My 3rd male art nude shoot was with a relatively new model. Joe explained to me when he arrived that he had never shot in the studio before. He was new to working with lights, but really wanted to produce images that were both useful for his portfolio but also for my project.
We started off with basic and more traditional poses, and then began to work with shapes and implied emotion to produce images that would make the viewer both question what was going on but also engage with the image.
Again, I chose the lighting to be quite dramatic, so that would enhance his muscle tone. Joe is actually quite a hairy individual and this added a really interesting and unique dynamic to the images. Traditionally, a male art nude model would shave their body before the shoot so that the muscle tone would be further defined. I actually quite enjoyed shooting a model who had not shaved as I think this really adds to the images.
Figure 1: Sutherst. 2017
Joe was a little nervous, so I did my best to relax him and engage him with a lot of humour. This is evident in the images in figure 2. These particular images have a real playfulness about them and are indicative of the atmosphere during any shoot that I conduct. This really helped him to relax.
Figure 2: Sutherst. 2017
I wanted to produce images that sought inspiration from other sources. The right-hand side image in figure 3 was inspired by figure 4 in my post on Mapplethorpe’s images. The implication is that the model is tormented and feeling despair. The dramatic lighting adds to this effect.
Figure 3: Sutherst. 2017
The images in the figure 4 portray a feeling of loneliness. The intent was to use the contrast of light and dark and the pose to show what a person might feel like when all alone.
Figure 4: Sutherst. 2017
At the end of the session, Joe was feeling much more confident in front of the camera and in a studio environment. The images show real emotion and provide real interest for the viewer. After the session, Joe left me a reference on Purpleport where we made contact before arranging the shoot.
“I had my first studio shoot with Jo today. Brilliant fun and made me feel relaxed, special and we produced some great pictures. Very friendly supportive and already looking forward to working together again!”
I am really pleased that Joe felt happy with the shoot and the images that we were able to create together.
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