Who's The Toughest Photographer?

Earl Miller. Countless girls have cried on his shoots. He'll push them into painful poses and keep them there. He takes his time on a shoot. Some girls accuse him of torturing them (that's hyperbole, but he pushes them to their limit).

VH1's show Centerfold Babylon featured Earl shooting new girl Monica.

I interviewed producer/research Erik Himmelsbach Oct 2, 2003.

Luke: "How did you choose Monica to profile? What's the latest on her? What's her porn name?"

Erik: "We followed several girls, all of whom were suggested by Earl Miller or Suze Randall. Her porn name is Monica Temptem. Last I heard she was back stripping in Amarillo, as well as doing internet porn and asphyxiation videos. Apparently, the Japanese love to see pretty blond American girls pretend to be killed.

"We followed all the girls with the hope that they would be selected as a Penthouse Pet. None of them were, and Monica seemed the most interesting in a car crash sort of way."

In the show, Monica seemed like a flake.

She's told people she found Earl sadistic and other pornographers have not reported the same problems that Early experienced with her. Monica did a few porn movies, including boy-girl, and seems to still be available for shoots.

Kendra Jade has said that she chose to never shoot another photo layout again after her experience with Earl Miller. For about six years, she did not.

DJJace.net writes on Oprano.com:

My wife and I shot for Earl, and he was nothing but nice and caring....we shot together, then my wife shot seperately with him. He was nothing like what is being described here Ron Vogel was by far the worst. He kept calling me by my real name and my wife "girl"..."hey girl, do this now", "don't do that girl"....etc....SO disrespectful, and when she didn't want to be in the pile driver position for 15 minutes he got upset and bitched about "girl" to his makeup artist.

Some girls are just SUCH primadonnas that when they are told to hold an uncomfortable position for more than they are comfortable with, the photographer suddenly becomes sadistic.

FusionX writes: "I can see him being a perfectionist, and holding some long sessions to get things exactly right, but sadistic? Nah, can't see it."

Hell Puppy writes:

I also spent some time with [Earl Miller] in Vegas, and I just cant see him being "sadistic" to anyone. Well, maybe a waitress who doesn't have any free range chicken or tuna....but certainly not a model. Use your head, he's been shooting the hottest women on the planet since the 70's. The hot ones shoot multiple times, and I saw tons of big names begging to shoot with him at AEE. This doesn't sound like a man who is a pain to work with. Perfectionist? Haven't seen him shoot, but most photographers of his caliber are. Picky? That's for damned sure. I saw him basically say "not interested" to girls looking to shoot who most of the pro-am photographers on the web would trip over each other to get a shoot with. My take after hanging with him a bit is he's a great guy, and you really cant argue with the body of work he's produced. His site has one of the most impressive collections of porn stars and centerfolds of any site on the net.

Rhetorical responds: "He is a journeyman photographer...not Helmut freeking Newton. You guys need to seriously look at the best....Avedon, Karsh...the list goes on. No offense, but this is craft not art and certainly not perfection."

Earl Miller Finds Stolen Images On Luke's Site

2/7/01: Noted Penthouse photographer Earl Miller found images on Voice Media ads on my site that Voice Media does not have permission to use. One of VM's graphics people used the images by mistake, says a VM employee. VM is about to email webmasters to ask them to immediately remove the images. The banners on my site caught the eye of Miller which triggered the recall.

Earl Miller - Art Reflecting Life

5/6/01: Gregory Bowman writes: I feel it necessary to inform your readers when I meet someone who truly is a wonderful and inspirational person.

I had the opportunity to meet and watch Mr. Earl Miller, one of the most brilliant photographers and lead photographer for Penthouse Magazine.

I met Mr. Miller on a shoot for Penthouse when driving Cheyenne Silver to and from the studio. She informed me beforehand that Earl was very particular and demanded a closed set. I had heard various rumors about Mr. Miller from people in the business. Some comments were negative.

After meeting Earl I was taken aback by his overwhelming positive and friendly personality. He was gracious and I felt very at ease around him. Mr. Miller seemed to be a man who is truely concerned with making others feel comfortable. I have worked with many photographers in the past and I know that the best tend to have certain "quirks" and are usually very short and lack social grace.

Earl Miller was one of the kindest men, photographer or not, I have met in a long time. His friendly and positive attitude left me feeling like there are still good people in this world.

I can see why he is the best at what he does. His care and positive approach definately shows in his work. His images are heavenly and I am confident it is based on his warmth and concern. His artistic ability certainly is a reflection of his warmth and grace.

Anyone who works with Earl Miller should feel blessed and I would personally love to work under him; just to be apart of what brilliance really is. Mr. Miller, you are tops in my book and if you ever would consider it, I would love to be apart of your artistic inspirations.

.....

4/4/06: Penthouse Pet (February 2006) Charlie Lain, who stands almost 5'4", tells me: "The worst experience was my original test shoot for Penthouse with Earl Miller. He made me ball my eyes out because I was 'fat and a pizza face.' I was 18. Of course I had a couple of zits. I'm sure you've never seen me fat. I was 98 pounds. He's quite an asshole. He made me cry. I refused to work for him anymore."