Photography/Photographers

From: Brian Wallace <brian_c_wallace@yahoo.com>, 23 Apr 2003
Subject: The A&F Quarterly and house/staff photographers

I almost look forward to a new A&F Quarterly (Abercrombie and Fitch) as much as I do a new issue of PLAYBOY. All the pictures in the Quarterly are taken by Bruce Weber. Every issue now features at least fifteen to twenty pages of male and female nudity (no lower frontal, though). I mentioned to someone that he is sort of the photographic Norman Rockwell of our time. I mean, sure the pictures portray a lifestyle that doesn't exist, but I think there is a "lifestyle sexiness" that the A&F Quarterly has that maybe PLAYBOY could take a look at. IF the magazine is going to go a semi-nude route then I think these pictures are a type that maybe PLAYBOY could strive for. Sometimes I look at the pictures and think "Man, I wish I could be living that life." That's what I want PLAYBOY to say to me.

I think it would be great if PLAYBOY started using some photographers with maybe a different eye. Weber did this year's Pirelli calendar as well. There were some semi-nude shots in that that would not be out of place in PLAYBOY.

Often times I look through magazines such as foreign editions of GQ and see some pictorial and think "Why isn't this in PLAYBOY?" There was even a fashion pictorial in American G.Q. about five years ago that I would have killed to have seen in PLAYBOY. (It was a young couple going away for a weekend in a convertible and it ended with both skinny-dipping).

Maybe PLAYBOY doesn't have the budget for this but I personally, would love to see a Playmate pictorial shot by David LaCapelle (who did the Naomi Campbell pictorial) or maybe a Playmate pictorial done by Sante D'Orazio (did Stephanie Seymour). Playboy can't afford to hire top name fashion photographers all the time but there are some young photographic talents that are just as good.


From: Donna Tavoso <dtavoso@earthlink.net>, 16 Jul 2003
Subject: The August Issue

I wish PLAYBOY's pictorials were more related to the subject. [Re: Carnie Wilson] She's a muscian, a singer, an artist—nothing of that comes through in her pictorial. It was like, here I am, I'm naked. I wish that PLAYBOY would work on a way to bring the Playmates and the celebrity pictorials more in line with their personalities and then tie that back into making it sexy and appealing. I agree with Peggy that special editions has some great photographs in it, it may be because they actually leave the photo studio every once in a while to do a shoot. I remember how much I loved Brande Roderick's original photo shoot because it was shot outside in the wine country—it was fun and I felt it was reflective of her.


Peggy Wilkins
Last modified: Sat Mar 27 19:32:25 CST 2004