Sometime this morning I saw a picture shot by a student of a friend and the shot disturbed me. I commented on it and have been thereafter been accused of being a prude, being a person who has no appreciation of the art of glamour photography and so on.

Needless to say I am deeply affronted. I have nothing against cleavages. In fact I have shot quite a few myself. What I did object to was the sum total of the picture.

Let me explain. Just as in real life a woman goes out of her way to protect her modesty by covering her cleavage but does not hesitate to use it to advantage when the situation demands, in photography too the cleavage is to be revealed only in a few situations. A cleavage shot, remember, can symbolise everything from attitude to state of mind, from sexuality to casualness and from a studied non chalance to a posed taunt, a gauntlet of sorts.

The trick however lies in finding the harmony. The harmony between the model and her surroundings. The harmony between the way the cleavage is shown and the way the body speaks.

But it has to be all according to plan. Great shots do not happen by chance. The planning could involve small things like arranging the lights required, the location required etc. to much more important things like getting the model’s body and eyes and lips to speak in the same tone her breasts (and what lies in between) are.

Photography is not just about understanding light, nor is it about owning a swank new DSLR. It’s about facilitating the synergy between the body (the model), the mind (the photographer) and the soul (the audience and the environment).