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The Emotional Physique

Pod011508_2 One of the questions I'm often asked is "how do you get all these men to take off their clothes?" The answer is simple. It takes a genuine individual to allow the world to see ALL of him. In fact, when I'm interviewing a potential model, I'm screening him to be certain he's wanting to pose for me for the right reasons. I'm looking to get a sense as to whether he'll be able to lend a little more than just his body to my art.

Pod011508c_5 Yes, I can't deny that there is an intentional sense of eroticism to my images, but what I most hope to achieve in a physique shoot is uncovering who my subject is as an emotional being. Each of these men brings a distinctly different personality to the studio. The intensely seductive ones know the power of their presence in front of the camera. The bashfully shy ones come to find themselves in an uninhibited state. The confident ones bask in the attention. The happy ones are always seeking adventure. And the sad ones are searching to see themselves from an undiscovered perspective.

While it may seem voyeuristic to some, I find that without the confines of clothes, my subjects are much more likely to reveal their true identities to me. It's hard to portray something you're not when you have no cover to hide behind. In the course of a single photo shoot, I probably get to know these guys much better than many of their closest loved ones.Pod011508f_3

When I select a model I'm not always sure what I'm going to do with him until I get him in the studio. It's a process of getting him in front of the camera and seeing how he responds to it. Exploring his body with the camera and letting him tell me his story. And HE, whoever HE may be, is remarkably different than the others. His emotional physique is unlike any I've seen before. And he's destined to leave his distinct impression on my art.

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