Behind:
As a writer, part of the motivation to have a site that goes beyond just posting pretty pictures, is to explore what motivates models and artists. My questions are not just to fill space, they also quench my curiosity about process and the creation the images that inspire me. The detective in me can often annoys some that I profile with my attempts to knock down, and focusing on that third wall, the space between the model, and the artist behind the lens.
Some photographers prefer to keep that wall up, and their process private, others are more open to share. Sometimes though, photographers allow themselves to part of the story and with some of my 'Behind The Scenes' pieces, we have gotten visual glimpses of many of the artists behind the lens. The photographers most open to sharing, are often those who have also spent time in front of the lens, having experienced modeling first hand, Fotowerk_Z's Stephan is one of those artists.
When Stephan first began to take shooting seriously, he enrolled in some photography courses to sharpen his skills. During one of his trainings, 'Portraits With Available Light', Stephan was teamed with another photographer with their assignment being to photograph each other. Stephan says he recognized that there were specific talents and skills required which ever side of the camera he was on. He also had a lot of fun during this experience as a model.
After the course was over, the Frankfurt photographer decided he wanted to be professionally shot and booked his first nude shoot as a model with photographer Stefan Weis Weis is the author of several photography books including many with nude photography as their focus. After his own experience being naked in front of the camera, Stephan was anxious to use what he learned when he got back behind the lens. After taking tons of photos of friends and celebrations, Stephan knew it was time to take the next step.
This... brings us to the blonde and beautiful Florian. The 20 year old model hails from Regensburg, the fourth-largest town in the State of Bavaria. Florian works hard to stay fit, not with hours upon hours each week in the gym, but by spending those many hours on the field playing soccer. Stephan says he lucked out on this first shoot, as he didn't have to worry about nerves from his model. Florian loves shooting nudes and the clothes came flying off with any problem at all.
The shoot with Florian was Stephan's first experience shooting the naked male form, and I think you'll agree that all of those classes certainly paid off with these resulting images.Stephan shares that although doing a nude shoot was a new situation for him, there weren't any nerves. Stephan has spent many hours nude bathing on beaches for over 25 years, so being around other nude men wasn't anything new. Although happy with the results of his first nude shoot, his images of Florian also acted as motivation for new ideas and ways to make his future shoots even better.
In Front
'I love to find new set-ups and ideas, I see in the cooperation with other photographers, as model or photographer, an interesting chance to develop new shooting set-ups and ideas. That's somehow very creative. Why Male? There are thousands of photographers focused on woman photography, the community for male photographers is relatively small. I love to take pictures from woman, but the male body with muscles, reflecting power and prettiness, is something is even in the same way attractive. So I decided to focus more on the male side of photography.'
