More than a photoshoot

There’s more to a MenArt shoot than walking into a studio, standing in front of a camera and leaving with a collection of great photographs.

For many clients, the experience itself becomes just as important as the pictures.

You might arrive feeling excited, curious, slightly nervous — or wondering what on earth possessed you to book a photoshoot in the first place. That’s completely normal.

Most MenArt clients aren't professional models. Many have never had a professional photoshoot before.

You don’t need to know how to pose. You don’t need to arrive bursting with confidence. And you certainly don’t need to pretend to be somebody you're not.

That’s where we begin.

Before I pick up the camera

Your shoot really starts before you arrive.

We’ll already have talked about what you’d like to create, the kind of photographs that appeal to you and anything you particularly want — or don't want — from the experience.

You can send me inspiration photographs if you have them. You can arrive with a head full of ideas.

Or you can simply tell me:

“I haven't got a clue. I just want some great photographs.”

That's fine too.

When you arrive, we don't immediately start shooting. We'll talk, look through what you've brought and decide where we want to begin.

There’s time to settle in.

The camera can wait.

And then we start

The first few photographs are often about finding our rhythm.

I'll guide you with where to stand, what to do with your hands, where to look and how to position your body. We'll adjust the lighting, try things, discard things and discover what works particularly well for you.

You never have to stand there wondering:

“What am I supposed to do now?”

I'll tell you. And then something rather lovely usually happens.

You stop thinking quite so much about the camera.

Your confidence grows

As the shoot develops, things become much more instinctive.

You begin to understand what we're creating. I'll spot expressions and movements that work for you. You'll start suggesting ideas of your own.

Something we hadn't planned may suddenly look fantastic. That's when a photoshoot becomes a collaboration.

We might change clothes, lighting, backgrounds or completely change direction. Depending on the experience you've chosen, we might leave the studio and work on location.

You might remain fully clothed. You might gradually become comfortable showing more of yourself.

You might want to create something stylish and sophisticated, artistic and intimate, playful, sensual or considerably more adventurous.

There is no predetermined MenArt journey.

Your shoot develops around you.

You don't have to become someone else

One of the things I love most about photographing people is discovering what makes somebody look unmistakably like themselves — only on a particularly good day.

Good lighting helps.

The right lens helps.

Knowing how to position and photograph a body helps enormously.

But I'm not interested in squeezing everybody into the same poses or making you look like somebody you've seen on Instagram.

Your age, shape and personality are part of the photograph.

We're not trying to replace them. We're finding the best way to photograph them.

Somewhere along the way, you forget to be nervous

It doesn't happen at exactly the same moment for everybody. But it happens remarkably often. The shoulders drop. The poses stop feeling like poses. You stop wondering what I'm thinking about you and start becoming interested in what we're creating together.

Sometimes the person who arrived telling me:

“I'm really not comfortable in front of a camera.”

is the same person a couple of hours later suggesting:

“What if we tried this?”

That's one of my favourite parts of the job.

When are we finished?

When we've created what we came to create.

The timings shown for each MenArt Experience are there to help you plan your day and to make sure we've allowed enough time for what you'd like to achieve.

They're not there so I can stand watching a clock. Some shoots find their rhythm quickly. Others take a little longer to unfold.

I'd rather recognise when we've created a strong collection than keep shooting simply because there are twenty minutes left on an imaginary stopwatch.

And afterwards?

I'll go through the shoot carefully and prepare your private online gallery.

That's when you get to see what we created together — including some moments you probably weren't even aware I'd photographed.

And very often, that's when I receive one of my favourite messages:

“I can't believe that's me.”

It is.

You just don't normally get to see yourself through my camera.

YOUR SHOOT. YOUR WAY.

A MenArt shoot can be a confidence boost, a celebration, an adventure, a fantasy, a gift to somebody else or simply something you've always wanted to do.

You don't really need a reason.

You only need to be curious enough to begin.

CHOOSE YOUR MENART EXPERIENCE HERE