And besides, they are usually more candid and representative.

Anyone can sound great when you put them in a recording studio and do all the enhancements with studio trickery.  Harder to pull it off with a small MP3 recorder recording your live performance.

Cameras are the same way.

Professional photos don't necessarily have to be done in the heavily photoshopped Playboy style. For example, the amount of Photoshop work my photographer does is very minimal (at least on the pics of me and my girls). You just need to explain what you want to your photographer.
As for cost, it's really not that much. Many photographers will charge about the same as most providers make in an hour. When you consider how much business you'll get with those pics, it's well worth the investment in my opinion.

I will never see a girl that has a camera phone pic in an ad. Reeks of cheapness and sleaze. Ladies get some quality pics even if you have to fuck or blow a decent photographer to get the job done.

The camera phone pics are often much more representative of what you will see when the door opens.
The professional pics are usually NOT representative of what you will see. Some of the photographers over do the airbrushing and only show them in their best light. Many are on the verge of being deceptive because cellulite and skin problems are eliminated as are 20 lbs.

A mixture of professional and candid photos seem to work better for me.

I think that there should be a bit of both. Photographer pics can be way over photoshopped and you don't get an actual representation of the lady that is going to knock on your door.  A good mix of amateur and pro are good. As for only camera pix, I agree it's cheap looking.  We have something called mobile Monday's on our Florida board just for those people who like those non photoshopped photos. Unfortunately we do see some really tacky photos, but at lease it's an accurate representation of what you'll get.

French kisses

Elle Vegas

Many camera phone photos are poor quality, and do a disservice to themselves by not putting their best foot forward.  But to the client, if what he sees from the cell phone looks good, he doesn't have to worry about being disappointed when the door opens.

I have seen a number of gals based partly on their photos, and I have to admit that the reality wasn't quite up to what the photo showed (Thought they looked plenty good enough in any case.)

While I do appreciate the good quality photos, the cell phone photos might be a better deal for the client.

I have a mixture of pro/cell phone pics on my website/blog. My professional pictures were done by two separate photographers, and NEITHER of them used any airbrushing/photoshopping other than blurring my face in those I chose not to crop. I can even see cellulite in my first set of photos, which is what inspired me to start working out on the Kinect more (lost ten pounds doing that ), lmao! As far as the cell phone pictures, I upload a candid shot whenever I make a blog post. I like my readers to see what I look like when I'm not prancing around in front of a professional.  I have never had any complaints about them. The extra pictures all through my blog is probably what inspires all the traffic, lol.

What's the saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words"? I think a blending of professional photos and phone photos is fine. A provider may look or feel particularly hot at a certain moment and would want to capture it on her phone. I just question the phone pics taken in the mirror of a bathroom with all the junks spread around.
By the way, I find it hard to believe that you had even one ounce of cellulite on you, Elle. gf60

... and I sometimes request a candid photo. In fact the hottest photo I have ever seen was a homemade one.

and if the OP never sees a provider who has them, he doesn't know what he's missing. Many new providers who are just learning the biz, often use them.

Posted By: Lovelyelle

I have a mixture of pro/cell phone pics on my website/blog. My professional pictures were done by two separate photographers, and NEITHER of them used any airbrushing/photoshopping other than blurring my face in those I chose not to crop. I can even see cellulite in my first set of photos, which is what inspired me to start working out on the Kinect more (lost ten pounds doing that ), lmao! As far as the cell phone pictures, I upload a candid shot whenever I make a blog post. I like my readers to see what I look like when I'm not prancing around in front of a professional.  I have never had any complaints about them. The extra pictures all through my blog is probably what inspires all the traffic, lol.

I don't like grainy, fuzzy pics. But modern cell phones gave really good cameras, and most regular digital camaras are really good now. I want the girl in the picture to be the girl who is behind the door. That is way more likely with phone pics and amateur shots than with, highly made up and highly photoshopped, professional photos.

For ladies starting out many times it is the only choice. For those who are established, and can afford pro photos, I think there should be a mixture of pro and amateur pics.

admired the photos of ladies that are really well done, polished, and glossy looking. I'd love to have some of those. But at the same time, I keep reading that you guys like more candid and less polished photos. LovelyElle has a great idea of having her glossy ones on her site and her candids in her blog.

I think something can be said about putting your best foot forward with photos. It does seem to indicate that the lady takes her profession a bit more seriously in some ways, and it also seems to indicate more permanence than some fly-by-night lady who wants to try being a provider for a minute and then disappears. (That's in the end why I switched from a completely blog-based site to a regular one with a link back to my blog.)

And I love Scott Church!! What an artist!!

You already know I love your pics. Now if you told me they were taken by your friend with an iphone, I would believe you. As you say, professional photos don't HAVE to be overly photoshopped, but the problem is usually they are. And even if not heavily photoshopped, many times just the makeup, and lighting and such will make the lady look different in person. Amateur and candid photos, as long as they are clear, can be very well done. Looks like in your case, a pro made the pics look simple and plain. (I don't mean that in a bad way). Also for what it's worth, I wouldn't rate most playboy photoshopped models higher than a 7 or 8, and I'd rate some GND amateur shots a 10. Just my personal taste.

As for increasing business, does it matter if you are low volume? You say in your website that you see one client per day. Doesn't seem like you would want to increase business.

-- Modified on 8/16/2012 11:24:49 AM

In my case, it's not so much an increase in business as it is an increase in options. You also tend to attract a different level of clientele based on the pictures you use.
Then there's also times when someone may go to my site wanting to see me, but then end up making an appointment with one of my girls when they find out that I'm not available that day.

My photographer is also a close friend, and sometimes we'll be hanging out, and just spontaneously decide to do a shoot.

Posted By: perfectstorm

You already know I love your pics. Now if you told me they were taken by your friend with an iphone, I would believe you. As you say professional photos don't HAVE to he overly photoshopped, but the problem is usually they are. Ad even if not heavily photoshopped, many times just the makeup, and lighting and such will make the lady loo ink different in person. Amateur and candid photos, as long as they are clear, can be very well done. Looks like in your case, a pro made the pics look simple and plain. (I don't mean that in a bad way). Also for what it's worth, I wouldn't rate most playboy photoshopped models higher than a 7 or 8, and I'd rate some GND amateur shots a 10. Just my personal taste.

As for increasing business, does it matter if you are low volume? You say in your website that you see one client per day. Doesn't seem like you would want to increase business.

A simple suggestion; buy a decent point and shoot camera and ask a friend to take some pictures. They don't have to be overtly sexual, I would guess most clients would be ok with a pic from the bar, pool, beach or whatever. Something casual but true to your real appearance. Everyone is correct that cell phones have pretty good cameras now but, it's not the camera, it's the shakiness of the picture taker that makes it grainy or blurry. Most point and shoot ones are more traditional for the picture taker and they hold it with both hands - thereby making it a better picture.

JC

The original thread starter is nuts. I prefer camera phone pics over photo studio pics. I want to see all the gun shot wounds, knife scars, bumps, acne and bruises a provider has before I see her. Professional studio pics are heavily airbrushed and doctored to bring out the best in the girl. I see people fall for the professional pics all the time and when they see the lady they're like, "she was 10lbs+ heavier than her pics". Daaahh, no shit sherlock.  Why you think she took the studio pics in the first place??

Now I admit that I don't know a lot about using Photoshop, but why would a cell phone pic be harder to edit? If anything I would think it would be much easier since cell phone pics contain far less detail than a dslr image file. I've never seen a cell phone pic where you can zoom in and clearly see skin pores, but this is pretty common with an image from a dslr.

Whether or not someone using cell phone pics would have access to Photoshop, or know how to use it, is another matter entirely.

May be less inclined to spend time trying to doctor them, compared to someone who puts up studio shots.

Thanks.  You may totally be correct.

I asked my photographer about it. He said there's really little point in trying to Photoshop cell phone pics because the lack of detail and sharpness inherent in phone pics already results in an effect similar to the surface blurring and airbrushing that are usually done. There was also something about color gamut as well, but honestly I kind of started to drift off when he was explaining it. But he directed me to a pic to illustrate the difference.