"Every shoot is like a puzzle," Wayda says. "How do you make it look real? How do you make the most out of the person?"
Wayda has developed a pre-shoot routine, a sort of consultation to ensure that both he and the subject of the shoot get what they're looking for. He's not really concerned about poses and styling. What really makes a picture phenomenal is the attitude expressed by the person being shot.
"I talk to [the subjects] about attitude, and how we're going to get that attitude," Wayda explains. "I want them to feel something, rather than think. If I'm shooting a Playmate, I equate it to if they were having sex. If they were having sex, they're not thinking, ok, left hand here, right hand there... that's terrible sex. So, it's the same thing about the shooting: I don't want them to think about what they're doing, I want them to feel it."
(Proof alone that Wayda is a veteran in his field: Telling Playmates what bad sex is.)
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Playboy photos is how little retouching they actually need. Wayda has spent so many years not relying on photo editing, that he can shoot a picture fresh, and it will look ready for print. A look through the centerfold shots he'd taken a mere twenty minutes before the interview leaves no doubt about that.
These days, as more and more photographers rely on the transformative abilities of Photoshop, it's hard to tell if the picture taken on the shoot will be published looking anything like the original.
"That would be my biggest complaint; how much retouching goes on these days," Wayda says. "The girl
s look plastic, their skin has no texture.
Wayda refuses to let the changing times put him out of a job, however. He's accepted that photography is constantly changing, and plans to keep changing with it.
"Still photography is going to be minimized, as the Internet becomes more prominent," Wayda says. "It's hard to see still pictures playing a big part of the commercial world, twenty years from now. If you develop other things, you stay fresh. Every time I do different things, I bring the enthusiasm back."
This may be the secret behind the man who's acquired a ranch and some twenty horses throughout his years of photographing nude women.
"I've had more in my life than I ever expected," Wayda says. "I have a job more than I ever expected. I have a job more than other people have said they've expected. I have been blessed more than I've ever expected to be blessed."
Don't hate him; hate the game that makes little-to-no sense at all. And keep on trying. There's always a chance that you'll be that exception. Hell, if Wayda didn't play the odds, he'd still be back in Utah.
Have you ever stared at a Playboy centerfold picture and thought to yourself, "Hey, I can do that?" Well, hold your horses pal, it ain't so easy. Check out Stephen Wayda's tips for shooting the perfect Playmate pictorial.
Be sure to visit Stephen Wayda's official Web site - WaydaPhoto.com.
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