by David Seaman

Iconic painting ‘The Scream’ sold in New York at Sotheby’s last night for nearly $120 million. Money Well spent? SG’s political correspondent thinks not.

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by Nahp Suicide

Shazzy is from Montreal. She currently splits her time between Montreal, Toronto and Tokyo. She has been an SG photographer since 2005 and has shot more than 200 sets.

How did you first get involved with SuicideGirls?

I had a couple friends (Tao and Raquel) who were interested in modeling for the site. This was February 2005. It was a total coincidence that I ended up shooting their sets a day apart. SG was just starting to blow up in Montreal back then.



What’s your background photography-wise?

I have a degree in photography from Dawson College. I graduated just in time – the following year they destroyed the darkrooms and switched 100% to digital photography.



What was the first photo you had published?

I think it was a shot of Ritchie Hawtin in the Montreal Mirror. 



How would you describe your style?

Minimal. DIY.

What gear do you use?

Canon 5D Mark II

How important is Photoshop in your final images?

It used to be really important but in the last few years I’ve really toned it back. These days I usually clear up some blemishes and that’s it. Less is more.



What gives you ideas and inspires you to create such amazing sets?

LOLCATS.



What is your favorite image?

This one (NSFW) of Silvia from Stay On The Line.

Tell us why it’s your fave and how you achieved it?

I’m a huge fan of natural light and I like how the silhouette really accentuates her curves. I achieved it by underexposing a couple stops.



Is there anybody or anything you would love to photograph that you haven’t?

A sunset in Nebraska. Or Mick Jagger! He’s fuckin ballin.

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by Nahp Suicide

Sawa is a model and a photographer who has worked with SuicideGirls since 2004. She has shot more than 100 sets and has been featured in SG’s films.

How did you first get involved with SuicideGirls?

I first started with Suicide Girls as a model. It was about 8 years ago. Missy shot me in my friend’s Hollywood apartment at dusk. I have to admit, one of my main motivations for getting in the mix for SG was to get on the other side of the camera too. I was already shooting a bit and convincing my friends to get naked for me.



What’s your background photography-wise?

Originally I took some photo classes at a few community colleges. I did some darkroom classes at Pierce College and did the whole photo program at Pasadena City College. But back then everything was shot on film. I remember I once spent a few years only shooting on 4″x5″ film. I had to re-learn a lot of things when I switched to digital. 
I also learn a lot from working on set. I do camera work on commercials and movies, and I’d say this is where I have done the most learning. They light things differently. I used to use only flash and natural light, and now I’ve become partial to continuous lighting. 


What was the first photo you had published?

That’s hard to say. I think some of the first photos I had published were in the metal scene. I’m pretty sure it was for my friend Chris Dodge’s label Slap-a-ham. I shot a lot of grindcore and noise bands back then and he put some of my black & white photos in the “Short Fast and Loud” compilation. I think most of my early published photos had to do with bands.



How would you describe your style?

I think certain styles or “looks” vary per shoot and what you are going after. I do like certain photos to look like a still out of a movie instead of a posed portrait. When I’m not shooting SG stuff, I like a lot of conceptual portraits. One of the trademark series I have been doing is my “Viva Banditas” series and those are a bit more raw and gritty and street art style. 




What gear do you use?

Usually a Canon 5D. Lately I’ve been shooting a lot more Polaroids. When I shoot film I use a Mamiya RZ67 Pro II. I also have a panoramic camera and a whole collection of vintage medium format cameras. I also have a LOT of fun with Diana and Holga cameras.

For lighting my favorite portrait light is a gem ball (learned this from movie lighting), and I use Diva Kino lights a lot. Sometimes I use strobes…and for outdoor shooting it’s always good to carry a shiny bounce. 



How important is Photoshop in your final images?

Sometimes you can create a cool look with Photoshop but I believe all of your exposure control should be done in camera. I would never want to rely on Photoshop to save an image. I try to be consistent throughout a shoot. Photoshop can definitely help polish an image, which is good for fashion stuff. But for SuicideGirls we like the girls to be real so I think it’s important to not go too heavy on the Photoshop.



What gives you ideas and inspires you to create such amazing sets?

I love shooting inspiring girls that naturally give you great ideas. It’s such a treat to shoot a muse like that. I also get a lot of ideas from music. I sometimes get images in my head of an idea for a shoot and I have to write it down or else I will forget it for sure.



What is your favorite image?

Impossible! It’s too hard to narrow it down. 





Is there anybody or anything you would love to photograph that you haven’t?

As far as the site goes, I’ve been really lucky to shoot some amazing girls from around the world. I still haven’t shot Lass or Manko and I hope that will come soon. I have ideas for both of those girls!
In general, I have ideas to last me for like the next 10 years and a huge blessing would be to one day have the time to devote myself full time to these projects. And just to add more things to my plate, I’m in prep to start directing some music videos. In the meantime, I’ve also started running a gallery in the arts district of Downtown LA (Get Her! La Compound gallery) so I’m getting a huge kick out of collaborating with other fellow artists. Everything from street art, to fine art, and most definitely photography. I sometimes wish there were more hours in the day.

For more on Sawa visit: thesawa.com and lacompound.com

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by Blogbot

Artist / SG Member Name: Finbarr Farmer / Fimbis

Mission Statement: Being a straight edge guy in Ireland means I don’t spend quite as much of my time propping up the bar as the stereotypes would lead you to believe. Couple that with living in a very small-minded town and insanity probably isn’t far away if action is not taken! Being creative is my outlet, a way to keep my brain active and fresh.

Art was all I was ever interested in while at school. I couldn’t paint or draw all that well, so I gravitated towards the computer in the corner of the room and have been sitting there ever since. I can think of an idea walking down the street, looking through a magazine, listening to music or watching TV and immediately take note of it to return to at a later date. The idea I start out with pretty much always evolves to be something different at the end and I love the process.

Medium: 95% digital (Photoshop/Illustrator) and 10% pencil/pen.

Aesthetic: Multi colored glowstick.

Notable Achievements: Standing on a box on Grafton Street in Dublin (Ireland’s busiest street) at 2 PM on a Saturday, April 2006 and giving a speech about my speech impediment.

Flying to Australia (and staying for a year) on my own in 2008 with just the clothes on my back and my laptop after my luggage had been lost in a London airport.

Being asked to design flyers for Karma Suicide.

Selling something on Society6.com/.

Why We Should Care: How often do you stumble upon an Irishman who does not drink? Exactly!! For that reason alone, my work is worth a look!!!

I Want Me Some: You can find my work on Bahance, Society6, and in this thread on the SG Fan Art Group.

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by Nahp Suicide

Talamia describes herself as a “photographer, illustrative designer, and thinker.” She lives is South Africa. She has been shooting for SuicideGilrs since 2008, and has more than 30 sets in the site.

How did you first get involved with SuicideGirls?

I had always loved the concept and internet stalked the models of SG ever since I could remember but was always under the misconception that it was a US only thing. The day I came to realize this was not so was when I randomly stumbled upon a local girl’s FB profile page whose profile picture had the SG logo on it. It was Lynx, and she introduced me to Diaz, and from there I threw myself at SG with a fervor.



What’s your background photography-wise?

I have a four year degree in BA: Information Design (aka Information Architecture), which covered some photography here and there, but mostly I am self taught.

 


What was the first photo you had published?

If we’re talking print media then It was probably a campaign series of portraitures of VJs and musicians for MTVbase that ran in a variety of music and youth related magazines.

How would you describe your style?

Having trained as a creative director-designer I find it very difficult to adhere to having one particular style. Or rather, I cannot see it in my work, even though others have said they can. All I can say about my work at this time is that I strive to makes images that are striking with the right amount of contrast to make the image pop.



What gear do you use?

I currently use the Canon range of equipment including a variety of L lenses.



How important is Photoshop in your final images?

One always continually strives to achieve the desired end result out-of-camera so as to minimize reliance on post-editing, but Photoshop will always be vital for the odd blemish or bruise or stubborn stray hair.



What gives you ideas and inspires you to create such amazing sets?

The question is more like what doesn’t give me ideas for sets. Everything from dreams; the products of popular culture; the things people say; even patterns that emerge in tiles! Everything, no matter how trivial, can make splendid set ideas, and the more idiosyncratic the better. But what helps most directly is getting to know the amazing women I have gotten to work with and allowing them to inspire me.


What is your favorite image?

There are so many favorites it’s really hard to choose. From the way the light sculpted Lumo’s beautiful form (in Afterglow – see NSFW image) to the stunning water-like reflection in the image of Hadess (in A Beautiful Mind – see NSFW image).

Tell us why it’s your fave and how you achieved it?

I like using light sources that wrap around the body’s contours to illuminate the fine details of shape and form. Reflective surfaces also provide gorgeous points of visual interest.

Is there anybody or anything you would love to photograph that you haven’t?

I love working with strong creative women. Some that come to mind are (I’ve probably left out three dozen others!) Bexi, Serial, Radeo, Bully, Jamity, Rashel, Prussia, Liu, Clio, AnnaLee, Nena, Waikiki, Manko, GoGo, Rigel, Vice, Annika, Bee, Flux, Lumi. Apart from being tremendously gorgeous, they are all so provocatively intelligent which is the biggest kind of turn on.

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by Blogbot

Artist / SG Member Name: Oddbill.

Mission Statement: Someone once said to me “Please never stop drawing naked ladies.” And so far, I haven’t.

Medium: Chalk pastels, ink, and watercolor.

Aesthetic: Oversaturated crumbly false color. Otherwise, I don’t think I’ve developed an aesthetic yet. I keep at it in the hope an aesthetic emerges.

Notable Achievements: I designed a vodka bottle once. It was like a cubist rendering of an embrace warped into three dimensions and filled with sexy fermented potato juice. It would have been lovely, but the company that hired me went bankrupt and it was never made. I recently did a CD cover. Some of my pieces once hung in a group show. Art-wise, that is about it. I manage technology workers for a living. A long time ago I was an actor. I make these drawings now, when I’m not working, because I Iike the way the chalk feels, the clouds of loose technicolor dust I have to blow off the paper, talking to the women who sit for me, translating them into completely nonsensical colors.

Why We Should Care: What I hope is that there is something engaging about these pictures, that they catch your eye the way they did mine as I drew them. It’s really no more complicated than that. Most of what I do is an attempt to grab people with colors and say “isn’t this lovely?” There’s no statement or deeper meaning. I kind of don’t think there needs to be. People don’t walk away from drawings philosophically engaged, they don’t remember a clever argument they had to read a card to understand. But just the image, light and texture, that lingers in memory, that’s what this is for.

I Want Me Some: I don’t have an online store, or any prints or other items at the moment. The drawings are all for sale though. I can be contacted through my website, twitter, or inside SG. Feel free to follow, sling comments or inquiries at me through any of those channels. Thanks!

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by Nahp Suicide

Waikiki is from Italy and spends her time shooting between Italy, Holland, London, and Berlin. She has been a SuicideGirl since 2006 and a photographer since 2009.

How did you first get involved with SuicideGirls?

A close gay friend of mine introduced me to SG for the first time. It was the summer of 2005.
 A month later I shot my first set as a model with Albertine. Three years later I did my first one as a photographer.



What’s your background photography-wise?

I have a BA in Fine Arts. I did photography, video, and sculpture. Back then I mainly shot in analog. The dark room was my favorite place in the whole University. 


What was the first photo you had published?

A self shot photograph which was part of my last year examination project.
It got published on a Dutch catalogue.



How would you describe your style?

My style is continuously mutating. It’s in motion. My photography is pretty varied as is my style. Shooting for the site has definitely changed it. I used to be always an art photographer. I worked with models but on a different level. My photographs were mainly black & white images.
 SG gave me the possibility to embrace a new layer. Capture models’ sexyness, beauty and creativity through their body, moves, peculiarities.

What gear do you use?

I currently use a canon 5D Mark II. I have a few lenses, which I like to switch depending on what the subject is and where I’m shooting. I also have an old Nikon F2 which I’ve started to use again lately, and a fewmore, but due to work and media I mostly use my Canon.



How important is Photoshop in your final images?

Since I work on digital images Photoshop has become essential for color correction and to adjust lighting. Needless to say, Photoshop and Lightroom have both become the digital dark room of our future, although, for the most part, good results should always be done ideally with the settings on the camera itself, before you pull the trigger.




What gives you ideas and inspires you to create such amazing sets?

Certainly the model, she is my very first inspiration. I do travel quite often and I am a big observer of spaces, landscape and whatever my eyes capture. Music videos, literature, magazines are a big inspirations as well.



What is your favorite image?

I couldn’t pick just one.

Tell us why it’s your fave and how you achieved it?

I love working with Janette and everything we did together. She is one of my favorite models I’ve been collaborating with. She is an artist, a performer, and a friend.




Is there anybody or anything you would love to photograph that you haven’t?

I want to photograph a lot more girls, people, anyone who communicates a feeling, a sensation, weather positive or not. People that can tell a storywith their facial and body expressions.
 Among the SG models, probably the first one who comes to my mind would now be Vice. I have adored her since I joined the site. Manko is another artist I would love to collaborate with.
 I fell in love with her mind, her thoughts, her creativity. She is so inspirational in so many ways. Chunny has intrigued me since always. Or Amina, just to mention another one.

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