I often get caught up in the day to day portfolio shoots for models… and I LOVE doing them, but when I get a chance to be creative and when I have a model as laid back and as open-minded as Blake, that is my passion. Blake is always up for anything, and barely questions me when I say things like, all you’ll be wearing is clear plastic.  For a photographer in West Michigan, this attitude can be hard to find.

So I count myself lucky to have such an incredibly sexy male model as Blake on my side when I’m looking to do something a little different.  Next step… getting some actual clothes made out of this material?  Who knows!  But I bet Blake will be up for it! Enjoy! -JM

Our plan was to trek into the Red Rock Nation Park to a small waterfall Joey thought he knew the location of.  With only a couple vague memories of this secret spot from his childhood and a general direction in his mind, we set off.  The wind was biting and far colder that I would have expected mid-day in the desert of Nevada, but after a solid 45 minutes of hiking, we found the pool and waterfall from Joey’s youth!  Even though it was the plan, we were both stunned that we happen to find the exact spot we were looking for.

And just as we arrived, our second challenge came to meet us.  Rain.

The weather got progressively worse, the temperature dipped, the rain continued and eventually turned to hail!  Ice falling from the sky was definitely not something I had planned for on this trip!  But during breaks in the miserable weather, the sun would peek out, Joey would quickly strip out of his layers, and we’d shoot at top speed.  I have to say he was a trooper, even daring to stand in the water for a few shots and shedding every stitch of clothes for another.

In post production, I tried something new in my editing, going darker with less contrast that I typically use.  A little change of style from my standard procedures.  Enjoy!  -JM

I had been wanting to play around with the idea of commercialized youth for sometime, and Cam was the perfect “youth” to try this idea out on.  Originally I had intended this series to be bright and colorful, with the colors of commercial logos splashed across the images.  I wanted to do a commentary on the influence of major brands on not only the youth, but America as a whole.  In the end, however, it felt more powerful to remove the power of the “brands” by taking away the color, and allowing the focus to fall back to the “boy” where it belongs.  Enjoy! -JM

Matthew Agency model Travis had, up until this point, always maintained a very boy-next-door image.  We decided it was time to strip him down, oil him up, and make him the  sexy-abercrombie-boy-next-door instead.  Until our shoot, he had not even taken his shirt off for a camera (other than candids with friends on the beach).  He admitted his nervousness, but jumped right into the deep end!  For a model who had never even bared his chest, he was extremely poised and comfortable in his skin when it was time to bare it all.

In the end, Travis said it was the most fun he had experienced in front of a camera.  The shoot was quite simply, effortless.  Clearly the kid works hard on his body.  He has barely a flaw and the only real photoshopping involved was color treatment!  I’m proud of Travis for taking a chance and really going for it, it definitely paid off in these amazing images!

The series was picked up by one of my favorite blogs, Ohlalamag.com.  Of course I always count myself lucky to be published among their variety of talent!  And with this series of amazing images, I couldn’t be prouder!  Enjoy! -JM

This post contains images some viewers may find inappropriate.

Here is how the series appeared on Ohlala Mag:

On our previous shoot, we had ventured far into the desert outside of Las Vegas.  For this shoot, we ventured into another sort of wasteland; the concrete jungle of the city’s drainage system.  The tall cement walls, stark and empty landscape, and sharp angles made this a perfect location.  Toss in Ryan’s good looks and killer body, and we’ve got a pretty damn good series of photos on our hands!  Enjoy! -JM

I’m proud to say that the series can be seen on OhlalaMag.com.  To be published on this entertainment, travel, fashion, and lifestyle blog and to see these images amongst the great talent featured there, is a great honor.  Take a look at the images here, and be sure to visit Ohlala!  Enjoy! -JM

This post contains images some viewers may find inappropriate.

(All underwear and swimwear provided by AussieBum)

It was a hot day, with a lot of sun and very little wind.  But the gorgeous setting of the garden at mid-day lent perfectly to the soft, over-exposed aesthetic that we wanted.  The images below are only a sampling of the full day’s effort!  The models pumped out look after look, and still had a smile on their faces when all was said and done!  These ladies were troopers!  Keep an eye out for the Fall look book!  And be sure to visit the Lee and Birch website to see the full Spring/Summer look book!

Make up and hair by Hanna Wagner.  Styling by Nikki Dykstra.  Production assistant, Rob Schaftenaar.

Models (in order of appearance below):  Andrea, Maria, Kayla, Lizzie.

Models represented by The Matthew Agency.