Put Into Practice: Andrew by MW Photo MD

When I used to play hockey, one of the things I liked least was 6 a.m Saturday practices. I was a never a morning person, and still struggle to get out of bed easily if my alarm goes off before eight. It didn't help that my father was the assistant coach, so missing practice wasn't an option. Early mornings aside, great hockey players, like all skilled professional, understand that what is looks easy during a game, comes from hours and hours of practice.


With FH having 'first's as a theme this year, MW Photo MD's Mark and his images of Andrew, are a perfect fit for the theme. At just 18, Andrew is brand new to modeling, and his work with Mark was his very first nude shoot. Normally, Andrew's days are spent on the ice as goalie, but he is looking to do more modeling and become more experience and versatile in front of the camera.


Shooting nudes is also something new for Mark, having only begun his journey into photography just a little over a year ago. Although Mark has been interested in photography for awhile, even learning how to develop the negatives from his Kodak brownie camera in a dark room, it was not until November 2015 that he did his first studio shot. As someone who love writing, and often thinks of picking up a camera again, Mark's road to shooting was both an interesting a motivational one for me. From the way it began through writing, to how Mark enlisted the support another photographer to help him move forward with his new passion.


'I was participating in the National Novel Writing Month, (NaNoWriMo) where the goal is to write a novel with 50,000 words during the month of November. Quite a challenge if you are not dedicated to the task. During the writing of the novel, one of my characters developed into someone who had setup his own photo studio in his house, something I would like to do myself. I thought I better do a little research to understand the equipment and setup, and to make it interesting and real for my story. I went on the web and did a search for photographers and models and I came across Model Mayhem. From there I started the more defined search and was really impressed by the sight and the photographers and models who had profiles.'


'I decided right then and there that I wanted to do this myself. I read through the rules on the site and started my model search so that I could find models and get started so that I could then setup my own profile page. I found a photographer David, ImagesMale and after checking out his port and his website, and reached out to him as I liked his style of photography. I setup my first studio shoot along with him and decided I might as well jump right in and begin by shooting nudes. David was very patient in teaching me about lighting, the various ways to shoot in the studio and I hav done most of my shoots since with him at his studio, as well as some larger outdoor group meet ups.'


'I thought my first nude shoot went very well. David made me feel at ease and his studio is very comfortable. The model that I shot had done nudes before and had no issues in posing. The difficulties I experienced were more about me learning to shoot with my camera in manual mode and get used to the type of lighting and flash options to make the most out of my pictures. I consider this as a professional hobby, but I want to have fun and meet new people as I go forward. I'm a pretty shy person so photography helps to bring me out of that shell. I want to expand my focus on more nudes, venture into the outdoors more, and continue my time in the studio.'


This brings us to now, and Mark's images of Andrew, whom he shot both in studio, and outside in Old Town Alexandria VA, before the rain moved in during their shoot. Mark saw Andrew's profile on Model Mayhem and really liked his look and smile They connected first on-line, an don the phone, getting to know each a little, and discussing ideas and expectations about their upcoming shoot. Andrew was able to travel to the DC area so everything fell into place just before the holidays. Given's Andrew's inexperience, and the fact it was first nude shoot, Mark wanted to make things as relaxed and comfortable as possible.


'I took Andrew's love for Hockey and incorporated that in the shoot. He brought his entire hockey gear bag with him and it's amazing how much there is for proper protection when you're a goalie. As we worked through the studio shoot we narrowed it down to just a few things, as I wanted to really show off his physique. He spends a lot of time in the gym and has a nice body and is in awesome shape. I approached the shoot as a learning opportunity for me and him and all ideas were on the table and we narrowed it down to what was comfortable for him and me. We went with what was comfortable for Andrew and stayed away from full frontal. I also like the suggestive nude or implied nudity with a shoot and love how the images turned out.'