Melissa Lynnette wrote:
How do you determine who is "better than" anything?

Ransom J wrote:
Well, first you have to put on your gleaming white armour. then you mount your pearly steed, then you ride down from on high and pass judgement like the protector and white knight one aspires to be.

We get a lot of those White Knights over on the escort thread.

photomovement wrote:
No respect for porn from my side... too cheap in my belief and works on obvious senses other than the mind and heart

That was so artsy fartsy an answer I don't know where to start.

**I had to fix the spelling and grammar**

Stephen Dawson wrote:
I have worked with a number of models who did porn.

Some I knew at the time, some I found out later.

I think they are cool. But, then, I am a porn fan, and have known a number of porn stars more than casually.

Go girls.

you are a hero, damn thats where I want to be

Melissa Lynnette wrote:

That was so artsy fartsy an answer I don't know where to start.

**I had to fix the spelling and grammar**

Let me wipe my tears off .."artsy fartsy" wow now I am really impressed...

photomovement wrote:

Let me wipe my tears off .."artsy fartsy" wow now I am really impressed...

Don't cry.  There's a place for everyone here, feel free to be artsy fartsy.  That's not even my worst insult.  I could have called you hippy dippy, but I think they like porn.

The Manchester Studio wrote:
where does modelling taper out and porn begin?
I have been following the work of a model, who seems to have been successful in making a niche for herself and whose work I have admired and looked forward to seeing new sets. Now she is starting a pay site and that magic in her poses seems to have disappeared.  I am tempted to write her that she is better than that but my fanmail doesn't pay her bills. Is porn bad because it shows too much or because it takes no skill to show it? Is it fair to knock a model who makes a wis business choice to make more money for less effort?

Melissa Lynnette wrote:
Don't cry.  There's a place for everyone here, feel free to be artsy fartsy.  That's not even my worst insult.  I could have called you hippy dippy, but I think they like porn.

I'ts ok love the last thing I would feel bad by is a thread on MM ....

Ciao

Ransom J wrote:
MM has REALLY made me not like the word "art".

I feel you on that ... but if it was only here then it would have been fine sadly its a spreading infection beyond this site

Kaitlin Lara wrote:
Porn is "bad" because we live in a society that makes it that way. Think about it...I know it was ingrained in my head all my life that sex is bad...we never even talked about it in my house. It's a religious thing if you ask me. God says sex is bad, so it must be, and people love to push their religion on everyone else. The fact of the matter is, porn is no better or worse than any kind of art...all can be done well and all can be done shitty...all can require the same amount of effort and um..."skill" It's just that in our society people repress the fact that we're sexual beings.

Either way though...it's really none of your business...and porn is different things to different people, so without seeing it, I don't actually even know if it's porn or just more sexual than what you're used to.

Very well stated!

Face Arts wrote:
Q: How can you tell the difference between a porno and a Shania Twain video?
................................................


A:  Better music in the porno.  "Twanga, Thumpa, Humpa, POW POW.."

So that is how it is spelled......
Who knew!

bang bang photo wrote:
Every time an artist changes direction, there are people ready to accuse them of selling out. The first time Bob Dylan played an electric guitar at a concert, the fans hated it.

It's not surprising -- we like what we like, and if you change it, we might not like it so much.

On the other hand, just because somebody changes doesn't mean it's a good change.

Ultimately each of us has to decide where our art takes us. The value judgements of critics, fans, and observers provide input -- sometime valuable, sometimes not.

In this particular case, I think you may be being too harsh. What photographer doesn't do what it takes to pay the bills from time to time? Not everything we do is great art. Models are no different.

Very well said!

ADG Photography wrote:
Let's here it for the gals on here who like porn and admit it! Three cheers.

  I have told many women over the years that it is okay to admit to liking erotic imagery.  Most continued (and still continue) to deny their enjoyment of it, but in most cases I have good reason to suspect that they are not being totally honest--with themselves or with me. LOL

Jeeze--it is okay to enjoy it! It's SEX!

Hip hip hooray for me then!!  Melissa Lynnette:  Lover of porn since 2001

dgold wrote:
"Taste is the enemy of art."
...Picasso.

What I abhore is not porn, it's violence, blood, guts and gore.
...make love, not war.

Well said. Porn is natural. If you do this stuff at home then it is human nature. How did we get so much shame and blame surrounding the body and what it does? How did sex become this horrable sin?

Pixel Fisher wrote:
I wonder what our fellow artists in Europe think....
Porn is a subject that I have given thought to.  I keep telling my friends, just wait, we'll be seeing it in advertising sooner then we think.  However once accepted these women we see today on MM may be overtaken by more successful models, when nudity will become more mainstream.  Porn sites have been a stencil for online business for years...hell the gov't has been following them for the same reasons.  And as long as men and women are watching, then a good majority of them will pay to see more and more detailed images.
Years ago, when Maxim first was published, I was asked to shoot for them.  At that time, my company 2wist Photo LLC, turned down the offer.  My partner (female) and digital artist felt the mag was too risky and so did our rep in NYC.  Yes I did agree and then it was risky...well time certainly made an offer to re-think that offer.  Today given the market as it is, I think I would take the offer.  I will say this.  Many advertising clients sell to a general conservative market and to have more nudity in mainstream America, as Europe already does, would be difficult.  However, many of those conservatives will view porn from the privacy of their home or office...and that is part of the market who is buying.  I personally have shot 3 porn video box covers in my career...good money too. However, having the oppotunity to work with 3 top productions...the girls are not pretty, as they appear in images or film ( make-up artists cover everything...everything ), not fun to talk to and the language is very crass amoung everyone involved.  Maybe there are a few productions out there like Andrew Blake, where there is no dialogue only images and cool music...he knows better.  Basically the sets were very street and not so nice to be around.  Many of the women had stories to tell and after befriending for about a year or two a famous known actress in the industry...she was the one who told me to run away...run far away...and I never gave it another thought.  Now if you can get into Jim South's agency, then your good and will most likely make money, but much of it is just garbage and only for disposable use.  So if a model wants to travel her career into this direction, the only thing I can hope for is that she keeps healthy and safe.  Remember beauty is disposable and only as good as much as those who are buying it.  Life is different and the choices we make now do make a difference much later.  In a way I am glad that I did not shoot for Maxim....Have you ever seen that mag to show anything different other than overly painted girls...and even now the women who are showcased are not the know actors that once were covered by that mag..they had a few lawsuits and lost.
I am not offering any debates over my experiences and what I know...I am just sharing.

But to the OP...I suppose your interest in this woman has lost it's charm.  But there are many out there and even here on MM who can fill those shoes very easily, and perhaps its time to hit that browser tab just above. 

with kindness,
PixelFisher

PS...by the way Jonathan...how are you!