It doesn’t matter how much we tell ourselves to be “sex positive”, as the modern phrase goes. Most of us have never met and probably will never meet an adult entertainment worker, and so we harbour all sorts of deep-seated prejudices about them, even if we don’t acknowledge it.
Well, Los Angeles-based fine art photographer Elizabeth Watermanis out to bust some of those preconceptions, with the release of her latest book Candyland on 30 September, through Unicorn Publishing Group. This 128-page art book presents a series of vibrant portraits featuring female porn stars and offers a fresh perspective on an often misunderstood industry.
In her own words, Elizabeth’s new series aims to showcase these women as “goddesses of sex and light, fully owning their bodies and sexuality with innate empowerment”. We chatted to the photographer to find out more.
From stripping to sex
The genesis of Candyland emerged in 2020, during Elizabeth’s previous project Moneygame, which explored strip clubs across the United States. “While shooting for Moneygame, I met quite a few adult film entertainers in Los Angeles who were moonlighting as dancers,” she recalls. “They had an undeniable magnetism – audacious in their sexuality and enthusiastic about their work in porn.
“I immediately wanted to capture a bit of their spirit for myself,” she continues. “By photographing them, I reasoned, perhaps I could glean some of their confidence and sexual zeal, which for me was both exotic and exciting.”
Her discussions with the porn stars gave Elizabeth a glimpse of their personal lives and the vast LA porn industry. “Once the fog of COVID had lifted, I began staging shoots in my home and back yard in Santa Monica and invited these and other notable women in the business to pose for me. My fascination has never stopped growing.”
Delicious excess
While Elizabeth is not the first fine art photographer to tackle this subject, Candyland stands out for its collaborative nature. She worked closely with her subjects, including well-known stars like Stormy Daniels and Kenzie Reeves, allowing them to contribute ideas and express their personalities through the shoots.
The result is a series of playful, authentic images that dramatically celebrate female empowerment and individuality.
“I liked showing them in deliciousness, excess, fun, and glory,” Elizabeth explains. “The porn stars that I photographed were happy to be doing what they were doing, they loved having sex, and they were good at it.”
While Elizabeth generated the basic concepts for the shoots, the actresses were free to innovate through their wardrobe, makeup and pose choices. “This, they reported, was refreshing. The resulting images reveal their personalities and sense of style very differently than their on-screen work.”
Avoiding the male gaze
From Moneygame to Candyland, critics have praised Elizabeth’s ability to present a female gaze on a subject typically defined by male perspectives. Bridgette Redman, who critically assesses the latest book,