Male Portraits

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Name
MG
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I have a portrait shoot tonight (nothing serious, just part of the camera club) but there seems to be a lack of male portrait poses that i can find (girls there are tons).

Anyone want to share some of their images for inspiration?
 
Hi Mark did you try the "posing ideas" app? There's lots of examples for male models on that.
 
Brilliant thanks. Will take a look now.

Do you know who the app is by? Seems to be several

I'm using the one by Tran Phuong "posing ideas - best for photographers" and find it useful for inspiration when short of ideas :)
 
Male portraits are indeed thin on the ground. Is that because the majority of photographers are men? There are so many good women photographers around here on TP, I hope some will share their male portraits with you. Male portraits are tough, it's not really about beauty (but then again, of course it is) but imho, it's rather more about strength of character. So low-key lighting tends to be more appealing in this regard. Sweeping generalisation, but on the whole smiles are 'out', brooding looks are 'in'. Try to emphasise the character you see before you. Look for that aspect of their personality you can bring to the fore via lighting and pose. Talk with your subject before you decide how to shoot, watch for their expression, how they hold themselves, and then try to bring those qualities out. Here's a picture I took at home of my son-in-law, it was the only one of dozens where his expression and pose came together well. Talk and shoot, talk and shoot. Good luck!

ChrisLR.jpg
 
Like any portrait.. ask yourself what you're trying to convey & take it from there.

Something which can work is to find some gestures which your model tends to do anyway - either by observing or just asking them - and turning those into poses.

fwiw I've been trying to put some of this into practice..
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Photograph...=1500383716&sr=8-1&keywords=photographing+men

The stuff on lighting & retouching for different face & body shapes is useful but I find that unless the poses are something that a subject would do anyway they can look terribly forced.

In other words.. what @Nick Owen said :)
 
Like any portrait.. ask yourself what you're trying to convey & take it from there.

Something which can work is to find some gestures which your model tends to do anyway - either by observing or just asking them - and turning those into poses.

fwiw I've been trying to put some of this into practice..
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Photograph...=1500383716&sr=8-1&keywords=photographing+men

The stuff on lighting & retouching for different face & body shapes is useful but I find that unless the poses are something that a subject would do anyway they can look terribly forced.

In other words.. what @Nick Owen said :)

Do you have this book, specifically the female one? I've been looking at it. Thanks, Mandy
 
Male portraits are indeed thin on the ground. Is that because the majority of photographers are men?

Men are too shy - or too ugly in front of camera for anyone to share the photos they did take

In a model group on FB I advertised for anyone wanting to shoot with me, 9 replied, 1 was male. I booked with him but he canceled and didn't reappoint. Females are just so much easier :)

Dave
 
Men are too shy - or too ugly in front of camera for anyone to share the photos they did take

In a model group on FB I advertised for anyone wanting to shoot with me, 9 replied, 1 was male. I booked with him but he canceled and didn't reappoint. Females are just so much easier :)

Dave

That reflects my experience too. Amateur or semi-pro male models seem to take the business less seriously than females. I've had a much higher proportion of cancellations from men than women. It just happens that half of my recent shoots have been men but that's very unusual.
 
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