Interview With Justice Howard
by Cary
What inspired you to pick up a camera?
Well no one person in particular, I was always just in love with imagery. Then in my early 20's I interned from a master photographer for awhile to get all the technical info down and I worked in his photo shop and he taught me how to print in the darkroom. Unlike most people ....I didn't just "pick up a camera" I studied it first. Something I always recommend. In interviews I'm always telling people to LEARN THE CRAFT first. If you are a DR. you don't just pick up a scalpel and call yourself a DR now do you? And if he did would you go to that doctor for an operation? Then why would you just pick up a camera and call yourself a photographer?
What particular challenges do you face with erotic photography as opposed to other genres?
I'd say getting the exact right model for whatever image I'm trying to portray is quite hard as some of the images I do are very specific. That would be the first and the second is getting people to realize that just because it has nudity that its NOT PORN. People think immediately that if an image has nudity that it is immediately PORN. This is so ridiculous that its amusing to me.
Do you prefer to shoot with film or digital?
Well for a long time I was a solid film purist and I was in the darkroom so much and mixed my chemicals so strong that I burned out my entire nasal cavity. So now I'm in love with digital. And its a great new love affair . The learning curve was pretty steep but I learned from the best and had a great digital guru teacher so I was lucky.
How did you become interested in fetish/BDSM?
I was wanting to document some wilder things, so it was a natural progression for me to shoot it. I was one of the first 5 fetish fotogs ever to document fetish related material. I loved the pvc shiny clothing and it was all so great in BW.
Latex, liquid latex, all of it was great for the style of art I was into at the time. Back then I was in love with "shiny" . The higher the heels the better. Now after shooting over 100,000 fetish related images Ive moved on from that. I've recently fallen in love with color too. This happened right after I fell in love with digital. I love bright saturated color like slut red, vagina pink and penis purple. I've done so much BW that its a nice new objective for me now.
Do you enjoy fetishism/BDSM play in your personal life, and if so what are you into?
Sorry, that's stealth and very undercover secret info . . . LOL!
Do you think pinup and fetish are becoming part of the mainstream culture?
OF course. When DITA VON TEESE has her own lingerie line its become mainstream. So has fetish , that's why I have pulled away from it. That and because after you've been in every top fetish mag (in the USA and Europe) and shot every top dom, (Ilsa Strix, Mistress Antoinette, Courtney Cruz and many more) well theres not a lot left to accomplish.
Are there any other creative mediums you work in?
No just photography. I do some graphics art too. The thing I love most to do is to shoot my wonderful man who is an amazingly talented singer and uber beautiful individual. He used to sing for ANTHRAX and now he has his own band called DEATHRIDERS and they hit it hard. He's got an amazing voice. He was dubbed as one of the 5 best voices in metal. He is really the fulcrum of everything I do and everything I am. Without him I'd not be as creative nor as well rounded he helps me with me make decisions on which image to use and I respect his ideas on all things creative. Theres not very many peoples whose opinions and ideas I respect but I respect him implicitly. He is my superman. I owe everything to him. He is my world.
What kind of music do you like?
I love TOM WAITS with a passion. always have actually . I like HATEBREED, I'D love to shoot THEM!) MINISTRY, and then I also like JACK JOHNSON and JIMMY BARNES for softer moods. I like old Springsteen a lot too.
What do you like to do for fun?
For fun I like to spend time with the people I love the most on this round planet. The personalities who empower me. Spending time with someone you really really admire is remarkable for your spirit. So I'd say primarily that. And I have a lotta fun when I shoot too. I just shot MIA TYLER (Aerosmith's daughter) and Mia and I had a riot. I've never had so much fun in a shoot as with her. We did pics in my bathtub as I was in this old Hollywood style house from 1920's old Hollywood and the bathtub was really gorgeous. She wanted to shoot in it so we did. We had a riot. Her in bubbles & me in heaven talking to the Photo Gods!
What do you have going on at present?
I had so many girls emailing me, like 50 a week, that all wanted to be shot by me that I couldn't take care of them all. I started a process where I could. Its called DIVA DOLLS and I have it at my own studio once a month. For $300 at shoot time you get a professional photo shoot with hair and makeup and wardrobe. I shoot over 100 photos and 5 are professionally retouched. The shots are however the girl wants to be styled. This package is probably worth $2500 with the hair and makeup and studio shoot and retouching. I've had a shitload of girls who are ecstatically happy with their pics and girls have flown in from New York and driven from San Francisco for this. Its a great way to get girls who want to get shot by me great pics. A lot of them have never modeled before but that doesn't matter we coach them in modeling too. The girls are loving it. 5 Diva Dolls made it into my new Motorrgirl Calendar and two more have had magazine covers and 7 page articles. Its a super deal. Just go to my website www.justicehoward.com and hit CONTACT to write to me about it if you're interested . DIVA DOLLS is a blast and a total "girls club" we have rokkin good time!
See more of Justice Howard at:
www.justicehoward.com
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