First things first. I don’t have a problem with nudity in the media. In fact, I am all for naked bodies; they’re fun to look at and everyone has got one. I do however have a problem with Terry Richardson and apparently I’m not the only one.

If you’re not sure of the name, Terry Richardson is the guy who took some NSFW photos of Miley Cyrus licking mirrors and wearing leotards. He’s also the target of an online petition that popped up in my inbox not too long ago. The petition is asking big fashion houses to stop using Terry Richardson as a photographer because of his supposed exploitation and abuse of models. See it here.

 

Normally, I delete petition emails. Most of the petitions are about saving some animal, mineral or vegetable that I don’t know or care about but this time I clicked through and signed it for two reasons. One, he is creepy and an alleged sex offender and two, his photos are kinda crap and boring.

 

Terry Richardson photos are boring because you can spot one straight away. The model usually has his or her tongue poking out, is semi-naked and is so brightly lit that the details of their faces are bleached out of recognition. I get that it’s good to have signature style but having almost every one of your photos looking the same is taking it a bit too far. At first, it was refreshing to see Richardson’s lo-fi, art-meets-smut work amongst the polished, high end stuff in magazines. But now it’s everywhere. Every celebrity and every fashion label using the same look. 

 

When I was sharing this Terry Richardson rant with a friend she stopped and asked “If the look is working for him, why would he bother changing?” It was a good question but a seasoned ranter always has an answer.

 

Why should he change? Because we live in the age of the internet where stuff is shared faster and with more people than ever before. As a result, photography and style get stale quicker than ever. That’s what’s happening with Terry Richardson’s work. The only thing that’s stopping it from being total wallpaper is the flavour of the month faces in the photos. Soon celebrities will find new and more exciting ways to create controversy other than posing for Terry Richardson. 

 

While we wait for that to happen, there’s plenty of other sources to feed your appetite for arty photos of babes. All it takes is a few minutes of googling to find a load of fresh stuff. Like Magdalena Wosinksa. Her photos of badass girls in lush landscapes have caught the attention of big name magazines and brands. Unlike Terry Richardson, her stuff looks as fresh as the girls in her photos. (That's one of her photos up top.)

Or you could stay right on this website and scroll back through the Pilerats blog and find some photographers whose work is quality and has boobs ahoy.  

 

If that was too long and you didn’t read, all you need to know is that you can do better than Terry Richardson photographs. I’m not asking you to sign the petition but I am asking you to not settle for the same old stuff when you’ve got so much photography goodness right at your fingertips.

View the article here.