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player ready...If they knew what the job entailed, most teenage boys would rank boudoir photographer up there with pro baseball player and video-game tester. What could be better than getting paid to shoot naked women, in the mind of a 14-year-old boy? Or the mind of a 30-year-old? Or a 90-year-old?
“It is a great job, but not for the reasons a 14-year-old boy would think,” said Mark Thompson, who produces what he labels fine-art nude portraits. “As someone who was 14 a long time ago, I am rewarded to see women come out of her shell.”
The subjects come out of their shells by coming out of their clothes. But unlike smut, these portraits are enjoyed by the subject. “My photos are for the benefit of the woman who is sitting for me,” said Thompson, who recently transplanted from Lake Geneva to the Lincoln Square area. “It’s an intimate gift they give themselves or to a loved one.”
Most women are between 30 and 40, though the photographer has shot amateur models in their 60s. He uses only black-and-white, which makes the images timeless, coupled with the fact that the absence of clothes means that no styles will become outdated.
Some women frame the pictures for display in the bedroom; braver souls make coffee-table books. “When the women are being photographed, there is an incredible transformation, especially when they see the photos of themselves,” explained Thompson, while sitting at Inn Joy, 2051 W. Division St., where a collection of his work hung on the wall.
One such woman is Clare [last name withheld], a 49-year-old mother who — despite being displayed nude near the door — was carded upon entering the bar. “I had worked hard to get in shape. And I was getting divorced,” the Chicagoan explained. “I wouldn’t have done this when I was 20 or 30 or 40.”
When he was younger, Thompson photographed corporate executives and plumbing supplies. Talk about an incredible transformation.
For more information, visit photagerie.com.