Local photography studio gives women the gift of self-esteem and renewed confidence
Text by Melissa Taylor; Photos courtesy BodyPhotage
“Self-esteem isn’t everything; it’s just that there’s nothing without it.” —Gloria Steinem
In 1991, when Annie Leibowitz shot a nude, very pregnant Demi Moore for Vanity Fair’s cover, it scandalized the country. Retailers refused to sell the magazine or covered it with the paper usually reserved for pornographic magazines. Viewpoints about the cover ranged from female empowerment to sexual objectification. Darrell Pierson and Sherry Whitney of BodyPhotage knew what it was: classic photography giving females empowerment, not objectification. In his own similar work, Darrell emphasizes, “I want women to celebrate themselves whether they are tall or short, thick or thin.” When clients see the photographs — nude, black and white, they believe what Darrell and Sherry already know — they really are beautiful.
Colorado’s own BodyPhotage photographs the body in the classic art of black and white photography.
Photographs emote by balancing light and texture. Each nude evokes a feeling. The baby and mother’s hands, delight. The couple dancing in sunset, joy. The arched nude, sensuality. The full body in only stilettos, discomfort. The photos invite me in. I feel the texture of each plane. Glutes smooth as polished rocks. Abdominals rippled like the wind on water.
I study one photograph of a man hanging horizontally, feet and arms twisted around white drapes. The shadow lies in the curve of his muscular lower back, his back emphasized. I want to examine every muscle. My eyes imagine the dark areas, focusing back to the light. The lack of color intensifies the contrast. Light and shadow remove the feeling of nakedness. I see the body form more clearly than if it were in color. Sensual, yes, but objectification, no.
BodyPhotage began as an accident 15 years ago when Sherry and Darrell got together. While looking through Darrell’s portfolio, Sherry saw a black and white Polaroid from 1976. The picture was the silhouette of a nude model, black and white, lit from the side, shadowed in the front. Darrell, tired of endless commercial photo shoots without vacations, needed a change. Sherry convinced him to take his photography to a new audience. She envisioned classic body art. Not of super models. Of you and me.
Because of Darrell’s background in commercial photography, he was already an expert photographer. He and Sherry ran one ad in the local paper. They received fifty calls. Shocked at the positive response, their “accidental” business began. BodyPhotage was born.
“I retrained my eye,” Darrell admits. He had to pose regular people’s bodies in artistic ways; not supermodels in glam shots. Darrell elaborates, “The posing is extreme.” He must elongate the body so light falls along the spine or on a muscle, and the folds are smoothed out.
Many people assume models look the same in real life as they appear in the glossy pages of magazines. Not true. Models look great because photographers know how to use lighting and digital software to smooth away imperfections, to narrow, to slim, to enhance. The scrutiny of flaws detracts from the photograph as a whole, Darrell explains. He skillfully uses light and shadow to enhance a model’s body contours. Of course, his clients can benefit from the extra touches digital technology provides. Stretch marks and cellulite disappear on request. “It’s not about looking for perceived flaws,” Darrell says, when clients try to find their problem areas instead of focusing on the whole picture. “It’s about the body as art.”
At their home and studio, Sherry sits comfortably during a recent interview. “Darrell is nurturing. He relates well to women.” She adds that not only does Darrell take good pictures; he conveys safety and acceptance to their clients.
“Half my job is psychologist,” Darrell asserts modestly. He smiles widely, dressed casually in jeans and a button-down. He recounts times talking with clients, preparing them for what to expect. The initial disrobing can be nerve racking. However, by the first few images, the client feels comfortable. He is not shooting professional models, yet when you see his pictures, it’s apparent that he can help anyone reveal their natural beauty.
One client, at over 200 pounds, appeared anxious about her weight and posing nude. It was a present for her husband, so she was determined. It took thirty minutes for her to remove her robe. Thirty minutes of Darrell talking and helping her to understand what to expect in the shoot. By the time she left, she had so much self-confidence that she asked Darrell for ideas on figure modeling.
The majority of BodyPhotage’s clients are regular people. They’re not perfect, but then again, even the professional models aren’t perfect. Some are athletes — cyclists, bodybuilders, or fitness professionals. Some are pregnant, and want to celebrate their growing body and baby. Some are experiencing medical issues, before a mastectomy or after a scarring accident. Whatever the client’s story, the results are the same. Sherry says, “We reinvent the client’s self-image. Looking at nude pictures of yourself and seeing them as beautiful is HUGE for a woman.”
One client said to Darrell, “One and a half hours with you has done me more good than three years with my shrink.”
The husband of a breast cancer client told Darrell that when his wife returned home from the shoot, it was the first time she had smiled in months. Then she said, “I’m ready now.” Two days later, she had a double mastectomy.
Sherry passes me a box of cards from clients. I pull out one with a small kitten looking into a mirror. She stares at her reflection, but it is a huge lion staring back. Inside it reads, “Thank you for giving me new eyes.”
We may not think our bodies are beautiful. Most of us don’t. BodyPhotage celebrates the body as a work of art. Sometimes, all it takes is new eyes… through the lens of a camera.
“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”
—Confucius
Contact BodyPhotage at 303-790-9335 or www.bodyphotage.com.