal intimacy/closeness to the subject, like we shared a moment….. and love creating beautiful imagery that the model, myself, and most everyone else really enjoys. But the moments are just not sexual. That is a really important distinction that you can feel. I often don’t know the people well and even if I wanted or tried to have a sexual encounter, it would most likely fail and could even greatly offend the person and maybe lead to lost work and maybe even arrest. There is no built in sexual component to a sexy shoot.
The models don’t feel sexual, so if I did, it would be weird or awkward. I would probably make the subject really uncomfortable and then they would not want to shoot more!! I think people imagine that a comparison would be like if you were hanging out with some hot friends and two of them took off their clothes for a selfie or strip poker. But it is really nothing like that, because that has a sexual component in it.
Let me give you a better comparison. Imagine if you were slow dancing with the new brand new girlfriend at your prom and you started to get physically aroused. It might be embarrassing, but that would be semi normal and acceptable. It might even be an unconscious body signal to her that could lead to something like kissing. Now imagine walking up to a friend of a friend at the same dance with an erection…that could lead to some messed up situations!
For photographers, I think they need a different stimuli altogether. They need situations that start to put that sexual component into a situation where it doesn’t exist. So sometimes, you meet people on photoshoots that you really connect with. In a different situation, you might end up going on a date. So if you like each other and there is flirting and fun, and more subtle touches than one would expect…..now when that person gets in their underwear, all bets are off. There might be some arousal! But that is something about connecting with people. It is dependent on so many factors, like are you single and open to new relationships? It is going to vary greatly, person by person and by age, sex, and overall ability to connect with hot models. But you’d be surprised at how many pro photographers are just not looking at models that way.
