Interview (2020)

Zach Peterson Interview: 
BLACK SHEEP PHOTOGRAPHY
July 9, 2020

- Zach, my answers were overlapping a bit, so I put your questions into three groups. That’s what made the most sense to me. I hope that’s okay.


(How I started shooting)

1. The “basics”: How did you get into photography? Are you professionally educated in photography? If not, what’s your background?
2. When did you first begin to explore self-portraiture?
3. Obviously, you are interested (and do a compelling job conveying) the human form, often naked. When did you first become interested in nude photography? When did you begin shooting nudes, both self-portraits and others?

I’ve never taken a photography class or even an art class (well, not since elementary school), but I’ve long been interested in art. When I was a kid, there was no “art” in our house, but there were encyclopedias, and my parents often encouraged me to look things up. So, I discovered, and often revisited, the encyclopedia entries for art, sculpture, and mythology, which each included photos of nude works. I think through that I developed a sense of connection between knowledge and art and nudity, which has stuck with me.

It was only 10 years ago that I got “serious” about photography. But I had flirted with it a few times, including in my mid-20s, when I got a Polaroid camera and some black and white film. By then I was experimenting with “home nudism,” and nude self-portraits seemed the obvious thing to do with that camera. It didn’t last long. I became frustrated that there was nothing I knew to do with those Polaroids, except stick them in a little photo album and (very rarely) show them to people who I hoped wouldn’t think it was weird.

In late 2011 I started a blog that alternated between nude self-portraits and my writing about nudity in our culture. That’s when I started taking a lot of pictures, at first with just a camera-phone. I wanted to take pictures of other people, but I didn’t want to ask people to do a shoot when I felt I had no idea what I was doing. So, I just took pictures of myself for a while until I was more confident that I could take a half-way decent looking photo (and got an actual camera).

My response to those photos was not, “This one is good, so I’ll keep it, and that one is bad, so I’ll delete it.” I mean, yes, I did delete the bad ones, but my response was more like, “Why is this one good or bad or mediocre? And how can I make them better?” That pushed my photography in an artistic direction, even though the initial impulse wasn’t to make art; it was more about examining culture and social attitudes. Also, it was a sort of attempt to connect to people by revealing myself. A sort of “coming out” as a naked person: this is me; I’m a human, and I have a body; it’s far from perfect, but that’s okay. Hmm, maybe that is an artistic impulse, too.


(What I’m shooting – and not shooting)

4. How much preparation in theme/poses do you do before shooting models? Yourself?
5. Do you see your work as an expression of emotions or more a capturing of form? Both? Neither?
6. You’ve taken a few sets of couples (Andi and Sully and Brianna and L’Markk I find particularly well composed and captured). There’s so little of this I’ve seen, where couples are portrayed so elegantly yet intimately. Is there a different approach you take to shooting couples?
8. Do you have a specific vision for your work?
9. Do you have any specific influences?

I do relatively little preparation for a shoot. For self-portraits, I just set up the camera and go for it. With other people, I don’t usually have a theme, unless the person I’m photographing has some specific idea in mind. We’ll typically exchange several emails to decide on the when and where. I always want to give someone a chance to ask questions, and it’s important be clear about what we’re shooting (and not shooting). I encourage anyone who’s interested or curious to do a nude shoot. But at the same time, I never want to feel like I’m trying to push someone into something they’re not comfortable doing. Nervous is fine, but actual discomfort in a photo shoot is not something I want.

I said I don’t usually have a theme, but two concepts that I constantly pursue are to make honest, “real” photos of humans – which means some kind of emotional connection – and to take interesting photos of the human form. One thing I love, but haven’t done much, is the “bodyscape.” It’s literally a different perspective of the human body than what we normally see. Some of those honest, “real” portraits I do are also not necessarily what we normally see. That’s been a big thing for me. There were a few years when I photographed lots of things on the ground that people had dropped or thrown out. I’ve also taken pictures of roadkill and dead things because death is something we tend to avoid looking at in our culture.

So, I guess that’s the “vision” for my work. But also, I just like photographing people. Especially nudes. In the attempt to find the “real” human subject, nudity can help to lower certain kinds of barriers. It’s harder to pretend to be someone else when you’re not wearing a costume. (Unless you’re used to being naked around strangers.) In a way, like when I started that blog ten years ago, it’s still an attempt to connect – with the audience who will see the photos, but also with the person I’m photographing. Though I do often feel that attempt to connect has been unsuccessful. Perhaps my subject matter is uncomfortable for some. People have told me they’re fine with seeing nudes, but not when it’s not someone they know. Meanwhile, I would rather photograph people I know. That’s part of the connection and “real-ness” I’m looking for. And I would rather be naked in front of someone I know. (Of course, I don’t mind strangers seeing me, with so many of my nude self-portraits online.) Perhaps if I felt closer to more people in my life, I might not have ever tried to connect by putting myself out there in that way. (Hm. Maybe I need some therapy.)

Another part of my “vision” (or my “influences”) is a negative thing – something I see in a lot of photography, and which I don’t want to do. There’s a lot of commercial, fashion, and modeling photography that I just find boring. Sure, maybe it’s a beautiful, photogenic model; well lit, nice composition; maybe the concept is even interesting in some way. But... So often it’s just a picture of someone who seems bored or vacant – with little or no emotion. I’m sure sometimes that’s on purpose, if they’re selling a product. But I want to explore a human subject. My setup is very basic, and my camera technique isn’t great. But hopefully I’m not taking pictures of bored or vacant people.

One other thing I don’t want to do: I see so many “sexy” photos that are just tacky. For me, tacky is not about a specific pose or subject matter. It’s about the attitude of the photo (and of the model and photographer). I’m talking about that “Look at me, don’t you think I’m hot, don’t you want to fuck me?” sort of photo. It usually seems artificial, or worse, sad. Even if it’s not a nude photo, there’s still that vocabulary of porn-ish poses and imagery and attitudes. I don’t find that sexy, so for me, those photos fail. I don’t try to make sexy photos, though maybe some of my photos are sexy. Even when I photograph couples, it’s not about being sexy, or trying to arouse the viewer. I’m fine with (non-tacky) sexual photos. I just see it as another type of honest expression. The main difference in approaching that kind of shoot is that the people I’m photographing can interact with each other. In some ways, that makes it easier – connecting with each other, instead of with me (or some imaginary future viewer) on the other side of the camera. I would love to explore that dynamic between people much more, whether that’s an “intimate” shoot or not. One of my favorite shoots was with a pair of half-sisters, and that certainly wasn’t sexual, just naked.

I don’t know how clear that all is – what I’m trying to shoot. Even in my mind, it’s a bit jumbled: honesty; “real-ness”; the typically unseen; exploring the human form; an attempt at connection; non-porn-ish nudity. They’re not separate threads for me, or if they are, I’m not sure if I can fully untangle them. It seems to come back to that early connection in my mind of knowledge, art, and nudity


(Who I am shooting)

7. How do you find – or how do they find you – the models you work with?

It’s hard to find people to photograph. I haven’t done a shoot in over a year, other than self-portraits, and I don’t even do self-portraits as much as I used to. (I get tired of myself.) I suspect that the open, exposed quality of my photos may discourage some people from doing a shoot with me. (Or even talking to me about my photography. As if even acknowledging that they’ve seen nude photos makes them a bad person.) Many people who are initially interested back out, or just sort of disappear – stop responding. Generally, those are people I don’t know – people I find online. I’ve posted on craigslist looking for people to photograph, but more and more lately those posts get deleted (by craigslist). I’ve put up flyers occasionally. I think a few people have contacted me because they found my photography and were interested. Roughly half the people I’ve photographed I did not know prior to the shoot. The other half are mostly actors. (I work in theatre, so that’s who I know.) Sometimes people suggest I do actor headshots. But headshots are bright, smiley, pretty, commercial photos – literally the opposite of what I do, and the few times I’ve tried didn’t turn out great. The sort of photos I make are not something people seem to want much. I don’t know how to market it. And, unfortunately, I can’t afford to hire people to do a shoot. You know, ‘cause I’m broke.

I’ve photographed more women than men. That used to be because it was mostly women who contacted me, and of the people who I know and have asked to do a shoot, it’s more women who seemed open to it. I’m sure that has to do with how our culture views/treats women and men differently. But also, I’ve always had more trouble connecting with men. (There are probably some childhood issues in there. Again, therapy?) Recently, more men have contacted me about doing shoots. But I have found that men – especially middle-aged men – seem much less comfortable with, or less able to find and express, something emotional. (And then there are the repulsive, creepy men who contact me. No thanks.)

You may have noticed I avoid using the word “model.” I’m also not a fan of “pose.” While those are the correct words, I don’t like them much. The “what a ‘model’ looks like” issue is hugely problematic in our culture, but also for me as a photographer. So, I’m not looking for a “model.” I’m looking for a person or a subject to photograph. And they don’t need to “pose.” They just need to make shapes, and we’ll explore what emotional content those shapes might suggest. Or maybe we’ll just hang out, I’ll make some suggestions about how to stand or sit, etc., and I’ll take some pictures while we chat.

I think there are some contradictory ideas in what I do. I want the people I’m photographing to be comfortable, yet exposed. I want something real and honest that doesn’t look artificial; yet we’re doing a photo shoot where they’re making different shapes or expressions while I’m pointing a camera at them. I want my subject to feel okay with being naked, but obviously many people are not even close to feeling that way. I very much want to portray nudity as being not a bad thing, maybe even a healthy thing. But... I grew up in, and still live in, the southern United States. Religion has a huge impact here, even on people who don’t consider themselves religious. The basic cultural response to nudity is that it’s not okay or not normal, that it’s all about sex, which is naughty, dirty, shameful, and it ought to stay private and hidden. But I know that nudity isn’t necessarily sexual (though, of course, it can be). And sex isn’t necessarily bad, naughty, dirty, or shameful (though, of course, it can be). Religion also suggests that knowledge and the sort of “honest” expression and exploration that interest me are bad things. (My thoughts and feelings on religion is a whole gigantic issue. So, moving on.)


Now it’s summer 2020, and the Coronavirus makes it even harder than usual to find people willing to do a shoot. Maybe I need to pause, reflect, make some changes. Maybe I need to take more pictures of things (not people), like I used to do. Maybe I need to take a class. Or relocate. Or something else. The future is very uncertain right now. It’s the big, bad, scary unknown.