Photographer Jonathan Leder took a series of Poloroids of model Emily Ratajkowski four years ago. Some of them are being republished in a photo book collection of Leder’s, and will be put on display at Castor Gallery in New York City in February. She is not happy about it.
In part, the photos have attracted attention because Ratajkowski has gotten considerably more famous since they were taken. USA Today reports that in a description of the book, it says:
“...Photographer Jonathan Leder found himself alone in a house with a Polaroid camera and Emily Ratajkowski. This was before the black-haired, red-lipped stunner had shot to fame with her undeniably sexy performance in Robin Thicke’s arguably sexist Blurred Lines video. Leder wasn’t shooting her because she was a celebrity. He’d simply seen something in her previous work that made him think this L.A. model wasn’t like all the others.”
One way she isn’t like all the others is that her fame gives her a platform from which to complain about her image being used. On Wednesday, Ratajkowski decided to let Leder know what she thinks of his “art.”
The Washington Post also shared an excerpt from the book’s forward, in which Leder describes the shoot in suggestive terms:
“We shot for two nights in the Cape House in Woodstock, NY. Just her and I. I think the results speak for themselves. I will say it was a very lovely shoot. She was very, shall we say, comfortable with her body and as far as shoots go, I would say it was fun. Over the course of the two evenings, we shot about a hundred Polaroids, most of them which are now presented here, many for the first time.”
The book is titled “Leder/Ratajkowski” and is published by Imperial Pictures. Imperial Pictures also published Leder’s 2015 exhibition catalogue that featured some of these nudes of Ratajkowski as well, calling it “The Ultimate Book of Babes!” Looks like there was one more book of a particular babe to exploit.