For a few years I taught at Focal Point on 10^th Avenue. My most popular class (I thought Vancouver was supposed to be terribly repressed) was called The Contemporary Portrait Nude.

The idea of the portrait nude came to me when in the very early 80s I obtained a  good contract job for Air Canada Public Relations (also for Canadian Pacific Limited). The man in charge at Air Canada, Harry Atterton told me, “I don’t care if you photograph airplanes or other stuff for us as long as you always include the humanity of it – even if it is only a shoe.” I never forgot that advice. Even when I shoot nudes or teach my students how to go about this I stress the idea of the face and the humanity, even if the face is not in the shot. As long as you remember the face, the photograph will have content and depth.

In my classes I often told that the idea of a wall (or backdrop), a model (I prefer the term subject), a camera, lights and you ( much like those once popular layered Jell-O of many colours)  were a recipe for a boring disaster. It was important to have some sort of concept or idea before shooting. Thinking about it at night, in bed, a night before could work well. And in the studio those moments when you told your subject to rest were the moments when you watched your subject’s movements for ideas.