#1 July 15th, 2014 02:36 PM

Laney

Administrator

Your favourite photos

Hey everybody! Viva and I were wondering about the kinds of photos you most like to see in folios.

Do you like mirror photos or photos where the contributor points the camera at herself?
Do you like outdoor or indoor settings better?
Do you like it when the contributor is naked right from the start or do you like to see her undress from fully clothed?
Do you like it when girls set up props and a theme for their shoot or do you prefer an 'everyday real life' feel?

We'd love to hear what you have to say and if you have any examples of shoots or photos you really like feel free to post them here!

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Editor/Admin/Forum queen

commie

Member

Re: Your favourite photos

Hi,

The support person just activated my login.

While I do like gorgeous outdoor backgrounds for instance, I don't think I'm strongly prejudiced for a particular type of folio and I have in any case only seen a small number so I'm not really qualified to answer. But there's one thing I feel strongly about and that's not likely to change with more exposure: regarding your last question, I'm impressed by creative work.
Slutmonster was the one folio I knew about before joining (or the only one that stuck in my mind anyway). Obviously it's not realistic to expect most folios to involve that kind of work. Still, some folios use relatively simple props to good effect (ambrosial comes to mind) or simply play with the lighting. I like that.
I guess variety is good. So while it stands to reason that one can do more with mirrors than without for instance, I like to see some contributors work around the lack of mirrors.
Not that I have anything against the "everyday" feel and simply oogling stunning ladies. But my preference goes to the more memorable folios.

viva

Member

Re: Your favourite photos

I'm also curious, folks, if you look at photos one by one, or more quickly - ie. if folios are viewed as a whole, or rather if each individual photo is looked at in depth. I assume for most folks, it's a combination of the two - with some photos asking for more attention than others - but I am curious from an editing standpoint. Do you only like photographs which are technically high quality - sharp and perfectly composed? or do you come here for those shots which might be a bit grainy, or dark, or cut off at the side, but which carry that emotion of the moment and capture something really personal?

So curious!

Laney

Administrator

Re: Your favourite photos

Welcome to the forum Commie! It's nice to hear that you appreciate it when contributors put in the effort to be creative in their folios. I really like it as well and it sets ISM apart from any other erotica website I've seen. Whether it's by contorting their bodies into beautiful shapes, creating a story with props and setting or just using unusual angles, I love seeing what people create.

While a raw amateur feel can be really sexy, I think I prefer it when girls have good cameras and know how to use them. Some recent examples would be Pixie_P's "Cotton_Tail", "Friendly_Fruit" by Maggie_S and especially "Drenched" 1 and 2 by Kenji and Gracie_Lee.

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Editor/Admin/Forum queen

commie

Member

Re: Your favourite photos

I'm not knowledgable about erotica websites but I wouldn't know anything that's like ISM even without taking the creativity into account.

As to cameras and settings, I looked at drenched and yeah: colors, details. The mirror images looked awesome. But the shots as a whole had kind of a "harsh" or even unnatural feel. I'm not knowledgable about photography either so I don't know what bothered me exactly (some kind of automatic stacking like HDR maybe?).
The previous editor's pick (le reveil) had details when the shot called for it (like the reflections in her eyes) but felt much "softer", perhaps in part because of how much was out of focus. But maybe it's mostly the lighting and color palette. I don't know. That's nitpicking in any case.

@viva:
There are enough shots per folio that in my opinion it's fine if most aren't up to the same technical standards. I'm certainly not going to pore over every shot. The general feel is more important to me.
There are also more than enough folios that I wouldn't mind if some didn't even have a single good shot in technical terms. If technical concerns were getting in the way or if an otherwise good folio couldn't be reshot for some reason, fine. I don't see why standards should be slavishly adhered to.

And maybe that's a misunderstanding (I don't know the lingo) but I don't see darkness as a quality issue. I see it more as a technical challenge. Sure, lots of displays struggle with dark images. And I suppose there might be issues with your favored image format and so forth. So why rush into problems if one can avoid them? But in principle, dark ought to be fine. If my display is crappy, it's my fault. On the other hand if the camera can't handle dark, yeah that'd be a quality issue. I have no idea how common a problem that is. But regardless, it'd be a shame to discourage people from trying their hand at lighting play.

mori910a

Guest

Re: Your favourite photos

I tend to be on the same wavelength as Commie.

I certainly love looking at naked women, being a rather stereotypical male, but what I really do like is when a set of photos shows someone enjoying what they are doing, and when it's a couple, of two people loving or enjoying each other's company. There are other sites that produce beautiful images of women, and I can't say I don't like those sites too, even though it's another man's idea of what men would want to see and which might not always coincide with my idea, but ISM keeps me hooked because the photo sets are so personal; at some point I feel that I know at least a little bit about the person making the images. It also is nice that when there's a woman with her boyfriend, the boyfriend comes across as knowing that he's there to support his partner.

There's a lot more I could say but you probably get the general idea of what I like.

It might also be of interested that the only two sites I've consistently returned to over and over in the last 10 years is ISM (and IFM) and World Of Warcraft. Not sure what that says about me

Last edited by mori910a (July 23rd, 2014 04:47 AM)

Laney

Administrator

Re: Your favourite photos

Hey Mori! I really like duets as well, but I wasn't sure how much other people liked them since they don't usually get many comments. Seeing real relationships, and as you said, boys supporting their partners, is so beautiful and a refreshing change from mainstream erotica. Seeing contributors with big, beaming smiles of genuine enjoyment, or cheeky/turned on faces is also wonderful. Naked Human is an excellent example of a contributor with a contagious smile who always looks like she's having a ball.

Thanks for sharing what you like If you're reading this feel free to jump in and share your opinion too, the more the better!

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Editor/Admin/Forum queen

Elsa_H

Member

Re: Your favourite photos

Am I allowed to weigh in on this as both a contributor and lover of the site? I really enjoy shoots with a theme for a couple of reasons; there's an extra element of interest and obviously the creative aspect, but I also think a theme allows you to get to know a contributor more. You get a snippet of how her mind works, what she's into. I also appreciate how hard it is to think of an idea and then execute it well...I kind of failed when it came to having a cohesive theme in my first folio, but I've been taking notes! Two shoots that have really gotten stuck in my mind recently are Laura L's cloud of tulle and Azumi's echoing. I loved the feeling of being transported into Laura's soft, floaty haven and I really dug Azumi's use of the fragmented mirror.

I have zero photography knowledge so I can't really say much from a technical standpoint. I do, however, like the lighting you get in outdoor shoots and how it can vary throughout the course of compiling the folio, plus the fact it tends to be easier to mix up the background. I seem to be trying to agree with Mori and Commie, in a round about kinda way. The creative, unique shoots that stir up a particular emotion or evoke a certain mood are always my favourites and the fact we get so many here on ISM is what makes it such an excellent site. And Viva, when I flick through a girls folio, I tend to g through from start to finish, lingering on some longer than others, like you said. I like being taken on a journey and do appreciate and admire the art of the tease! xx

mori910a

Guest

Re: Your favourite photos

Hey everybody! Viva and I were wondering about the kinds of photos you most like to see in folios.

Do you like mirror photos or photos where the contributor points the camera at herself?
Do you like outdoor or indoor settings better?
Do you like it when the contributor is naked right from the start or do you like to see her undress from fully clothed?
Do you like it when girls set up props and a theme for their shoot or do you prefer an 'everyday real life' feel?

We'd love to hear what you have to say and if you have any examples of shoots or photos you really like feel free to post them here!

Devochka, I didn't actually answer your specific questions above.

I think mirrors can make for some really nice and interesting photos, like this one from Tikal today:

But then, the photo with a girl with her arm stretched out holding the camera is what makes ISM distinctive IMO.

I like both indoors and outdoors shots - its how imaginative it is that is important, at least to me. This one from Aili is an example of a pose that works really well and is rather erotic.

And of course the skating sets/videos from Caity have been gorgeous, clothes flying in all directions leaving her naked in seconds! I don't think it's actually important whether the girls are naked at the start or undress, what is so nice to me is that they want to get naked for themselves, not because it's what us the audience expect. I also like the parody of the lame reasons for undressing in traditional porn that some of the girls slip into their movies from time to time, along the lines of "I'm going to tidy my room now, so I'd better take all my clothes off first". 
I'm always amazed at the sheer number of women who want to strip off for ISM; what happened to the men though (not that I personally miss naked men here)?.

I do like themes with props etc., but also just nicely done shots of a girl doing rather random things in the garden or kitchen or whatever can be equally as rivetting. The yellow folio you did recently was rather like that, I liked the way you moved all over the room as if wherever we looked there would be Devochka doing something, usually with a mirror. And then a cat appeared too, which was cute. And I'm sure being stark naked added to the interest!.

Actually that's one of the best things about ISM I think, that we can be looking at a nude photo shoot one moment, and then discussing it with the girl who made it the next. It's a pity more people don't use this forum to discuss things like this.

mori910a

Guest

Re: Your favourite photos

I'm also curious, folks, if you look at photos one by one, or more quickly - ie. if folios are viewed as a whole, or rather if each individual photo is looked at in depth. I assume for most folks, it's a combination of the two - with some photos asking for more attention than others - but I am curious from an editing standpoint. Do you only like photographs which are technically high quality - sharp and perfectly composed? or do you come here for those shots which might be a bit grainy, or dark, or cut off at the side, but which carry that emotion of the moment and capture something really personal?

So curious!

Viva, I tend to download the zips from here and IFM and watch a few days worth as a slide show when I've got time to pay more attention. I love being naked at home so I like to just relax on the bed and catch up with the folios and movies I've not seen and rewatch some I thought were particularly appealing the first time round.

I'm wondering why the photos don't have the contributors name on the front. Would that be possible?

I tend to like any photos that are interesting and show the girls' personalities as well as their body to some extent. I think that it's surprising just how good most of the photos are considering how they are being taken. I like the way the rather casual look of most photos highlights that enjoying looking at a naked women, being naked, and being turned on by attractive bodies is a perfectly natural thing to do for both men and women. I find that there are nearly always a few shots in a folio that make the girl look really sexy and erotic in a way that a lot of the professional posed pictures often miss. So over all, for me, I think the quality etc. is pretty much how it should be.

Do you know what proportion of the subscribers are men? I ask it that way because there are obviously a lot of women here and in IFM who love looking at other women and talking seriously about their sexual experiences, masturbation etc., but the men seem to keep rather quiet about it - which is pretty normal for men, we don't seem to like to talk seriously about our own feelings etc. much.

viva

Member

Re: Your favourite photos

I actually don't have a lot of information on subscriber stats, I would be interested to know the percentages. I would love to hear more from subscribers and contributors both. I think exploring everyones' unique experiences with this website and their own journey of sexuality, coming to accept themselves and others, becoming comfortable with sex - I reckon talking about these things really enriches the experience of ISM. Like with anything it's possible to enjoy this website in its most basic form - pictures of naked girls - or in more and more deep and complicated ways as we begin to consider each woman's personality, experiences, thoughts and feelings and moments which led up to this one, when they find themselves on a chilly beach wearing nothing but a furry hat and a camera around their neck... funny, sexy, intriguing... and so human.