A timelapse view (Patreon)

My 2015 series "Tribal" was all photographed while I was living in another apartment sharing with a fellow photographer. It was not unusual to have our dining table moved and this photography studio setup in place. My housemate at the time photographed a bit of fetish work so I never quite knew what I might be walking into.

My Tribal series was influenced by the various tribal aesthetics around the world but I was very careful not to specifically reference any cultures in particular. Cultural appropriation is not something I want to do at all.

This video was on the shoot with Shane, a friend who had posed with me once before in a much more natural, outdoor setting. For this shoot I got a hold of some horns and painted Shane gold from head to toe. The photos from this shoot ended up looking fairly dramatic and a little confronting for some people but I like them. There are a few attached below that were in the series that was released to the world.

While you can't see the full setup in this video you can get a fairly good idea of my lighting. I'm a big fan of a soft-box modifier. The one you see on the left in this footage is the main light and the second soft box on the other side is set at a lower intensity so the shadows weren't too dark. The white wall on the right also acted a bit like a reflector for the main light.  I like the way the light gently falls away as it wraps around muscles. It feels much less aggressive than a lot of male nude photography lighting but that is the amazing part of being in a creative field. Everyone's approach is very different.

One day I would love to have my own studio and in my fantasy world I know how I would set it up and all the amazing things I could shoot in it. Sadly I'll need to win millions to do it.