Terry Richardson Bashing

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Anyways back to Richardson

I think he will be in the History books for making photography fun, the act of taking pictures. He kind of made it about the photographer and while doing so made himself a celebrity. These days its safe to say that he is more recognizable than the subjects he shoots. I feel like before him a lot of the the aesthetic in magazines had a kind of dry, pretentious, quality to it which I still enjoy. I haven't really tracked his career but the stuff I've seen from him is almost the opposite of what was out there before and its a refreshing change.
 
Richardson may not actually be a rapist, and perhaps it is too much to call him one. But it's well known he's a giant creep, and while it may not be illegal to be a creep - that a prominent and successful photographer can get away with being creepy and rude to his models and clients sort of reflects badly on photography in general.

He is basically a very poor amateur with a lot of money, it shows in his work and how he treats the people he works with.
 
I honestly can't understand how people can feel so threatened and take this guy's style and ethos so close to heart. He reflects in NO way my personal approach to the profession, he's just another guy. He does not give me, or the photographic community a poor reputation, he is, and always will be, an outlier. Which end of the bell curve he's on, and who he sits next to, we'll you are free to decide that for yourself.

He's simply a guy with a camera, who knows the right people, creates interesting stuff, and clearly, from the gross of his pictures, seems like an entertaining guy to work with. Different strokes for different folks. I'm happy he found success in his career, just like I'm happy Bruce Davidson has. These are people that stuck to their convictions and cut their own path. If they did something illegal, then it would be another story entirely.

If he crossed a comfort line with a few people, then that's what he did, and I'm sure they all had the opportunity to say "NO". I have yet to see concrete allegations of rape or any other crime, and this discussion has taken a turn to an unfounded bashing of a guy that does not jell with a few other photographers.

Bottom line is, if you don't like him, don't buy his books. If you have proof of something illegal warranting prosecution, then RFF may not be the best place to come discuss it.
 
bonatto said:
I honestly can't understand how people can feel so threatened and take this guy's style and ethos so close to heart. He reflects in NO way my personal approach to the profession, he's just another guy. He does not give me, or the photographic community a poor reputation, he is, and always will be, an outlier. Which end of the bell curve he's on, and who he sits next to, we'll you are free to decide that for yourself.

He's simply a guy with a camera, who knows the right people, creates interesting stuff, and clearly, from the gross of his pictures, seems like an entertaining guy to work with. Different strokes for different folks. I'm happy he found success in his career, just like I'm happy Bruce Davidson has. These are people that stuck to their convictions and cut their own path. If they did something illegal, then it would be another story entirely.

If he crossed a comfort line with a few people, then that's what he did, and I'm sure they all had the opportunity to say "NO". I have yet to see concrete allegations of rape or any other crime, and this discussion has taken a turn to an unfounded bashing of a guy that does not jell with a few other photographers.

Bottom line is, if you don't like him, don't buy his books. If you have proof of something illegal warranting prosecution, then RFF may not be the best place to come discuss it.
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That might be fine for you. But it's really a rather naive take on it. If Richardson just happened to be some creep without as much notoriety as he has, you would have a point. But when people are writing articles about a photographer who molests his models, that creates negative connotations in people's minds about photographers in general. And unfortunately, good experiences with photographers are generally not newsworthy so there's not much to balance the public's perception. It's easy to say "well I'm a good photographer and I'd never do that" - precisely because you are one, unfortunately millions of people aren't reading about you.
 
Thanks for chiming back, I'm not having a go at anyone here, just putting a few thoughts in.

I'm not sure to what extent this guy's doings are really publicized, but I'd imagine if this guy is committing crimes, he would be bearing the weight. RFF was the first I've heard of him, and I'm not sure if he's been front page news to the broader audience (please correct me if I'm wrong). Saying he gives photographers a bad reputation is like saying Lindsay Lohan gives actresses a bad name, and that Charles Manson tarnishes musicians'. I'd expect any prospective client to have a good understanding of the way a particular professional works, and more importantly, I would expect said professional to present himself in the individualized way that best reflects his work. I would not expect a client to see a photo of a penis resting on a hot dog bun and think all photographers practice the same antics. The client might just go on to the next photographer with references that better correspond with their final goals.

I think the naiveness is in believing that one rotten apple spoils the bunch. In such a large basket, just pick the rotten few out, and you're left with some petty good apples (and still a pretty full basket)! I'm not losing sleep over Richardson's photo parties.

Cheers,
 
How famous is this person, really? How many apart from (some) photographers and (some) fashion addicts have ever actually heard of him? Does he really affect many people's views of what photographers are like?

Cheers,

R.
 
from what i've read on the internet (granted, a poor source in general) by photographers and models, he has molested dozens of young women. i imagine the only reason he hasn't been convicted of anything is because he makes so much money and holds a position of power in the world of fashion.
 
Roger Hicks said:
How famous is this person, really? How many apart from (some) photographers and (some) fashion addicts have ever actually heard of him? Does he really affect many people's views of what photographers are like?

Cheers,

R.
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The rape accusations were widely discussed outside of the photography world, perhaps even more so than within it. I actually heard about it first from a non-photographer. Regardless of whether it actually happened or not, it's a really negative thing to be associated with photographers.

The thing is that as photographers the people we pay attention to and hear about are often different than those non-photographers hear about. As a photographer I couldn't care less about Richardson. There's only thousands of other people making the same sort of lazy work he does, so he's not on my radar much. But as a person, he sounds like the worst sort of creep and it's unfortunate that the media presents his profession as being a mechanism by which he may practice his creepiness. But that's just how it is.
 
Jamie123 said:
He's arguably the most successful fashion photographer of today. If you're not interested in contemporary fashion photography you may not have heard of him, otherwise he's a pretty big name.
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That's what I meant, really. How many people are interested in contemporary fashion photography? Even among photographers?

Cheers,

R.
 
I may not be interested in contemporary fashion photography, but the fact that he makes $58 million a year doing so, while others are shooing for $100 an assignment at a city newspaper, should raise an eyebrow or two.

Perhaps it would be better to take the photography out of it. He's a $58 million/year celebrity who happens to take photos.
 
koven said:
Not sure if I consider them victims. Terry hasn't been charged with anything to the best of my knowledge.
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Exactly! If any of those models had a good case against him they'd sue him in a heartbeat. But none of them actually accuse him of rape. 'Coercion' is not rape and equating the two is a slap in the face of all people who actually get raped.

Those articles say the women are "too young to stand up for themselves" and in the next paragraph they quote someone who was "19 at the time". Give me a break. Just because they're pretty and female doesn't mean they're not responsible for their actions. If you're old enough to go to jail you're old enough to decide whether or not you want to give a guy a HJ because it might help your career.
 
Jamie123 said:
Exactly! If any of those models had a good case against him they'd sue him in a heartbeat. But none of them actually accuse him of rape. 'Coercion' is not rape and equating the two is a slap in the face of all people who actually get raped.

Those articles say the women are "too young to stand up for themselves" and in the next paragraph they quote someone who was "19 at the time". Give me a break. Just because they're pretty and female doesn't mean they're not responsible for their actions. If you're old enough to go to jail you're old enough to decide whether or not you want to give a guy a HJ because it might help your career.
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Um... Coerced sex is rape; or at least, sexual assault.

Cheers,

R.
 
Roger Hicks said:
That's what I meant, really. How many people are interested in contemporary fashion photography? Even among photographers?

Cheers,

R.
Click to expand...

I'd venture to say that quite a lot more people are interested in fashion photography than any other genre of photography. Why? Because that's what people see in ads and magazines. Sure, a lot of the general public might not recognize the name but they probably see his pictures every day.

But I also think he's generally one of the most famous photographers today. Photographers per se aren't the biggest celebrities around but relatively speaking he's very well known.
 
Roger Hicks said:
Um... Coerced sex is rape; or at least, sexual assault.

Cheers,

R.
Click to expand...

Ha, you're right! Apologies on my part. I confused the word with persuasion, English not being my first language and all.

In any case, though, you'll find that none of the articles uses the word rape. They basically say that Richardson and his assistants create and environment where the models feel like it's expected from them to do certain things. Fair enough but what are the consequences for not playing along? Their career being over? Sure, maybe, but why don't they just quit?

Terry Richardson surely is a creep who exploits his influencial position in order to sleep with models. It doesn't make him a very nice human being but it doesn't make him a rapist either. And, by the way, he's been pretty notorious for a long time and the internet has been around for a few years, too. Nobody can tell me they went to his studio expecting to have some tasteful pictures taken.


By the way, anyone who bashes TR should also bash Araki. I remember an interview where he says he has sex with almost all of his models.
 
Fashion photography is possibly the most popular sort of photography today - at least in the minds of the general public.

To them the rest is more or less just suitable for postcards and puzzles.
 
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