CYBERSPACE—Erotic photographer Joshua Darling is the subject of a feature article this week on Playboy.com. The iconic men’s magazine, known for featuring beautiful, naked women, looks behind the camera to spotlight one of the adult industry's standout photographers.
“Being featured as a photographer of note in Playboy is literally a dream come true,” Darling said. “When you work with adult themes, being taken seriously as an artist can be challenging, but the recognition of an institution like Playboy changes that. I'm deeply grateful to writer Vanessa Butler, and to Playboy.”
Originally based in New York, where he worked as a portrait photographer and Shakespearean theater actor, Darling flew to Los Angeles two years ago to shoot stills for Sweetheart Video’s all-girl feature My Sister Celine. Deeply impressed by his work, director Nica Noelle offered him a job as her exclusive photographer. Darling soon relocated to Los Angeles, where he now lives and photographs the biggest stars in adult film.
“Joshua Darling is the most gifted photographer I’ve ever worked with,” Noelle said. “He captures the essence of his subjects and presents them as both magical and vulnerable—deeply human, yet bigger than life.”
The Playboy.com interview, which chronicles Darling’s artistic development and colorful family history (his grandfather was a suspect in the Black Dahlia murder case!) can be found here.
Joshua Darling is also the founder of erotic art website DarlingHouse.net. His photography has been featured in The New York Times, GQ Magazine, Playboy and Penthouse. Along with his work for Noelle, Darling has shot for adult film studios Digital Playground, Dorcel and Evil Angel, among others.
Follow him on Twitter: @jmdarling.
Above, a cropped image of Joshua Darling's "Heaven Is a Place on Earth with You," featuring Ana Foxxx and Vanessa Veracruz. See the uncropped version on Playboy.com.