Private Rooms [Hardcover]

Guido Argentini (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2005

Daring and provocative, these images of the female nude challenge the viewer to defy limits and enter ?forbidden territory?. Argentini plays with our notions of privacy and constructs a hidden erotic universe where it's hard to know what we?ll find?our deepest erotic fantasies or a parallel reality? These charged erotic images are both sophisticated and raw, with a dark glamour all their own. ? Highly charged eroticism sure to raise eyebrows ? An ideal gift for lovers of erotica

Editorial Reviews

Review

Guido Argentini likes to shoot women in their skivvies. Grab his book, PRIVATE ROOMS for proof. God we love art. -- STUFF Magazine, March 2006

Guido Argentini's PRIVATE ROOMS features nude models posing provocatively in luxury hotels. No brown-paper wrapping needed. -- DETAILS Magazine, March 2006

Inside are some seriously sultry images full of lens-locked stares and saturated color. One hell of a sexy book. -- Playboy Magazine, May 2006

Private Rooms is everything it purports to be: an erotic look into quiet-looking closed spaces through Argentini’s expressive, fantastical camera. -- FLAUNT Magazine, January 2006

From the Inside Flap

Private Rooms is the result of an ambitious photographic project by renowned photographer Guido Argentini that took more than ten years to complete. All pictures were taken in the intimacy of closed rooms, ancient villas, modern apartments and numerous elegant hotels. Argentini plays with our notions of privacy and constructs a hidden erotic universe in which each image becomes a story with no beginning or end. While each photograph challenges the viewer to defy limits and enter forbidden territory, this is a collection that was clearly born out of a love for women and was completed only thanks to them.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: teNeues (September 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3832790810
• ISBN-13: 978-3832790813
• Product Dimensions: 12.5 x 11.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #466,084 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

81 of 87 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent photography, beautiful models, great book, February 24, 2006

By 

Robert Ortiz "rao" (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Private Rooms (Hardcover)

Out of all of the photography books that I have or seen, this one is definitely in my top five favorites.

The layout of the book is very nice. It has a velvety cover under the dust cover and is a very good size for viewing.

The photography is great. Silvereye wasn't really to my personal preference but Private Rooms is. They are images from shoots throughout the years in one collection taken in different hotel rooms, apartments, etc. The photographer seems to mostly use ambient light - a mix between tungsten and window light. Probably a somehwat high ISO, the images are still very low grain and are very clear with nice colors and tones. Very nice compositians, nice lighting, sexy poses,... all very tasteful.

The models are some of the most beautiful models I've seen in just about any book - there isn't a medeocre looking girl in the whole book - all are just phenomenally gorgeous. Most images are partial nude, some with latex gloves, high heels, elegant jewelry,... a lot of accessories, etc.

I definitely recommend this one.

56 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My "Nude Book of the Year 2005" vote!, March 31, 2006

By 

DBAX - See all my reviews

This review is from: Private Rooms (Hardcover)

I'm very happy to be the next reviewer to give this book a very well deserved 5-Star rating!

I have his earlier book, Silvereye, and I never reviewed it because, well, because I appreciated the effort and obvious talent of the artist, but I felt the book really just didn't "catch the chain" for lack of a better description, and I didn't want to give it a lower star ranking, and I never give false 4 or 5 Star ratings.

I saw this new one on Amazon sometime ago, but didn't order it since I wasn't thrilled with Silvereye. But then I ran into this in a bookstore, and WOW!!! I was (and remain) totally blown away- this is one of the best color photo books of the nude ever produced, I'm certain of that, and in my mind there is no doubt that it's the BEST color nude photo book of 2005.

Leaving aside the excellent photography for a minute, the production quality of this book is amazing. This is best produced nude art book I've ever bought, and must be one of the best ever made. Certainly, it's the best I've ever seen from this publisher (TeNeues). It is huge. It is heavy. The printing is perfection, and paper is super excellent grade, and this book is meant to last and last. Really, it would still be a fair deal at twice the listed price. With the current price + the Amazon discounting it's an absolute steal and puts to shame the poor quality garbage many other publishing houses are printing and selling at similar prices. This isn't a cheap book, either in price or in quality, and TeNeues deserves a big thumbs up for producing this wonderful work.

Now onto the photography itself... there is a level of intimacy captured here that is something many other photographers strive and usually fail to achieve. The work, technically, is beyond excellent. And yet, it somehow stays simple. There isn't the dramatic lighting (usually) that you might find with Bruno Bisang, for instance, but the mastery of composition, of angle of view, of knowing just when was the right moment to fire the shutter... it's all there. There are hordes of photographers shooting color nudes nowadays that do it super "clean", fast & loose, trying to "keep it real" and make art out of the simplicity of the girl's body and her surroundings. For the most part, they fail (in my opinion). Some books by Peter Gorman and Peter Hegre would fit into this catagory. What Mr. Argentini has done here is take that very concept, but actually succeed: there are no elaborate props (aside from some pretty rooms), no extravagant lighting set ups, no "special effects" done to the photos in Photoshop afterward. It's just him, his considerable talent, his camera, a beautiful girl, and her genuine magnetism that pulls you into his simple compositions, and envelopes you with intimacy. THIS is the feel and passion all these other photographers are trying to accomplish with their simple "real girl, in the real world" approach. So many are trying, but it is Guido Argentini who is successful.

I cannot believe that anyone who buys this book will regret it. The images are, at times, a bit more erotic that in the books of some of his peers, but they are without question Art and Mr. Argentini is a true Artist.

I'm very happy to have this in my collection! If I could give it 6 Stars I would!

DBAX

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Private room., June 8, 2006

By 

Nam Nguyen Hoang (Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Private Rooms (Hardcover)

Ok, let me be clear! If you are a photographer and looking for some new and non-traditional nude poses with this book, you are in the wrong place.
There is no doubt that Guido has the talent and the "eye", and this is truly a great EROTIC book. The photos are artistically erotic and beautiful, and not like any cheap stuff you find on numerous porn sites out there. The models are stunning! Of course there are some inspiring arts - at the end he is still a good photographer. Just, it seems to me all the lighting techniques are all too basic and nothing innovative. Well, I'm not talking "nude has to be black and white and in low-key", those days have passed long ago. But the lighting in Private room is simply too normal. He even did not use tripod in all of his shots, which lead to hand-shake. I can tell that some blur is intentional, but there are some look really like technical error.
Again, on the other hand, if you are looking for some EROTIC nude photos, I highly recommend this one. Just dont buy it for learning more about the real nude art that hangs in museums!