Levels

Happy Monday!

This week I’m going to talk to you about levels. If you’ve been exploring the field of model photography for a while, then you’ll know what I’m talking about when I say levels. But if you’re relatively new then this post is for you, and it’s a really important topic. I did write a blog post about this before on my old old website (if you’ve been following my work for a while, then you’ll know that this is website number 3). I thought it was about time that I re-wrote something covering levels.

So what are levels? Models mention shooting ‘up to’ something like art nude, or lingerie or adult. For example, I shoot up to art nude. Levels are generally on a scale: some models will charge more for higher levels, or less for lower levels, so you get the idea that it’s a sort of hierarchy. At first glance, it appears that the levels increase with the level of nudity and how much is revealed, but some levels have subtle nuances and the level may refer to something being inferred, rather than what’s on show, for example in erotica.

It’s confusing, for sure, but I hope that this post will help clear some of this up for you, so you can be respectful of levels when shooting, and don’t accidentally push a model’s levels. I will do a post about level pushing in the future.

Before I explain what I think each level mens and entails, I would like to state that every model will have her own definition of these levels. In this instance, what the model thinks is more important than what the photographer thinks, and they get the final say on what they will work up to. This post is just what I take each level to mean, and is intended as a general overview. Different models may have slightly different opinions. It’s always a good idea to ask the person you’re booking what they mean when they say ‘nude’ or ‘implied’ as it may be different to what you think. If you gain that clarification before the shoot, it avoids any unnecessary awkwardness on the day. Always make sure you’re both on the same page, even if it means sending a mood board or referring to some of your own previous work, or theirs to gain this clarification. Communication is key.

Also, no model should be expected to shoot all of their levels with any photographer. Some prefer to only shoot nude on a second or third shoot, or will only shoot higher levels with photographers who have a certain number of references. This is a model’s choice, and should always be respected.

With each level, I have included a couple of shots of each level from my portfolio. I tried to find a shoot where I’d done all the levels I talk about here (except for adult, as I don’t shoot up to that level and erotica because I rarely ever shoot it). The only shoot I could find where I did all of these was on a trip to Bulgaria that I did in April 2019. All of the shots in this post were taken by a truly wonderful photographer called Andy Harding. I hope you like these images and I hope that they help to clarify the levels for you. I didn’t do any lingerie shots on this trip, so I have included some swimwear images instead. Some models may class this as fashion, rather than lingerie.

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Fashion

Fashion generally refers to clothed work. This could be any type of clothing: casual, formal, sportswear, modern clothing, period clothing, cosplay, high fashion. The model is clothed.

Lingerie

Lingerie seems like it should be self explanatory but within this level there may be things that some models might not be comfortable with. For example, sheer lingerie might not be acceptable to all models, or they may not want to pose in a suggestive way while wearing lingerie as this may edge into erotica. These are things to be aware of if you’re interested in shooting lingerie as your highest level, or booking models who’s highest level is lingerie. Also be mindful that some models class swimwear as a fashion level and some as a lingerie level.

Latex

Latex is skintight, shiny clothing made from rubber. Some models class this as a level in itself due to the nature of latex, and also how complicated wearing latex can be. Some latex garments can be difficult to get into and out of without help (such as full body suits or some of the strappier items) and models may not wish to shoot this without someone to assist with dressing.

Topless

Topless refers to the model being naked from the waist up. Topless and glamour are often confused: a lot of glamour is topless, but not all topless shots are glamour. Glamour is more about the posing (suggestive poses such as hands on hips, eye contact with the camera, biting lip for example) and lighting (high key, brightly lit shots).

Implied Nude/Concealed Nude

The nudity in these shots is implied, so no female nipples or genitalia are on show. Some models may prefer to be clothed but pose in a way which gives the impression of nudity; some will be comfortable shooting while nude, as long as nothing is on show in the final images. It’s important to ask your model which category she fits into before shooting if implied nude is her highest level.

Fine Art Nude

There are many different names for this category: classical art nude, figure nude, fine art nude etc. This refers to tasteful nude imagery of a non-sexual nature. There is no genitalia on show, as the legs are usually crossed slightly in frontal poses, or shot side ways on. These images are about beauty, grace and femininity.

Erotica

This level is more about the suggestion of the image, and less about the level of nudity. This refers to images of a sexual nature,  but are still not explicit, the sexuality is implied through expression and posing. This type of image is usually (but not exclusively) in a boudoir type setting.

Open Leg/Adult

Open leg refers to posing with the legs apart so more genitalia may be on show. My understanding is that open leg work doesn’t mean sexual in nature, it’s just a more revealing style of posing than art nude. Adult refers to sexually explicit work which can involve working alongside other models, or working with sex toys.

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And those are the levels! I’ll just say again to reiterate that this blog post is simply what each level means to me, personally. Each model will have their own highest level and their own opinion of what each level is, so always gain clarification on this with the model you’re booking before shooting, especially if you shoot to higher levels than they do. It’s also important for models who charge a different rate for different levels, you want to make sure that you are paying the model correctly for the work they are doing.

And that’s all from me for this week. Feel free to leave a comment if you have a different opinion on what the different levels mean, or if you have any experiences where these distinctions have been important. Let’s start a conversation about levels!

Have an amazing week and I’ll talk to you again next Monday <3

Misuzu x