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Can spouses and muses coexist in harmony?
Almost before the question is even asked, I suppose the obvious answer would be "it depends". So the question is..can a photographer and muse have that special creative connection and support for each other without the wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, husband getting suspicious, jealous or just plain weird about it? Sometimes a wife or a girlfriend just isn't interested in modeling over and over again, or they did in the beginning and then they got burned out on it (much like massages while dating.. plentiful during dating..not so much after a few years!). Maybe your spouses, as lovely as they are.. just aren't what you need for your portfolio. There's a lot of variables that can come into play. I consider myself endlessly lucky in that my wife could not be more supportive of my photography. She gets my passion, she allows me my time to work at it, she's modeled for me and has absolutely no problem with me shooting other beautiful women. She actually keeps an eye of for me for new models. Again, I couldn't be more lucky ("blessed" would seem to color it as if there was some divine intervention, so I just stick with damn lucky!). I'm probably the exception. I don't have a muse, but if one came along, it'd probably be a great opportunity to work and try things with an equally enthusiastic creative partner. Does anybody have any muse related success or horror stories? whether you were one or had one? This should be interesting... Patrick :-) Dec 12 06 04:23 pm Link I'm lucky in that my bride loves women just as much as I do. She's put a owman's view into my photography noticing the things I might miss like a bra strap being twisted or a necklace not laying right...she's invaluable to me in regards to picking stunning models. Dec 12 06 04:28 pm Link Yes, as long as they don't know about each other.... ask the French......... they even keep their mistress'es away from their mistress! Dec 12 06 04:30 pm Link i have no problems eather she is the person that i say "what do you think" first and she is honest i like that Dec 12 06 04:30 pm Link My wife is always picking out possible candidates when we are out on the street, but I'm just too much of a coward to approach them. Hey....... Maybe my wife knows this and just points them out to tease me...  Gary  Dec 12 06 04:34 pm Link My former wife came to hate all of the muse related work as well as later on all of my work. It was part of the reason a 33 year marriage ended in divorce. When I remarried 11 years ago my wife said to a friend:"Look, he was making photographs of nude women before I met him and I'm going to tell him to stop now? I don't think so." In fact she is an active model for me and some of the best critiques of my work. Many of the models are her friends and often she will bring me a new model. Am I in heaven or what? Dec 12 06 04:36 pm Link I keep my Muse and my wife a few states apart. Seriously....my wife is very supportive and I use her as my sounding board for new concepts. At one time she was my test subject for all new techniques, but after enough 3:00am brainstorms she has asked not to be used in that capacity any longer...lol Dec 12 06 04:39 pm Link grandart wrote: Divorced after 33 years? Yikes! My wife and I just celebrated our 33rd Anniversary on November 17th. I guess I best be careful. Dec 12 06 04:40 pm Link I didn't know we could keep a wife. I need to start looking. Dec 12 06 04:41 pm Link You are allowed to shoot photos, as long as you subjects arent what she has decided is "your type," or anyone she thinks is thinner, younger, or prettier than she is. Mine used to fume about my airplane. She looked at it and saw furniture, clothes, and no telling what. Last week she swore that she would go to work and help fund my sky addiction if I would just put down that damn camera! Dec 12 06 04:43 pm Link My lady is fine with it... mostly. She gets a bit sad that I don't want to user her all the time as a muse. She trusts that if I think it's fine, then it is. Healthy relationships are great. Dec 12 06 04:43 pm Link Sigh.... Dec 12 06 04:54 pm Link If you don't know if they will get along, but if they don't I at least hope you know which one to tell to take a hike. Studio36 Dec 12 06 05:14 pm Link studio36uk wrote: Well then the muse can take a hike.. because the wife would take half! Dec 12 06 05:18 pm Link Damn skippy! Dec 12 06 05:19 pm Link My question is: What is a muse? Someone to work with regularly is fine. I've become very close to some of my models. Sometimes it is just a great working relationship, lots of collaboration, joint projects, etc. In a few cases I have made good friends too. All that is ok. Working with someone whom you could fall for emotionally or who could fall for you is dangerous for any married person. Dec 12 06 05:20 pm Link jealousy is an ugly thing Dec 12 06 05:29 pm Link Every time I incorporate an SO into my work, it makes it just that much better. Dec 12 06 05:47 pm Link It'd be nice to hear from some models that have been or are current muses on this subject. Do they have problems with wives, girlfriends? their boyfriends or husbands... Oooooor have they started out as a working muse and then the photographer tried to take it somewhere else? I'm sure there's as many variations on this as there are actual muse/photographrer working realationships. Dec 12 06 05:49 pm Link NO! Dec 12 06 05:49 pm Link Patrick Shipstad wrote: Yes. Harmony is a cemetery in Prince Georges County, Maryland. Dec 12 06 05:59 pm Link No, you can only serve one master Dec 12 06 06:05 pm Link My fiance and my first real muse, the model in my main image and a couple other shots on my port got along extremely well, from the first second they met, and she was at all 3 of her shoots I did of her. Unfortunately she had to move to Washington for med school. To this day even at the mention of her name or having recieved a rare email from her because she is so busy, my fiance gets a smile on her face. It can happen. Dec 12 06 06:07 pm Link I* think there is always some jealous. My wife is always saying - wow, I can't compete with someone like that & I tell her, she don't have to! Dec 12 06 06:10 pm Link C R Photography wrote: Ummm... what does that mean? Dec 12 06 10:38 pm Link No muses to add anything to this? :-P Hmm.... Dec 13 06 03:45 pm Link Success here. I am a muse for a photographer, and I'm friends with his wife as well. She has said she'd worry about his feelings for me if he were younger (he's retired). Dec 13 06 04:01 pm Link usually I am cursed with getting along too well with all the males around me.. at a shoot, at home, in public, does not matter... so the fact that many of you have great relationships with your women - kudos! I just have a difficult time because I am an attractive young woman who likes football and drinking and I am immediately the enemy in a room with two or more jealous women in it. cheers and happy holidays. ~ kelly don* Dec 13 06 04:03 pm Link I think depends on the maturity of the people involved and the circumstances around them. If one of the people involved has a past history of cheating, then yes, it could make their partner jealous. If photographer and muse spend ALL of their time together (even when they aren't shooting), then yes, it may cause some jealousy. If either one makes an advance on the other and their S/O hears about it, then yes, there are going to be problems. Mostly, I would think that your S/O would understand that you have a friendly working relationship with this other person. That even though they see you naked, they aren't there to jump your bones, they are there to create something beautiful to enhance both of your careers. People who do this for a living - especially nude models/photographers just need to make sure that their partners KNOW that they are the only person for them. They need to make sure to remind them that they are the main focus of their romantic life, and that everyone else is simply another way to enchance their careers. Did this make any sense? Dec 13 06 04:12 pm Link kelly don wrote: I know exactly what you mean. I'm the girl that likes football and adult swim and cars and video games so I'm almost automatic best friends with most guys. Jealous girls tend not to like me too much, but I don't let it bother me... Dec 13 06 04:19 pm Link There is only one small theme voiced here that makes any sense. Only date/marry/etc. with someone that is also your muse, generally muses do not mind other muses. Do they? RB Dec 13 06 04:38 pm Link until the muse become the significant other, right Dec 13 06 04:43 pm Link Success story here...I work with a photographer on a weekly basis; me and his wife get along quite well... We exchange recipes and everything. I guess it doesn't hurt that I'm married as well. Dec 13 06 04:44 pm Link my fionce thinks all togs are perves!!! so ignorent i hate it i love modeling and no way think its pervy i do it to express myself  Dec 13 06 04:46 pm Link I also am very fortunate that my wife of 24 years is very supposrtive of my artwork. She undertands that I enjoy doing female nudes, and is actually quite helpful with her critiques--she doesn't let me get "lazy drawing syndrome." lol While I don't have a muse (yet), we have a great amount of trust in each other, and in fact, I want her to go to Glamourcon Chicago next year with me and our son (who helps with the business side). She has an uncanny ability to talk to anybody like she's known the person for years. She is a great friend and supporter Dec 13 06 04:56 pm Link not fair he should trust me!!! i was modeling before and i was a good girl i still am , it makes me sad that he does make these comments to me .. Dec 13 06 04:58 pm Link Sure...as long as the wife/girlfriend/etc IS the muse........lol. Meela Dec 13 06 04:59 pm Link tanyazaki aka candycat wrote: I may be sticking my nose where it doesn't belong, but if he doesn't trust you, are you sure you want to marry him? Dec 13 06 05:20 pm Link tanyazaki aka candycat wrote: Well I'm not a perv.. but I play one on TV. Dec 13 06 05:22 pm Link FlirtynFun Photography wrote: I don't have a particular muse, but I've found that my wife's "woman's eye" certainly has helped me, as a guy, pay more attention to stray hairs and the occassional exposed bra strap. Dec 13 06 05:34 pm Link |
