There is Glamour Photography and Intimate Glamour Photography. There is Exotic Photography, Celebrity Photography, and Erotic Photography. There is Fashion and Commercial Photography, Model Photography and even Artistic Photography. These are all terms with somewhat distinct meanings but which point at the incredible interest in and consumption of the Female Body in these various forms of its portrayal. When you add the words exotic and erotic to photography, it leans toward the sexual. Then there are also art photos, Artistic Female Photos, perhaps interpretive, sometimes sexual but sometimes focusing on the models soul rather than her body. There are also Pin-up Models and of course, Playboy Models.
I want to try to point out specific differences in photography relating to the correct use of words such as ‘exotic,’ ‘glamour,’ ‘erotic’ and ‘sensual’ here, in particular. The word erotic, for instance, has come into widespread misuse, regarding both erotic photography and even erotic stories. This is partially because of the overuse it has been given on the Internet especially by adult sites. Adult venues have “adopted” the term erotic and used it enough to describe their wares that it has taken on a broader meaning than had ever been ascribed to it in the past. Many adult sites may indeed contain erotic photography but in its true meaning erotic photography does not even necessarily include nude photography. Correctly used, in fact, erotic photography perhaps arouses sexuality but does not necessarily display it.
Naturally, most people believe what they see rather than challenging the definition of a word which may be vague in their understanding anyhow. So when they repeatedly see the words erotic photography attached to graphic sexual content they associate the two things as one in their mind. Erotic Photography could be more correctly describes as “Sensual,” which has more to do with the feelings evoked by a photo rather than the actions depicted in it.