The form of entertainment known loosely as “pornography” is diverse. What do I mean by that? Well, consider the range of content that falls neatly into the pornography category. Tastefully done softcore nudes from Playboy Magazine and similar publications make up the soft and glamorous side of the porn business.The form of entertainment known loosely as “pornography” is diverse. What do I mean by that? Well, consider the range of content that falls neatly into the pornography category. Tastefully done softcore nudes from Playboy Magazine and similar publications make up the soft and glamorous side of the porn business. On the controversial extreme side we have videos that depict everything from staged rape scenes with girls getting their heads pushed down into toilets to genital mutilation and other forms of sexual violence. It’s all on the internet if you know where to look. And all of this content, like it or not, gets thrown into the general classification of “pornography.”

When the mainstream media talks about porn it often likes to focus on hardcore or controversial porn. We hear a lot about porn stars like Jenna Jameson or Jesse Jane partially because adult companies push their stars to drive video sales – but also because the mainstream loves a good sex celebrity. Playboy always gets headlines as one of the oldest adult publications still in existence today. They’re a cultural icon. Plus, Playboy is good at drumming up controversy and headlines with its “Girls of Wal-Mart” style pictorials and celebrity photo spreads. The less controversial and less visible porn tends to get overlooked.

From time to time I like to kick around through the various internet newsgroups and note what kind of porn is being traded by the fans and consumers of porn. (For those of you who don’t remember them, newsgroups were the primary method of sharing porn pics before peer-to-peer file trading networks emerged.) As one might expect, the range of photos that are passed around in newsgroups vary widely, even within specific categories of erotica. Recently I was looking around in one of the “Asians” newsgroups when I was struck by the artistry and beauty of a group of Japanese glamour nudes.

I think it’s pretty safe to say that the Japanese have perfected the art of nude glamour photography in a way that few others have accomplished. While most porn sites provide content that humanizes (or in some cases even degrades) the model – in other words, the “girl next door” or “whore next door” approach – Japanese glamour shoots for pure aesthetic beauty, refinement, and an appreciation of the “ideal” human form. The model is elevated from your sexy next door neighbor to a living work of art.

An odd fact is that glamour photography has lost something of its standing in the modern world since the internet’s rise. The porn audience majority clearly wants the “reality” approach to smut. I’d like to tell you that the style of Japanese glamour photography is the key to instant riches and fame in this business, but I just don’t believe that’s true. The market is with the less refined look. The accessible look. That doesn’t mean a market doesn’t exist for quality nude glamour photography – it just means that the costs involved might not be easily justifiable when you can make more money turning your best friend loose with a room full of college girls and a new digital camera.

Yet money isn’t everything to everyone. Some adult webmasters are attracted to this business because it can be a kind of lifestyle. Others might have a little bit of money kicking around and a desire to build something more sophisticated than just another “average guy fucks girls in the back of his car” reality site. If you find yourself in one of these categories then you might want to spend some time looking at some of the better Japanese glamour photographers and their work.

What’s so great about Japanese glamour photography? Well, I’m not an expert on the niche but I can tell you about the glamour shots I recently came across and the qualities that stuck firmly in my mind during the viewing. Just keep in mind that these characteristics might not be a valid description of all Japanese glamour nudes in general, but they certainly fit with what I saw.

For starters, most of the models that I’ve seen featured in Japanese glamour spreads are nothing short of stunningly beautiful. Nobody wants to tell a model that she doesn’t have that right look, and exceptional models can be hard to find. But there’s something to be said for the photographer who’s willing to bypass the less attractive models and work only with the cream of the crop. And for someone who’s not a fan of breast augmentation, tattoos or piercings, Japanese glamour photography’s focus on naturally beautiful bodies is just what the doctor ordered. Natural breasts, smooth and clear skin with no blemishes (even if Photoshop is needed to make that happen) and no tattoos. Long, straight and natural hair. No wigs and no bottled blondes. Natural, natural, natural.

And there’s more to great photography than just point and click. The best Japanese glamour photographers are masters at manipulation of light. They do an exceptional job softening up images to give then that almost fuzzy quality that goes so well with bare skin. There’s also incredible attention to colors in Japanese glamour. The model’s skin tone, the color of her outfit, the dominant background color… all of these things are considered and worked to the advantage of the shot. There are few real photographers in the online adult business. Photography is a skill, and like any skill the more you study the better you tend to perform.

Settings are vital. There’s nothing more boring than one of those studio glamour shots where the girl is sitting on a stool in front of a solid pull-down background screen. Amateur or reality porn generally place models in “real world” and accessible settings like apartments, dorm rooms or the back seats of cars. Japanese glamour nudes are almost always shot with a beautiful and elite setting as the backdrop. That might include million dollar mansions with expensive furniture and attractive works of art, or even lush natural settings like elaborate flower gardens or waterfront locations. The settings always communicate wealth, class and refinement. They elevate the model and significantly enhance the aesthetic beauty of the shots. Natural settings work especially well with naturally beautiful models. The best that nature has to offer.

What’s the difference between Playboy glamour shots and the Japanese glamour shots that I’ve been describing? There may not be a big difference but there is an issue of style. Playboy has a definite style that tends to get repetitive to the average reader, and its models sometimes look too similar to past models. Poses often repeat themselves again and again. Playboy models are sometimes done up with excessive makeup that can detract from that “natural” look. Hairstyles in Playboy spreads can sometimes suffer from a “fashion world” hair salon look, and the magazine certainly isn’t averse to surgically enhanced models. And Playboy tends to go overboard with settings, occasionally opting for a “modern” look that sterilizes the spread and promotes a feeling of unnaturalness that just wasn’t present in those Japanese glamour shots that so impressed me. These on the surface are small things, but collectively they can dramatically impact the results of a spread.

So a tip of the cap to the Japanese glamour artists who are giving the adult industry a good name; although I’m sure they’d kick and scream if someone ever called them a pornographer to their face. It’s art, damnit! Oh well, they’ll get over it. But if you are interested in glamour erotica then you might want to look around for some of the authentic Japanese contributions to the field. I think there’s a good chance you’ll be impressed by what you see.

Connor Young is Editor-in-Chief of YNOT News. He has been involved with the online adult entertainment business since 1997, and is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Internet Freedom Association (i-freedom.org); He also serves as Editor-in-Chief of The ADULTWEBMASTER Magazine. Connor can be reached at connor@ynot.com.