To think the photos aren’t appropriate/too revealing for college work

[ThatsMyPenguin]

DS is 18, he’s in his second year at college doing an Art and Design course, one of the units is all photography based. He’s loving it.
As part of the unit they need to create a mini portfolio of some portraits, landscapes and still life images. There seems to be a fair amount of creative control. He wants to be a photographer so this unit is important to him.

Last night he was working on the computer downstairs and I was looking at his images (he was editing them).
He has taken some pictures of an old school friend (currently 17) in lingerie. They are quite tastefully done (I won’t post them here as like I said they seem inappropriate to me).
Some have been done to look like she is laying on a bed I think and the placement of her hands make it seem quite sexual, another is from behind and the lingerie doesn’t provide much coverage of her behind so that seems quite inappropriate. He’s taken pictures of her which aren’t revealing too, focused more on her face etc. They are much better but he is insisting he will be fine to use a combination and it’s “art”. They are well done I just don’t think it’s appropriate to take pictures like that of a 17 year old!! His college tend to display some of the work too so I’d be surprised if they allow it, DS says they are fine with it but admits they don’t know she is 17.

AIBU to say pictures of this nature aren’t appropriate considering they are for uni and she’s not 18?

It sounds like he has learned a difficult lesson - that whatever his intention in making his art, there are other things that he has to consider. I hope it does not deter him too much, poor lad. And that his friend can get her nice pictures from him in more suitable clothing when she turns 18.

This is some support forum. It's just lambasting people who are usually just looking for advice without putting their foot in it and escalating a problem. The way some of these "helpful comments" have been put, you would think the lad grabbed the girl off the street, stripped her to her knickers while his mother took photos! He made a stupid mistake, with a girl he'd grown up with and is a few months younger than him but who knew him well enough to ALLOW him to photograph her in a vulnerable position. They're BOTH moron's and both KIDS - don't even bother, an 18 year old "man" is still a bloody kid without the sense they were born with. Does anyone think that his poor mother is not going out of her mind right now AFTER doing everything she could to show her child this was inappropriate. As a last resort she turned to this "support forum" because her son was obviously not listening, only to find herself being cyber bullied? I bet if you'd have asked her last month the question she posed, she too would have said no way would her son be so bloody stupid because he's been raised right, but guess what, it's not always how they're raised: kids are stupid and do stupid things that's when you step in and be a parent, which she clearly did. Leave her alone, she has enough to worry about. @ThatsMyPenguin I hope for his sake he listens to you and deletes them, but it's not your fault. You didn't mess up. You obviously have a good relationship with him and it's clear it was innocent, if not misguided and stupid of him to take those photos, but if anything sinister was going on why show your mum, unless he's a psychopath (🙃)! Kids really suck, but we do our best and hopefully he'll learn from this. To the moral high ground, shame on you, let's hope the view doesn't fade from the glass tower!

Yes
You'd think there'd be guidelines given out at the start

It is very concerning that you keep going on about consent and how sensible she is, OP. You keep reiterating that she WANTS the photos, therefore it must be ok if your poor hapless son just sends them to her, because how could he possibly take responsibility for himself and refuse? After all, he’s only an 18 year old man - he can’t be expected to take responsibility can he? Sensible 17 year old girls on the other hand MUST be able to take responsibility though!

Society won’t change until men do. Your son is plenty old enough to learn that he’s fucked up and he can make it right by taking responsibility and deleting the photos, and not sending them to her.

He’s also plenty old enough to learn there’s nothing groundbreaking or ‘different’ about photographing beautiful young women in their underwear.

As someone that was an art major this might be a liability issue for the college and your son. With his friend not being 18 he should talk to his professor and see if there are age restrictions on models and form of nudity. If there are consent forms/waivers that his friend and their parents could sign. You may have to have a sit down with him and his friend. My college had us sign some consent forms if the model wasn't hired by the school itself and we're under age.

Wow

Well said. I'm shocked by some of the responses.

Sorry I didn't express this very well, I meant google teh name(s).

The age of consent needs to change.
It’s grossly out of date.

I see people make this mistake all of time, mixing up ages and assuming its okay because the minor is over sixteen.

A child is a child - legally, physically and metaphorically. The age of consent was agreed in a different era. We are far more educated about its impacts now.

People will say teens will be teens that they should be allowed to explore, but this is a poor response because it doesn’t take into account the cognitive ability of the child, or lack of, to understand the (very far reaching) consequences. We should be better protecting our children. It should be eighteen.

You'd think there'd be guidelines given out at the start
I agree, though my gut is that post 16 a little common sense is expected from students. When I ran EPQ we used to go through what made a good project and what wasn't and we could guide them. I have to say it never crossed my mind to tell students not to submit work where the focus is sexualised content of minors.

On the other hand the tutor apparently being around and in the room when a lingerie shoots was going on and a teen is semi naked sounds strange to me. The situation would ring alarm bells.

He's committed a crime by taking, making, possessing and distributing indecent pictures of a child under 18. It's insane that neither of you can understand this and worse that you're trying to defend it.

Not if the girl is sensible and pretty enough to be a model and not if she says it's Ok and wants some nice photos for herself apparently. And not if it's for art and not if it's innovative. Oh, and not if you are gay.

Then it's all fine.

Surely it can’t be grossly out of date if you only want to raise it by 2 years?

A large majority of my peer group (at sixth form and then again when I started uni at 18) were no longer virgins by 18. I assume that’s not unusual, so I’m not sure how criminalising consenting 16 and 17 year olds who are choosing to have sex will help. Improved sex education regarding informed consent and healthy relationships would be better.

What might make more sense would be to change the law so that someone over the age of 21 cannot legally have sex with someone between the ages of 16 and 18, to help to prevent relationships with a large age gap and a potential power dynamic.

I wonder about the reading ability of some posters when they are unable to grasp that the photos have already been deleted because of the illegality.

Plus the OP said all along that they were not appropriate - at no point did she say they were OK.