'Flirting is teasing, and teasing builds anticipation.'
It's unfortunate that teasing has become such a negative word. With the increase in open discussions about bullying, teasing is often used to describe how bully's interact with others. Bully's torment, they don't tease, their intent is cruel, to hurt and belittle. When I think of teasing, I think of fun, I think of play. I tease my niece and nephews, I tease my parents, an aunt I am especially close to, some of my friends on occasion. I also tease people I'm attracted to.
For me, there is an intimacy about teasing, a positive feeling that flows between myself and the person I am teasing. In order to for the 'tease' to be effective, I have to know the person, and know their reaction to my words and playfulness. It is usually the beginning of something, an opening to lighten, or begin an interaction on a fun, positive note. Teasing can also be a great theme in photography, especially when capturing the human body. The theme however, is not one that all artists are able to skillfully execute.
It was the image above, and the image below that inspire me to contact Bob Burkhardt about featuring his work with Sam, the hot model in the low hanging jeans.. I love a beautifully captured partial butt, or butt crack shot. They are like a introduction, a hint, a tease of what might be to come. A great tease shot doesn't taunt, nor is it the end of something,instead, it's the kick off the game about to be played
For many, including some photographers, images of the male form are all about the penis. Often, when a model chooses not to show the goods, the images become all about the covering and the hiding. Instead of creatively shooting the the rest of the body, they shoot a succession of images of the model hiding his genitals or covering his package with his hands. Worse, is when they blur or darken them during the editing process, turning the model into a life size Ken doll.
A skilled photographer, one who focuses on the entire male body, can conceal without the viewer feeling cheated. Teasing is not about arousing desire, then pulling the rug out from under the viewer, without ever intending to satisfying them. Some photographers are able to stimulate and create curiosity in a very erotic and immensely satisfying way.
There really isn't any actual 'teasing' going on in these shots, a good photographer can use the art of tease as a way to tantalize and entice with the viewer gratified, and not feeling like they're being visually manipulated or cheated out of something that never arrives. Bob Burkhardt always delivers.
Sam is clearly no Ken doll, even without a full on frontal, Bob creatively captures Sam in his entirety. If you have checked out some of my previous features on Bob's work, you know that frontals are part of most of his shoots. With this set of images of Sam, Bob beautifully captured not only Sam's incredible physique, but his personality, attitude and both his physical and emotional strength.
