Over the past 3 weeks I have encountered the wrath of facebook because of my boudoir images and it’s time to address the issue.
Over the past weeks facebook has declared my images to be of pornographic nature and it’s really, really frustrating to have that label thrown onto your images.
They are sexual in nature and they are meant to arouse(amongst other things) and maybe their is a fine line but lets throw the labels out for a minute and understand, IT’S ART.
My images are also meant to show a women’s beauty and come across that ANYONE can get in some lingerie and flaunt their body. They are classy images that my clients are proud of and THAT I AM PROUD OF.
In no way do I feel my images are any more provocative then the images companies like Victorias Secret or La Perla are showing on their facebook. Why is it OK that they keep active profiles filled with sensual images.
There images are full of sexuality, butts, nipple, stomach, chests, smiles, confidence, beauty.
BUT I GET BANNED FOR THOSE SAME THINGS?
This is an image pulled from La Perlas facebook page that shows nipple. Yet they keep an active facebook page.
One image I was banned for was a butt shot showing the same amount of butt as the 4th image in blue. VS has a lot of butt shots like this all over their facebook page.
While everyone of these images are gorgeous they are in no way different than mine.
Maybe it’s OK for them because they are selling lingerie?
BUT I’M SELLING AN EXPERIENCE
I know that writing this post might not change anything but I hope it brings some awareness.
I may not be some huge american corporation but I am a small business owner who gets to give an experience to women that might not normally be available to them.
AMEN SISTER! The fact that you and I get banned from Facebook from posting the exact same thing as huge corporations is outrageous. There seems to be no equality in their ‘rules and regulations’ if this continues to happen.
As a fellow Photographer, I have always LOVED viewing your images. I am also a mother to two girls, and quick to jump on any sort of pictures or advertising I deem inappropriate, and never ONCE have I seen an image of yours that struck me in that manner. Your pictures are always beautifully done and classy, and I would have no problem with my daughters viewing them, and helping them understand what it means to be confident with your body, no matter what size you are. I think it’s ridiculous that you are being discriminated against simply because you aren’t a massive corporation such as Victoria’s Secret. Hopefully Facebook gets their shit together, or they may start losing users. Keep on doing what you do, it is beautiful!!
Leah, if you’re a member of PPA, maybe a call to their legal assistance is in order. Inequal application of regulations/laws is discriminatory toward small businesses. Maybe PPA can give you some advice?
Ohh how I love this post! I never even thought of the hypocrisy of allowing these big brands to show these images but not photographers who take similar images. Maybe it isn’t Facebook, but jealous competitors though? maybe nobody is reporting the big brands images as being offensive?
Bravo!! I’m on this bandwagon!
My images are being reported and I suspect it’s probably a competitor (which is entirely a different story on how lame that is). BUT, from my reading of facebook image reporting is that when an image is reported they are ALL reviewed by a staff member. To those staff members my images are pornographic in nature which is why I am being banned. I cannot image that when those big companies are near 1mil fans that they haven’t had something reported. Still kicking though. My thought is these big corporations on facebook are possibly paying facebook to allow them to post whatever?
I think what they are doing is hypocritical, your pictures are no difference from theirs (well except yours are more beautiful and show real models!). Not cool Facebook, Not cool!
I have heard many times of FB users having images removed but banning and account deactivation without explanation is ridiculous. You have made some great points here especially with the double standard FB holds on it’s members. I wouldn’t be surprised if VS gets FB complaints all the time and they just laugh it off. But when we as small business owners lose our pages it can be a huge impact on business.
As you know, it was my personal page that was flagged and I have very few boudoir images posted and even then they are very “clean”. Unfortunately with my personal pages went my fan pages. So this was obviously someone reporting me. So terrible.
I do have to disagree with one thing you said, boudoir photography is not porn. It is artistic in nature and does much, more than sexually stimulate.
Noun 1. porn – creative activity (writing or pictures or films etc.) of no literary or artistic value other than to stimulate sexual desire.
😉
P.S. I have always loved your work!!
Danea
Danea, sucks about your page 🙁 It’s just very frustrating.
While, my images are not straight porn, they are of pornographic nature and this cannot be denied. They are used to stimulate certain emotions and feelings so I can see how they could offend someone. Of course, I see it as art more than anything else but we don’t live in a society where everyone feels the same.
Wonderful post Leah!!! Keep strong and carry on girl! Keep giving the competitors something to be jealous of. Facebook page or no facebook page…you rock! 🙂
Wow… I agree completely. I also second Lynn’s idea – check with PPA. That is definitely discriminatory. I guess real women aren’t allowed to have sexy photos, just models, right? 😉 Ridiculous!
Hi Leah…it’s so funny, a friend of mine shared this with me…I had this happen to me a few weeks ago. I also wrote a blog about it.
Thanks for sharing…
V/r
Tracie Stern
traciesterntheblog.wordpress.com
Your images aren’t even close to what both Playboy and Maxim show on their Facebook pages either.
It sounds as you are being singled out and now that you’ve been ‘flagged’ they are going to continually come after you again and again.
I’m sorry this is happening to you Leah.
Really intriguing blog post. The La Perla ad if posted by us small boudoir photographers would most certainly get tagged (by a conservative mom? competitor?) yet VS which post models who make most of us common women feel bad about ourselves can keep them up while well shot classy boudoir images of real women can not. Hm. I hope PPA can help solve this and back you up as it’s incredibly unfair.
I feel for you! I also think a call to PPA is a good start. I’ve tried dealing with Facebook in the past and they are virtually impossible to even contact via email.
I wonder what would happen if we started a grassroots campaign to report VS or Playboy images on a daily basis? Hmmm… 😉
Lynn, what a brilliant idea about getting PPA involved!
I’ve been lucky to date but agree this is incredibly frustrating! Thanks for taking action!!
Nicely said my friend!! Thanks for writing this, I am totally on your side and FB is most definitely in the wrong!
Yes Boudoir photography is art!! Beautiful, tasteful, fun, flirty, coy, classy art!
I totally feel your pain and I’m sorry you had images pulled down. I’ve been there too. Chin up! 🙂 Keep doing what you do!!
I completely agree with what you’ve said and it is absolutely ridiculous that Facebook would take down your page while leaving other pages that show much, much more. I agree with Lynn, check with PPA and see if they might be able to put some heat on Facebook. Big meanies.
haterz. Facebook sucks. Your images are beautiful!
I honestly don’t think Facebook staff actively surfs pages looking for offensive images. I believe someone is hawking your page, and flagging your images as offensive aka “Hating.” Do to the sheer volume of images posted on Facebook (Billions) your images are a needle in a hay stack and they only become aware once someone flags the image for their review. Check out this article which pertains to your issue > http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/feb/21/facebook-nudity-violence-censorship-guidelines