This past weekend at a fitness championship in Edmonton I was approached by one of the male bodybuilders asking if I would be open to working with him on a shoot. I said, "Sure!" He continued to share that he had spoken with a few people and was told my concentration is on female athletes and that I don't photograph male athletes. I stepped back surprised.
When I paused and gave it some thought I realized most of
the work I do is for magazines and I rarely promote that, or the fact that
almost half the athletes I photograph are male. I haven't really promoted a
tear sheet in well over a year even though I get dozens on a regular basis. Those who
know me know I'm never one to toot my own horn as it isn't my style but I think
it should be common knowledge that I work with both girls and guys.
(A few samples of recent tear sheets)
Let's quickly fix that misconception. I've been fortunate to
work with many of the top male athletes in the world including UFC fighters Cain
Velasquez, Georges St. Pierre, Tito Ortiz, Josh Koscheck, Ryan Bader to name a
few and male physique athletes such as Stan McQuay, Jerome
"Hollywood" Ferguson, James
Ellis, Kyle Clarke, Micah Lacerte, Matus Valent, Lind Walter, Rob Riches, Shane O'Neill, Obi Obidike
and countless others. The thing is, when I photograph male athletes, they have
a very good chance of getting published so the magazines prefer we don't post
images anywhere online for public viewing.
A lot of my "public" work is indeed with female
athletes. If it's a cover or a model feature, the girls quickly know if they
are being included in an upcoming issue as I have to interview them and get
their information. Most of the guys, however, are used in editorials which can
sometimes take a few months to a couple years to reach print.
A number of girls already know that I photograph guys and have taken advantage of the opportunities available. I have had quite a few girls purchase photo packages for their boyfriends which is a great idea especially this time of year. I have worked with first time athletes to seasoned pros and am very comfortable regardless of the style someone is looking to shoot. It's not all workout photos I focus on. Many guys have come to me to shoot model portfolios which includes suits, club wear and swimwear.
If you are a male athlete, or know a male athlete that would
like some great photos to capture the hard work they have done, or if they have
the look and build suitable for magazine submissions, by all means drop me a
message and I'm sure we can arrange something around upcoming shows and events
that will be a lot of fun. How cool would it be ladies to see your man featured
in a magazine? Guys, how great would it feel to see you featured in a training
layout?
I look forward to working with many of you in the coming
months and in 2012. Be sure to book your date soon as the show dates are
beginning to book.
About the photos: Every issue of Status Fitness and other magazines I get 20 to 50 tear sheets, the majority of these are male athletes. I only have access to a couple issues and grabbed a few spreads as examples to post above. I also included a few project images not necessarily published.
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