The first showed them before they got going, with some of the women understandably betraying some nerves.
The second shot showed them as they started to get their rocks off; the third, the moment of climax; and the fourth, the afterglow.
Alberti admitted finding people willing to take part wasn’t easy. Around 2,000 women signed up for the project, but after he explained what exactly would be asked of them, only 22 remained.
He said: “How do you say to someone: ‘Do you want to masturbate in front of me and my camera?'”
While this all sounds like something you might come across on OnlyFans, Alberti made sure the photographs were respectful, tasteful and authentic.
Explaining why the project was important to him, he told Refinery29: “On television, actresses are usually trying to look good all the time for the camera in an unrealistic way and when we look to internet, porn in particular, it’s very fake.
“The sexual positions, expressions, the bodies with a lot of make-up… this is unreal.
“Women feel pressured to achieve what they see on these channels and they’re looking for something that doesn’t exist.”
Speaking to Little Things, Alberti described ‘The O Project’ as ‘the first project to document the female orgasm without approaching it from a sexual or erotic perspective’.
How were the photographs taken?
Alberti praised the ‘enormous courage’ of the women who took part, explaining: “It was very important for me to get to know them, to spend some time with them, to make them comfortable to trust me as a photographer.”
Teaming up with sexual well-being brand Smile Makers, the photographer wanted to capture and present female sexuality as it has never been seen before.
Each of the women involved was asked to use personal massagers, with Alberti taking photos before they began, during their peak and after they’d finished, with the release of endorphins that comes from an orgasm pretty clear on their smiling faces.
Alberti’s shots are ‘fun and sexy, but tasteful’, as everything below the waist was hidden from view, even from Alberti himself.
A behind-the-scenes video showed that his camera was pointed through a small hole cut through a curtain, hiding most of the women’s bodies from his view.
For extra protection, each woman sat behind a tablecloth, which obscured everything below the waist.
Alberti said: “In this project, there is no sexuality involved. The women are fully clothed, which allows us, for the first time, to observe what an orgasm does to the body and the expression it creates, from a purely human and emotional perspective.”
What was it like for the women having their photos taken while masturbating?
Women from Singapore, South Africa, China, Thailand, Ukraine, the US and Russia ended up taking part in the project.
One of the participants said while looking at her pictures: “Initially I was like, the apprehension… Like anticipating that I am going to be doing this. How is it gonna be?
“So there is a lot of worry.”
However, by the final shot, she says she was thinking: “Ha! Life is beautiful.”
Alberti told Rooster magazine he would ask the women after the shoot was over, he would ask the women: “Did you forget I was here? And they always do.”
Fan Yang, Global Brand Manager of Smile Makers, said: “Female sexuality is more often shrouded in shame and secrecy. Our partnership with Marcos allowed us to create this series to upend that social stigma around female sexuality, and encourage women to take control of their own pleasure.
“All the women who modelled were in awe of their photos, especially the final shot where they were glowing and radiant.
“That final shot, of a strong female grinning into the camera, is exactly what we want people to see. We hope that everyone viewing this project will feel more confident about their bodies and sexuality. All it takes is one smile at a time.”
Alberti added: “I love that we were able to speak so frankly with these women about sex and pleasure.
“When you approach the taboo topic of sex through the lens of humour, people start to open up and share opinions more freely, which can lead to a monumental change in people’s mentality.”
Health benefits of masturbation for women
Women’s mental health expert Kelley Kitely told Glamour that masturbation is as important for women ‘as eating, sleeping, and brushing our teeth’.
One 2015 study found that women aged 18 to 30 who masturbated reported more orgasms, higher self-esteem, higher libido and greater sexual satisfaction.
Experts say masturbating floods the body with endorphins, can help you sleep, and give you a cardio workout.
It can help with menopause symptoms by increasing blood flow to the vagina, help relieve pregnancy symptoms like lower back pain, and even help with menstrual cramps since the endorphins released during self-pleasure can help deal with pain.
For older women, one 2017 study even suggested weekly sexual activity can improve brain function.
The researchers followed 73 people aged between 50 and 83, and found that those getting down to it every week performed better in tests measuring verbal fluency and visuospatial ability.