Jerrad Matthew Photography » Men

Blake in Plastic

jerradmatthew — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 19:49:40 +0000

Sometimes it’s what a model is NOT wearing that makes the image sizzle. But in my style of photography, there’s no need to give everything away. Showing skin, but maintaining a bit of sexy mystery… that’s provocative to me.

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

A Cold Day In Nevada

jerradmatthew — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 17:48:29 +0000

When I travel, I enjoy setting up shoots with models in the cities I visit. When I set up a shoot with model Joey in Las Vegas, the thought of freezing cold temperatures never even crossed my mind. That, however, is exactly what we got.

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

Adam

jerradmatthew — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 19:51:11 +0000

Adam and I met years and years ago in Nashville. We both were living and working there at the time, and would hang out together on occasion. But more often, I watched him perform on stage at a popular club called PLAY. For some of you, you may recognize this familiar face, but may know him better as THE PRINCESS. Adam is an incredible performer and female impersonator who recently had the distinct honor of being on Ru Paul’s Drag Race, Season 4.

It was actually the announcement of the new cast, and his inclusion in that cast, that caused us to reconnect. And after a number of years of distance, we realized we lived quite close to each other. Adam had moved to the Windy City, and Chicago is only a short drive away from my home of Grand Rapids, Michigan. It wasn’t long after we reconnected that photo shoot was in the works.

Here, we wanted to show a different side of Adam. Not the glamorous punk rocker Princess… but the man behind the royal woman. We stripped away the make-up, the clothes, the lights, and the facade. In these simple, black and white images, we show Adam exposed in a way he isn’t accustomed to. I’m excited for more collaborations between Adam and myself soon!

Enjoy! -JM

PS. I finally started a page for my photography on Facebook. Be sure to like me! I like being liked!

http://www.facebook.com/JerradMatthewPhotography

Luke

jerradmatthew — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 19:05:49 +0000

Luke and I have been discussing doing a photo shoot for some time. It seemed as though our schedules simply never quite lined up. But as this series of images shows, good things come to those who wait! Luke clearly works very hard on his body, even participating in competitions. And his hard work has clearly paid off! Here is an amazing series of (mostly) black and white images shot here at my studio in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Enjoy! -JM

Portfolio – Jeremiah

jerradmatthew — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 18:49:59 +0000

I’ve worked with Jeremiah on a couple of shoots so far. His calm demeanor makes him very easy to work with, so I was very happy when he came to me to shoot his portfolio. If I remember correctly, the weather was perfect for a photo shoot. We captured a few studio shots and then headed out to some great locations around downtown Grand Rapids.

The goal, of course, of a portfolio shoot is to create multiple looks. The studio, the structured cement of the Grand Rapids Art Museum, and the over-grown weeds of an abandoned factory provided our back drops. That’s the easy part about photo shoots with men and male models, easier to run from place to place with no major make-up or hair changes needed. That being said, look for some more intense, editorial, and maybe even make-up’d male photo series coming soon from yours truly!

Here are Jeremiah’s images. Enjoy! JM

Anthony VonBargen – Sun Soaked

jerradmatthew — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 20:03:43 +0000

I’ve worked with Anthony a number of times. He is a model living in Ohio and we try to work together every time I visit my family living there. We have a tradition of hunting down a random location, with no planning or forethought. It has worked extremely well for us in the past, and we’ve had amazing luck with some phenomenal locations. Our impromptu photo shoot on this particular day, however, faced a little complication.

To begin, we were under a bit of a time crunch, as I was pushing to get back to my Aunt’s surprise birthday party, and we just weren’t having any luck with a location. Eventually we forced ourselves to give in to a simple field. Considering all the problems we faced and the fact that we had only about an hour to shoot, the images we were able to capture are pretty nice! I can always rely on Anthony to perform, even in trying situations. The bugs were biting and the sun was blaring down on us, but we snapped away regardless. Enjoy! -JM

New Face – Alek

jerradmatthew — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 19:12:00 +0000

Alek is young… younger than his looks portray. He is slightly reserved, but already exudes a natural force and strength in his presence. Our photo shoot was his first. He was quiet and controlled, both in front of the lens and between set-ups, but was extremely easy to work with because of it. I’m excited to see what is to come from him. As his confidence grows as a model, I believe he will mature into the looks he’s already been gifted… and then he will be a force to be reckoned with!

New Face – Marcel

jerradmatthew — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:20:16 +0000

Here is another great new addition to the Matthew Agency family of models, Marcel. From what I gathered of him, Marcel is a calm man of few words, but a killer gaze. My guess, from that devilish glint in his eye, is that he probably has a bit of a mischievous side, but that’s only a guess. He came in with some ideas of specific things he wanted to try, and was definitely not shy in front of the camera. He knew how to work various angles, and kept the shoot interesting by constantly changing things up. I love when a model has the confidence to lead himself without relying completely on the photographer for direction. The ultimate collaboration produces phenomenal results, such as these images here! Enjoy! -JM

American Boy

jerradmatthew — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:56:59 +0000

It would be my luck that I would come across model “gold” such as Cam, only to have a limited window during which he will be around. The moment Cam walked in the door at the Matthew Agency, I knew he was destined for a great career as a model, and when he sat down and told me he only had the summer to model for me (as he was expected in NYC this fall to begin modeling full-time) I wasn’t surprised. I guess I will just count myself, and the agency lucky enough to have him for the summer!

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

Body Scapes 1

jerradmatthew — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 22:58:25 +0000

The body as landscape. What started as a simple impromptu shoot, playing with light and shadow, turned into something quite stunning and was published by YVY MAG. Simple and to the point, expect more images added regularly to the “Body Scape” category.

The first image below best exemplifies what I plan to show in future Body Scape series. I plan to experiment more with the idea of the body as landscape, including some pretty interesting ideas I can’t wait to capture. I look forward to sharing these with you! Enjoy! -JM