The English winter doesn’t encourage sexy self-confidence. Wrapped in sixteen layers of wool and shivering at the 87 bus stop, looking cool for a glamour photography portfolio is pretty much the furthest thing from everyone’s mind.
Flashing the flesh
It’s when the sun shines and the thermometer rises that we think about showing a little flesh, and sharing a little flesh, in those Facebook summer selfies. Posting sexy summer photos on social media has become a bit of a rite of summer in itself. It’s the time of year when showing some skin can be disguised as practicality rather than vanity.
Beach bum
Annoyingly, it’s one of those unfortunate truisms that pretty much everyone looks dreadful on the beach. Direct summer light is consistently unflattering, catching and magnifying every line and blemish. We’re smeared in factor 50 sun screen, which leaves us looking more clown than supermodel. Seawater has the effect of turning our hair into ropes of seaweed. And sand sticks to us in all the most unflattering places. In short, the beach is pretty much selfie hell.
Salvation
Worry not. There is a great, and increasingly popular, alternative: glamorous summer photos taken by a London glamour photographer in a controlled, flattering studio environment. Any studio can be transformed to create the impression of a sunset beach, or a sophisticated coastal bar, with you posing sensually centre stage.
So many reasons
It’s a win-win situation. Professionally applied, natural summer makeup covers blemishes, conceals dark circles and provides a sultry summer glow. Controlled studio lighting, sympathetically positioned, illuminates radiant skin, and defines and accentuates your sensual curves. You can experiment with the swimwear you were too cautious or self-conscious to wear to the beach, and flaunt it in the privacy of a studio. And we haven’t even mentioned the modern miracle of Photoshop.
The moral dilemma
Is it really cheating to post studio shots of yourself, taken by a glamour photographer in London, looking summer perfect? The jury may be out on this one, but you can be sure that even if you’re not doing it, at least a handful of your friends will be.
So what’s it going to be? Scrubbed red face and seaweed hair, or sultry summer beach Goddess?