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?

Really she is now aware her sons tutor allows his student take sexualised images of girls at collage without verifying their age, she has only taken her sons word and not double checked with the girls parents or collage and all she has to say its not her place to check or get involved.

When I did art A level someone took nude photos of a female friend complete with nipple piercings and they were up on the wall in the art room. In hindsight...

Seriously I think it's fine. Life drawing etc...

I think you’ve done the right thing by asking him about it all.
I did photography at uni and many lecturers mentioned they didn’t want images like this so he’d need to check what the requirements are and if it’s accepted.
I imagine the lecturer didn’t know the age of the girl
so it would cause problems with her being 17.
I’m glad he’s going to redo it. If he’s wanting to think about it being minimalistic and natural without fashion and make up then he needs to think more openly. He’s (perhaps accidentally) created a sexualised look which wouldn’t suggest the same sort of minimalistic.

I would be so disappointed if my son was doing this. All his bullshit about "simple, natural, no makeup etc" is rubbish. If he cared about that, she could have been wearing jeans and a t-shirt or even a slip dress if that was too much. The fact he dares to play the "so unfeminist that she can't choose to star in soft core (child) porn" is outrageous.

Good outcome

I am very glad he won’t be using the semi naked ones - even aside from the legal position and potential impact on the girl, I think it would reflect badly on him both morally and artistically (not very imaginative is it)

I really don’t think you need to take it further.

There is nothing ‘different’ about photos of half naked young women!

Tell him it’s trite and derivative, and won’t impress the lecturers. He can’t think he is the first young lad to think that photos of ‘sexy girls’ are ‘art’?

There’s so much wrong here it is hard to know where to start but I’ll quote the OP:

”another is from behind and the lingerie doesn’t provide much coverage of her behind so that seems quite inappropriate.”

You KNOW these are sexual. Stop trying to rewrite history/motivations in your head OP.

Your son would be completely stupid to do anything except completely destroy these images. Do not send these electronically to here, even if she says it is for her own use.

WTAF is going on with the tutor??!! He walked in on these images being taken (on a bed??) and was fine with it.

The college needs to seriously improve their guidance and communication of the guidance to students for this subject to bring it in line with 1) the actual law 2) their own safeguarding policy

if he does continue to use this underage girl as a model he needs to get all the paperwork in place and STILL make sure he informs the college in writing that she is underage

I think Samantha Fox was 16 when she was in a mainstream newspaper topless!

it baffles me as I don’t think that law has changed? The original law was 1978 and I believe the amendments are to do with digital, not about age or type or definition of pornography. So why was there no problem then with Samantha Fox etc? I’d be interested if anyone more legal can clarify.

Well it wasn’t that many years ago I saw a 17 year old on page 3 of The Sun. Apparently that was ok with parental permission! And she was topless, so I don’t imagine there is much illegal about what your son has done.

If he’s so confident about the pure nature of his art, he won’t have a problem showing them to her parents and getting their consent, right?

Because the college can preempt this happening again. The college can explain to students models must be 18+ and they must have written permission. The college can tell students how much trouble they could get in to.

Also he MUST NOT give the girl a copy of the photographs, that is distributing and the pics being of yourself is no excuse.

At the moment he has committed a crime, he doesn't need to get the girl in trouble as well.

He can’t send her the photos legally. That would be distributing illegal sexual images of a child.

Wait until she is 18, then do a photoshoot, with a chaperone and all is fine and legal.

It wasn't that long ago you could talk on your phone while driving, smoke in pubs, not wear a seatbelt.

Laws change.

Do an image search, you will not find those pictures anywhere now.

Some posters are over reacting. He made a mistake and didn't realise there was a problem with it. TBH the fault lies with his tutor for not checking the age of the girl and not informing him of the law.

The college won't be happy with the attention of exposing photos of a minor.

I am sure in the brief about consent they referenced age i.e. over 18 as well as capacity. Your son could be thrown off the course.

I've only read OP's posts.

Law and all that aside, I'm mostly concerned that it just didn't occur to him that he needed to think very carefully about taking these photos.

Lol, he's a cocky little cunt isn't he?
Ask him how he would feel if he saw the exact same photographs, same poses, same lingerie but YOU were the subject. Or his granny. Would they be a scathing indictment of the fashion and make up industry or ergh mum I don't want to see these raunchy pics.

If his tutor really was in and out of the studio I would be raising this issue with the college myself, it contravenes all sorts of safeguarding.

Hang on op; the fact your son is gay was a drip feed. You posted saying he had taken sexualised shots of a girl in her underwear, now attacking posters for thinking that’s creepy and saying we are all man haters.

your son is going to fail if he thinks minimalist in photography means hardly any clothes. He is clearly unable to see past this. Try to help him and stop attacking posters. Minimalist can be in a pair of simple black cigarette pants and black polo neck. It is about the shot. Not her body.

EDIT: Didn't see the drip feed about him being gay. Changes the context of course but still not a good idea

This is an absolutely terrible idea. Coming from someone who comes from the fashion/design industry and has experience with those courses.

Lingerie photos have absolutely no educational value. The purpose of college is to teach students to broaden their horizons and learn creative, conceptual thinking. Copying what you see in fashion mags is the same as an illustration student copying comic art. It's derivative, reductive and serves no learning purpose.

I would also be very wary of this whole thing as red flag. Your son probably enjoys the thrill of being able to use his role as a fashion student to get female friends to pose for him. It's a slippery slope which starts off as edgy fun fuelled by hormones and could easily lead to dark places.

I have a friend from college who did exactly this. Taught himself photography and used his degree to wriggle into the fashion scene. He got loads of girls to partake in shoots, some of them genuine commissions from underwear companies. He'd carry a portfolio of these near-naked photos with him and proudly show them to everyone who'd listen, even on nights out. There was nothing officially illegal that ever happened, but this guy was a creepy, "red pill", MRA type of crypto bro. He was not actually very successful with girls but loved the power of making them pose in underwear as part of his job. It's obviously nothing comparable to you son but bear in mind the fashion industry is FULL of these sort of men. You need to very cautious which direction he goes into and give him clear boundaries.

I’m sure he will do well when debating that with the police.

DS likes to be different with his art which is why I’d imagine he’s done this!

Nothing much “different” about photos of women in their underwear.

"DS likes to be different with his art which is why I’d imagine he’s done this!"

Sadly your DS doesn't sound very different to many males. I'd be really disappointed if any son of mine did this kind of photography. It's cheap and tacky and exploits young women. He shouldn't have taken the pictures and he definitely shouldn't be using them in his GCSE work or displaying them in school.

Has he not considered that his photography will possibly be frowned on by the examiners? Why have his tutors allowed those images to be taken? Surely he risks getting low marks for such unimaginative images?

I'm sure Op's son had no idea of breaking the law, or making sexualised images of this girl. He's young and he made a mistake.

However, the photos could so easily be used against him. Consent can be changed and the police would regard it as making and possessing concerning images of a minor. He really, really does not want to risk it.

Sounds like her dad has seen them and said no.

If he's insistent on submitting these photographs, because "it's art" I'd caution him.

He'll have a hard time as a male photographer/artist justifying his use of her images.

I'd get him to do some reading around it or watch Berger's "Ways of Seeing" or even Mary Beard's "Shock of the Nude" Then see if he still thinks his work will stand up when it's assessed/critiqued. (It sounds to me like it won't)

I'm surprised this hasn't been addressed by his tutor already to be honest.