What Men Want in Photos
What You Need to KnowGood, accurate photos are your insurance policy to success. Geisha Diaries Author & Publisher, Meeshee
In the world of escorting, how well you visually represent yourself is critical to your financial bottom line. If you take your career lightly, chances are your photos reflect this relaxed attitude and you will probably stop reading after this sentence. But if you strive to improve your quality of life, follow my advice and you’ll be well on your way.
Is that really her in those photos?
Is what a lot of hobbyists are asking these days. When meeting a new client, if you are anything less than confident that your photos look sincere, it’s time to revamp your portfolio.
Perhaps your pictures represent a polished version without any natural looking photos to balance out the persona you seek to represent. Have you changed your hair color? Tacked on a few pounds? Lost some weight? Enlarged or reduced your breasts? Photos older than 6 months? If your looks have changed, your website is outdated.
If any of your photos are unfocused or your proportions distorted, I suggest removing them from your website. Don’t tell me you’re one of those girls with silly objects in your pictures such as electric cords, open toilet seats in the background (ugh) or an overall messy environment all of which steal attention from the subject. Or maybe you didn’t realize that today’s [successful] escort must plan her strategy just like any other small business owner. The escort industry has become totally saturated with girls looking to make a quick buck. Stay ahead of the curve by planning your persona and making sure that your photos are the best that they can be. 
If your situation meets any of the above criteria and you want to survive as a provider in this business, it's time to seriously reconsider how you represent yourself in today’s tricky world of escorting
Men want to see how you look before they meet you in person. Imagine purchasing a dress online. When it arrives, in excitement and anticipation, you rip open the package only to find that the material is of a lesser quality than what was represented, the proportions are ill fitting and the overall dress just isn't flattering when you try it on. With no backup outfit, you had planned to wear it out that night. Instead, you’ve become a victim of false advertising. Chances are slim that you'll be shopping at that online boutique again and will probably advise your friends to do the same.
An escort's time is nonrefundable. A hobbyist, disgruntled by the experience of booking a companion who looks less attractive in person than in her photos presents a recipe for disaster. There's a chance he will chat about you, possibly even write bad reviews about you and if he’s a real jerk might even exploit you. The damage of one experience alone is priceless compared to the small sum spent on a good set of photos. Think ahead.
As an escort photographer, I can tell you that variety in photos is what men want to see. Escort images should reinforce, not shatter the persona that you seek to portray (assuming you've done your homework and taken the time to plan and design your persona). The smoky, boudoir look is all the rage these days. But this shadowy mystery can be just as misleading as do-it-yourself photos that are out of focus, taken in one's bedroom with a disposable camera. Boudoir imagery, heavy on contrast, lighting and makeup, amplify beauty. Self-snapped shots can extort awkward imperfections which often go unnoticed because the subject lacks the trained eye that comes with being a professional photographer.
The secret is to round out your portfolio by complimenting the boudoir and DIY shots with a few organic shots
Here’s the formula for a well balanced portfolio:
- Photos shot with minimal makeup playing up any naturally attractive feature (eyes, lips, skin, navel, feet, hands, hair, derrier, curvy hips, etc.);
- Fresh, lifestyle, outdoor photos shot in natural light;
- A random activity such as reading a magazine, getting dressed, cooking, pouring a beverage, playing with your dog or cat;
- Candid evening photos showing a simple, sexy dress that doesn't try too hard or compete with you (avoid busy patterns); and
- Provocative, sexually suggestive, yet tasteful photos (get explicit only if it compliments your style).
The concept behind organic shots is to allow the many candid sides of your personality and figure shine through with minimal help from makeup and lighting. I don’t mean to mislead the reader into thinking that because these shots are ‘au natural’ that they are simple to achieve. This style can be one of the most difficult as the trick lies in capturing and optimizing your best angles relying more upon talent than makeup and studio lighting. Moreover, you might not even be aware that these sides of you exist because you don't see yourself through the eye of an artist who understands this style of photography.
Good, DIY photos require patience and effort. Get honest feedback from a friend before you post any DIY’s on your website and be prepared to re-shoot yourself if the results don't measure up. I recommend consulting with a professional photographer for a set of organic and boudoir images. Only a pro knows what it takes to draw forth the best in you.
A blend of boudoir, DIY and organic photos instills confidence in clients that your portfolio truly portrays a balanced depiction of a woman who looks real and approachable. All at once, you will become the winning combination of fresh and natural, candid and sexy, irresistible and delicious.
Stay tuned for Geisha Diaries’ upcoming E-books, "DIY Photos" and "Planning a Six Figure Persona"
Written by Meeshee, Publisher for Geisha Diaries & Owner of Meeshee Photography
Reader Comments (8)
Good advice on the assortment of shots and styles. Thanks!
Well done, as always.
As an escort photographer for the past four years, I advise my clients that good photography is a necessary business expense, just as much as the hair appointment and costume selection. You cannot afford NOT to have professional photography. Gone are the days that a two-line advert in the personals or a "myspace" DIY photo will do. Today's clients, especially upscale clients, demand better.
You need to make your photos complement your web page design. Take a screen print of your web page when you do your consultation with your photographer. (Your photographer does do consultations, right?) A good photographer will be able to make the tones and "feel" of your photos match your web page.
Every photographer who took a weekend workshop thinks he can do boudoir. Ask to see examples of his work. Ensure it's quality work and fits in with your style.
Good hunting!
Jim - good point about the boudoir weekend workshop. As I always say, you get what you pay for (& hopefully more!). Honestly, I don't know how any photographer does it without consulting with clients first. In any industry that becomes saturated, and there are many these days, those who work hard and maximize their efforts will rise to the top. With escorting, these efforts begin with good photos.
I don't agree that it's necessarily a bad thing for escorts to have photos of other people on their sites for a number of reasons;
1. The lady may be able to do very good business and have a very good reputation even when using very famous shots that are clearly not her. One such lady I have in mind is a certain Leah - sorry I don't have the link here, it's not Leah Ireland and she should be easy to google ('Lovely Leah'?) - who is in New Mexico last I heard, and it seems she's very popular.
On my own site I often use photos of other people just because they're beautiful photos and add to the feeling of my site. I don't say they're of me, but I do keep them brunette as I am.
2. Whatever happened to discretion? How can you possibly be considered discrete if your very recognisable photo, face blurred or not, is all over the web?
When I lived in London I was privy to observing a number of older courtesans who had relationships that lasted with clients for years - very often until the clients death. The women were not judged just on their looks, they were very much accepted for qualities of character, for their companionship and charm. Not many of those women who made a lot of money that way would have taken the slick photos that are the norm in the escorting business today. And nor would they have wanted to. Discretion used to be a very real and frequent thing.
3. I've talked to a couple of ladies who used others' photos on their sites and their clients have not been disappointed. On the contrary, very often clients have been THRILLED with these ladies and met them repeatedly. They were also clients who were booking lunch and dinner dates, much preferred by many ladies over the 1 hour customers.
One lady has left the business publicly, still sees clients from those original borrowed photos. I think the photos served to give a general impression of how she is, and gave a sexy feel to her site.
Neither party was complaining - she had her safety and privacy intact, and he met a great woman!
Tamara G
Tamara - When I first viewed your website a while back, I noticed I had the feeling that some of the photos weren't of you I didn't find them misleading. I felt that they were more about aesthetics and beauty, as you talked about. Many talk about those who steal others' photos and not in a good way.
You use the term 'borrowed' photos in your second to last paragraph. Do you mean that the original owner of the photos consented to their use by another person? Or is it a euphemism for 'stolen' photos? Curious. In the case of the latter, I'm not sure that many people are open to their photos being used, borrowed, stolen, what have you, by another. Correct me if I'm wrong.
The Diaries' article, "The Power of Branding" talks about stolen photos. I think when a person steals another's photos that they are misleading the viewers and ultimately clients.
:-D
Meeshee
Yes, I very much doubt that any of the sites with others' photos that I've seen got permission for use of the photos.
On the 'Lovely Leah' site - I think I'm correct in remembering her name - she has an extremely famous photo of a woman's naked ass that I believe is available on at least one major art (and photograph) print site.
When I see a photo like that being used - and it could be any popular image, like Modigliani's famous mother and child painting, or Picasso's Peace or Guernika prints, I tend not to think of them as stolen, and indeed aren't they freely used for example in general? If one uses such images, is one legally stealing them?
I totally understand that yes, if an escort has her own photos taken and posted and someone else uses them as their own, that that is absolutely wrong and is stealing.
So I guess there are two issues here - one is stolen photos, one is of photos that others might presume are the escort but are not but are images freely available on the web.
When the images are freely available on the web and not particular pictures of an escort, I think it can be fine to use them on escort websites - as long as it's not claimed that they are actually of the lady.
Tamara,
One of the downsides of the internet is that pictures may be "borrowed" with the right click of a mouse, but the law is clear:
Under the copyright laws of the United States, the copyright to a photograph belongs to the creator of that photograph, unless that copyright is signed over to another person. Just because a photograph is posted on a website somewhere does not make it "free for the taking". There are
"fair use" exceptions, but nothing that you have mentioned falls into those.
So what? Well, let's say you "borrow" one of my photographs and post it on your site because it's "pretty", and it's an "extremely famous photo of a woman's naked ass that I believe is available on at least one major art (and photograph) print site". You have used my work without permission, work that I expected to sell and make money from. Under the law, I may sue you for damages. Typically, I may sue you for the daily use rate of my commercial photographs FOR EACH DAY I CAN SHOW THE PHOTOGRAPH WAS PUBLISHED on your site. My daily use rate ranges $250 - 500, so if you had my photo on your site for a month, I could hit you up for $15,000. Even pictures of the paintings you mention were taken by a photographer who owns the copyright to those photographs.
And I take issue with your assertion that clients don't care if the photo doesn't match the provider. I have had clients email me and tell me that - because I had retouched an unsightly mole off a lady's face - that I had violated "the code". I admit that I see women subjectively, and confess to minor plastic surgery in Photoshop. But I refuse to make Dixie Carter look like Angelina Jolie, because men turn women away every day because the photos were not them. Your example of the London lady is irrelevant: she already had a clientele established. The photos wouldn't have mattered.
Take care.
Jim, redundantly quoting copyright law always opens Pandora's box, deviates away from the topic and is a tired subject that's been talked a thousand times. Apart from quoting your rates and flaunting your legal tactics, it’s probably more fun to stick to the article about what men want in photos. The bottom line is that a provider's photos should bear her likeness, I think we all agree. The operative word of the article implies variety.
A woman can look strikingly different in a swimsuit shot in soft, natural day light than she does in an evening gown shot in dramatic, studio lighting - both with the same amount of makeup. If her portfolio is varied, reflecting different sides of her personality, then it is balanced.
It is always best for a provider to feature her own photos.