Shooting the erotic side

Photog captures the spice inside you
without being nasty about it

by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Peter Boros

Age: “You’re as young as you feel and I feel 43”

Occupation: Photographer

Bio: This earnest Vaudreuil resident had been a professional fashion photographer back in the early ’70s but, “after growing bored of being around make-up artists and naked women every day,” abandoned the profession to pursue a career in business and advertising instead. Six years ago, Peter decided he’d “had enough” of the ad biz and once again started pursuing other professional interests, taking erotic photos of people being one of them. “I started doing photography again primarily because I like being on the creative side of things and, of course, I like erotic art. The difference between pornography and erotic art is like putting on lingerie instead of underwear, you know? One sets a mood while the other just serves a purpose.” He drives a nifty 2004 C70 Volvo convertible and would “eventually like to put together a book based on the eroticism you find here in Montreal.” If you’d like to whip it out for Peter, contact him via peter.boros@sympatico.ca.

Is it safe to assume most of the people hiring him are couples? No. “It’s actually a balanced mix of single men, single women and couples.”

The age range of his subjects: “Females tend to be younger, 25–35, couples in their late 30s, mid-40s, and single males are usually in their late 30s or older. I think people reach a certain age where they become comfortable with themselves, and with couples, it’s usually because they want to have a souvenir of their love and they see this as the ultimate form. It gives them something they can look back on in 20 years and go, ‘Hey, we looked pretty good then, and we’re still hot,’ that sort of thing.”

Would he be comfortable photographing couples whose ultimate expression of love involved scatting? “What’s scatting? Oh no, I draw the line at some things! They have to be pictures where the general public can look at them and go, ‘Oh yeah, I can understand this.’”

Does his work ever give him a boner? “Well, I’m human, but in order for me to accomplish what I need to accomplish, I have to concentrate on what I’m doing, so I forget about my other guy down there.”

Is it considerably more challenging to take erotic photos of unfortunate-looking folk? “Absolutely. You might have to dig pretty deep to find a way to take erotic shots of them, but I do get the pictures in the end, I find the eroticism they’re looking for. Just because a couple is unattractive, well, they’re still human beings and have intimacy as well. You have to look past what you like personally and remember your purpose for being there.”

Would most of his clients be mortified to someday find their intimate photos on the Web? “That couldn’t happen unless they signed a release form but I doubt it would be much of a concern for most.”

Do people generally get way horny when they’re posing for erotic photos? “Oh yeah, no question about it. Absolutely!”

How often couples ask him to put down his camera and jump on in: “Never.”

Last book read: The Geography of Hope, by Chris Turner.

Musical preferences: Rolling Stones, Leonard Cohen, Françoise Hardy

Words of wisdom: “Never, never, never give up.”

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