One for the girls - Shooting male nudes?

[Socrates]

i think you should meet with him (with an assistant, friend, bf, etc...) and decide after you've met him. if youre uncomfortable dont do it.

im all for the male form. i think its beautiful to look at

Personally, I prefer looking at females.

However, being objective about it, males are always more beautiful. Compare a peacock to a peahen. Do you have tropical fish? Consider male and female Bettas or even guppies. With regard to humans, males have been typically portrayed in classical sculpture.

 

[bahandi]

Personally, I prefer looking at females.

However, being objective about it, males are always more beautiful. Compare a peacock to a peahen. Do you have tropical fish? Consider male and female Bettas or even guppies. With regard to humans, males have been typically portrayed in classical sculpture.

lol... this comment should make this thread a lot more interesting. (though i agree that nature has made males 'stand out'. I was surprised to find out only male birds 'sang' for the most part)

 

[Socrates]

lol... this comment should make this thread a lot more interesting. (though i agree that nature has made males 'stand out'. I was surprised to find out only male birds 'sang' for the most part)

I didn't know about the singing but it fits the pattern.

 

[Senor Hound]

Socrates, your name fits you well. It seems you truly subscribe to the Socratic method of debate.

This would bother me. I wouldn't have a problem photographing another guy, but a girl may weird me out. I know that sounds backwards, but at least with another guy you can be fairly certain its only professional. When opposite sexes intertwine in such a way as nude photography, sometimes certain people get the wrong idea. Especially considering the model is not a professional himself.

Of course, I wouldn't object to photographing a nude woman if it was a woman I already knew (and knew there would be no, "funny business"), but photographing a stranger in such a personal and private way, I'd be very uncomfortable.

 

[dslrchat]

COLLECT MONEY!!!!!
SHOW UP WITH SUPPORT.

IN THAT ORDER.

You will make some cash, if it wasa scam or a perv, you got the $$$$$$$$ and were secure!

 

[tirediron]

COLLECT MONEY!!!!!

SIGN CONTRACT WITH ESCAPE CLAUSE FOR YOU

SHOW UP WITH SUPPORT

IN THAT ORDER.

You will make some cash, if it wasa scam or a perv, you got the $$$$$$$$ and were secure!

If you go through with this, (and it sounds very fishy to me) have signed paperwork to protect yourself in case it goes from weird to legal!

 

[astrostu]

Well, to answer the original question about how to do it, I have a few suggestions. If they're overweightish, nude all-the-way is probably not the best option. Draping sheets or semi-nude could help.

If they're fairly good looking, then it really depends upon how "artsy" you want to be. You could go for classical poses, where "The Thinker" or "David" comes to mind. You could try body-builder poses. Then there's the artsy. I did a simple Google search of "artistic nude men" and got a lot of hits on the first page that look like stuff you may want to try.

Something to play around with would be light and shadow, especially if they have clearly defined musculature. A single bright light from above at an angle that causes the pectoralis major and striations of the rectus abdominus to cast shadows on the skin below could be a neat effect.

Some stuff to watch for are severe tan lines which are a pain in the butt with nude males. And as with other nudes, make sure they know not to wear tight clothing before the shoot, otherwise you're going to have to wait forever for impressions from the clothes to fade away from their skin.

 

[Jedo_03]

60+ yr old well-educated and street-wise male pentaxian with waning Atlas-like physique, wrinkle free (in parts), well tanned (in parts), good looking (if I do say so meself...), ex-viagra user, seeks four to six (or more) female photographers for unique series of nude night-time shots of self. No lighting required as venue (car park) is tungsten lit.
I will be happy to consider letting you do this for free if you are a noobie otherwise my posing fee is free to experienced professionals and I only charge a moderate fee per image taken.
No TimeWasters Please
Jedo

 

[Iron Flatline]

It's really hard to get a read here. I went to check out your website, and it definitely puts forward a younger, more alternative sensibility. Just like the kid issue, this isn't anything new. Any normal person knows the issues surrounding it, so rather than assuming, given the opportunity try to engage the person in conversation. There are a hundred reasons why someone might want nude shots of himself. He might want them for his web profile on an adult dating site, he might have a lover whom he wants to surprise, he might be closeted in his sexual preferences and wants images of himself from a stranger rather than an acquaintance who will ask uncomfortable questions... god only knows.

We live in an incredibly judgmental and pre-judgmental society. His reasons are probably innocuous, and assuming the worst simply adds negativity to a community already fanned by mistrust and fear.

If he can't give you a reasonable answer in this environment, then pass. But simply assuming is at best a loss to you, and at worst a social injustice.

 

[Iron Flatline]

Oh, and I always felt that the male physique (if fit) is more visually compelling than the female. As a heterosexual I am more aroused by naked women, but naked men provide the more interesting angles.

 

[Jedo_03]

It's really hard to get a read here. I went to check out your website, and it definitely puts forward a younger, more alternative sensibility. Just like the kid issue, this isn't anything new. Any normal person knows the issues surrounding it, so rather than assuming, given the opportunity try to engage the person in conversation. There are a hundred reasons why someone might want nude shots of himself. He might want them for his web profile on an adult dating site, he might have a lover whom he wants to surprise, he might be closeted in his sexual preferences and wants images of himself from a stranger rather than an acquaintance who will ask uncomfortable questions... god only knows.

We live in an incredibly judgmental and pre-judgmental society. His reasons are probably innocuous, and assuming the worst simply adds negativity to a community already fanned by mistrust and fear.

If he can't give you a reasonable answer in this environment, then pass. But simply assuming is at best a loss to you, and at worst a social injustice.

Far be it from me to enter into philosophical discussion about sexuality, but I feel a natural hesitance towards people (male or female) offering themselves as naked subjects to my camera...
Their motives, or reasons, or whatever you call them, IMO, can only be seen as narcistic / blatant sexual exposure...
Why would any Guy, or Gal, want to pose nude and show their genitals?
Don't give me Artis Gratis... PuLease...
And don't give me the "I need photo's for an adult dating website"... or "I want to surprise my friend..." (my god..!)
Ask yourself... WHY would a man/woman invite a photographer to make images of their nude-selves..?
ART is one thing... SEXUALITY and PERVERSION is something else...
Jedo

 

[Jedo_03]

Oh, and I always felt that the male physique (if fit) is more visually compelling than the female. As a heterosexual I am more aroused by naked women, but naked men provide the more interesting angles.

Well - That is true - men can provide a wider range of angles than women... 192 deg (7 oclock) flaccid - to 270 deg (11 oclock) turgid...
But is it the "angle of the dangle" that provides the visual compulsion - or the inherent sexuality of the aroused male...?
Put another way - Would "David" be more attractive at 270 deg than he is now...?
Jedo

 

[Iron Flatline]

ART is one thing... SEXUALITY and PERVERSION is something else...

The fact that you equate the two says a lot about you, and the society we live in. Why is nudity so terrible?

Well - That is true - men can provide a wider range of angles than women... 192 deg (7 oclock) flaccid - to 270 deg (11 oclock) turgid...
But is it the "angle of the dangle" that provides the visual compulsion - or the inherent sexuality of the aroused male...?
Put another way - Would "David" be more attractive at 270 deg than he is now...?

When I wrote about "angles" I knew someone was going to make an erection joke. I just didn't know how long it would take, and how lame it would be. Obviously those two unknowns have been answered.

 

[bahandi]

The fact that you equate the two says a lot about you, and the society we live in. Why is nudity so terrible?

When I wrote about "angles" I knew someone was going to make an erection joke. I just didn't know how long it would take, and how lame it would be. Obviously those two unknowns have been answered.

+1

also, i agree with what others have been saying about getting to know the guy. But still bring a friend in case it was all BS just to lure you in to agreeing on taking his pictures.

 

[Rhys]

Sounds as fishy as the guy that wanted me to photograph a stiff!