Text by Tony Ward, Copyright 2023
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Fashion Fetish: On Location With Beth
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Beth first reached out to me on Facebook. She had a nice profile up. Lots of photos that showed her interest in fashion modeling. She also was photographed by a couple of friends of mine in Philly . That gave her street credit. I agreed to meet her to discuss a shoot. At that time, I was working on a new book project that eventually would be titled Fashion Fetish 25 Years. A book that would be about the cross section of fashion and erotic photography. Kind of like Vogue and Playboy merge to create a new type of contemporary magazine. That fantasy magazine never happened. The series of photographs did. This was the reason I agreed to collaborate with Beth.
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We first met in person at the Copabanana on South street, a place we were both familiar with. The meeting went as expected, she was bright, sensitive and very familiar with my previous work. By the time we left Copa we made a plan to meet again at a location where we could shoot. I asked her to bring vintage fashion, as she reminded me of the type of young beauty that I could see cast in classic English films or a famous television series like EastEnders.
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After scouting a few different location, I settled on two locations, a friends house and the A-Loft in Marlton, New Jersey. I had photographed models at both locations before and was always satisfied with the style of the rooms and the available light that was a plus for certain situations. Beth always arrived before me on the day of the shoot. I’m impressed when a model is early and ahead of schedule.
As I approached the reception desk of the hotel, I noticed her seated in the lounge area reading a book looking very studious. That was an impressive look. Her thirst for knowledge and her conservative looks were at the top of my mind until we began to shoot. Then her alter ego kicked in.
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I quickly assessed her wardrobe and accessories then proceeded to take her through a series of classic and provocative possesses that she seamlessly adapted to as if she had made these same poses many times before. That thought couldn’t have been further from the truth. I’ll never forget when she made the comment that she had “never worn pantyhose before”, let alone the crotchless type that you wouldn’t normally find in the catalogue at Victoria’s Secret.
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