Machismo
 

Fashion inspires me in all aspects of my creative life, especially in my photography. For me, clothing and fashion accessories aren’t just something to wear. Instead I view them as an expression of oneself: your feelings, your attitude, or your personality. I wanted to explore these ideas in a men’s fashion portrait series titled Machismo.

The word machismo is defined as strong, aggressive masculine pride. Machismo is a photo series showing the models personality and masculinity, while photographing them in a feminine style. I did this by photographing men wearing retro styled clothing in a modern and bold way. I feel as though men are not often photographed with bold, bright color or wearing bold prints. This is generally thought of as a feminine feature. Men are commonly photographed in a way to highlight their masculinity: darker colors, simple style of clothing, and monochromatic. I wanted to show that they could still be seen as very masculine yet in a style that is normally viewed as feminine.

The fashion in this series is a mixture of styles ranging from the 1960s to the early Millennium. The clothing choice was intended to balance with a more modern style of photography. The lighting is very direct to create the bold colors. The lighting style is also intended to highlight the strong physical features of the men and their body shape. The strong shadows contouring the men’s body as well as the shadows they cast on the background are all symbols of their maleness.

The men in the Machismo series have different personality types. Some are outgoing and confident, while others are more reserved and quiet. I feel that you can see these parts of their personalities in the photographs. Some appear more confident and comfortable than others do. Just being photographed in this style could have changed their attitude and put them in a different mindset which may have caused them to hold back. Others still portrayed their masculinity in a stronger manner and overpowered the feminine style of the photograph.

Through men’s fashion portraits the Machismo series defines masculinity in a new and modern way, while displaying how that can change the attitudes and personalities of the models in the photographs.

Shustack Photography   |   2015