Have you ever stared at a Playboy magazine centerfold picture and thought to yourself, "Hey, I can do that?" Well, hold your horses pal, it ain't so easy. First, you have to get past that drool running down your mouth and your inability to speak with the sight of a gorgeous model standing before you. Once you figure that part out, it's time to actually have a little something called talent. Thankfully, we were able to lean on a guy who knows a thing or two about shooting beautiful women for a living, famous Playboy photographer Stephen Wayda, who gave us a few tips for shooting the perfect Playmate pictorial.
"The cruelest reality is that the Playmates always stay the same age, and you, as the photographer, always gets older," says Wayda. "What you could once do, you can probably only do once now."
1. In the beginning you are like a kid in a candy store...but too much sugar can cause headaches later on.
2. When you don't know what you are doing...fake it. If in doubt, add more lights. Everyone is always impressed with more lights. It looks like you know what you are doing.
3. The prettier the Playmate, the better you look as a photographer. A good model will make a bad picture look good, and you as the photographer can take the credit.
4. It's a performance sport. Always remember you are only as good as your last shooting. And there is always someone waiting to take over your spot.
5. Your assistants will always think they know more than you, so always pick assistants that do know more than you. That way they'll make you look good, and you can take the credit.
6. It's the model's picture....they are the ones in front of the camera before a bunch of strangers. Be thankful and respectful that it is not you without any clothes being judged.
7. It's all about the attitude----Attitude=Sex=Attitude=Sex.
"Faster horses, younger women, and more money...words to live by," says Wayda.
Stephen Wayda was born in Los Angeles, growing up in the mountains and at the beaches of Southern California. He moved to Utah to go to college, wanting to fly jets, hoping to join the Navy ROTC. After college he was a newspaper reporter for the Salt Lake Tribune, covering murders, mayhem, local and state government, and the lives of everyday people who became news through triumph, failure or tragedy.
But when his grandfather died and left him his cameras, he found that taking pictures — pictures of interesting people and beautiful women — was more fun, and easier for him, than writing. So he taught himself photography and became a photographer.
Now his photographs are seen by between 5 and 10 million people a month, every month, every year for at least the last ten years. He has been published in more general interest, fashion, lifestyle and men's magazines in the world than he can count. James Woods and Tom Selleck both said his pictures were their best. Demi Moore loved her shooting, but Arnold wasn't so happy when he and the editor disagreed. Pamela Anderson calls him "The Bomb." Gene Autry told him: "Keep shootin' those shots. I'd sure like to be in your boots, son!"
Be sure to visit Stephen Wayda's official Web site - WaydaPhoto.com.
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