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How to begin shooting male models
In my efforts to push the limits of creative thinking in the otherwise female-dominated modeling arena here on MM, I would like to propose an easy 5 step system to wean some otherwise great MM photographers off of the exclusive b(o)(o)bies diet.  1.) Start by selecting the "male" instead of "female" pull down selection in MM the search page. You will instantly find a whole new supply of models in your area. 2.) Brows through the ports. Don't worry, it won't make you gay (unless of course you already are). 3.) Send an email to one or two of them asking to set up a test shoot. (yes, just one or two, not one or two hundred as you would have to for female models. - You don't want to get over committed). Just like females, there are a wide variety of looks, attitudes and interests. Ask questions and present your ideas before hand so that you don't have to waste time complaining about why the model wasn't right for the project. 4.) Don't be afraid to stylize your male models. They don't have to be left plain. Stylizing and makeup can enhance the photographic quality and feature visibility of your male models as it does for females. 5.) When you get together for a shoot, you may want to hold your camera a little higher and have a little more food on hand. Everything else should be pretty much the same. Cautionary Note: You may want to curtail the usual "baby", "sugar", and "sweetie" comments and just address them by their names. Well, that's all I can think of anyway. Anyone else who has shot with male models have any suggestions for those photogs who haven't? May 18 06 12:01 pm Link I've found in my, somewhate limited experience, that Male models will often be more reliable, work harder, and do way more to promote themselves (and the photographer, stylist, etc) than female models. Oh, and you can easily replace "honey", "sugar", "sweetie" with "Dude", "Buddy", and "Bro". . . LOL May 18 06 02:21 pm Link LOL. Nice to see you back home again jay,hope you had a good trip. I might also add, a reason to approach a guy is guys tend to say yes or no, not I'll think about it and never get back to you. May 18 06 02:33 pm Link Jay I love your threads but I thought you were announcing that you were getting behind the camera  You totally punked me!May 18 06 02:35 pm Link I've got a shoot with a male model on my list of things to do.. I'm just waiting for.. Uh.. Crap.. What was I waiting for? HEY, BRANDON! May 18 06 02:45 pm Link Adam Chilson wrote: I agree with all that, and let's not forget that they are often more willing to do figure for TFCD. May 18 06 02:46 pm Link The pickings are kind of slim around here. So far the only one I have approached would accept pay only. May 18 06 03:00 pm Link Damn you and your WestCoastness, Jay. This entire thread is a dangling carrot!  May 18 06 03:04 pm Link Claire Elizabeth wrote: I am still in learning mode. I don't really know enough about shooting people yet. However, I have done some self-shots with a tripod. - As a male model, I just cant find a photog when I need one groupw wrote: I see what you mean. I did a search in Nebraska and there are only 2 male models, 55 female models. and 40 photogs. It would probably be easier for you to practice shooting scare crows in a corn field. Keep trying. The lack of male models is due to the lack of interest in shooting them. Many end up feeling like Maytag repairmen. Nihilus wrote: That's the idea. Just got to get photogs thinking about expanding their horizons by making art that could be appreciated by the other half of the planet. Most male photogs tend to shoot what pleases them vs what pleases specific markets. I think that is one of the big differences between hobbyists and serious pros. In the commercial photography world, the ratio of male to female models has a much smaller margin. Nihilus , I will let you know when I get to VA May 19 06 01:35 am Link I've just started shooting male models, and I'm really enjoying it. It's been a very positive experience so far. Everyone I've worked with has been on time (practically to the nanosecond), ready and eager to start, capable of taking direction, willing to work hard, and totally invested in the result. Yay for male models. May 19 06 12:18 pm Link I think a lot of male photos just don't know where to get ideas for shooting male models. I think it's easiest for guys to shoot females because it's what we personally want to see. But if the purpose of the shot is to appeal to a female market, then you have to think of what they want to see. Females in general are by far the largest consumer market when it comes to non-essentials. I have seen some studies that suggest that women buy or influence the buying of over 80% of consumer goods and services. Photographers could be missing the boat in terms of not producing photography that appeals to female consumer markets. A good place to start with ideas on how to shoot male models for this market could be found in magazines like Vogue or Style. - Just look at the clothing, product and lifestyle ads. The readership is predominantly women, so images with male models are designed to appeal to a female audience. I think that there is a large market that many photogs overlook because they want to shoot what they like to see rather than to search out markets to satisfy. Because there are so many male photogs on MM, there is an over abundance of female subject photography shot for a male audience. Photographers who figure out how to tap into the female consumer entertainment market could be grabbing a tiger by the tail. May 19 06 08:55 pm Link Jay Dezelic wrote: no, i dunno. i think you'll find there is the legitimate crowd, however small, of photographers who work with both men & women. we might, myself included, have more work with females - (just a trend of the fashion culture) - but no, we don't shy away from working with men or lack ideas when we do so. May 19 06 08:58 pm Link FML-Photography wrote: I am speaking in generalities of course (and specific to the demographics of MM). May 19 06 09:06 pm Link In a lot of respects men are much easier to shoot than women. Your choice of wardrobe is greatly reduced, no real make up to worry about and generally speaking limited hair to work with. You still need to direct & watch the light but men are great subjects too. Speaking of light you can get away with using light with men that I would not dream of shooting in with a woman. Case in point: the 4th image down on my MM home page: https://modelmayhem.com/member.php?id=27575 - I would never shoot a woman in this kind of hard light, but on a man it looks great. In fact the first image on my MM home page, blue eyes & yellow blouse, was shot on the same day, across the same street but 10 minutes later but in totally different light. A lot of my work is shooting couples: http://www.theshot.net/promos/S-861/S-861-B.html is my latest Flash movie, which shows how I use men, and women, in my lot of my imagery. Steve Thornton May 19 06 10:45 pm Link Could also post a casting call & save the photographer the effort in searching. May 19 06 10:55 pm Link |
