Is a Photographer a Professional Voyeur ?

One of the most famous Photographers in Nude/ Erotica/ Fashion Genre, is often said to have referred to himself as a Professional Voyeur. What do you think about it ? Is it what we photographers are ?

Of-course, he like everyone is entitled to his own opinion. But, I feel such opinions, when coming from renowned famous personalities, are misconstrued by many as an accepting norm of behaviour. I also get asked many many times about what happens during a shoot to a photographer when he is in the company of a naked muse.

So I thought I must put forth my personal opinion on this subject, for my community to read and decide for themselves too. I absolutely disagree with this idea of a photographer being a voyeur (professional or rather un-professional). A voyeur by the true spirit of the word is someone who gets sexual gratification by watching un-suspecting people. This sentence itself spells out 2 major differences in voyeurism and photography. Apart from Street Photography, there is no genre that is photographing un-suspecting individuals. Even in candid the person knows that they are in the presence of a photographer or are being photographed. Secondly, there is no sexual gratification that I would derive by photographing naked people. The pictures maybe naked, nude, erotic, but as a photographer at that moment, I am only thinking of what best can be made of the scene, the light etc, and also thinking of what could be the next frame. So there is really no time or chance or environment for sexual gratification.

cont....