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?

I think posters here are being a bit unfair to the 18yo. We raise boys in a porn-saturated society and then expect them magically to know on the eve of their eighteenth birthday that knicker shots aren't the feminist and artistic endeavour they've always been told they were.

He sounds like a typical naive teenager who has a lot of learning to do!

Gosh, total minefield and a definite no, glad you've managed to mostly avert disaster!

This is where parenting comes in.

A boy getting to age 18 and thinking it is OK to photograph a child in little clothing. That should have been drummed into them long before they are 18.

If it’s true the tutor actually walked in on the photography session, if I were that tutor, I’d be panicking at this point. The OP’s son has implicated him in the taking of indecent photographs of children. That’s career ending.

If the OP’s son won’t delete the photographs for his own sake or that of the girl, maybe he could be persuaded not to deliberately destroy the tutor’s life?

Can we remember that he and this girl are in the same school year, they are peers. Only this year has he had to try and remember that some of them are over 18 and others under. He’s not chosen her because she is under 17, it hasn’t even occurred to him that she was under 18 as they are peers!! Of course he doesn’t view her as a child when they have grown up together.

How about he does do something different to what's generally out there and be more 'creative' with a fully -dressed female?

Did he have to objectify women in this way? It’s kind of depressing and cliche. I would talk to him about the deeper meaning of his work, what would be a more appropriate/current twist that would be more thought provoking. A girl in her minimalist underwear is hardly breaking news. Why not be very creative.

I am surprised he choose such suggestive photos, of a girl IF he is gay. Maybe he is more interested than you think - people are not black and white sexually at eighteen especially.

Its good he came to you op 🙏🏻

Sending them is an absolute NO!!

Wait till she's 18 fgs

Yes, but now he knows he's broken the law by making those images of a child, and he knows that he will commit another offence by distributing the images to her instead of deleting all copies of them. You have told him this, haven't you?

Not sure why you or your son think taking provocative picture of minors is being different! Unfortunately it is prevalent, fortunately it is illegal.

You need to read your son the riot act over this, I can’t believe you are dithering about it, would you be dithering if it was your underage daughter in the photos?

The thing is, that doesn't matter. If he were 15 and she were 17 it would be the same. She is under 18 and if he sends the pictures to her then he is distributing images of a child. Even if it is just to her, and even if she asked him to take the pictures and then to send them to her. The law's really clear on this. The college should be raising this as a safeguarding concern really.

Of course I have and I have messaged him not 10 minutes ago saying if he sends them to her I will have to tell the police.

He has said he will delete them on his lunch break, can’t right now as he’s in a different class.

Other than taking his word for that there is nothing else I can do.

I hope you're not suggesting that it would be ok for him to send her those images once she's turned 18, because they would still be images of a child. He needs to destroy them now and he can take new photos of an adult.

@ThatsMyPenguin you spoke about him picking something else to wear, who supplied the original underwear? There was a man charged by the police who had sent underwear to and was giving compliments to a 15 year old, his reasoning was that it was increasing her confidence. You've just said that your son sending indecent images is OK because it might make her feel good about herself. You need to get your head around why these laws need to exsis and make sure your son isn't in danger of dating a minor. Doesn't he have any male friends that could do a shoot?

Before he re-shoots next week ask him to really consider why it is so complicated to take “simple, minimalist” pictures of a 17 year old girl. If he could reflect that in his photographs that could be art.

If he hasn’t read it already he should have a look at ‘Photography: A Critical Introduction’ by Liz Wells.

The age of consent is 16 - this girl is 17, so I would imagine it’s OK if she has given consent. I wouldn’t have thought the more revealing ones would be displayed though - I would hope not.

She is a child until she is 18. It’s illegal.

She did, he understands all the relevant laws, like I said it hasn't occurred to him that she was under 18, they were in the same school year.
If they wanted to date and have sex they could so I'm not sure how dating is relevant here?

He has told me he is going to delete them, not send them and not use them.