SX Magazine Awards - Katina Cazalet-Blaisdale ( Photography Categories )

Hello dear readers,

After Spirit and Linc, here we offer you Monique's full interview to Kat, the third judge for the Photography Categories of the SX Magazine Awards. Kat is one of the most active models and actresses in the business, and in this interview she shares her experience with us, offering some interesting tips to anybody who dreams a successful career into the business.

"It was a dark and stormy night of 2012 when Katina Cazalet joined The Sexiest Pornstars group, and the world of porn has not been the same ever since! " Thanks to her exquisite poseball sitting skills and ability to walk from point A to point B, she won right away the Best Newcomer Award. After that, she mostly slacked off dealing with bloggy things for The Sexiest Pornstars group, and being the editor of the Avi Choice Awards nominated magazine founded by her partner. To keep those 'stand around and look cute' skills sharp, she appeared meanwhile on a few dozens movies and photoshoots, which ultimately earned her the Best Female Model of 2014 award at the Black Tie Affair and 4 nominations at the 2016 Second Life Porn Star Awards. She proudly displays those awards in her trailer, next to the bowl of brown M&Ms.

The perfect photo is....
Katina: A myth.

A successful model is...
Katina: A model who gets to work with the photographers she is interested in, with mutual satisfaction.

 A successful photographer is... 
Katina: Nothing more than a photographer who is happy with their work.

Unedited or heavily post-processed images (or somewhere in between)?
Katina: In medio stat virtus. If you can see flaws and glitches probably those should have been edited out. If your exquisite editing skills ended up painting the model in a way that doesn't resemble SL anymore, it's entirely a matter of taste. Some love it, and the price list for professional photographers who deal primarily with that style is there to show it. I prefer a well polished photo look without a 'handpainted' feel to it.

What's the most compelling component of a picture?
Katina: Anything that makes you stop browsing the recent photos feed of Flickr and has you click to see. Can be literally anything. If you want me to tell you what I am looking for in a picture, I certainly am looking for the 'xxx' factor in it. By 'xxx' I don't mean anything pornographic, that's just me being punny and avoiding copyright infringement.  What I will take into consideration and find compelling is, how uniquely erotic and alluring the picture is.

What makes you want to work with a photographer again?
Katina: Modeling for someone is a privilege to me. The more I can feel that they enjoyed working with me and that my choices or ability to comply with their requests helped bring them out their ideas, the more keen we both will be to work together again.

What can a new model benefit most from?
Katina: Again, something that can make her stand out. Make your look 'your own'. If you are already confident in your looks, just be aware that it is only a small, although essential, part of it. Be proactive contacting photographers, and keep your expectations low and your patience high.

What can a new photographer benefit most from?
Katina: The world is your oyster. If you are new to photography as a whole, just practice, follow tutorials about both postprocessing and in-world photography, such as posemaking and the way Advanced lighting works. You will choose later what area interests you most, getting results as good as you can in-world or have full control with postprocessing. If you already have experience in picture editing, you have your work cut out for you. Focus first and foremost on being satisfied with the results of your own work and explore the possibilities of SL.

I love being in photos because....
Katina: I am a psychopath!

Full in-world scenery or green screen?
Katina: As in question n°4, I am a SL person, I like to see Second Life in a picture. 'Prop' work and set building are underrated skills sometimes.

Single model or group shots? 
Katina: I love group shots! For a photographer eventually having more than one model at the same time is needed to bring out certain ideas, and I personally enjoy being instrumental in that. And on the set they can lead to fun and memorable moments.
.....Yeah ok, that being said, I am not a hypocrite: every model loves to have the spotlight to herself, so OF COURSE I say single model shot, thank you!!