The Alphaville Herald

Ono Shelman’s Post 6 Boob Transplants – Photoshop DRAMA!

by Alphaville Herald on 26/03/10 at 12:05 am

Greetings Herald Readers

I try to stay out of the comments, but as this week’s Post 6 brings up an issue that seems to speak to my credibility and the credibility of Post 6 in general, I shall address it directly. Please don’t take my silence to this point as anything except a very busy RL.

Photoshop all over again – Ono Shelman boob job coverup

Yes, the breasts in picture #3 were Photoshopped into the picture. Ono explicitly said that I should Photoshop the bikini she was wearing out of the photograph, so I did. The result of Photoshopping a top off a woman is that breasts should appear. They did. No, they are not Ono’s breasts. Yes, the avatar whose breasts they are gave her permission for them to appear.

Post 6 is a nude feature. I was a reader when Post 6 Photographer Justine Babii allowed people to pose while clothed, and during the ensuing comment drama, I sided with Taylor Barnes and her fellow models- it was unfair to the models that had come before to change the rules of the game. When I became the Post 6 Photographer, I decided that the feature would return to its roots- one shot would be clothed, one shot would be nude, and one shot would be somewhere in-between.

I do give all of my models this speech before I agree to take them on as Post 6 models. They know it is a nude feature when they agree to pose. Ono knew this also. In addition, I explain to all of my models that the comments could very well get nasty. I even try and give them strategies to deal with such comments. Also, and I would like to thank Senban for her kind and accurate portrayal of the process, I do give all of my models copies of the pictures well in advance so that anything they don’t like can be changed before publication. “Whatever you want me to change, even if we have to do a whole new shoot, I want you to LOVE your pictures before they go public,” is what I usually say to them.

I gave Ono copies of the pictures exactly one week before they were to be published. I never heard a word back from her until after the piece had run. Just as some suggested that my silence on this matter was a sign of guilt, I assumed that Ono’s silence was approval of the pictures.

On this matter of “authorization,” having discussed ‘business’ with my esteemed predecessors Justine and Marilyn Murphy at various events, I learned that Justine Babii never showed the pictures to models before publication as she wanted the pictures to be a dramatic debut for all involved. This would be nerve wracking to me as I genuinely do want my models to love their pictures and I think that letting them preview and suggest changes to the pictures is a part of that, but then again, I don’t have Justine’s skills.

From Justine’s tenure, I gather that precedence in Post 6 has established that final review of the final pictures is a courtesy extended by the individual photographer, not a requisite step in the publication process. "Authorization," absent a waiver or other contract in this virtual world, attaches when the model expresses a willingness to pose, and subsequently poses. I can see that Ono might be upset that breasts show, but she did expressly ask me to use photoshop to make her appear topless.

“Final approval” of all pictures is something all models would like to have in RL photography though few do. I do offer all of my models the opportunity to look at the pictures ahead of time and genuinely want them to love their pictures before they are published. Ono had this opportunity and again, I only heard from her after the pictures were published.

If a model signed up to model wrist watches and found that her head had been superimposed on a nude body, I would see cause for alarm. In this case, however, Ono approached me seeking to be a model in a weekly nude feature. She asked me to use Photoshop to remove her bikini top, and did so in open chat in front of a witness.

Rhetorical questions while I catch my breath; Did I mention that it was she that approached me to be a Post 6 Model? Did I mention that Post 6 is a nude feature?

Perhaps in Ono’s mind, her flowing hair would cover her breasts. The problem there is that in the original picture, her right breast was partially covered by her hair and her left breast was completely exposed. She asked me to remove the top. I did, as faithfully as I could to the original flow of her hair and pose.

All Post 6 Models are instructed that Post 6 is a nude feature, the possible consequences (ie nasty comments), and, from me, they get the courtesy of seeing and giving input on the pictures before they hit the web. In fact, to many aspiring models who approach me, my standard speech sounds a lot like trying to talk them out of posing. Post 6 is not for everyone and anyone who has posed for me will attest that I warn them of negative comments AND let them see (and have me redo) the pictures ahead of time.

Ono Shelman received all of this instruction, had plenty of time to think about Post 6 during the six or seven month period that was her photo shoot, and had something like seven full days to get back to me before publication. Perhaps, if she wanted to pose for something with clothes on, she should have posed for a feature that is not a nude feature.

Those are the general points of this issue, as for the specifics with regard to Ono.

Ono Shelman approached me to pose for Post 6 either at or soon after the second Post 6 party. She presented herself as a friend of Intlibber Brautigan I believe. I agreed to meet with her and make her a Post 6 grrrl, and as mentioned in the introduction to this week’s column, that first shoot was conducted in September 2009. Post 6 Grrrl Selonna Torok was hanging out at my studio at the time and was witness to all of the instructions Ono received and to Ono’s insistence that I change the way I do my shoots for her by uploading her pictures immediately. More on that later.

Carol Pixelmaid was present at Ono’s second shoot, and was witness to Ono’s refusal to take her bikini top off and her insistence that I take it off with Photoshop. As nudity is a requirement of Post 6, I suggested a pose that would only expose her bottom, and her reply was that her derriere “is to be worshipped, not seen by the unfit masses,” and she again insisted that I use Photoshop to make her look nude.

A week or two after the second and final shoot, when she contacted me for the second time asking if her pictures were ready yet, I explained that I have a very busy RL, a busy SL and would get to her pictures eventually. I also explained, as I had at the actual shoot, that her insistence on my use of Photoshop to edit the bikini out was causing me a great deal of work. She offered me the use of a picture on her Flickr instead. As the picture that she offered used actual elements of the famous Janet Jackson topless cover on Rolling Stone magazine, I gave her a quick lecture on image licenses and resolved to get her pictures done as soon as possible thereafter. I did them quickly and uploaded them the next day, and, as I’ve said, did not hear back from her until after the pictures were published.

In September, Ono was in a hurry to see her pictures even though she had only posed in a gown, and I had to explain to her several times that I only upload the Post 6 pictures for the model to see when the model has done all three pictures, when I have pared the resulting pictures down to 3 or 4, and when the model has turned in her biography. I never have to explain this over and over as I did with Ono, which made me suspect back in September that it was her hope to get some portraits done without having to pay for them. The fact that she came to the second photoshoot and refused to get naked for a nude pictorial reinforces this theory for me, but as I said, that’s only my theory and I have no illusions that I understand the motivations of others.

A couple of weeks after the initial shoot, Ono IMd me, angry that Pixeleen had refused to send someone to do a story on the opening of her gallery. Knowing that the Herald usually welcomes stories, I was puzzled as to why the Herald wouldn’t cover the opening of an art gallery. I TPd in and learned that the “gallery” was a small store from which Ono was selling pictures, mostly of herself, mostly taken by herself, many of them the same as you’ve seen on her Flickr. The conspiracy theorist in me thought that Ono was hoping to get the aforementioned portraits to sell in her “gallery,” and when that plan was thwarted she didn’t come back for the rest of the shoot for another six or seven months, but again, that is only my theory and opinion.

In the end, this is, from my perspective, an unfortunate incident for all involved. I think that 99% of the models who have worked with me can tell that I am genuine and truly interested in making them look good for their avatar’s moment in the spotlight. I feel bad that Ono is unhappy with her pictures, but in the end, I was following her desire that I use Photoshop, not her nude avatar, to present the requisite Post 6 nude picture.

Finally, I have asked Pixeleen to replace all the pictures and leave the poem up so that the comments are preserved. Please understand that this is not due to any legal threat, or fear of a legal threat, but rather because there’s an outside chance that Ono really is as stupid as this episode makes her seem and that she really didn’t know that she was in for nudity when she sought me out and asked to pose for the nude feature in the Herald. Let me make it perfectly clear that taking these pictures down is NOT an admission of guilt, but rather, I hope, the right thing to do.

On the very slim chance, in my humble opinion, that you really didn’t understand that "nude" is expected in a "nude pictorial", I apologize Ono, for causing you any distress. I assure you it was unintentional.

Life is too short and too precious to waste on drama.

For the record, those that seem confused about the provenance of the words that go with the pictures, those are the responsibility of the model. Ono handed me hers on a notecard and it was reproduced in the Herald verbatim.

Sincerely,
Timothy Morpork