How to take sexy photos of the male half?

[intuition897 2,179]

Profiles are usually well-stocked with tasteful, sexy, playful photos of the ladies, but we straight girls are getting the shaft. Literally: all we get is one lousy dick pic?? Is that all that matters?

 

I'm sorry, but I want to know if I'm going to be attracted to him, and until we meet in person, a photo of you is your best foot forward. I'm happy for you that you have a penis, and that it apparently works. It looks lovely. But I'm more interested in a smile, the texture of your skin, the way you carry yourself, the way you put yourself together (as in, well-groomed and you care about yourself), and seeing that you're playful, interesting, funny, mischievous, etc. We see this in so many women's photos, but more rarely in the men's.

 

I need to take some photos of Mr. intuition because - like the hypocrite that I am - our profile is lacking good photos of him due to my ineptitude on the other side of the camera, and his camera-shyness. Any semi-pro photographers on here want to give me some tips? I'm going to borrow my daughter's Nikon D3100 because I really want to do him justice.

 

What we're working with: Mr. intuition has been working out with weights and cycling, and he's turning into a veritable beast. He's still feeling pretty self-conscious about the remaining "padding" around his midsection, but it's going. So we need some shots that will detract from that, but not necessarily hide it altogether. We do want to be honest; I just think we should be playing up his assets...and he definitely has some. He's got great muscle definition in his chest, arms and back. Even though he's still working on the midsection, you can see he's got six-pack brewing there. And he's got really powerful, muscular legs (I'm a leg girl, myself).

 

I love seeing men in suits and ties. Makes me want to "loosen them up" and undress them. I thought a classy series of B&W photos of him in various states of undress would look amazing. I also love photos that focus on the subtle details, such as a kiss, the stubble on his chin, the way the light plays over his skin and muscle, the way his hand touches me (or whomever ), that look he gives me when he sees right through me... Mr. intuition is DAMN sexy. I need to take some great photos to show him that! But like I said, he's impatient, self-conscious and camera-shy. I, although I have been known to take some pretty great photos, flub up horribly when I'm trying to take pictures of him.

 

If anyone can suggest some good lighting tips, settings, angles and props, I'd appreciate it. I'll probably also need to get his ass a little bit drunk. And maybe me, too, so I can stop overthinking it and just get this done.

[oc1234 436]

The first thing you need to do is find examples of the type of male shots you like. These days you can get examples by searching the web using terms like 'Male erotic photography', 'male nude photography, etc. There are also books of male nude photography on Amazon.

 

You and Mr. intuition should then look through the pictures to get a feeling for what you would like. After that just shoot a lot of pictures to get yourselves used to photographing and being photographed. You should try to find a room in your house that is well lighted so you don't have to rely on using flash. The room should also not be cluttered. Try everything from fully clothed to various levels of nudity. In other words, what ever you feel comfortable with. This can also be a lot of fun to do.

 

My wife are I are avid nudists and I am an avid photographer. Over the years I have photographed her and other female and males in various stages of dress from fully clothed to artistic nudity and beyond. It all boils down to getting him used to being photographed and used to the idea that you are going to shoot a lot of photographs. Most will not be that good, but a few will have promise and you will both learn how he looks best. Once you know what works, you can go from there.

 

I hope this helps.

[Guest FunintheSnow]

Just wanted to say that I love all your ideas! Can Mr. Intuition role-play at all, even if he does it in a goofy way and ends up laughing his ass off after ten seconds of Magic Mike posing? Maybe a little acting would let him relax enough to allow his real personality to shine through after a few minutes.

[sexyinakilt 47]

I'm more of a landscape guy then people. If I shoot people it's usually candids with a long lens. People are being themselves. I can't help you with the nudes but I agree with the above advice on natural light.

[intuition897 2,179]

Okay, so thanks for the suggestion FunintheSnow. I'll have to get him to do some goofy shit and take a bunch of shots of it so we can laugh about it. You know, take some deliberately awful photos that we promise to delete, just to get it out of the way and get over the idea that every shot we take has to be awesome.

 

I'm thinking I'd like to go for a low-key shoot(as in, predominantly dark tones). This means using low-light settings...which I'm clueless about unless I'm using good old 400-speed 35mm film and my old Pentax K1000. Anyone have any experience with low-light settings on their DSLR's?

[enhancer 1,586]

This is a great question and looking forward to hearing some of the answers! We couldn't agree with you more on a lot of couples just not having any pics of the guy other then maybe a shot of his penis which is completely useless as far as Ms Enhancer is concerned. She is attracted to people not penises. Never once has she said oh my god look at that cock I must have it.

 

It seems to be a hard thing for many to understand that it just doesn't matter how hot the wife is if the guy also wants to be involved the other wives are going to need to be interested in him too. I can't even start to put a number on how many couples we have passed on, because of this.

[oc1234 436]

Okay, so thanks for the suggestion FunintheSnow. I'll have to get him to do some goofy shit and take a bunch of shots of it so we can laugh about it. You know, take some deliberately awful photos that we promise to delete, just to get it out of the way and get over the idea that every shot we take has to be awesome.

 

I'm thinking I'd like to go for a low-key shoot(as in, predominantly dark tones). This means using low-light settings...which I'm clueless about unless I'm using good old 400-speed 35mm film and my old Pentax K1000. Anyone have any experience with low-light settings on their DSLR's?

 

Cameras like the Nikon D3100 and above are far better for low-light situations than film cameras were. For film, ISO 400 was about the fastest film you would normally use since grain would become a major problem if you used higher speed film for most purposes. With a digital DSLR like the D3100, you should be able to set it to ISO values up to 1600 and get very good shots. That means you can shoot at light levels a quarter what you used for ISO 400 film. The main thing you should avoid is very contrasty lighting. Even lighting is far more flattering.

 

One of the main advantages of digital over film is that you can immediately see the result each time you fire the shutter and it costs you nothing. Just play with the camera and get comfortable with what it can do.

[GuyInMD79 1,500]

Besides having taken a few photo workshops with models for boudoir or nude photography, I have done just one boudoir/erotic photo shoot, unpaid, with a couple at a studio- so this advice can be taken with an appropriate grain of salt!

 

In addition to what oc1234 said, I'll also mention that you can push the ISO value even higher than 1600 on newer cameras, and do some noise reduction in Lightroom or a similar application. This is especially true if your product is going to be used only for posting online, rather than being made into 24x36 posters! You may end up wanting to "soften" the image a bit in post-processing anyway, and that is a common thing that is done in portrait photography.

 

As with portraits in general, I'd recommend zooming to about 100mm at least, and then putting a little more distance between you and your subject, in order to flatten the subject's appearance and avoid things like bulbous-looking noses and ears and such. Even lighting is important also to minimize the appearance of too much skin "texture". A nice combination might be natural "cloudy day" or diffuse light from a large window, and either a little fill flash opposite that window, or a large white or light surface opposite the window to help fill in the shadows.

 

As far as getting the model to relax is concerned, I think shooting a lot is a good idea! Engage in friendly (and since it's your husband, go ahead and make it sexy) conversation while you're shooting. Talk about some fun and hot times, and get him thinking about those times, instead of how you're shooting him with a camera. If you can do it, it might be good to keep the camera to your eye as much as possible, so he doesn't see the difference between the "talking" moments and the "taking his picture" moments (otherwise he may unconsciously tense up each time you put your eye to the camera).

 

Sometimes the use of narrow depth of field can help to bring the viewer's attention to your subject, and the blurry background will be de-emphasized. If you have a camera that allows this, try setting it for a wide aperture (like f/2.8 or f/3.5), and be careful to ensure that you are focused on the most important part of him for the photo you're taking. That may often be his face, but sometimes you can play with making it another part, like a strong hand in the foreground.

 

I hope these ideas are useful!

[intuition897 2,179]

Thanks guys, great suggestions. I think we're just going to have to make a night of it, get our son out of the house, and crack open a bottle of JW.

 

I'll have to mess around with the settings on the thing and see if I can't figure them out. Ugh, the old 35mm cameras were so dead-easy! Turn the dial, get the setting. These new-fangled digital cameras...you're dealing with menus and preferences saved settings... Shit, I just want full frigging manual override, aperture control, shutter speed and ISO settings. THAT'S IT.

 

Anybody have any suggestions about what I can use for lighting set-up? I know you've suggested diffuse lighting for the most part, but I don't know if it works as well for low-key photos. I'm going to try some natural side-lighting in a partially darkened room, because I really like the way the light plays over skin like that. You can get some cool silhouetting, too. And I'm not afraid of skin texture; that's sort of the point - to bring the viewer in and interest them in the details. Becuase when you're playing with someone, it's all about discovering the details.

 

We may try doing a high-key shoot, too, just for contrast. We'll have to try to find the tripod and see if the thing has a continuous shoot timer to get some good photos of us both. High key, diffuse natural light, white sheets on the bed, maybe some black lace lingerie...and heels. For me, not for him. Love some of those boudoir shots of the girl straddling her man with his hands on her ass cheeks. Very sexy.

[kikonkrome 844]

All these are really good tips.

 

Some that were missed,

 

Men typically work better with harsher, wider range lighting. I have noticed this can vary with skin tone though.

 

We typically make a night of it, with a bit of wine and music so that it is fun experience.

 

Finally take a look at other photo's and see what you like and try to emulate them. It's one of the more fun parts of learning how to be a photographer. You get to look at other photographers work!!!

 

Have fun and good luck

[intuition897 2,179]

I agree with the wide-angle harsh lighting, too. Women are all about soft fuzzy curves and fluffiness. Men are all about hard edges and angles and movement. Opposites work, too - with men in soft lighting and women in harsh lighting - but I think generally, they're each better suited that way.

 

If I get some good ones, I'll have to post some in the photos section!

[msgemily 30]

One of the couples we play with is a professional cinematographer. Works magic with the camera. His advice is its all about angles and right light setups.

[SA_NewtoLS 163]

What we did is just took some full body shot photos so the women can at least get an idea what I look like. Other profiles without this just get skipped. Even if both my wife and I are attracted to the female. Adding pictures of me, that are not very sexy or flattering at all really, certainly helped. We also have no pics of just my dick up. A couple with it in her mouth is enough in our opinion. As for wanting pics of face and smile, you have to understand some people, most i have seen actually, will not make face pics public. So if you like everything else you see, just message them and talk a bit. If things go well, ask for pics.