Maybe its because I've done photo shoots. Or maybe because I see a lot of the pictures that are selfies and I cringe at the lighting, the composition, and the Instagram effects that some ladies use. By that I mean that they take a normal shot and make it look like it was taken with my dad's Kodak Instamatic 110. Sorry, but the 70's look for photos belongs in the 70's.
Time and time again I see pictures that ladies have done on their own and I think that they would be so much better off and have more customers if they would get a professional to take some pictures for them. They just need to pick the right photographer. I do agree that there are way too many photographers that Photoshop the hell out of the images. There's a difference between editing and altering. Cleaning up the lighting, or the image...fine. Removing something from the background...no problem. Even removing a blemish or something...that's okay. But some of the photographers are essentially white washing the photos to alter reality. They remove a few wrinkles, shed a few pounds or more, and soon you're looking at a different person. Now what I actually like to see are a good mixture of professional pictures and candid or self-portrait shots that show the lady's personality and can confirm their actual appearance. I just saw a website today that I thought to myself that the photos were nice because the lady had a mixture of pro and candid shots. She even had pictures where she was blond and ones with her natural dark hair. It was a nice selection. Anyway, that's my $.02.I have noticed a few of the girls have sections on their sites for selfies and nonprofessional photos. I find these so much hotter than the pro pics.
A lot of the professional images are so over-Photoshopped. It's like they are not real people. Not a pore is showing, not a blemish..give me a real gal.
You got that right!... if I wanted to get off to an airbrushed image of a model, I would jerk off to Cosmopolitan magazine
It's difficult for a provider too say she hasn't or can't send a recent pic when her last e-mail says "sent by Iphone" or "Samsung Galaxy" at bottom of her e-mail.
"If you need jerk off material, you have all of google"
Don't shoot the messenger!
I am definitely pro-selfie, but listen I will not take a picture with my one of a kind home furnishings in the background. Nope! Discretion is priority #1.
If you have red walls and unique wallpaper at home....that eliminates your chance of quickly snapping a photo on demand for the same reasons as many ladies opt to blur their face.
I like knowing that you guys see "sent from my iPhone" and think this now.... I hate letting guys down so maybe I should remove this from my emails so that they don't think I'm a crock of sh*t when I say that I can't send a photo right now because the background isn't discrete. Sort've prevents the upset before it happens
I recently revealed my new website and wanted only a couple of professional photos done for the HOME and SIMPLY BRANDI tabs. I put feelers out on TER and was contacted by many photographers....when I interviewed them and shared my desire to have NONE PHOTOSHOPPED photos, they refused and said they would not release THEIR image with THEIR name on it without it being touched up....Geez...so I'm sticking to selfies! When did my photo become THEIR image in the first place.
I'm sure if I stayed in the hunt long enough I would have found someone willing to not do retouched images. I have a few clients who have offered to take some photos...may take them up on that, and add some great play into our session.
Sounds like they are too worried about marketing and their own interests than providing a service. Removal of their name on the photo would completely eliminate their concerns...which I believe are that their work doesn't look as good without being touched up. All understandable. We all have goals, but its disappointing to learn that they didn't give you an option. Some creatives can be so rigid lol.
from an out-of-focus, pixelated cell phone photo. I especially like the ones that use a bare light bulb from the ceiling for lighting, or where the provider is trying to do something cute.
I'm awful. Literally take two and then I'm like "fuck it". The photographer will know where to stand! Lol
Nice folding skills too.. I see she likes her whites to top from the bottom.
I like reality..
Sometimes having sex with an escort can be way more "real" than having sex with your civie.
What is real? Is it what you can taste? What you can smell?
Well/
Real is just a combination of chemicals in your brain... Telling your eyes you feel that way. 
You create your own reality my brother.
Take a life lesson from our lovely ladies here..
I envy them. Their ability to create a lifestyle that leads you across the planet in wealth?
Must be respected.
the pro shots give me some idea of what she may look like at her best, and the selfies give me an idea of whether the pro shots are accurate or "shopped to death".
Frankly, I've never met a woman who looked EXACTLY like her photos... some people are very photogenic, and some - well, maybe not quite so much
I'm actually planning photoshoots where I am the model and the photographer with my iPhone. I don't know if I'm become addicted to the photos on social media or what....but now I really don't see the benefit of professional photos. At this point we are all aware of photoshop and I feel like selfies tell you the truth whereas some professional photos do not. Pro pics don't take the time to zoom in on the small flattering details such as lips, big blue eyes, perfectly arched eyebrows, etc.
Also, a selfie can tell so much more of a story than any professional photoshoot ever can. Honestly, there are some escorts on instagram that I am hooked on looking at because I get a glimps into their lifestyle better with their own selfie and iphone pics. Yeah...sounds lame, but its nice knowing that a lady dines at home with classy plates, forks and knives instead of the plastic spoons that some ladies with glamorous pro photos may be using. Even though that is irrelevant.
So! All of that said! Who will be the creator of an instagram type of app or site for escorts? I think we are all ready for it lol.
A lot of ladies are charging top dollar for their services. If I look at a site and see amateur photos (and especially an amateurish or cookie cutter site), there's a disconnect. I don't think she cares enough about her business to make a good presentation, and I wonder about the rates.
A lot of pro photographs are retouched, no doubt about it. If they're retouched to mislead, then that's a mistake. But a well-lit, well-designed photo makes me want to buy in the same way that a good car photo makes me want the car. Not many major advertisers use selfies for their national ads.
I think there's a place for selfies if they're done well. Jordan's are good, but they're obviously not professional. Well, maybe they're "Aldo grade" in terms of composition and lighting 
, but they're not as good as some provider photos I've seen.
All this probably has to do as much with my age and my advertising background as anything else.
Of course of course top dollar girls should have pro photos. My intention was not to say there is no place for them. TBH I wouldn't take a girl aspiring for elite status seriously if they hadn't any professional photos.
However! Much like you, I've seen some "selfies" from some of these elite status woman and its those photos that really make me believe in their status. It takes me out of thinking she is magazine beautiful and into "no - she is just a real life bombshell."
Thank you for your review of my selfies. This is a review site, isn't it?
I need to upgrade my work phone for better quality selfies. Until this month, I only took them to show my body without any photoshop. I have more plans for them going forward! Its hard as ever to get the latest and greatest camera phone for a prepaid account registered under "John Doe." I have a personal phone that is the latest model, of course, but thats because its a slice of cake to get one under my legal name if you get my drift. I keep my devices separate for the 2 sides of my lifestyle because I'm meticulously discrete. Some call it paranoia! Anywho, all Jordan Carter Selfies are taken with a Jane Doe phone - no exceptions. Until I upgrade, my selfies will remain Aldo quality. LOL - you guys won't let poor Aldo catch a break. Hilarious!
People talk about the cameras and the technology, but not about the skill, which is what the pro brings to the table.
The camera is unforgiving. What you or other women might think of as flaws in your appearance will likely be multiplied by the camera and the lighting. If it's something that the guy would see, then that's being honest. But there's a lot of things a guy wouldn't see under normal room lighting that will show if the lighting in the photograph is poor.
You may have a hint of cellulite, but the camera and poor lighting will make it look like the Rocky Mountains.
You may have a killer figure, but if your pose isn't right, you can wind up looking like Roseanne Barr.
Your pose accentuates your looks. What you think is a good pose may not be flattering.
Again, this is what a pro should bring to the job. The skills to light you and pose you so as to make you look your best, without misrepresenting you.
I look at Tobi Teller's photos, and see the work of a very good professional, and no sign of misrepresentation. The lighting is flattering, the photos are crisp, the color is good, and they make her look great. I have yet to see a selfie that comes anywhere close to that in terms of quality.
89Springer, A photo taken by a passionate photographer with great skills makes the pose and lighting enhance the, in our world, 'marketable' features of the model. Whoever is holding the camera should know what is marketable, selfie or pro.
Selfies, much like some pro shots, are either good, mediocre or bad.
No matter where we look we see misrepresentation. Even to our own eyes. For example, the woman that wears a girdle, the perfect picture of the big mac on billboards and a woman's drivers license, women wearing weave or wigs lol. I am not a fan of misrepresentation and that is why I have come to love selfies for the marketable features in our world where misrepresentation or a nude experience is highly frowned upon.
Note: selfies can also be photoshopped. There are tons of free appts to whip a bad selfie into shape. Lighting, reshaping the body and all!
I've been in the game just long enough to know that a portfolio of an accurately presented woman that is just as hot in her pictures or hotter in real life, is more likely if the portfolio/gallery contains good lighting and posing from all angles with no photoshop. I say a woman and not narrow it down to providers because I'm speaking on every type of woman we can think of, provider or not. Top female models and socialites look good from all angles, no paparazi can catch them off guard. The topic is photos and I'm sticking with that in this paragraph lol.
To tweak the convo a bit, if we narrow the group from photos of all women to photos of providers, where most of us are not of the generation of the new fresh 20s that started taking photos for the heck of it because its the social thing to do starting as early as 12 yrs old, then of course, as a whole our selfies need some work and is more likely than not to suck compared to a pro photo. I'm only saying this because of the age group of participation in the VIP/Upscale/Elite section of our world (the group most expected to have the best photos) and for no other reason.
After responding to you last night, I went lurking online (other websites - not here lol) for some good provider selfies. For the past few years I never looked around through the provider world so that "good provider selfies" that I spoke on in earlier posts were from girls who were references and escorts I stumble across accidentally through social media. It took a while and I was thinking, maybe he's right, maybe selfies are a wash. Then right as I was giving up, I find a 21 yr old VIP provider that was real (the girl in the pictures) and rates were higher than the average. Her selfies were hot! The posing, lighting and cropping and background etc all worked well. She likely isn't a pro photographer, but she is a 21yr old that probably has been taking selfie photos for the heck of it since she was 12 because its the social thing to do.
Was the photo crisp as a pro photo with a pro camera? Of course not, yet it was crisp enough to see a pore in her skin, the lines around her belly button and the gorgeous lower back dimples above her ass. They were crisp enough to tell that she wore minimal makeup and had soft bare pink lips. For a brief moment I thought I was stumbling across a woman in the non-provider world that is hot and takes provocative selfies. Oh yes - the provocative selfie is the social thing to do these days if you're into the social internet world. I forgot I was sifting through providers because I see this every 10 minutes that I spend checking my personal facebook that has reached the maximum 5000 friends. Thats why I even believe in selfies. I wouldn't think of it if I was only viewing providers.
Back to the 21 yr old provider who has higher than average rates and is real, I am positive that as long as the pro behind the camera knows what is marketable, she would NAIL a pro photo shoot. I can't say that with as much confidence if all I saw from her were pro shots. Due to the amount of photoshop that we see. This is the only reason why I am pro selfie. Nevertheless, depending on what you are looking for, if a ladies selfies can't compete toe for toe with pro shots I would be dissing the selfies too. My selfies damn sure can't compete with my pro shots, but if the pro behind the camera took that exact same shot as my selfies....they'd get more hits than any of my pro shots. That said they are worth something for the voyers I hope to attract. You probably noticed that I don't just throw it all out there and leave lots to imagination.
The selfie evolution is very new amongst providers. One day we will have a thread dedicated to selfies titled "The Selfie Olympics." We have to wait until those fresh 20 yr olds mature a bit and get more seriously involved in companionship before what I'm saying about selfies can fully hold. Each of us may be gone by then lol.
but we can save that argument for another day.
An example, though. I was doing a shoot for a major outboard motor company. My assistant had been working in the business for about two years after getting out of photo school.
He pulled out his $600 light meter, read the lighting, and said '"f64 at 5 seconds." I looked at the set and said "f32 at 5 seconds". We did a test shot. He was way off, I was right on, even though I didn't use a meter. I just knew from experience.
Awhile later, I was in on the set, and moving my hands around the motor. He thought it was some kind of voodoo priest dance or something, and asked about it. I just said, "there's reflections in the motor, and I'm trying to see where they're coming from."
Simple, but it takes years to just know this stuff without even thinking about it.
Ha! Some of the knowledge I pass on to new providers sounds like a voodoo dance to them too. Uh...so frustrating. It takes maturity to unquestionably accept that experience is our greatest teacher. I once only heard "voodoo" myself, but thanks to a good memory and not being dismissive, I reflect back and apply. You are so right that this is a topic for another day lol
BTW I saw some of Tobi's photos on the photo thread. Yes she has a properly balanced collection of pro shots. Some girls consistently hit it on the head! I salute them for their portfolio.
I know I need to work on mine, but my strategy is to promise less with photos and deliver more in person! I don't want my photos to do me justice lol. I'm no hidden gem because I do get good reviews, but it helps my eh emm....retention ratio if you get my drift and thats my thing. Too many jaw dropping photos and, for me, I end up with too many upset gents because I can't keep up with responding to them.
Retention only lasts so long, unfortunately....so trust that EVERYTHING you are saying about photo quality is helping a girl plan for the near future
I mean no disrespect to the lady, but the photo is horrible. Her eyes look to be about the size of tangerines, her nose looks like Carl Malden's, her waist is the size of a two year-old, and I can't tell if she's caucasian, Hispanic, AA, or something else.
-- Modified on 9/13/2014 9:07:41 AM
The most popular retouching program for portraits now is PortraitPro. When over-used, and a lot of photographers do over use it, it turns a 'flesh and blood' face into a marble statute. It's what you see on most magazine covers. Every professional photographer is going to do some retouching, it's part of the digital world. But, as in everything else a little can go a long way. I shoot weddings and don't use it. Do I do retouching? of course. My clients expect their images to be retouched, but I'm going to keep it real
If I photoshopped fat and blemishes and freckles away, I'd be afraid the client would walk away when I open the door.
I'm glad to know a lot of gents like candids. I don't have any real pro photos, but I have some taken with my iPhone by friends that look nice. I added brightness to them with Picasa because the lighting wasn't great, but I wouldn't know how to perfect myself if I tried.
I'm glad I read this thread.
I'm a big fan of selfies - even the silly ones. I think it captures a girl's personality which sometimes doesn't come across well in pro shoots. And selfies are almost by definition very recent. Just please clean up your room a bit before you take them. Having dirty clothes, pizza boxes, or messy bathrooms in the shot is a turnoff.
I think it's good if a lady wants to have pro photos on her site, but many don't keep them up to date (which is understandable given the cost of taking them). So I think a mix of pro and selfie shots may be a good bet to keep everyone satisfied.
I also prefer providers that share non-photoshopped, professional images. My ATF provider has a site and has completely removed all her "homemade" images in favor for professional images, which don't get me wrong, are sexy as hell. However, I remember her older, more humble beginnings and miss those images the most. While her pro images are nice, the older images fit her personality better.
Maybe its because I've done photo shoots. Or maybe because I see a lot of the pictures that are selfies and I cringe at the lighting, the composition, and the Instagram effects that some ladies use. By that I mean that they take a normal shot and make it look like it was taken with my dad's Kodak Instamatic 110. Sorry, but the 70's look for photos belongs in the 70's.
Time and time again I see pictures that ladies have done on their own and I think that they would be so much better off and have more customers if they would get a professional to take some pictures for them. They just need to pick the right photographer.
I do agree that there are way too many photographers that Photoshop the hell out of the images. There's a difference between editing and altering. Cleaning up the lighting, or the image...fine. Removing something from the background...no problem. Even removing a blemish or something...that's okay. But some of the photographers are essentially white washing the photos to alter reality. They remove a few wrinkles, shed a few pounds or more, and soon you're looking at a different person.
Now what I actually like to see are a good mixture of professional pictures and candid or self-portrait shots that show the lady's personality and can confirm their actual appearance. I just saw a website today that I thought to myself that the photos were nice because the lady had a mixture of pro and candid shots. She even had pictures where she was blond and ones with her natural dark hair. It was a nice selection.
Anyway, that's my $.02.
Bec photographer's use shit lighting bec they are lazy and then want to correct them in photoshop which makes people look like a flipping dummy. They want you tondo stupid poses which make you look like a twat With selfies more natural and relaxed.