Robert John Guttke

The Photographer’s POV:

One cannot control the reaction of the audience; but I don’t believe a photographer is all that concerned with the audience as much as he is with himself, satisfying his own creative needs. How it is viewed by the public is out of his hands no matter what.

Generally people don’t look beyond the surface of figure photography, never giving much thought to the different levels that go on that are more often than not a struggle to achieve. You are dealing with emotional, psychological, and comfort issues with every shoot, and this includes the photographer as well as the model.

You can hand a camera to anyone, give them a naked body, and say, “go shoot.” You’ll get a result. But is it a good one? There is an onerous responsibility in this kind of subject matter – the location, the lighting, the concept ... all of which are capable of changing when you least expect it – sometimes for the best, sometimes for the worst. You need to have an “eye” for this work, you need to be able to see that which is special and magical. Otherwise you just have a naked body. And remember: It is the photographer who “creates” the circumstances for all things to come together.

There are two common misconceptions I encounter with my work.