When Irish eyes are smiling,
Sure, 'tis like the morn in Spring.
In the lilt of Irish laughter
You can hear the angels sing.
Many
FH readers are aware that Jim from
Studio1xhas photographed many incredible men, and many, he's managed to persuade to don a witches or Christmas hat or be covered with vegetables or hearts for a
FH holiday themed shoot. Jim shares that the fetching
Dakota didn't require much pursuing, but do to how close it was getting to St. Paddy's Day, it did require some quick planning, and creative scheduling.
'I had a few ideas brewing around in my head but hadn't acted upon buying any of the props as I hadn't found the right model for the shoot. I was sitting at the barber one Saturday morning and while waiting was checking out my Instagram feed. I came across a photo that Dakota had recently posted and thought he would be perfect for the shoot I had in mind.'Jim had never met or spoken to
Dakota before, but thought he would try reaching out to see if he might be interested. Thankfully Dakota immediately responded that he was interested and on board. Usually when nudity is involved, Jim likes to move slower but with St. Paddy's Day coming up quickly, he knew he had to act fast.
'I usually tend to set appointments for this type of shoot out into the future, allowing the model to think about it, ask questions and for us to be able to get to know one another better since not everyone is real comfortable being nude let alone doing a nude shoot, it helps build the trust and a working relationship.'For this shoot, Jim needed it to happen sooner than later, so he asked Dakota if he was available by chance that same day. Dakota wasn't, but he was able to free up some time the following day. Jim already had another all day shoot scheduled, but asked Dakota if he might be free for an evening shoot, Dakota was fine with that, even though Jim's studio was over an hour away and snow was in the forecast.
'With a had a busy day ahead of me, I still needed to go and purchase all of the props to be used in the shoot. I was able to get all of that accomplished and that evening set up the studio and did a few test shots to set the lights and see how the props were going to work. Not having a model to do the test with, I became the stand in model and photographer. Those photos will not be shared with anyone but buried in the vault!!!'FH readers know I usually lay out images in each post to reveal. The reveal is of course about what's under the shirt and jeans, or in Dakota's case, the kilt, but also to reveal the story. I also find that by beginning with portrait and clothed shots, viewers get a greater appreciation for all aspects of the subject in focus. I love that Jim always sends me sets of images in the order in which they were taken. This means I usually get face, upper body and clothed shots before seeing full nudes.
When Jim sent on his work with Dakota, I knew instantly he picked the perfect model to help visually celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Dakota has a great look and I was immediately drawn to his beautiful eyes. I also loved the simple set up Jim created and the colors and fashion, especially the tartan green kilt that contrasts so beautifully against Dakota's skin.
Speaking of that kilts, tradition is that true kilt wearers never wear anything under, and Dakota of course, chose to honor that tradition. To see more of Dakota, and less of the kilt, and to read more of the story behind the shoot, head on over to
PAGE 2 HERE:
