What is “Sexy”?

One type of photo that I particularly like is what I call, “Sexy Photos”. This style is similar to boudoir photos, but not necessarily taken in the bedroom (boudoir is French for bedroom). While I am sure that similar observations apply to male subjects, all of my experience to this point is with women.

In going through the photos I have taken so far (not all are publicly available), I have come up with the following observations:

• Sexy has no age limits. I have met older women who are far sexier than some beautiful models.
• Sexy has no required body type. I have seen larger women who are sexier than women who are smaller and more classically “beautiful”. Some (but not all) of the women who classify themselves as “big, beautiful women (BBW)” are in this category.
• Of particular note, big boobs are not a requirement for being sexy. And, a boob job often makes women lo less sexy.

What this really means is that sexy is a state of mind. If you believe you are sexy, you are.

For photos, I have noticed a few other things:

• When the subject looks into the camera, it makes a big difference. This is not absolutely required (for example, see the photo to the right), but this is true of most of the photos I think are sexy.
• Sexy is not the same as nude. Many (but not all) nude images are not sexy. Think about artistic nudes. For that matter, very little pornography is really “sexy”.
• Sexy is not the same as “erotic”. Erotic normally has more sex and less fun as the emphasis. I bet this point is one for debate, because I suspect not everybody agrees with my distinction between the two. Let’s discuss it through the comments.
• Often there is a tease component to the image, saying, “I won’t show it to you right now, but maybe later.” Contemporary burlesque dancers specialize in this tease part. Many of them are very sexy, and not all are thin.
• There is often flirting with the camera (and hence, the viewer of the resulting image). I ran across a great book by Violet Blue about flirting, and much of the advice applies to still images as well as being sexy for your special someone.
• Sexy is fun. The model and photographer should be enjoying the photo session; this shows in the resulting images.
• Comfort is essential for sexiness. This means both physically as well as mentally comfortable.

Again, it seems to come down to the mental state of the person in the photo. When she believes she is sexy, she is.

If you are interested in having sexy photos taken, check out my sexy photo web gallery and then contact me. I travel a lot, so you do not need to be in Albuquerque.

This topic is one I will be continuing to research, and I am sure that I will have additional blog posts on the topic. Let me know what you think the definition of “sexy” is.

All people appearing in these photos have signed a written release allowing me to use the photos.