The Picture Show

This Is Not Just A Story About Prostitution

August 7, 20138:31 AM ET

Coburn Dukehart

Eden is a prostitute who was recently arrested and is awaiting a court hearing. Here, she waits outside the Richmond, Va., train station for her mother to pick her up.

Courtesy of Alicia Vera
Tensions are high when Eden tells her mother about her work as a prostitute. It was the first time they discussed her profession at length.

Courtesy of Alicia Vera
Eden's mother is upset about the idea of her daughter having sex for money.

Courtesy of Alicia Vera
Despite their disagreements, Eden's mother loves and supports her daughter.

Courtesy of Alicia Vera
Eden lies on the rooftop of her mother's home to reflect on old times in Lancaster, Va., and contemplate the possibility of going to jail.

Courtesy of Alicia Vera
Eden hangs her work clothes out to dry.

Courtesy of Alicia Vera
Eden gets ready for her court hearing.

Courtesy of Alicia Vera
On the way to the court hearing in Annapolis, Md.

Courtesy of Alicia Vera
Eden waits nervously outside of the courtroom as she rereads a speech she has prepared for the hearing.

Courtesy of Alicia Vera
The prosecutor explains the court procedure to Eden and lets her know that she may postpone the hearing if she elects to hire a lawyer. She decides against it.

Courtesy of Alicia Vera
Eden's mother waits outside of the courtroom.

Courtesy of Alicia Vera
After court, her mother drives Eden to the Baltimore train station where she travels to Philadelphia and finally takes a taxi to the small town that she frequently works out of. Sad that they couldn't spend more time together, her mother kisses her daughter goodbye and wishes her the best.

Courtesy of Alicia Vera
On the way to Philadelphia.

Courtesy of Alicia Vera
Relieved about the outcome of the hearing, Eden takes a nap on the train to rest before a long night of work.

Courtesy of Alicia Vera
After arriving in her hotel room, Eden quickly prepares the room and herself for customers.

Courtesy of Alicia Vera
Eden gets ready for clients.

Courtesy of Alicia Vera
Eden counts the money she has made in the past four days. Due to the manner in which the money was obtained, she is unable to deposit it into the bank and is forced to carry it around with her.

Courtesy of Alicia Vera
Weekends are the slowest days of the week because customers find it hard to get away from their responsibilities. When not reading or writing, Eden often finds herself bored and alone in her hotel room.

Courtesy of Alicia Vera
Because of Eden's unconventional work schedule, she takes frequent naps throughout the day in order to get rest. Her cellphone is always within reach so she doesn't miss a customer's call.

Courtesy of Alicia Vera
Eden takes off her wig once a customer leaves the room, to return to her "real" self.

Courtesy of Alicia Vera

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First, a word of warning: This story features photos about prostitution. But under the surface, it's more than that. It's a story about photographic access, and how a friendship led to an intimate portrayal of a taboo subject. These are not just photos about prostitution; they're photos about a woman who goes by the name Eden. Taken by Alicia. Her friend.

When I was studying photojournalism in grad school, one of the most important lessons I learned was that you can't make good pictures without understanding the story. And you can't understand the story without getting to know the people you are photographing. You have to build relationships — and trust.

And in the case of these photos, Eden trusted photographer Alicia Vera enough to let her witness some extremely vulnerable moments.

Alicia is from Miami, and is the first member of her family to be born in the U.S. She took a basic photo class at Miami Dade College in 2004, and says she was always interested in photographing strippers. She went around to every strip club in Miami looking for access, but was always turned away.

She enrolled in a photo program in San Francisco, and later answered a Craigslist ad to work in a "nice office space doing social media" for the adult entertainment industry. That job eventually got her the access to strip clubs that she had wanted all along.

While photographing in the clubs, Alicia met Eden, who was 18 at the time. "I introduced myself — we just clicked," she says. "We became really close friends."

At the time, Eden told Alicia that she was never going to do "extras" — exchanging sex for money. But she later apprenticed herself to a working prostitute, learned the trade, and started working out of a small town in Pennsylvania — which is where she got arrested.

Alicia, who is now living in Mexico City, asked if she could photograph her in court.

"We have a really, really close relationship. She had seen the work I had done on strippers and knew that I wouldn't portray her in a negative light. She's really excited about the photos — she loves them, she understood the photographic process," Vera said on the phone.

The result is the photo essay above, which was shot in March over a period of a week. The full edit (containing photos we can't publish here) can be seen on Vera's website, along with a longer story about Eden.

"I was surprised by how businessy it was," said Alicia. "Most of the time she was bored, reading, writing, smoking and posting ads. I began to see it as just another job."

Eden now lives in San Francisco but commutes back to Pennsylvania to work as a prostitute. Eden told Alicia she can make up to $20K in just five days of work. She puts it away in a savings account, and says she plans to quit by the time she's 25.

"She's a really creative girl," said Alicia. "That's part of the reason why I was attracted to her — she was different than the other girls. I wanted to show that not every prostitute or stripper has just one story."

And that is the story we present to you today. One of friendship, intimacy, access and trust.