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Dudeoir - Photographing Male Glamour - part 1 of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Published 01/06/2014

When people say 'glamour photography' these days they tend to think of scantily-clad, beautiful ladies in provocative positions.

However, as Graham Martin demonstrated in his talk at the Convention this year, there is an increasing demand for glamour shots of men. It's becoming known as 'Dudeoir' in commercial circles and as guys take ever more pride in their appearance it's only going to get more popular.


People quite often ask me how you should light a guy for a glamour shot. This has always been slightly problematic; I don't subscribe to lighting a person a certain way just because of their gender. You would never ask someone how to light 'a woman' so why ask how to light 'a man'? The truth is that any set-up you use for a woman will almost certainly work for a man, but you'll probably want to make posing adjustments to show off their body to it's best - just like you would with anyone!

It is true that there have been classic photographers in the past who always seem to use a very hard light for their bodybuilders and other male subjects, but then again Robert Mapplethorpe has produced some wonderful, softly lit shots of both himself and his subjects. However, all that considered, here are some ideas to get you started if you decide to book a male model for your portfolio.

And so that you can get started as soon as possible, everything here was shot either indoors or out on location - nothing was taken in a professional photography studio.


1st Published 01/06/2014
last update 20/07/2022 13:53:42



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